EasyJet has more money in its accounts than before the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the sale of dozens of aircraft, he leases them back.
For the first time in 25-year history, the British airline easyJet is at a loss. The carrier continues with large austerity measures, including the sale of part of the fleet. The company expects the increase in demand for the release to grow sharply. The company significantly strengthens its liquidity by selling aircraft and leasing them again.
This follows from the company’s results published today. Carrier for the entire financial year ending 30 September lost £ 1.25 billion. The number of passengers fell by 50% to 48.1 million. Despite a large reduction in demand, the company maintained a high aircraft occupancy: 87.2%, mainly due to a good winter. In the summer, occupancy reached about 75%. Total sales decreased by 52.5% year-on-year.
The carrier does not yet expect to operate more than 20% of last year’s winter capacity by the end of the calendar year. According to the report for investors, the company focuses mainly on maintaining liquidity and reducing losses over the winter. The airlines had £ 2.3 billion in accounts at the end of September this year, 700 million more than at the beginning of October last year. The company also obtains cash by selling aircraft and then leasing them back: in the last month alone, it has sold 19 Airbus A320neos in this way.
EasyJet’s boss Johan Lundgren said the company retains the flexibility to get back to full operation quickly. “We know that our customers want to fly and demand will be strong. The proof is the increase in the number of tickets sold from Great Britain to the Canary Islands. Within a few days of the free travel option, we sold 900% more,Said Lundgren. EasyJet has increased its capacity by 180,000 seats in 24 hours. “We saw a similar leap last week after the announcement of the impending launch of the coronavirus vaccine,Dodal Lundgren.
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