easyJet PLC reported a significant reduction in losses in the first quarter but said travel restrictions following the emergence of the omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19) hit bookings.
However, booking volumes have increased since the UK government removed pre-departure COVID-19 testing in early January and are expected to rise further following the recent announcement all UK restrictions on travel will be scrapped from 11 February, the airline said in a trading update.
The easing of restrictions in other European countries, including France, should provide an additional boost.
Although it expects omicron to continue to impact its performance in the second quarter, bookings for Easter are encouraging and demand is strong for the summer period, the airline said.
The load factor exceeded 80% in October and November, but declined to 67% in December due to omicron. This meant the load factor for the first quarter, at 77%, failed to meet the company's forecast of 80%.
The airline flew 64% of 2019 capacity in the first quarter, which was broadly in line with its guidance. This figure dropped to 50% in January, but is set to recover to near pre-pandemic 2019 levels in the fourth quarter, with strong demand for leisure travel expected in the summer.
easyJet said headline pre-tax losses for the first quarter ending 31 December 2021 were £213mln, down from £423mln in the same period the year before.
Total revenue rose to £805mln from £165mln, with passenger revenue growing to £547mln from £118mln.
"easyJet produced a significant year on year improvement in the first quarter, despite the short-term impact of omicron in December, halving losses and cash burn compared with Q1 21 alongside driving higher returns from ancillaries," commented easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren.
"We see a strong summer ahead, with pent up demand that will see easyJet returning to near 2019 levels of capacity with UK beach and leisure routes performing particularly well."
Net debt stood at £1.2bn at end-December, compared with £0.9bn three months earlier. Cash and cash equivalents totalled £2.9bn.