air traffic
Low-cost airline Easyjet sees the first Omikron effects
Easyjet boss Johan Lundgren: There are many uncertainties about the start of winter. Photo: Patrick Pleul / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The appearance of the Omikron variant is causing new headaches for airlines. Easyjet is reducing its planned capacity in the current quarter.
The British low-cost airline Easyjet cannot yet accurately assess the economic consequences of the Omikron coronavirus variant. Since there are already the first effects, especially on short-haul routes, the Ryanair competitor reduced its planned capacity in the current quarter.
There are still many uncertainties about the start of winter, said company boss Johan Lundgren when presenting the final figures for the past fiscal year 2020/21, which ended on September 30th.
The government in London had tightened the requirements for travelers late last week in response to the worrying findings about the Omikron variant. Accordingly, a PCR test is now mandatory by the end of the second day after arrival in England at the latest. A quarantine obligation applies until a negative result is received. For those arriving from several African countries, there is even a ten-day quarantine in the hotel without exception.
Because of the uncertainties, Easyjet is now only planning a capacity of 65 percent in the first quarter of the current financial year for the 2018/19 financial year, which was not yet affected by Corona. In October, Easyjet announced that it would increase this to 70 percent. This value should now be reached in the second quarter.
Lundgren: There is also an opportunity in the crisis
Nonetheless, Lundgren also sees an opportunity in the crisis: “We are aware of the many uncertainties as we navigate through this winter, but we see a unique opportunity for Easyjet to win customers and steal market share from competitors during this time,” he said Easyjet boss.
Looking ahead to the second half of the financial year, Lundgren again spread optimism. He also assumes that capacities in the coming summer, i.e. the fourth business quarter, will be close to the pre-Corona level.
Easyjet generated a pre-tax loss of around 1.14 billion pounds sterling (1.34 billion euros) in the past financial year – the minus thus fell within the scope of the range promised. In 2019/20 the company reported a pre-tax deficit of £ 835 million.