Jet2.com has set aside £17 million in anticipation of passenger compensation claims in the wake of the EU ruling over delayed flights.
Making the announcement in its six month statement for the period ending September 30, 2014, the Dart Group, which owns the airline and Jet2holidays said passenger payments may need to be made in “certain circumstances”.
The preparation comes after the airline’s appeal to the Supreme Court as to whether or not a technical fault could be labeled an extraordinary circumstance was rejected.
Despite the one-off payment, chairman Philip Meeson said he is still “optimistic” that current expectations for full-year operating profit will be met.
The results showed that over the summer Jet2.com operated 44 of its own aircraft while the number it leased doubled to 10.
This meant a total of 5.03 million seats flown during the six months with a load factor of 91.8%, a 0.7 percentage point decrease year on year.
Despite the drop, the airline saw an 8% increase in flight-only passengers to 3.07 million from a total number of passengers to 4.6 million.
However, the airline has reported a 1.6% decrease in net ticket yield to £79.99 after early season demand was slower than expected
Meanwhile, Jet2holidays saw a 21% increase in customers to about 770,000 and who accounted for 33% of all passengers on Jet2.com. The average holiday price grew 3% to £593.26.
The figures mean leisure travel revenue grew 16% to £824.1 million, compared to £708.9 million in 2013, while underlying operating profit grew by 10.6% to £87.8 million
Meeson added that advanced leisure travel sales for beyond the period totalled £266.8 million.
The leisure-travel earnings mean that overall the Dart Group increased its revenue by 15% to £902.2 million while underlying operating profit grew by 10% to £89.4 million.
Meeson said: “We have been encouraged by the group’s underlying operating profit growth of 10%, particularly in light of the less than buoyant consumer demand and weak market pricing experienced in the early summer months.
“And, with winter 14/15 leisure travel bookings performing in line with expectations, the board is optimistic that current market expectations for full year operating profit, before adjusting for the exceptional provision of £17 million, will be achieved.
