EASYJET has said the outlook for the budget airline is good in Scotland in spite of uncertainties in the market as the company underlined its confidence that it could cope with a no-deal Brexit if necessary.
After posting a 41 per cent increase in annual profits, easyJet said UK consumer demand remains strong with bookings for next summer ahead of 2018.
The head of easyJet’s UK business, Ali Gayward, said the Scottish operations have been making a significant contribution to its success. Total passenger volumes increased by six per cent in the year to September 30, to 7.2 million, from 6.8m in the preceding period.
easyJet operates 62 routes serving Scottish airports and has bases in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“ Business remains strong and demand remains there even with other uncertainties,” said Ms Gayward of the outlook for the current year in Scotland.
Based on current trends she expects easyJet to enjoy another good year in Scotland. It has been achieving load factors above the target for the year, which is 90.5% to 91%.
She added: “For this winter (bookings) we’re one or two percentage points ahead of where we were for the same period last year and for the summer pretty much in line with where we were last year.”
The company’s experience suggests that consumers in Scotland remain happy to maintain spending on overseas travel amid the fall in the pound since the Brexit vote and concerns about what the UK’s departure from the European Union in March could mean for the economy.
Ms Gayward noted: “Some of the most popular markets remain places like Malaga, Alicante, Faro, Parma and Geneva for skiing. We’ve also got very popular city destinations, places like Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris.”
She said easyJet is considering introducing more routes from Scotland. It has been very pleased with the response to recent launches, including services linking Glasgow with Marseilles and Edinburgh with Seville.
These have benefited from strong interest in inbound services that bring tourists and business travellers to Scotland.
Advance bookings for the Edinburgh Sofia service that starts next month have been very encouraging.
The domestic services which account for around half of the Scottish business are also doing well.
The Aberdeen market remains tougher with the fallout from the slump in the crude price since summer 2014 still posing challenges.
Load factors rose to 90.7% in Scotland in the latest year from 90% last time.
The group carried a record 88.5 million customers in the year to September, up 10.2 per cent on the preceding period, after capitalising on the problems suffered by rivals.
It acquired Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin Tegel airport for €40m in December after the airline collapsed.
Profits rose to £578m before tax, from £408m, in spite of the cost burden imposed by increased fuel prices and disruption caused by strikes in Italy and France over the summer.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said easyJet had spent two years preparing for Brexit and had considered deal and no deal scenarios.
“Both the EU and the UK have said that their objective is to maintain flights between the EU and the UK, whatever the Brexit outcome,” said the company. “This gives easyJet confidence that flying rights will be maintained. It is working with EU institutions, EU member states and the UK to ensure this is achieved.”
The group’s Vienna-based easyJet Europe arm can operate flights across the EU.
easyJet group’s revenues rose to £5.9 billion, from £5.05bn and its load factor to 92.9% from 92.6%.
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