EasyJet - 4

[Airbourne-Adamski]

Record Profits reported this morning as expected, up 12% on last financial year. Approx £317M.

Share price as of 09:00 this morning

685.00 +32.50(4.98%)

[chaps2011]

Also 8th aircraft for Manchester as predicted many months ago

[bazzab68]

Any more info on the rumoured new base in the uk. Bhx must surely stand a chance after the start of BFS year round. I would not be surprised if this was not the only route to go year round with GVA also rumoured to be following suit. Even if a base is not forthcoming away based from the many Easy bases visiting bhx would suffice for now.

Old Bmibaby routes left unserved that Easy could move in on are PRG and LIS but u can c the old bucket n spade routes being served initially.

[FRatSTN]

Would prefer them to re-open the East Midlands base rather than set-up in Birmingham however with Ryanair, FlyBe, Jet2, Monarch, Thomson and Thomas Cook now all having bases at EMA, I very much doubt that will ever happen now :(

[vulcanised]

easyJet Profit Soars By Over 27% - Yahoo! News UK (http://uk.news.yahoo.com/easyjet-profit-soars-over-27-071045925--finance.html)

[True Blue]

allocated seating is excellent

TB

[davidjohnson6]

To counter TrueBlue, I don't like allocated seating

When flying with hand luggage only and in a reasonable level of fitness, being one of the first to disembark means one can run ahead to immigration where there is usually little or no queue by virtue of all other easyjet passengers dawdling through airport corridors, flash one's EU passport before being waved through, and leave the airport terminal quickly, jumping on a bus / train / taxi to the town

Previously I could almost always turn up late at the gate without having to spend 30 mins standing in the boarding queue, and still get a seat fairly near the front of the aircraft. Now I have to pay extra for that.

[paully]

Having been one of their last` speedyboarders` on last weeks flight I`m delighted to see the introduction of allocated seating and the end of pushing, shoving and queue jumping. Jet2 have always done it and look how they have prospered. Must be that most people like it :D

[airadio]

Easy prospered without it till now watch fares increase in a few months :E

[EI-BUD]

As a speedy boarding plus cardholder, the benefit that I see will be the more civilised approach to boarding that will happen once people get used to pre assigned seats, but easyJet estimate that this scheme will yield £85Million per year in revenue, so there is a clear case for it, and all trials proved that it has no impact on turn... For the record, while I can see the benefits, being a speedy boarder I dont feel the benefits will particularly be of benefit to speedy boarding plus card holders! Questionable if I would renew it next year.

EI-BUD

[fa2fi]

Plus card holders get to choose any available seat on the aircraft including the premium position seats. You still board first and get first choice of baggage space and a dedicated check in area.

I think the Plus card is better value now. Yes you are not guaranteed your favourite seat as someone else may have booked it already. But with speedy boarding you weren't guaranteed it either as someone may have shoved their way ahead of you or maybe you weren't at the gate for when boarding starts.

I checked a full flight today on a very busy route today and there were still front row and exit seats as well as up front seats available for selection.

[FR-]

The routes which were in the trial actualy saw an increase in the sale of plus cards. And the price has also been going up for the plus card now £149.00

fr-

[occasional]

Could someone explain how the seat allocation works ?

Does it pre-allocate each passenger an individual seat, or is a particular seat allocated on a first come,first served basis ?

Does one need to choose a seat for a return flight when checkng in for the outbound flight ?

[ben_keghead]

Seats can be Pre booked by the passenger. Failure to do that results in the system allocating a seat when the boarding card is issued, either online or the check in desk. So yes it is first come first served in a way

[Airbourne-Adamski]

At booking you can pre select your seat or seats if a group booking at a cost, cost depends on location you choose in the cabin.
If you do not pre book at check in you will be allocated a seat, if you have made a booking and have not pre selected your seat and have other people ie your family under your booking you will get allocated seats together at check in as long as your party is booked under one name.

[TSR2]

if you have made a booking and have not pre selected your seat and have other people ie your family under your booking you will get allocated seats together at check in as long as your party is booked under one name.

Not necessarily. It will depend on the number of seats already pre-selected.

[Ramper1]

[B]you will [B] get seats allocated at check in as the system dies not allow people to leave middle seat empty if travelling alone. And most of the ore paid seats are upfront ones anyway. Very few paid seats are the £3 seats.

[occasional]

What I am trying to discover is the approximate algorithm which EJ use when allocating seats, ie do they start at the back or at the front and is it in order of booking, or of check-in,etc.

For example, the last airline I used started at the back, and allocated seats as customers checked-in. This means that the first passengers to check in get lousy seats, which seems a bit unfair and might even put some people off flying at all.

[iggie]

occasional

How did you find out that the last airline you used started at the back and allocated seats as customers checked-in? Not everyone regards seats towards the back as lousy. I don't; I like to see what is going on in the cabin during a flight and a seat towards the back allows me to do that.

