Jet2 set to report full year loss before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation of between £378m and £383m

In a trading update, Jet2 said that passenger sectors flown and average load factors in October and November 2021 increased markedly following the dropping of the UK Government traffic light system in early October 2021.

The statement added: "However, the improving conditions were adversely affected in December 2021 and January 2022 as a result of the new Omicron Covid variant and the reimposition of international travel restrictions, both of which served to dampen customer confidence.

"Pleasingly, progressive relaxation of UK travel restrictions in early 2022 - firstly, with the removal of pre-departure tests for vaccinated people travelling to the UK; and subsequently no longer having to take a post-arrival lateral flow test - resulted in bookings increasing materially with average load factors for February and March 2022 approaching seasonal norms as customer confidence in travelling internationally rallied."

"As a result, the board expects to report a group loss before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation for the year of between £378m and £383m. Total cash at 31 March 2022 was £2.23bn with an 'Own Cash' balance - excluding customer advance deposits- of £1.08bn."

Jet2 said its on sale seat capacity for Summer 2022 is approximately 14 per cent higher than Summer 2019 and bookings are encouraging.

The statement said: "Average load factors for the Summer 2022 season are currently 2.5ppts behind Summer 2019 at the same point (against the 14% increase in seat capacity), with booking momentum accelerating, customer confidence continuing to grow and pricing robust, as customers treat themselves to their long anticipated and well-deserved holidays.

"We have worked hard to plan recovery for Summer 2022, investing well ahead of the season to ensure we have adequate resources to operate with our normal levels of customer care.

"We also self-handle at many of our key bases and are therefore not reliant on third parties for these aspects of our operations. Additionally, we are currently 95% hedged for jet fuel for Summer 2022 and approximately 65% hedged for Winter 22/23 in line with our normal policy."

Jet2 recently exercised six of its purchase rights from its recently announced new Airbus A321 aircraft order. The company now has 57 firm orders with the flexibility to extend up to a total of 75 aircraft.

The statement added: "Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are well-recognised national brands with a loyal leisure travel customer following and we confidently believe that opportunities for financially strong, resilient and trusted operators will only increase. With our strong 'Own Cash' balance as at 31 March 2022 of £1.08bn, we are well placed to respond now that the leisure travel market has fully re-opened."

Becky Lane, equity analyst at Jefferies, said that Jet2 is now expecting a loss slightly smaller than predicted by analysts.

Shares in the company increased by 3.4% at the start of trading as a result.