SUN-starved Brits are prioritising summer holidays over retail therapy in the cost of living crisis, resulting in a rush of bookings at easyJet.
The budget airline said profits will be better than expected for the second time this year, despite its customers’ constrained household budgets, with many cutting back on shopping instead.
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Industry experts have confirmed there is still pent-up demand for flights after years of travel restrictions and lockdowns.
Holidays over the Easter break were back at pre-pandemic levels, and easyJet is making more money from charging passengers higher fares, along with extra bag and seat fees.
The airline now expects to beat City predictions for £260million of profit this year — a considerable bounceback from its £178million loss last year.
Revenue per plane seat rose by 31 per cent in the three months to the end of March and is expected to rise by a fifth again this summer.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said the increase in fares worked out at “around £12 — that’s a couple of coffees and a snack at the airport”, adding: “It’s not massive compared to other cost increases in society, whether that’s at supermarkets or elsewhere.”
The CEO added that customers were economising with seven-day trips, rather than the ten-day average taken during the pandemic.
More people are also opting for all-inclusive packages, so they can manage their costs.
Mr Lundgren claimed that airports were now “better prepared” for the summer rush.
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Last year’s shortage of baggage handlers and air traffic controllers led to tens of thousands of cancelled flights and caused havoc for holidaymakers.
EasyJet has hired an extra 3,000 people in the last year.
But despite his upbeat report, Mr Lundgren still struck a note of caution, saying there had been a 15 per cent reduction in air space.
This was due to the closure of Russian air space, and limited the number of planes that could be in the sky at any one time.
PRE-PAY CURBS A LETDOWN
ENERGY firms will be banned from installing pre-payment meters in the homes of people aged over 85 or with severe health issues in a crackdown.
But campaigners expressed disappointment that Ofgem’s new code of conduct will still allow instances of force-fitting pre-payment meters, now a temporary suspension on the practice has been lifted.
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Last month an investigation by The Times revealed British Gas debt agents breaking into vulnerable customers’ homes to install pre-pay meters.
It also emerged magistrates were rubber-stamping thousands of meter warrants a day without vulnerability checks.
Ofgem said its new code of practice — which is voluntary — would insist suppliers contact customers ten times before installing a meter and wear body cameras.
Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the rules did “not go far enough”.
SHARES
BARCLAYS up 0.68 to 154.96
BP up 0.70 to 544.50
CENTRICA down 1.40 to 113.10
HSBC down 3.50 to 574.60
LLOYDS up 0.38 to 48.83
M&S up 0.60 to 169.29
NATWEST up 2.10 to 273.40
ROYAL MAIL up 4.60 to 251.40
SAINSBURY’S up 1.30 to 280.30
SHELL up 13 to 2,468
TESCO up 1.3 to 273.40
COAXED BY CO-OP
THE Co-op has become the latest supermarket to extend price cuts for shoppers in its loyalty card scheme.
The mutual, which is owned by its members, is investing £240million in discounts to make its scheme more attractive, such as reducing a £6.45 pizza to £5 for members, while its £4 lunchtime sandwich deal will be £3.50.
It follows boosts to Sainsbury’s Nectar and Tesco Clubcard schemes.
Padding out price
THE late Queen’s top marmalade brand is guilty of the latest “shrinkflation” swizz.
Wilkin & Sons has shrunk jars of Tiptree by a quarter from 454g to 340g — but cut prices by just 7 per cent, from £2.79 to £2.59.
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It means shoppers pay much more for each serving of marmalade — a foodstuff famously beloved of Paddington Bear, who bonded with the Queen over it in a Platinum Jubilee skit.
Shrinkflation is widespread, as companies blame rising costs for price hikes.
Dairy Milk chocolate bars have also recently shrunk.
A Wilkin & Sons spokesman said the increase was due to “pressure on energy and material costs hitting very hard”.
PRIDE AMID FALL
THE boss of e-commerce firm THG said yesterday he has had the “proudest year”, despite losses and a slump in the company’s value.
Matt Moulding faced investors a day after revealing THG had received a takeover approach from private equity firm Apollo.
He refused to comment on the bid, but said the company was the “leanest and fittest it’s been”.
Pre-tax losses almost tripled to £550million, blamed on soaring costs.
Sales rose just 2.7 per cent to £2.2billion.
Shares fell by almost 20 per cent yesterday, after rising 44 per cent on the back of Apollo’s interest.
YOUNGSTERS go through an average of 15 interviews before landing their first job, according to research by Barclays LifeSkills.
And almost a third of the 2,000 polled said they worried they didn’t have enough experience to get hired.
THE number of firms going bust rose by 16 per cent in March to a four-year high.
Insolvency Service figures showed 2,457 companies hit the wall last month, driven by rising costs, tougher borrowing and a weakening economy.
GSK COUGHING UP
PHARMA firm GSK has injected £1.6billion into the takeover of a Canadian rival.
The British company yesterday announced a deal with drug-maker BELLUS Health, which has developed a speciality medicine for persistent coughs.
Bellus says chronic coughs affect 28million people globally.
Its new drug, called camlipixant, is still in late-stage trials.
The deal is GSK’s biggest takeover since it spun off its consumer health division into a new company, Haleon, last year.
The demerger handed GSK £7billion to funnel into research and development, and acquisitions.
