A strong final quarter of the year for easyJet holidays, in which it more than doubled its profits year-on-year, looks set to ease an estimated £40 million blow to its airline parent company owing to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The performance of easyJet holidays has softened the blow to its airline (Credit: iStock)
EasyJet holidays delivered profit of £30 million in the three months to 31 December, up from £13 million a year earlier, while passenger numbers increased by 48%.
EasyJet itself on Wednesday (24 January) posted a slightly improved headline loss of £126 million for the typically quieter three months to the end of the year, its first-quarter – down from a Q1 loss last year of £133 million.
The airline said the conflict in Gaza, which started in early October, had forced it to pause flights to Israel and neighbouring Jordan and triggered “a temporary slowdown in flight bookings for the wider industry”, which lasted for almost two months before demand and bookings “recovered strongly from late-November”.
In a trading update, easyJet said it nonetheless expected an improvement in its seasonal winter loss (six months to 30 March) despite the direct impact of circa £40 million from the crisis in the Middle East thanks to “disciplined capacity growth” to in-demand destinations, as well as productivity benefits.