EasyJet is expanding its hotel portfolio ahead of the launch of a new flight-plus-hotel city breaks option on its airline website later this year.
The group revealed details in its first half-year results for 2026, which outlined a pre-tax loss of £552 million to the end of March 2026, compared to a £394m pre-tax loss last year. The airline said the result was broadly in line with expectations, excluding £25m of unexpected additional fuel costs incurred in March due to the sudden impact of the Middle East conflict.
EasyJet holidays recorded a headline pre-tax profit of £61m and a 30% increase in revenue, with the average selling price up 8% to £623 and customer numbers up 22% to 1.3m. Airline passenger numbers were up 6% year-on-year.
The company said it has so far seen ‘strong late bookings’ for the second half of the year but has ‘been impacted by the Middle East conflict through higher fuel costs and lower forward visibility’.
However, ‘bookings in the month of departure continue to show year‑on‑year strength’, it added.
EasyJet is expanding its hotels portfolio from 8,000 to 13,000 to launch its flight-plus-hotel product in late 2026.
“Later this year, we plan to launch a new flight‑plus‑hotel proposition ahead of the forthcoming winter season. This will allow customers to book city breaks seamlessly within the airline book flow, improving the end‑to‑end customer experience and supporting higher conversion rates. As part of this, we will be expanding our hotel inventory across key European city destinations,” it said.
An easyJet spokesperson told Travel Gossip: “We see that lots of city break customers often search for flights first. This is a way of making it even easier for customers to book. The hotel inventory will increase to around 13,000, providing customers with even more choice.”
CEO Kenton Jarvis said: “Despite conflict in the Middle East creating near‑term uncertainty, easyJet is well placed to manage the current environment, supported by one of the strongest investment‑grade balance sheets in European aviation.
“We delivered a strong operational performance in the first half, with positive demand driving a 90% load factor, up two percentage points vs last year, and further improved customer satisfaction, alongside continued growth in our holidays business.
“The second half of the year is 58% sold, down two percentage points on the same time last year. The third quarter is 79% sold, down one percentage point, but a one percentage point improvement since April trading update, demonstrating a later booking trend. The fourth quarter is 40% sold, down three percentage points on last year, although ticket yield is modestly up.’”
He said easyJet ‘is not seeing any disruption to fuel supply’ adding: “We continue to operate normally and our customers should book with confidence.
“Our strategy is clear – through disciplined growth, accelerated upgauging [boosting seat capacity], and continued expansion of easyJet holidays, we aim to bounce back from this year’s Middle East related setbacks, and then further progress towards our medium-term financial targets and deliver attractive shareholder returns as the operating environment normalises.”
