Easyjet announces soaring Christmas quarter revenues

In CEO’s Johan Lundgren’s first trading update since taking the reins, the Luton-based carrier reported that total revenue in the three months to end of December rose by 14.4% to £1.1 billion.

Passenger numbers grew by 8% to 18.8 million over the same period.

Revenue per seat rose 6.6% and cost per seat fell 3.3%, both at constant currency.

“EasyJet delivered a strong start to the financial year with a significant growth in revenue in part driven by an increase in passengers flown and strong growth in inflight and ancillary sales as we offer more and better quality options for our passengers,” he said.

The airline would “continue to focus on cost” after generating approximately £28 million in “lean savings” in the quarter, he added.

“Our customer proposition will continue to drive both passenger growth and loyalty.

“We have great revenue growth, strong cost control, a robust operation and a strong balance sheet.”

The airline also announced several changes to its management structure.

Chief commercial officer Peter Duffy has agreed that “now is the right time for him to leave easyJet”, the carrier said.

This follows Mr Lundgren’s decision to move responsibility for pricing, revenue management and ancillary revenue from the commercial department to the airline’s strategy and network director, Robert Carey.