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 easyJet – Who are they?
easyJet is a low cost airline founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou in 1995. Based at London Luton Airport, it is one of the largest low-fare airlines in Europe, employing 3,875 employees. easyJet passenger numbers for the year ending 30th September 2007 were reported at 37 million. Sir Stelios and his family remain major shareholders in easyJet PLC, owning approximately 43%. Sir Stelios separately owns easyGroup IP licensing Ltd, the company that owns the “easy” brand and licenses it to the airline royalty free. In November 2005 chief executive Ray Webster stood down after 10 years at the helm and was replaced by current chief executive Andy Harrison. In September, easyjet announced its support for a green tax on air travel to replace the existing air passenger duty (APD). The new 'green tax' will vary depending on distances travelled and types of aircraft.
easyJet Flights – Why are they so cheap?
easyJet’s early marketing strategy was based on 'making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans' and their success paved the way for a boom in cheap flights throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. easyJet are able to offer cheap flights by eliminating unnecessary costs and 'frills' which characterise 'traditional' airlines. This is done in a number of ways, including eliminating free catering on-board, using the internet to reduce distribution costs and offering ticket-less travel. easyJet was one of the first airlines to embrace the Internet when it sold its first seat online in April 1998. Now approximately 95% of all seats are sold over the Internet, making easyJet one of Europe's biggest Internet retailers.
easyJet Flights - Where do they go
easyJet regularly announces a number of new routes in order to expand their operations. Currently, easyJet operates domestic and international scheduled flights on 307 routes between 80 key European cities.
• On 3rd January 2007, easyJet announced three new routes between Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow and Ibiza.
• In February 2007, easyJet announced two new destinations: Brussels and Thessaloniki.
• In July 2007, easyJet announced that it would start services from Birmingham Airport to Geneva and Grenoble.
• In October 2007, a new route from London Stansted and Bristol to Funchal in the Madeira Islands started services.
• In November 2007, easyJet added Sofia as a new route from the UK with flights available from London Gatwick from November 6th.
easyJet - Ryanair Rivalry
easyJet and its Irish rival Ryanair are the largest low cost airlines in Europe, and the rivalry between them is intense - particularly on Ryanair's side via their high profile chief executive Michael O'Leary. Although both companies offer cheap flights, they employ slightly different strategies to achieve their goals. EasyJet flights mainly use leading airports whilst Ryanair uses far more secondary airports, helping to reduce costs. EasyJet is also more focused on catering for business travellers as well as leisure travellers, although all easyJet aircraft have single-class cabins.
easyJet – Acquisitions
In December 2004, EasyJet and Hotelopia, part of First Choice Holidays, launched EasyJetHotels, an accommodation booking service. In 2002 easyJet purchased the London Stansted based Go Fly. In October 2007, it was announced that easyJet is to buy GB Airways. The deal is worth £103.5 million and will be used to expand EasyJet operations at London Gatwick Airport.
easyJet Fleet - The EasyJet fleet consists of the following aircraft
• 107 x Airbus A319-100 (156 passengers)
• 30 x Boeing 737-700 (149 passengers)
easyJet Holidays
EasyJet launched the easyJet Holidays site in June 2007 with the aim of redefining traditional package holidays by enabling customers to combine easyJet flights with some 10,000 hotels across Europe to create their own holiday. At the time easyJet Chief Executive Andy Harrison notably stated that their site would confine traditional European package holidays to the “dustbin of history”.
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