EasyJet has cut its winter capacity by another 700,000 seats, taking the total reduction to 1.4 million seats.
The airline announced an initial cut of 700,000 seats earlier this summer.
Chief Executive Kenton Jarvis said the airline was scaling back during quieter periods to offset rising fuel costs.
“People are taking capacity out, we see that across all competitors,” he told the FT, adding that was ‘no surprise’ given fuel costs. “I honestly think it’s been quite a surprise for the industry that fuel has stayed as high as it is.”
Other airlines have also trimmed capacity, including Wizz Air which reduced it by 5% for the July-to-December period, blaming fuel price swings and geopolitical uncertainty.
The cuts follow a tough third–quarter for easyJet, in which pre–tax profit fell from £286 million to £85m as fuel costs rose by £105m.
