STORY: EasyJet sees a strong summer of travel ahead.

The British airline said Thursday (April 18) there was "positive momentum" going into the key travel season.

And it projects revenue per seat to be well ahead of last year.

Consumers in Europe are continuing to spend on trips despite rising fares.

They're also vacationing despite incomes being squeezed by higher interest rates.

Strong sales would put easyJet on track for further growth, and the update pleased investors.

Shares were up 4% in early trade before falling back.

CEO Johan Lundgren said the carrier was moving into the summer with confidence.

He also believes easyJet can deliver another record summer performance.

However, analysts are concerned about how much longer consumers can keep spending.

There are also worries about Middle East tensions as easyJet cancelled flights to Israel until October on Tuesday (April 16).

For the six months to the end of March, the airline said it expected its pretax loss to come in between $424 million and around $449 million.

That beats a consensus forecast of $486 million.