EASYJET is expected to post a loss for the third consecutive year, despite increasing earnings over the busy summer quarter.

The low-cost carrier said yesterday that losses are expected to be in the range of £170m-£190m for the year ended 30 September as a result of the travel disruption experienced over the last few months.

In a trading update yesterday, Easyjet reported that £75m of losses were due to incremental disruption costs while £64m derived from the effect of exchange rates.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said that the company will nonetheless break even this year, as it booked between £525m and £545m in quarterly earnings during the summer.

In the three months to September, the airline carried 26.3m people aboard its planes, operating at 88 per cent of 2019 levels, while load factor was at 92 per cent.

Despite an uncertain environment, Easyjet said demand for this winter and the coming year was holding up, with early indications for the first quarter of 2023 remaining positive.

Easyjet's performance stands in stark contrast with rival Ryanair, which is expected to grow even with an economic recession.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told Reuters yesterday it was forecasting higher fares for the year ending March due to "surprisingly strong" bookings.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper