Marketing helps ease EasyJet airline loss

A MARKETING drive and extra baggage handling charges helped low-cost airline EasyJet cut its winter losses despite paying £100 million more for fuel this year.

The Luton-based group, which operates more than 580 routes across 30 countries, said revenue growth per seat in the six months to 31 March will be better than expected at 10 per cent, with around half the improvement driven by higher fees and charges.

It also received a boost from the unseasonably mild weather experienced in the period, with fewer cancellations and a lower spend on de-icing planes.

A TV advertisement featuring music from Liverpudlian rockers The Wombats also helped.

The group now expects to report a pre-tax loss of between £110m and £120m for the half-year, compared with a £153m loss last year. Chief executive Carolyn McCall said she expected the environment for airlines to remain difficult, but EasyJet’s focus on low fares would allow it to deliver “good results for shareholders”.