Online holiday buzz good news for Ebookers

A surge in the number of holidays being booked online has led to a gross sales boost of 47% and a first-quarter profit for online travel firm Ebookers.

The mid- and long-haul travel specialist made a pre-tax profit of £1.25m (€1.9m) against a loss of £4.85m (€7.3m) in the same period last year, with gross sales up 47% to £160m (€240m).

It added that the outlook for this year was "increasingly positive".

But Ebookers said it was shedding a total of 270 jobs in Europe and India as part of a cost-cutting programme and as it moves more business online.