Proactive Investors - Jet2 PLC (LON:JET2) lifted profit guidance for the second time in three months, adding to the optimistic sounds coming out of the aviation industry.
Pre-tax profit for the year to 31 March 2023 is now expected between £387mln-£392mln before currency movements.
In January, the travel and leisure firm told the City it would beat market forecasts at the time of £317mln and come in between £370mln and £385mln.
For the new financial year, Jet2 reported seat capacity for Summer 2023 is currently 7.2% higher than Summer 2022 at 15.26mln seats.
Forward bookings to date remain encouraging, with the mix of package holiday customers representing just over 75% of total departing passengers, which is 5 percentage points higher than Summer 2022 at the same point.
In addition, average load factors for Summer 2023 are currently 0.7 percentage points ahead of Summer 2022.
The company cautioned it continues to face input cost pressures including fuel, carbon taxes, a strengthened US dollar and wage increases, but said pricing for both package holiday and flight-only products remains strong and margins per booked passenger are encouraging.
With over 40% of the Summer 23 season still to sell, Jet2 said it was too early to provide definitive guidance for profit for the coming year, but said it was “pleased with the current position”.