EasyJet summer holiday bookings down on last year amid Iran war uncertainty

easyJet says summer holiday bookings are behind last year as the Iran war reduces consumer confidence and leads passengers to book later. The airline spent an unexpected extra £25m on jet fuel in March after the US and Israel began operations related to Iran. easyJet reports no disruption to fuel supplies and maintains normal visibility over a rolling four-week period. It does not expect to cancel flights this summer despite warnings from Ryanair about potential jet fuel shortages if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. easyJet urges customers to book with confidence, noting late bookings have increased since the conflict began, but overall bookings remain weaker. It hedged 72% of fuel needs for the next six months, temporarily suspending short-term hedging due to higher near-term prices. easyJet also reported a £552m pre-tax loss for the six months to 31 March and raised minimum ticket fares while reviewing discretionary costs.

"easyJet has said its summer holiday bookings are lagging behind last year as the Iran war weights on consumer confidence and has left passengers waiting later to book trips. The carrier said it had to spend an unexpected extra 25m on jet fuel in March after the start of the US and Israel's war on Iran. However, easyJet said it was not experiencing any disruption to fuel supplies, adding that it had its usual visibility of supplies over a rolling four-week period."

"It does not expect to cancel any further flights this summer despite the warning in April by Ryanair's Michael O'Leary that the UK was the most vulnerable country in Europe to potential jet fuel shortages should the strait of Hormuz remain closed. The airline said that customers should book with confidence amid signs that worries over fuel shortages and resulting flight cancellations were discouraging travellers, echoing comments from rivals including Ryanair."

"We continue to see positive late bookings since the conflict began; however, overall bookings for the summer period are behind where they were at this point last year, it said. The company has hedged 72% of its fuel needs for the next six months, covering the busy summer period up to the end of September. However, it has temporarily suspended short-term hedging as a result of elevated near-term fuel prices."

"It came as easyJet reported a 552m pre-tax loss for the six months to 31 March compared with a loss of 394m in the same period a year earlier. The carrier typically makes its money in the second half of the year, which includes the peak summer period. The airline said it had raised its minimum ticket fare in response to higher fuel costs and was actively reviewing all of its discretionary costs."

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