EasyJet forecasts record-breaking summer as profits jump

Strong results follow drop in European airline stocks this week after Ryanair reported profit plunge

The budget airline easyJet is predicting a record-breaking summer of travel after profits jumped 16% in its most recent quarter of trading.

The bumper figures come only two days after the rival no-frills carrier Ryanair reported a plunge in earnings and a poor outlook for the holiday getaway season, pushing down many European airline stocks.

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Spain fines budget airlines €150m over ‘abusive’ cabin bag and seat charges

Carriers including easyJet and Ryanair face being banned from charging for carry-on luggage

Budget airlines including easyJet and Ryanair have been hit with fines totalling €150m (£128m) by the Spanish government for policies that include charging passengers extra for cabin luggage.

In the biggest sanction issued by the Spanish government’s ministry of social rights and consumer affairs, the carriers easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling and Volotea have been penalised after an investigation launched last summer.

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EasyJet’s Johan Lundgren to step down at beginning of 2025

CEO will be replaced by chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis, who like Lundgren joined from Tui

EasyJet’s chief executive, Johan Lundgren, will step down at the beginning of next year after seven years at the helm of the budget airline.

The carrier is promoting its chief financial officer, Kenton Jarvis, to take his place, with Lundgren set to hand over the reins on 1 January 2025. The outgoing boss will then stay with the business until mid-May as part of the airline’s “orderly succession plan”.

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EasyJet announces ‘grans go free’ deal on holidays to Europe

Offer comes as research shows half of families in UK have never holidayed abroad with grandparents

EasyJet’s holiday wing is offering “grans go free” places on trips to Europe, after research found half of families had never holidayed abroad with their grandparents.

Under the offer, one grandparent on the trip can travel free of charge to countries including Spain, Greece and Italy. The tour operator said it hoped the deal would encourage Britons to take a holiday with three generations of their family or more.

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EasyJet returns to profit but Israel-Hamas war reduces bookings

Budget airline says its research has found two-thirds of Britons are more likely to travel abroad next year

EasyJet has experienced a general drop in bookings since the Israel-Hamas war started, which prompted it to pause flights to Israel and Jordan, but said demand was coming back and consumers were keen to holiday abroad next year.

Johan Lundgren, the budget airline’s chief executive, said: “As we saw with Ukraine, there has been a short-term industry-wide impact on [flight] searches and bookings, though this now seems to be coming back with a recent improvement in trading.”

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Pop group Easy Life forced to change band name amid dispute with easyJet owner

The group have decided not to defend lawsuit due to financial burden, after easyGroup labelled the Leicester-formed band a ‘brand thief’

British pop group Easy Life have been forced to change their name after easyGroup, the parent company of easyJet, filed a lawsuit claiming their name infringed on a trademark.

The band will not defend the high court lawsuit, saying the financial burden of doing so would be too high. They have not announced a new name.

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Gatwick restricts flight numbers for week amid air traffic control problems

Airport will share 164 cancellations between airlines until Sunday as it seeks to avoid diversions

Thousands of passengers flying to and from Gatwick this week will have their flights cancelled after the airport announced a cap on movements because of a shortage of staff in air traffic control.

Gatwick imposed an immediate cap on Monday of 800 flights taking off or landing a day.

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Europe heatwave fails to deter holidaymakers as easyJet demand booms

No-frills carrier reports record quarterly £200m profit as rebound in travel industry gathers pace

Holidaymakers are not being deterred by the ongoing heatwave in Europe, as travellers continue to jet off on their summer vacations amid booming demand for travel, according to easyJet.

The airline reported a record pretax profit of £203m for the three months to the end of June, surpassing analysts’ forecasts, as the demand for summer travel rebounds.

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EasyJet expects bigger profits as summer bookings soar

Budget airline has ramped up capacity and expects to be back to about pre-Covid levels

EasyJet has lifted its profit outlook for this year after summer bookings surged and passenger numbers over Easter returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The budget airline has increased capacity, by 40% from January to March, and expects to be back to about pre-pandemic levels in the summer.

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EasyJet looks to over-45s in cabin crew recruitment drive

Airline launches campaign targeting ‘empty nesters’ or people looking for challenge later in life

The airline easyJet has launched a recruitment drive urging people over the age of 45 to join its cabin crews, as firms devise new strategies for hiring staff in the UK amid a shortage of workers.

The airline said it has seen a 27% increase in crew aged 45 and over in the past four years, including a 30% increase in over-60s in the past year.

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Ryanair strike threat set to add to summer airport chaos in Europe

Planned action by the airline’s Spain-based cabin crew over working conditions will increase disruption for holidaymakers

British holidaymakers are braced for fresh travel chaos across Europe this summer with staff at Ryanair on Saturday becoming the latest to threaten strike action.

