EasyJet reported a headline pre-tax loss of £394 million for the six months to the end of March.
That is compared with losses of £350 million a year ago, but represents a “slight improvement” of about £50 million when the later timing of Easter this year is taken into account, the airline company said.
Seasonal demand for air travel means airlines often record losses in the winter followed by profits in the summer.
EasyJet said the number of passengers it carried in the first three months of the year was 18.2 million, up 8% compared with a year ago.
Its package holiday arm recorded pre-tax profits of £44 million for the six months to March 31.
That is a 42% increase year-on-year.
EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis said: “We continue to see strong demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays, as we attract more customers through our great fares, friendly service and
unrivalled network of destinations.
“We are executing well against our strategy, to drive efficiency and enhance our customer experience both in the sky and on the ground.
“In addition, our commitment to giving customers an even greater choice of flights and holidays will also see us continuing to grow both in Europe and the UK, where we will be launching a new base in Newcastle from next spring.
“We remain focused on delivering another record summer this year, expecting to drive strong earnings growth as we continue to progress towards our target of sustainably generating over £1 billion of annual profit before tax.”
This article was written by Neil Lancefield and PA Transport Correspondent from Press Association and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.