WhiskeyPapa - there is a reason behind the large increase in loss which should be short-term rather than a long-term problem.
Just before crude oil hit its peak of US$147 per barrel, everyone was panicking that crude might hit US$250 or even higher. Easyjet decided to substantially hedge their future fuel needs at the price then available in the market, preferring to avoid the risk of fuel going much higher.
Shortly after EZY completed the fuel hedge, Lehman went bust, people suddenly took the recession seriously, the price of jet fuel plummeted by about 75% and airlines were able to purchase jet fuel at a much lower price. You could think of this as being similiar to someone who bought a house in late 2007 just before the economy went horribly wrong and who now has a big dose of negative equity.
Because EZY are now committed to paying the original higher price for fuel, it has to be recognised in the accounts as a loss, thus making the latest results look a bit cr*p.
No, this is not good for EZY, but this is a one-off accident, rather than a serious multi-year concern for the company.