LONDON (Reuters] – British airline easyJet said Tuesday that trading had softened in the first quarter of COVID epidemics, including Omicron variants. But it is well positioned to deal with uncertainty during its financial year.

According to the group, it has reduced costs and prioritized the best routes. It said that the year had started well with high demand returning during peak summer holiday periods and an increase in demand for summer bookings.

It has booked more revenue than it did in 2019, which was Oct. 1. The company also increased its fleet plans by 25 aircraft, to better meet customer demand.

Airline passengers have experienced a roller coaster ride in this year’s first half. First Europe, then Britain, reopened for travel. However, there were concerns about how fast the recovery would proceed and the possibility of new COVID epidemics.

Airline shares fell Friday when news broke about Omicron, a coronavirus.

For the year ending September, the headline loss before taxes was 1.14 billion pounds (1.52 billion). The higher end of the forecasts showed that the company’s first-quarter capacity would be approximately 65%.

The company expects that capacity will have returned to near 2019 levels by 2022’s fourth quarter. The company did not offer a comprehensive financial outlook.

($1 = 0.7507 pounds)