August 5 - The airline had expected to operate at just 30% of its normal capacity, but is expanding its schedule to 40% as more people look to escape lockdown.

 

It restarted flying in June and carried over two million passengers in July.

 

“Returning to the skies again allows us to do what we do best and take our customers on much-needed holidays,” said boss Johan Lundgren.

 

“I am really encouraged that we have seen higher than expected levels of demand with load factor of 84% in July with destinations like Faro and Nice remaining popular with customers.”

 

He said bookings for the remainder of the summer “are performing better than expected” and as a result, it has expanded its schedule over the July-to-September quarter to fly at around 40% of normal capacity.

 

“This increased flying will allow us to connect even more customers to family or friends and to take the breaks they have worked hard for,” he said.

 

He said late summer bookings were performing well, with city destinations such as Amsterdam and Paris also proving popular.

 

The news helped EasyJet’s shares climb around 9% in early trading on Tuesday. However, with the price hovering at around 550p, it is still down almost two-thirds on the 1550p price it stood at in February.

 

Major restructuring

In the three months to the end of June, EasyJet made just £7m after its fleet was grounded from 30 March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

But costs for the three months were £332.1m, some 79% lower than in the same period in 2019.

 

The company has launched a major restructuring programme which includes “rightsizing” the organisation and reducing its workforce by up to 30%.

 

It plans up to 4,500 job cuts and the restructuring includes closing bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle airports.

 

The airline has launched an employee consultation process on the staff reduction and base closing proposals.

 

The company called on the government to temporarily remove Air Passenger Duty to support the recovery of UK aviation.

 

It said aviation had been one of the “worst hit” industries by the pandemic, and government action was needed “across Europe to retain connectivity and a viable airline infrastructure”.

 

“Without this we risk long term damage to the recovery.”

 

It said removing Air Passenger Duty would “significantly quicken” the reintroduction and growth of the number of flights and routes available in the UK, particularly outside London.

 

 

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