EasyJet reported a total loss before tax of £236 million for the six months ending March 31. It lost £18 million for the same period the previous year.
The carrier’s headline loss before tax of £212 million includes the estimated impact of the move of Easter into the second half of the year (about £45 million) and a negative net currency impact of £82 million.
Total revenue was up 3.2% to £1.8 billion.
In a conference call with analysts, CEO Carolyn McCall highlighted several “exciting” technology developments, among them the new digital platforms being rolled out across Europe.
“We are completely replacing our digital front-end, whether that be dot-com, mobile or contact center interfaces, as well as the reservations system that sits behind it.
“This will provide a level of personalization and development agility that we believe will be unparalleled in the airline industry.”
EasyJet’s CRM success with highly targeted messages will be extended across all its digital platforms.
McCall said that will enable the carrier not only to improve ancillary attachment rates but to monetize customer volumes as well by selling a broader range of services and increasing the prominence of the most relevant products.
EasyJet has launched a program of integrating new third-party innovations into its popular mobile app.
“We’ve announced indirect investments in FLIO and Lucky Trip, two companies looking at airport experience and travel inspiration, respectively.
“We’ll be integrating their features into our app and website over the next few months, and we are looking to accelerate about five of these each year.”
McCall said the app has been an "amazing" draw for business travelers.
“They can do anything they want with easyJet on the mobile app. Anything.”
On the revenue management side, McCall said easyJet is investing heavily in data science, seeking “a balance between short-term initiatives around managing flights and improving existing algorithms, to more medium-term work, which is about how we use data science to radically reinvent revenue management through artificial intelligence.”