EASYJET says it has suffered an £80million hit from the conflict in Gaza and growing tension across the Middle East.
The low-budget airline axed flights to Israel and Jordan following the Hamas terror attack on October 7.
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It said that £40million had been lost on cancellations as a result of the move.
And the carrier revealed that it was also down £40million due to lost bookings in the region as passengers avoid going to other destinations including Egypt.
It has since reintroduced Tel Aviv flights — but suspended them again until October after Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend.
It comes as the company said it expects to cut its half-year losses from last year.
It predicts a six-month loss of about £340-360million for the period until March — an improvement from £411million in 2022/23.
The business grew total revenues by 22 per cent to £3.27billion in the half year — which helped offset rising plane fuel costs.
The carrier said that so far summer bookings continued to “build well” and it had flown 19.3million passengers in the second quarter — a nine per cent rise.
It has so far sold 70 per cent of its summer package holidays.
Boss Johan Lundgren said: “We are well set up operationally for this summer season where we expect easyJet to be one of the fastest growing major airlines in Europe and take more customers on easyJet holidays than ever before.”
The company’s summer optimism boosted its shares, with a rise during trading yesterday, and those of rivals, including Ryanair and BA owner IAG.
UK’s looking up
CONSUMER confidence has reached a new two-year high as Brits are feeling better about their finances, according to a survey by Deloitte.
Falling inflation is the biggest factor in confidence rising by 6.5 per cent in Deloitte’s latest consumer tracker.
The biggest improvement in confidence was among 25 to 34-year-olds, with the same age group also feeling more confident about their debts.
Celine Fenech at Deloitte said discretionary spending is still falling, suggesting Brits are cautious about splurging.
Well cushioned
SOFT furnishings retailer Dunelm yesterday warned of a “challenging and volatile” market but continued to eke out a rise in sales.
The home furnishings retailer posted a 3 per cent rise in trading to £435million, driven by selling more items rather than higher prices.
Boss Nick Wilkinson said while consumer spending was under pressure Dunelm’s broad range of affordable homewares was popular.
He said that “consumer behaviour continues to be difficult to predict”.
Bingo a big pull
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PEOPLE are flocking back to bingo halls for a night out, leading to a boost in sales at Mecca.
The smoking ban, pandemic lockdowns and Covid restrictions threatened bingo halls.
But owner Rank Group reported sales at venues leapt 12 per cent over the past three months to £37.3million.
Mecca said this was driven by a 5 per cent rise in visits and a 7 per cent increase in spend per visit.
Going for a song
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TROUBLED music royalties group Hipgnosis yesterday agreed to a £1.1billion takeover by US rival Concord.
Hipgnosis owns the back catalogues of Shakira, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Concord has 1.2 million songs including hits by Phil Collins and Cyndi Lauper, after snapping up another firm last year.
Concord is offering £20million extra for investors if Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis quits as an investment adviser.
Coventry in Co-op bank bid
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COVENTRY BUILDING SOCIETY has offered to buy The Co-Operative Bank for £780million after several months of talks.
The bank has been owned by hedge funds since 2017 following a rescue deal that ended its ties to the food retailer.
It had been pushed to the brink by the fallout from the so-called “Crystal Methodist” scandal, when its chairman Paul Flowers was arrested on drug charges.
A deal with Coventry would return it to a mutual ownership structure and mean customers will become members of a building society over time.
The combination would create a lender with a £89billion balance sheet but they will continue to operate their current names and branding while they work on the tie-up.
Coventry said it will not put the takeover to a member vote, following in Nationwide’s controversial refusal to put its Virgin Money deal to a vote.
Delivery six-packs
DELIVEROO will soon be able to deliver customers a six-pack of beers to go with their curry as it plans to let users mix takeaways and grocery orders.
Its data showed customers ordered restaurant food and groceries from its app within minutes of each other.
It came as Deliveroo said that average revenue per order was £27.20 in the first three months of this year, 6 per cent more than last year. Its total UK revenues stood flat at £1billion.
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