UK Airline Monarch sees earnings flat in 2017 as competition bites

Monarch expects broadly flat earnings for 2017, with pressure on fares offsetting growing demand for tickets. Monarch, whose finances deteriorated this year after security concerns deterred travel to some destinations, is grappling with falling fares as rivals such as Ryanair and EasyJet put more seats onto the market to try to gain market share. During 2016, Monarch warned the decline in demand for flights and holidays to Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, and the devaluation of the pound after Britain's vote to leave the EU, had made market conditions difficult. It secured a GBP165m lifeline from majority shareholder Greybull Capital in October, and said Friday it expected EBITDA of GBP48m for the 12-months ended Oct 31, 2016, down more than a third from the year before. <br/>