EasyJet The budget airline said on Tuesday it earned a record 3.59 billion pounds ($4.5 billion) in the full year to October by charging passengers for additional fees such as extra baggage. Enforcement officials have criticized Spain’s recent fines for the practice.
EasyJet Group, which includes an airline and a holiday package provider, reported on Tuesday that ancillary revenue, which includes extra baggage allowance, seat selection, priority boarding and in-flight meals, rose 22% year-on-year.
In recent years, as competition to offer ultra-low-cost base fares has intensified, many airlines have removed inclusions from flight fares and relied instead on individual add-ons to make more money.
Last week, Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Rights fined five budget airlines – including easyJet, Norwegian, Spain’s Vueling and Ireland’s Ryanair – for things like “charging extra fees for carry-on baggage or Abuse of reserving adjacent seats for accompanying dependents”. EasyJet was fined €29 million.
“We completely disagree with that, we think it’s completely contrary to European law, and European law will take precedence,” easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday. on this point.
“You shouldn’t be targeting products and services for the people who want to use them, that’s a very unfair idea. A third of our customers choose not to buy any assistive devices at all, so they Why care about costing something that others are prepared to pay?
He added: “It’s a good thing for customers and brings down ticket prices.”
The Spanish Airlines Association (ALA), Ryanair, Norwegian and easyJet all criticized the fine last week and said they would challenge it.
Spain’s consumer rights ministry also accused the airlines of charging “disproportionate and abusive” fees when printing tickets and omitting or failing to clarify pricing information on their websites – controversial practices that have become increasingly common in recent years. becoming more and more common.
A hand luggage size measuring machine stands next to the Easyjet Plc check-in area at Stansted Airport, operated by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), in London, England, Wednesday, August 7, 2013.
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easyjet tuesday report Full-year pre-tax profit was 610 million pounds, in line with analysts’ expectations, an annual increase of 34%.
Lundgren told CNBC that results were boosted by record summer results and reduced losses last winter on the back of “quietly strong” demand.
“Consumers across Europe are really prioritizing travel and vacations,” he said.
EasyJet shares were up 2.5% as of 9:13 a.m. in London.
Results lagged rival Ryanair release Half-year profit fell 18% as passenger numbers rose but fares fell. The airline cited pressure on consumer spending, falling online travel agency bookings and repeated delivery delays from U.S. aircraft manufacturers boeing company All of this affects performance.
Ryanair is a major customer of Boeing’s troubled B737-Max aircraft, which has seen long delivery delays forcing several airlines to revise their growth plans.
The two airlines, which specialize in short-haul flights across Europe, have returned to profitability in recent years after enduring a series of headwinds during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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