Fasten your seatbelts, the economic outlook across Europe remains uncertain. That is the warning from Andy Harrison, EasyJet’s chief executive. Yet the low-cost airline is proving more resilient than investors expected. People still take short-haul flights for pleasure. And a growing number of business travellers have forsaken their complimentary gin and tonic: they accounted for almost 25 per cent of passengers in the quarter to December, compensating for fewer holidaymakers. Revenues per seat rose 14 per cent. The airline has gained market share, even if it is unclear how profitable that expansion has been. EasyJet’s shares shot up 12 per cent.

So much for the rear view mirror. Looking ahead, Mr Harrison still expects the airline to be profitable this year – providing relief from the bleak tableau painted by Air France-KLM a day earlier. Europe’s biggest airline warned that it would report a €200m operating loss in its third quarter as freight revenues plummeted and yields on high-living business passengers dwindled. EasyJet has been quicker to cull unprofitable capacity and destinations, while bolstering its presence at primary European airports such as Gatwick, Milan, Paris and Madrid, where it competes with less flexible national carriers. Over half of all passengers now start their flights outside the UK.