Proactive Investors - Budget airline rivals easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) and Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON:WIZZ) will battle it out next week with updates as investors hope for further good news of the short-haul sector’s booming post pandemic recovery.
First, easyJet will report on its first quarter trading on Wednesday, 24 January, with Wizz then offering up a third-quarter update a day later on January 25.
In recent months, shares in Wizz have underperformed rivals as it is seen as more exposed to being hit by geopolitical tensions and engine issues from a key supplier.
The update from easyJet will offer investors a glimpse of the airline’s progress since a return to pre-tax profit last year following the groundings of the pandemic, having outlined targets of achieving £1 billion in pre-tax profit over the medium term.
This week Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) gave the orange-liveried airline a double upgrade due to expectations of bigger capacity, stable fuel costs and more people going on holiday.
“Growth will be driven by both higher passenger numbers (company targets over 35% year on year and we are at 36%) and increasing ASP (seat prices),” BofA said.
Wizz Air’s update will come less than a week after the airline agreed to pay passengers £1.2 million in compensation, following a reassessment of rejected refunds by regulators.
The carrier will be hoping to divert attention to improved passenger statistics for the winter period though, with October, November and December all bringing year-on-year increases in the number of people carried by the airline.
Wizz has grappled with groundings however, as inspections of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines used on its planes have taken some out of service.
Both airlines have also cited concern over conflict in the Middle East, with next week’s updates set to cover the period since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in early October.
Such concern prompted Wizz to lower full-year income guidance in its interims, with the carrier anticipated the figure to sit between €350 million and €400 million.
According to CitiGroup, engine flying times for both wide and narrow-body jets were down in December, though engine hours for the latter remained above 2019-levels.