EasyJet expects its annual profits to be higher than expected due to increased revenue and strong future demand.

The Luton-based airline announced that its loss before tax for the six months to the end of March was between £405 million and £425 million.

That represents a cut of more than £120 million compared with a year earlier.

Passenger numbers reached 15.6 million during the first three months of the year, up by more than a third from 11.6 million during the same period in 2022.

EasyJet said it expects to outperform market expectations of a profit before tax of £260 million for the year to the end of September.

Passenger revenue per seat in the six months to the end of March was up 42% year on year, driven by rises in fares and the proportion of seats filled on planes.

Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “Demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays has continued to grow in the half, resulting in more than a £120 million improvement in our performance as well as a £1 billion revenue improvement year on year.

“This is further enhanced by our transformed network of popular destinations and improved revenue capability.

“We see continued strong booking momentum into summer as customers prioritise spending on travel and choose airlines like easyJet offering the best value and destination mix, as well as easyJet Holidays which is continuing its steep growth trajectory as the fastest growing holidays company in the UK.

“All of this means easyJet expects to outperform FY23 market expectations.”

Mr Lundgren told reporters that demand for air travel is “stronger than ever” despite the cost-of-living crisis.

This indicates that people are prioritising holidays “even more than they did before”, and it is “the only thing that people say they will maintain their spend on or even increase”, he said.

He added: “It’s driven on the fact that people are really focusing on experiences and doing things rather than investing in things that have to do with perhaps your home or any other things.”

EasyJet has recorded strong demand from UK holidaymakers for traditional beach and leisure destinations such as Alicante, Amsterdam, Faro, Majorca and Malaga.

Mr Lundgren also revealed that average trip durations have fallen to around seven days, down from as long as 12 days in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The travel pattern is coming back to normal and people will take more trips,” he said.