easyJet PLC (LSE:EZJ) posted third-quarter revenue in line with market expectations despite taking a £133mln hit from the travel chaos seen across Europe this summer.
And the budget airline insisted its July operations are "much improved" due to the action taken to remove capacity and build resilience following the caps imposed by London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Revenue for the third-quarter was £1.76 billion, in line with market consensus and up from £213 million during the same part of last year, it confirmed in a quarterly trading update.
The budget airline also delivered 87% of pre-pandemic capacity in the three months to 30 June, in line with its latest guidance.
Headline pre-tax loss was £114mln, an improvement on the £318mln loss a year ago. This was partly due to the cost impact of disruption and foreign exchange losses, which totalled £133mln and £36mln, it said.
"During the quarter we carried seven times more customers than the same time last year and operated 95% of our schedule," said easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren. "We have taken action to build the additional resilience needed this summer and the operation has now normalised.
"Despite the loss this quarter due to the short-term disruption issues, the return to flying at scale has demonstrated that the strategic initiatives launched during the pandemic are delivering now and with more to come. This includes a step-change in ancillary yields, increasing 55% versus the same period in 2019, and a record profit of £16m generated in the quarter by easyJet holidays which is on track to serve 1.1 million customers in the full year."
easyJet flew 22mln passengers in the third quarter, more than seven times higher than the same period last year, with passenger numbers reaching 7.6mln in June alone.
In line with previous guidance, the airline said it expects capacity to reach 90% of pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter, with load factors expected to reach 90% or more.
Yield from tickets sold for the next quarter is already 13% above 2019 levels and its schedule is 71% booked, easyJet said.
During the third quarter, the airline put up ancillary prices per seat to £19.47, up from £13.14 a year ago, with extra revenue sourced through charging for cabin bags and bundles.
easyJet said it is currently 83% hedged for fuel in the fourth quarter at US$705 per metric tonne. Sixty per cent of its fuel prices are covered for the first half of next year at a price of US$784mln per metric tonne, falling to a third at a higher price of US$879 in the second half.