UK citizens are learning to live with uncertainty surrounding Brexit and making travel plans without worrying too much about the future, according to the head of EasyJet, Britain’s biggest low-cost airline. “If a situation continues for an extended period of time it becomes the new normal,” CEO Johan Lundgren said Thursday. “I think it’s better to have certainty, but the longer the uncertainty goes on, people get used to it. They won’t stop flying or doing business.” Years of preparation mean EasyJet is already operating as if a no-deal split from the EU had happened, he said. It will carry on as usual whatever the outcome of wrangling over whether Britain should crash out on Oct. 31. The bigger concern is how a hard Brexit would impact the economy and jobs, the CEO said, especially with a weaker pound potentially weighing on the spending power of Britons abroad. At the same time, fares are low enough that travel will remain relatively affordable, and governments could provide stimulus if the split hits growth, he said. EasyJet’s multi-base structure means it can easily shift planes and capacity between markets if necessary, he said. Demand has been solid over the summer, aided by a surge in late leisure bookings, albeit against the background of a softer yield or fare environment.<br/>
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Norwegian Air, which seeks to delay bond repayments amid a liquidity crunch, on Thursday posted slightly higher revenue per passenger in August than a year earlier, in line with most forecasts. Its yield rose to 0.46 Norwegian crowns ($0.0514) in August from 0.45 crowns a year earlier, in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll. Europe’s third largest budget carrier on Monday asked bondholders for up to two more years to pay back $380m of outstanding debt in the loss-making airline’s latest attempt to shore up its finances. Norwegian switched this year to prioritise profits over growth, but that goal is being hampered by the global grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft and long-running technical problems with Rolls Royce engines on Boeing Dreamliners. The company’s capacity expansion, as measured by available seat km (ASK), peaked at 51% growth year on year in June 2018 and has since declined. It expanded by 4% in August while analysts in the Reuters poll had forecast a 2.6% increase. “Our growth is slowing down, in line with our strategy, and we are glad to see an increased unit revenue this month compared to the same month last year,” acting CE Geir Karlsen said. “We are also pleased that bookings are looking solid going forward, especially on intercontinental routes and in the Nordics,” he said.<br/>