EasyJet takes £133m hit on summer travel chaos

Bloomberg

EasyJet Plc said disruption to travel driven by staff shortages, soaring demand and caps on airport capacity forced it take a £133 million charge in the fiscal third quarter, while stating operations would now be smoother over the peak summer period.
The UK low-cost carrier still operated 95% of its planned schedule in the three months through June despite the upheaval, according to a statement. The company expects capacity in the fourth quarter to be about 90% of the same period in 2019, though said it will continue to fine-tune the schedule as required.
“We have taken action to build the additional resilience needed this summer and the operation has now normalised,” said Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren.
The shares were little changed in London. They have lost almost a third of their value this year, valuing the company at £2.8 billion.
EasyJet has been the among the hardest hit by the employee crisis plaguing the European aviation industry after the carrier slashed its workforce at the height of the coronavirus pandemic and has been unable to recruit fast enough to keep pace with the rebound. London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol airports, its two biggest bases, capped flights to help cope.
Third-quarter revenue came in at £1.76 billion. just above analysts’ estimates, while the headline loss before tax was £114 million.
EasyJet’s yields in the quarter were lower than had been previously indicated by the carrier, which suggests weaker last-minute ticket sales, Citi analysts led by Sathish B Sivakumar wrote in a note to clients.