UK airline EasyJet said travel was back and it would to fly 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity in the October to December period, higher than it planned last month.
This comes after Covid-19 restrictions drove losses above €1 billion in 2021.
Demand for holidays to winter sun destinations such as Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Islands showed customer appetite had returned, EasyJet said, adding that business travellers were also booking flights.
"We are encouraged to see positive booking momentum into full-year 2022 which has led us to increase our capacity plans," EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said today.
That outlook represents a turnaround from last year where pandemic uncertainty and travel bans will have pushed easyJet to an expected loss of between £1.135 billion and £1.175 billion for the 12 months ended September, it said.
Consensus sits at the top of that range, with a forecast for a loss of £1.175 billion. The results will be published on November 30.
Seeking to boost its recovery from the pandemic, EasyJet in September launched a surprise £1.2 billion rights issue and also revealed it had rejected an "opportunistic" bid from a suitor, believed to be Wizz Air.
