Easyjet reassures amid tough competition

Low-cost airline easyJet today said that full year figures were on track despite reporting a drop in revenue per seat last month.

The budget carrier said a 3.3% decline in its “load factor” – a key measure for airlines that indicates the number of passengers carried as a proportion of available seats – would not derail expectations for pre-tax profit growth of 40% to 50%.

EasyJet reported an increase in passenger numbers in April to 3.1 million, up 10% on last April, but said competition was tough.

The load factor for April dropped from 86.4% in April last year to 83.1% last month, and also fell by 0.2% on a year-on-year basis to 84%.

Andy Harrison, easyJet chief executive, said: “As we stated last winter, we continue to see pressure on yields in the summer against high comparatives from last year and due to continued competition.

“This is evident in our revenue performance for April which fell on a per sear basis.”

Total revenue for the year to the end of April was £1.72bn (€2.52bn) up 17%, with passenger numbers standing at £34.8m (€51m) in the 12-month period.

EasyJet, which is due to report its interim results tomorrow, also added the 100th Airbus A319 jet to its fleet last month, taking the group’s total number of aircraft to 130.

The airline said it was taking on average one new A319 every 12 days after taking the first delivery of the Airbus aircraft in September 2003.