Full-year earnings growth was still in line with earlier forecasts, it added.

During January, Easyjet and rival Ryanair overtook British Airways in the UK and Europe in terms of the number of customers they carried.

Easyjet also said it welcomed the European Commission's ruling earlier this week that some payments made by an airport to rival Ryanair were illegal.

Passenger numbers at Easyjet climbed to 1.68 million in January from 1.5 million in the same month a year earlier.

The load factor - the proportion of seats filled on its flights - stayed "high and stable" at 77%.

The total number of passengers carried by the company in the 12 months to 31 January was 21.26 million.

Ray Webster, Easyjet's chief executive, said that January's performance was "pleasing" and showed the company was filling its seats satisfactorily.

Commission ruling welcomed

On Tuesday, the European Commission found that Ryanair received illegal incentives to use Charleroi airport, a small Belgian airfield south of Brussels.

The Commission said Ryanair would have to repay a "reasonable" sum, which it implied would be about 4m euros ($5m; �2.7m).

Michael O'Leary, chief executive of the Irish carrier called the decision a "disaster" for consumers, and for low-cost air fares all over Europe.

Easyjet, however, took a more sanguine approach.