EasyJet rides digital and mobile on Brexit currency pressure

EasyJet will focus on digital and new technology to cut costs and increase revenue after its results received a Brexit-sized pounding.

The budget airline on Tuesday reported a 27 per cent fall in profits to £495m from revenue that dropped 0.4 per cent to £4.67bn for the year to September 30.

That was despite record passenger numbers up 6.6 per cent to 73.1 million for the year. The falling pound saw EasyJet’s fuel costs increase by 2.6 per cent.

EasyJet reckoned a “reinvigorated lean cost program” in a range of corporate and sector-specific areas had delivered savings of £95m with more coming.

Digital and data are one of the firm’s six so-called strategic pillars for delivering what it called “sustainable and disciplined growth”.

EasyJet said it would be “leveraging data and easyJet’s digital platforms” and its CRM to build customer loyalty and drive revenue growth.

The firm reckoned 74 per cent of seats booked during the last year were made by returning customers, with an easyJet focus on loyalty programmes.

Booking on mobile is integral to customer loyalty, with 20 per cent of bookings made on smartphones, helped by introduction of ApplePay, and with use of mobile boarding passes growing 63 per cent.

The airline has also announced a five-year deal with year-old startup accelerator and incubator Founders Factory that EasyJet said would “put disruptive thinking” at the centre of its digital strategy.

A new online presence is planned for rollout in the second quarter of next year, which will feature a promised new search and low-cost flight finder. ®