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The group reported underlying pre-tax losses of £178million for the 12 months to September 30 against losses of £1.1billion the previous year.
EasyJet said it notched up its best earnings for a single quarter over the summer, at £674- million on an underlying basis.
The ending of pandemic travel restrictions put overseas holidays firmly back on the agenda.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said consumers would prioritise holidays as they come under pressure from soaring inflation, adding that bookings for next spring and summer are already looking positive.
But the low-cost carrier cautioned over “market-wide” cost increases and said its first half fuel expense was set to be more than 50 per cent higher year-on-year due to soaring inflation.
The group’s costs – excluding fuel – jumped 106 per cent over the past year to £4.6billion.
EasyJet is hiking ticket costs in response, with prices looking “strong” for next Easter, though it hopes its budget offering will help it weather the cost-of-living crisis.
Mr Lundgren said: “EasyJet does well in tough times. Legacy carriers will struggle in this high-cost environment.
Consumers will protect their holidays but look for value, and across its primary airport network, EASYJET will be the beneficiary as customers vote with their wallets.”
EasyJet remained in the red over the past year as it was hit by an extra £78million in disruption and compensation costs caused by the travel chaos over the summer as flights were delayed and cancelled due to staff shortages across its operations and at airports.
This masked a record-breaking final quarter, with its flight programme back to around pre-Covid levels, which helped full-year passenger numbers jump 242 per cent to 69.7 million on the pandemichit previous year.
The group said it had already started recruiting for next summer to help avoid the disruption seen this year. It recently launched a cabin crew recruitment campaign focused on the over-45s.
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