EasyJet plunges to £1.3 billion loss but boss Johan Lundgren hails Covid-19 vaccine

EasyJet today reported enormous annual losses of £1.27 billion having been grounded or running a skeleton service for all but the summer months due to Covid 19.

Revenues plunged 53% to £3 billion from £6.4 billion a year earlier, sending pre-tax losses to just shy of £1.3 billion against a £430 million profit a year earlier.

On an underlying basis, the loss was slightly better, at £835 million, within the range of £815 million to £845 million the company had forecast.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: 

""While we expect to fly no more than 20% of planned capacity for Q1 2021, maintaining our disciplined approach to cash generative flying over the winter, we retain the flexibility to rapidly ramp up when demand returns. We know our customers want to fly with us and underlying demand is strong, as evidenced by the 900% increase in sales in the days following the lifting of quarantine for the Canary Islands in October.  We responded with agility adding 180,000 seats within 24 hours to harness the demand.  

He hailed the news about the possible imminent vaccine but refused to give any statement on the outlook because conditions remained so volatile.

The company has been hit by huge costs including laying off around a third of its staff and has warned that it was burning £50 million a week of cash during the busier summer months, let alone in the lockdown times of Spring and autumn.