British low-cost airline easyJet expects to be profitable for the full year to end-September in spite of nearly trebling first-half pre-tax losses to GBP130 million pounds (USD$196.2 million).
The carrier said in a Wednesday statement that current lower fuel prices and exchange rates meant it could end the year in the black even though it remains cautious about the economy.
"The loss is what we expected, and was almost entirely driven by fuel costs," CEO Andy Harrison told reporters, adding that the movement of Easter into the airline's second half had also had an impact.
He said the group had sold 41 percent of its seats for the second half to end-September already -- about the same performance as this time last year.
"We have seen some weakness in commuter travel, and journeys to second homes, but this has been more than made up for by an increase in business travelers and some switching from long-haul leisure to short-haul," Harrison said.
He added that there had been "no impact yet" from the swine flu outbreak, although the group flies almost exclusively between European destinations.
EXPANSION BATTLE
Harrison confirmed that the group's long-term plan to increase its number of planes to over 190 by September 2011 from an expected 180 this year remained in place, despite long-running objections from founder and biggest shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
"There were no deferral decisions made in the last quarter," Harrison said.
A spokesman for Stelios countered that he still thought easyJet was flying too many planes.
"The company currently plans to buy too many new aircraft too soon, and the passenger numbers are not keeping up with the aircraft numbers. Stelios continues to advocate that the company should continue to postpone certain deliveries," a spokesman for the entrepreneur said in a statement.
EasyJet passenger volumes for April -- helped by the Easter break -- were up just over 6 percent, while Irish rival Ryanair posted a 12 percent rise.
EasyJet has been dogged for months by boardroom battles and recently said both its chairman and finance director would leave the group.
First-half revenue climbed 15.8 percent to over GBP1 billion, while the group's cash and money market deposits also topped the GBP1 billion mark.
