EasyJet to cut a further 600,000-700,000 winter seats as fuel costs stay high

Left · 2EasyJet will remove a further 600,000 to 700,000 seats from its winter flight schedule to save on fuel, chief executive Kenton Jarvis said. 1 2 Left · 2The cut comes on top of about 700,000 seats the airline removed earlier this year, which the Daily Mirror calculates brings the total reduction to between 1.3 million and 1.4 million seats. 1 2 Left · 1The Irish Times, running Financial Times copy, says the latest cut equals about two days' flying; the airline typically offers about 50 million seats over a winter running from October to the end of March. 1

Left · 2Jarvis told the FT that "People are taking capacity out, we see that across all competitors" and called it "no surprise" given fuel costs, adding it had been "quite a surprise for the industry that fuel has stayed as high as it is". 1 2 Left · 2Both outlets report that jet fuel costs roughly doubled after the start of the Iran conflict, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; prices have begun to fall but remain far higher than airlines expected. 1 2 Left · 1Jarvis said European airlines hedge part of their fuel exposure but pay higher prices for the rest, so cutting capacity lets EasyJet use less of the more expensive fuel. 1

Left · 1The Irish Times reports that rival Ryanair said last week it was cancelling some Tuesday, Wednesday and quieter weekend flights, and that its boss Michael O'Leary expects higher fuel costs to last another 18 months and blamed the EU's planned extension of its emissions trading system. 1 Left · 1Iata has warned that rising fuel costs will cost the sector an extra $100 billion this year, and several carriers, including Spirit in the US and AirBaltic in Europe, have gone bankrupt since the conflict began. The European Commission says the emissions-system extension is needed because international agreements have failed to cut emissions effectively. 1 Left · 1An EasyJet spokesperson said the changes are "a tiny proportion of our flying programme", are made in advance and typically target flights with several daily frequencies so customers can easily move to another one. 2

Left · 1The Mirror estimates, from 25 million seats across almost 138,000 flights planned between 19 October and 31 January, that the latest cut equals roughly 3,300 to 3,900 one-way flights and the total roughly 7,200 to 7,700, stressing these are capacity estimates, not confirmed cancellation numbers. 2 Left · 1EasyJet has not published the affected routes, the share involving UK services or how many removed seats were already sold. 2 Left · 1The Mirror explains that under UK261, passengers told of a cancellation 7 to 14 days before departure, or fewer than 7 days, may be owed £220 to £520 unless the replacement flight is close enough in time or EasyJet shows extraordinary circumstances; those notified at least 14 days ahead get no fixed compensation but keep refund and rerouting rights. It says the airline is unlikely to prove extraordinary circumstances here, and AirAdvisor's Anton Radchenko said a general reference to fuel costs would not by itself establish them. 2