Easyjet narrows half-year losses

Low-cost airline Easyjet has reported smaller half-year losses thanks to tighter cost controls and fewer disruptions.

The company lost £112m in the six months to the end of March, compared with a loss of £153m a year earlier. Revenue grew by 16% to £1.47bn.

The airline said it achieved this despite an increase in fuel costs of £87m, due to higher oil prices.

Passenger numbers also grew to 25.2 million, up more than 5% on a year ago.

"The economic environment remains uncertain and the aviation industry faces headwinds such as the recent increase in air passenger duty," said the airline's chief executive, Carolyn McCall.

"However, Easyjet's strategy of low fares and our focus on making it easy for our customers, aligned with tight cost management and strictly managed allocation of capital, ensure that Easyjet is well positioned to deliver good results for shareholders."

Easyjet has been in dispute with its founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, over the airline's expansions plans.

Sir Stelios and his family own 38% of shares in Easyjet, but last year he said he was planning to set up a new airline called Fastjet.