Britain's easyJet secures revenue boost from faltering rivals

Shares in easyJet soared Tuesday after a quarterly revenue rise showed the British budget airline had benefited as rivals struggled, in the first trading update under new boss Johan Lundgren. The industry was reshaped last year after British holiday carrier Monarch collapsed, Germany’s Air Berlin and Italy’s Alitalia went into administration and Europe’s biggest budget airline Ryanair scrapped flights due to pilot rostering issues. That reduction in capacity has helped easyJet, supporting prices and load factors on its flights. It also swept up part of Air Berlin’s operations at Berlin Tegel airport. The first Tegel flight by easyJet was this month. “Clearly there’s been less competitive pressure on certain routes,” said CE Lundgren, who joined in December, citing Monarch, Ryanair, Air Berlin and Alitalia as factors. “We’re always seeing the impact of what’s happening in the competitive landscape, and it has been to our advantage this time,” he said. Shares in easyJet rose 6.3% after Q1 results, hitting a two-year high. The airline said total revenue increased 14.4% to 1.14b pounds in the quarter ending Dec. 31, helped by lower growth from rivals in its markets and positive foreign exchange effects. Lundgren said it was too early to comment on pricing for the summer, but analysts said the positive trading environment for easyJet was likely to continue.<br/>