Low-cost airline easyJet has said the fall in oil prices could knock as much as €2.70 off its average fare this year.
The Luton-based airline, which flies to seven European destinations from Malta, estimates that the slump in oil prices by more than half since last summer will take between €120 million and €174 million off its annual fuel bill.
A spokesman added that this would be passed on to passengers, taking up to €2.70 off last year’s total revenue per passenger of €84.
It said: “easyJet expects that lower fuel costs will be beneficial for its customers as fares adjust.”
The budget airline also said that first-half seasonal losses would reduce this year as the group has added more seats to successful routes and attracted record business passengers in the first three months of the year to the end of December.
It said it boosted quarterly revenues by €46 million to €1,250 million after adding around 500,000 extra seats from airports where it has a strong presence such as London Gatwick, Geneva and Amsterdam.
The Luton-based airline said passenger numbers rose by 4.1 per cent to 14.9 million during the quarter to December 31.
In November the carrier posted a full-year pre-tax profit up 21.5 per cent to €778 million, its fourth year in a row of record pre-tax profits, as it said it was winning the battle for the skies with both national flag carrier and budget rivals.
Over the past year, Irish rival Ryanair has adopted easyJet’s more customer-friendly approach by softening its stance on baggage charges and booking conditions and introducing a business service.
EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “easyJet has made a good start to the year by continuing to deliver its strategy of making travel easy and affordable for passengers.
“We enjoyed a strong October across the network – particularly on UK leisure flights to beach destinations and on French domestic routes where we continued to build passenger numbers after a busy September.”
She added: “We further strengthened our network in the quarter, adding around 500,000 seats, the majority of which are from airports where easyJet has a number one or number two position.
“This, combined with our new TV ads aimed at business travellers, enabled easyJet to sell record numbers of seats to business travellers in the first quarter.”
The carrier, which flew 65 million passengers last year, said it expects to grow capacity, measured in seats flown, by around 3.5 per cent in the first half of the year, and by around five per cent over the full year.
Brokers expect easyJet to turn in a full-year pre-tax profit up 9.6 per cent to €855 million.