Drive demand, conversion and yields across Europe
Seats flown grew by 4.1% to 16.1 million. Passengers carried increased by 4.2% to 14.3 million, and the load factor increased by 0.1 percentage points to 88.7%.Revenue per seat grew as expected by 3.4% on a reported basis to £55.71 per seat or by 1.4% at constant currency despite strong prior year comparators from post-Olympic trading in the UK and a challenging competitive environment. The growth in revenue per seat was driven by careful management of capacity, combined with the performance of allocated seating and the management of fees and charges. Revenue per seat also benefited from longer average sector lengths in the quarter.
Cost per seat excluding fuel increased by 3.0% on a reported basis and by 1.2% on a constant currency basis. This was driven by anticipated increases in charges at regulated airports and by increases in maintenance costs associated with the planned ageing of the fleet and increased proportion of leased aircraft.
easyJet announced a new base in Naples which will be operational from Spring 2014 and the routes which will be flown from its new base in Hamburg.
Continued strong balance sheet with cash and money market deposits of £1.1 billion as at 31 December 2013.
