Also from today's Scotsman...
easyJet ready to switch base to Scottish airport
Andrew Murray-Watson
EASYJET, the no frills airline, which launched a new route from Edinburgh to Belfast yesterday, said it could create a new base of operations in Scotland if it does not get the landing slots it wants at Paris Orly Airport.
The budget carrier wants 20,000 slots in a bid to expand low-cost air travel in the French market, and has applied to Cohor, the body responsible for the allocation of slots at Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports.
But yesterday, easyJet commercial director Mike Cooper said he rated the airline’s chances of expanding in France as no better than "50-50" and added that should it not get regulatory approval from the French authorities, Scotland was "high in the list of alternatives" for the new mini-hub.
easyJet is looking for a base for five new aircraft, following its ongoing protracted dispute with TBI, the owners of Luton Airport, over landing charges. It is understood that it is no nearer finding a solution than at this time last year and has stated that it will not invest anymore in the airport unless the issue of charges and the upgrading of facilities is promised.
The new mini-hub would create a bonanza of new routes for the recipient airport and create hundreds of new jobs.
Cooper said that market performance would dictate where an alternative base would be sited: "We are very comfortable with the performance of the routes from Scotland to Amsterdam. It is clear that there are sufficient markets outside Luton."
He added: "easyJet has a different business model from its rivals. We want to attract business customers and that means putting more flights on existing routes."
easyJet said its fleet is set to grow from 25 aircraft to 44 by May 2004, and will need proven markets for its enlarged fleet.
The carrier is kick-starting its Edinburgh to Belfast route by giving away 1,000 seats using text messaging.
Customers are asked to text the word "easyJet" to a special hotline number - 07786 40 40 40 - by midnight on 3 September to enter the draw. Winners will receive a pair of free seats from either Glasgow or Edinburgh to Belfast.
"We are convinced of the attraction of low-cost flights from Scotland to Belfast. We want to switch the balance of traffic completely so that next year most people will travel to Belfast by air rather than by sea," Cooper said.
By the start of September easyJet will operate up to 27 daily flights out of Scotland over eight different routes. Across its wider network, it has a total of 35 routes servicing 16 destinations.