Interim Management Statement

easyJet PLC
07 February 2008



7th February 2008

                                    EASYJET
                         INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
                     1st October 2007 to 31st December 2007



Highlights:

  • Total revenue per seat grew by 0.5% to £36.98 versus the same period last
    year, driven by strong growth in non-UK originating passengers
  • Full year guidance of an improvement of around 20% in profit before tax on
    the prior year is maintained
  • Debt facilities for $1 billion of aircraft financing secured at favourable
    rates
  • Integration of GB Airways, following completion of the acquisition on the
    31st January2008, now underway


Quarter ending                          Dec 31st 2007           Dec 31st 2006           Change

Passengers (m) 1                               9.1                     8.1                   12.4%
Seats (m)                                     11.3                    10.0                   13.6%
Load factor (%) 2                             80.8                    81.7                 (0.9)pp

Total revenue (£m) 3                           418                     366                   14.1%
Passenger revenue (£m) 3                       361                     331                    9.0%
Ancillary revenue (£m) 3                        57                      35                   61.9%

Including checked bag charge

Total revenue per seat (£)                   36.98                   36.79                    0.5%
Passenger revenue per seat (£)               31.91                   33.24                  (4.0)%
Ancillary revenue per seat (£)                5.06                    3.55                   42.6%

Including checked bag charge

Total revenue per passenger (£)              45.76                   45.05                    1.6%

Average operating aircraft                     131                     114                   15.5%
ASKs (bn)                                     11.1                     9.5                   17.7%
RPKs (bn)                                      9.1                     7.8                   16.7%
Average sector length (km)                     986                     952                    3.6%




Commentary:

Quarter 1 performance

Passenger numbers grew 12.4% in the quarter to 9.1 million. The majority of the
growth was achieved through the successful development of European markets,
particularly Italy, Spain and Switzerland. As a result of the investment in
these regions, total non-UK originating passengers increased significantly, by
22%, in the period. UK originating passenger numbers grew by 5%.

Total revenue per seat grew ahead of expectations, up 0.5% helped by the
strengthening Euro and the introduction of the checked bag charge, which is
reported as part of ancillary revenue.

Passenger revenue per seat (excluding ancillary revenue) declined by 4% versus
the comparative period and continues to be impacted by the doubling of UK Air
Passenger Duty in February 2007. A significant proportion of easyJet's passenger
revenues are Euro denominated and unit revenues have benefited from the
strengthening of the Euro. Passenger revenue trends shown in the table below
have improved.


Passenger revenue per seat         Q3 '07 vs Q3 '06       Q4 '07 vs Q4 '06       Q1 '08 vs Q1 '07

                                          (9.7)%                 (7.0)%                 (4.0)%



Ancillary revenues grew by 61.9% in the period, largely as a result of the
introduction of the £2 checked bag charge from 1st October. This charge was
increased during the quarter to £3.99.

Average load factors for the quarter declined slightly, down 0.9 basis points
versus the same period last year due to specific competitive issues, which are
actively being addressed. Load factors for London-based aircraft were ahead of
last year, with a particularly strong performance at Gatwick, however, as
expected the average load factor on aircraft based at Madrid was below easyJet's
average in the period, reflecting the investment in the development of the
Spanish business. Over the past 12 months, easyJet's load factors at Madrid have
outperformed those of other low cost competitors.



Key developments

During the period, easyJet completed a major aircraft financing program securing
debt facilities for around $1 billion at rates that compare favourably with
existing debt financing, demonstrating that even in current credit market
conditions easyJet is able to receive strong support from the financing
community.

The bilateral facilities build upon existing relationships and create new ones.
They include Alliance & Leicester, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, BNP Paribas,
Commerzbank AG, Fortis, HSH Nordbank, ING, Natixis, SMBC and West LB. The
additional funding will be used to finance approximately 50% of easyJet's
aircraft deliveries over the next three years.

The acquisition of GB Airways was completed on January 31st 2008. As a result
easyJet is now the leading passenger airline operating out of Gatwick and is
offering services from Manchester for the first time.



Outlook

Forward bookings are in line with expectations despite the uncertain
macro-economic environment. Load factors were down slightly in the first quarter
compared to the prior year and it is expected that the second quarter load
factor will be down by a similar amount. Although the load factor for January
2008 declined by 2.9%, forward bookings for February and March show an improving
trend.

Revenue for the second quarter is expected to continue to perform ahead of our
original expectations due to the increase in the checked bag charge and the
strength of the Euro. Additionally, revenue per seat for the second half is
expected to benefit from moving beyond the first year impact of the increased UK
Air Passenger Duty.

Whilst revenues will be ahead of previous guidance, this impact is largely
offset by an increase in costs denominated in Euros, principally airport costs,
navigation and European based crew costs. Additionally, crew costs in the first
half of the year will be ahead of our original expectations. However, these
costs are expected to come back into equilibrium in the second half. There has
been no material change in easyJet's hedging position with respect to jet fuel
for the current financial year.

In the first half of the financial year it is expected that pre tax margins,
excluding the impact of the acquisition of GB Airways will decline by 2 to 3
percentage points, largely due to increased fuel costs.  For the full year
profit guidance remains unchanged with underlying profit before tax expected to
grow by around 20%.

The impact of GB Airways in the first half of the financial year is expected to
be a pre-tax loss of around £7m. This is slightly above normal levels due to the
increase in marketing investment to ensure a strong summer performance. On a
full-year basis the acquisition of GB Airways will be earnings enhancing before
integration costs of around £12m, which will largely be incurred in the first
half of the financial year.



END



For further details please contact easyJet plc:

Investors and analysts:
Rachel Kentleton, Investor Relations                      [phone]

Media:
Toby Nicol, Corporate Communications                      [phone]


Notes:

 1. Represents the number of earned seats flown. Earned seats include seats that
    are flown whether or not the passenger turns up because easyJet is a
    no-refund airline, and once a flight has departed a no-show customer is
    generally not entitled to change flights or seek a refund. Earned seats also
    include seats provided for promotional purposes and to staff for business
    travel.

 2. Represents the number of passengers as a proportion of the number of seats
    available for passengers. No weighting of the load factor is carried out to
    recognise the effect of varying flight (or 'sector') lengths.

 3. Represents statutory revenue (unaudited).




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange