easyJet PLC on Wednesday said it reduced its losses in the first three months of the year ending September 30, despite suffering a £40 million hit from the Hamas-Israel conflict.

The London Luton Airport-based low-cost airline recorded a loss before tax of £126 million between October and December last year, narrowed from £133 million during the same period in 2022.

Meanwhile, revenue jumped 22% to £1.80 billion in the first quarter of financial 2024, from £1.47 billion a year ago, as passenger numbers increased by 14% year-on-year to 19.8 million from 17.5 million.

Load factor was down one percentage point compared to the previous year, at 86%. easyJet flew 23.0 million seats, compared to 20.2 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Looking ahead, the budget airline said it expects to suffer a ‘direct impact of £40 million’ in the six months to the end of March due to the war between Israel and Hamas. However, EasyJet eyes a strong summer period, as the number of seats sold and yield is already ahead year-on-year.

Additionally, the firm said its Holidays arm still expects over 35% of customer growth for the full year.

Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren said: ‘We delivered an improved performance in the quarter, which is testament to the strength of demand for our brand and network. The popularity of easyJet holidays also continues to grow, with 48% more customers in the period.

‘We see positive booking momentum for summer 2024 with travel remaining a priority for consumers. Flight and holidays bookings took off strongly during the traditional busy turn of year sales period, as customers opted to secure their summer holidays to firm favourites like Spain and Portugal alongside destinations further afield like Greece and Turkey.

Shares in easyJet rose 4.6% to 531.70 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

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