Britain’s easyJet posted a record pretax profit of US$262.5 million for its third quarter, above analysts’ forecasts, on the back of an ongoing rebound in summer travel demand and limited disruption despite ongoing strikes.

Airlines in Europe are set to report strong earnings this quarter as post-pandemic travel demand continues to drive bookings across the continent at similar levels to 2019, with growth projected to continue into the winter.

The airline said it also expected to report record pretax profit for its fourth quarter, the July to September period, as costs per seat flattened with oil prices stabilising.

Ticket yields soared 22 per cent year-on-year.

However easyJet’s CEO Johan Lundgren warned about the potential impact of limited airspace availability and air traffic control strikes in Europe.

“We are absolutely focused on mitigating the impact of the challenging external environment on our customers and flying them on their well-earned holidays,” he said in a statement.

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He said that so far the strikes hadn’t caused major disruptions.

“As we speak on a daily basis the situation is stable so it’s difficult to say what this will be going forward. It’s usually down to delays rather than cancellations across European networks,” he told journalists on a press call.

The ongoing heatwave in Europe hadn’t impacted or deterred travellers from taking their holidays either, he added.

The airline’s optimistic outlook is further driven by robust projections for the winter, with bookings up year-on-year and a capacity increase of more than 15 per cent planned in December.

EasyJet holidays also saw bookings more than double year-on-year for the winter.

“We continue to see good momentum as we move into Q4 where we will be operating over 160,000 flights and expect to deliver another record PBT (profit before tax) performance,” Lundgren said. REUTERS