British airline EasyJet said it was confident ahead of the summer season, when it makes all its profit, helped by strong booking levels, higher ticket prices and the growth of its holidays business.

Europe's major airlines including its biggest, Ryanair plus Lufthansa and British Airways-owner IAG have all pointed to robust summer bookings, showing consumers prioritising travel spend despite incomes being squeezed by inflation.

For the six months to the end of March, EasyJet on Thursday reported a pretax loss of £411 million (€473 million), compared to the forecast it provided in April for a loss of between £405 million and £425 million. The outcome was a 25 per cent improvement on last year.

Ahead of the key summer season, EasyJet noted its operational resilience, suggesting it was ready for the pick-up in travel, unlike last year, when flights across Europe were disrupted by staff shortages and cancellations.

Many European carriers remain wary of potential strikes, however, particularly by air traffic controllers in France.

For the full-year, analysts currently expect EasyJet to post a pretax profit of £345 million according to Refinitiv data. - Reuters

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