As striking airport workers in Paris forced the cancellation of dozens of flights on Saturday and promised more industrial action later in July, Spain-based cabin crew at Ryanair revealed they now plan to strike for 12 days in July.

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EasyJet to cut more flights over summer holidays

Airline says it is reducing services after London Gatwick and Amsterdam announced caps on flights

EasyJet is cutting thousands of flights over the summer, after government orders designed to avoid further travel disruption at airports.

The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority told airlines last week to review their schedules and ensure flights were deliverable, after post-lockdown staff shortages left airlines and airports unable to keep up with an increase in travel as Covid restrictions lifted.

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EasyJet trims June flight schedule in bid to avoid further airport chaos

Low-cost carrier makes ‘pre-emptive cancellations’ of about 40 flights a day to ensure no repeat of half-term disruption

EasyJet has reduced its flight schedule for the rest of June in a bid to overcome the travel chaos seen in the school holidays when staff shortages meant thousands of people were hit by last-minute cancellations.

Britain’s biggest carrier has come under fire for its handling of the disruption which also saw passengers endure long delays. In a message to staff on Friday, its chief operating officer, Peter Bellew, said the carrier was making pre-emptive cancellations for the “coming days and weeks” to “increase resilience across the network”.

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Thousands of Britons stuck at airports as easyJet cancels another 80 flights

More holidaymakers caught up in travel chaos as nearly 200 flights are cancelled and roads clog up

UK holidaymakers have faced yet more travel chaos as easyJet cancelled another 80 flights on Sunday and roads began to clog up with drivers returning from half-term and jubilee weekend breaks.

Tens of thousands of British travellers are estimated to be stranded at airports across Europe after close to 200 flight cancellations over the weekend.

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Holidaymakers face queues, cancellations and delays

Rebounding demand and a string of last-minute flight cancellations have compounded half-term travel woes

Holidaymakers are facing flight cancellations and the prospect of delays on the road as half-term starts and the UK gears up for an extended bank holiday weekend.

The June half-term traditionally heralds the start of the summer tourist season, and this year comes amid rebounding consumer demand for leisure breaks following the relaxation of UK Covid travel restrictions.

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UK airports, ports and roads under pressure as half-term getaway begins

EasyJet cancelled 14 flights, while ferry passengers at Dover face queues, and jams await drivers

Half-term holidaymakers are navigating the busiest day at British airports since the start of the pandemic with some hit by further flight cancellations, while cross-Channel ferry passengers face long queues at Dover and drivers are warned to expect jams.

EasyJet cancelled 14 more flights at London Gatwick in the early morning peak, in the aftermath of IT problems on Thursday that took out 200 of its flights around Europe.

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IT glitch creates turmoil for easyJet passengers across Europe

Airline forced to scrap 200 flights due for early afternoon takeoff and delay many others as a result

Airline passengers faced fresh disruption on Thursday after an IT glitch forced easyJet to cancel about 200 flights around Europe.

The airline scrapped a stream of flights due to take off between 1pm and 3pm, affecting dozens to and from UK airports, including its biggest base at Gatwick.

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EasyJet cancels more than 200 flights over Covid staff sickness

Some passengers stranded amid travel chaos at some of UK’s biggest airports

EasyJet cancelled more than 200 flights over the weekend with disruption expected to last into this week, leaving some passengers stranded amid travel chaos at some of Britain’s biggest airports.

The airline blamed the problems on high levels of sickness among employees caused by Covid, with at least 222 trips axed since Friday.

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Air travel in and out of UK slumps by 71% in 2021 amid pandemic

Report from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows domestic flights were down by almost 60%

Air travel in and out of the UK slumped by 71% in 2021 as the second year of the Covid-19 crisis took its toll on international flying, according to a report.

Just over 406,000 international flights operated from the UK up to 22 December this year compared with almost 1.4m in 2019 before the pandemic struck and travel restrictions were imposed, the aviation analytics firm Cirium said. UK domestic flights were found to have declined by almost 60%.

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Travellers in rush for short breaks as England restrictions are eased

Eurostar and easyJet report surge in ticket sales while package holiday operators anticipate bumper weekend

Package holiday operators have given a lukewarm response to the government’s latest easing of Covid-19 restrictions on arrivals in England, but travel firms that focus on short breaks have reported an uptick in 11th-hour bookings.

The the 10-day quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated people arriving from France was lifted on Thursday, while seven countries including Germany and Austria were added to the green list, meaning travellers must take only a couple of tests and do not need to quarantine.

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