I don't think any of us is going to discover what method EZY uses to allocate unpaid for seats; at least not until lots of us have booked lots of flights with unpaid for seats and can perhaps get a feel for how they may be doing it.

[FRatSTN]

Its says during the booking process on the website that reseving seats allows you to be guaranteed to sit with your group and to pick your favourite seats.

It says if you do not choose to reserve a seat, it will be allocated at check-in and will try their very best to sit all of your group together, although not guaranteed. So if you are a family travelling with young or even primary school age children, you are probably best to reserve seats just to be certain.

[racedo]

So if you are a family travelling with young or even primary school age children, you are probably best to reserve seats just to be certain.

Dunno as know some people who will gladly put it to chance and tell SWMBO that its all airlines fault he is at the front and she with the kids at the back. :E

[cornishsimon]

So easyjet are due to announce seasonal NQY - LPL & SEN tomorrow, great news for NQY.

Any chance in seeing some more EZY routes to NQY announced for next year ? EDI would certainly seem the obvious extra route, it's previously been served by BE for the last x years but seems dropped next year.



cs

[occasional]

How did you find out that the last airline you used started at the back and allocated seats as customers checked-in?

Checked in and was offered 31F or equivalent in the last row next to the loo. As I didnt like the seat, I didnt proceed with the check-in and simply went through the check-in procedure at intervals watching how the seats were allocated. Eventually they reached a seat which suited my particular preferences.

I dont think the last row of seats is normally a popular choice (although it may be ideal for some people) so it seemed a little unfair on those who checked-in first.

[EcamSurprise]

Well, if you were to get the last row of a easy 320 you'd actually find yourself with a lot more leg room ... :)

[easyflyer83]

No you wouldn't. The last row is actually quite tight and is the 29" seat pitch which is banded around whilst the rows further forward have considerably more leg room. But many pax still seem to like the row and generally speaking there is an even split between those who prefer the front and who prefer the rear. I prefer the rear.

[EGPFlyer]

Back row on the right has plenty of room. It's the left that's cramped

[ladies and gentlemen]

Yes, last row RHS A320 has got more legroom.

[IB4138]

Just wondered, but are easyJet still "proudly" selling and serving Starbuck's coffee on flights?

[ben_keghead]

Yes they still flog Starbucks Tea (3 types), Coffee (2 types) and Cocoa

[Jack1985]

Don't know if its been noted but easyJet have painted an A319 (G-EZIO) in a UNICEF livery, fair play easyJet! :D Photo Search Results | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=G-EZIO)

[FR-]

fair play to the crew who have raised over £700,000

[Captain_Caveman]

Jack1985

Actually there are two a/c in the UNICEF colour scheme so double the chance to see it !!!

[Seljuk22]

new routes from summer:

new daily FCO-HAM and FCO-CPH from 8th April

4th March MXP-LUX 4 weekly
MXP-LCA 2 weekly, MXP-SSH 3 weekly
(EZY to cancel MXP-OPO, MXP-SKG and MXP-LYS)

LIS-BIO 4 weekly + LIS-VLC 3 weekly

new flights to Newquay from LPL and SEN (each 3 weekly); LPL-NTE 2 weekly

[cornishsimon]

Any chance of NQY getting an EDI flight from EZY now that flybe have dropped the route which seems to carry well in excess of 10,000 per year ?

[mikkie4]

how about NQY-SEN-EDI-NQY or SEN-NQY-EDI-SEN would either of those work?

[Dannyboy39]

Domestic air travel between the main cities are falling significantly let alone from minor airports!

[cornishsimon]

Domestic air travel between the main cities are falling significantly let
alone from minor airports!



Be that as it might be but EZY are starting SEN & LPL - NQY next summer.

Considering the size of the base at EDI I just wondered if a 3 or 4 weekly EDI-NQY could be squeezed into the schedule for that base

[mikkie4]

SEN will soon loose its minor airport(your words) status,over .5 million pax so far this year cant be wrong

[cornishsimon]

I think that the "minor airport" comment was aimed at NQY to be honest with you !

[Dannyboy39]

Both are minor airports. Anything under 2.5 million passengers per annum (ie around 200,000 passengers per month) should be classed as "minor", let alone 500,000!

By that reckoning only Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow GLA, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, East Mids, Belfast BFS, Aberdeen, London City, Leeds/Bradford and Belfast BHD would be classed as major airports.

[GnRdL]

easyJet at ALC Airport:

2005: 1.274.829 pax / 10.047 opx [126,9 pax/opx]
2006: 1.280.318 pax / _9.930 opx [128,9 pax/opx]
2007: 1.377.379 pax / 10.742 opx [128,2 pax/opx]
2008: 1.564.345 pax / 11.666 opx [134,1 pax/opx]
2009: 1.460.046 pax / 10.654 opx [137,0 pax/opx]
2010: 1.337.122 pax / _9.389 opx [142,4 pax/opx]
2011: 1.240.136 pax / _9.021 opx [137,5 pax/opx]
2012: 1.263.429 pax / _8.487 opx [148,9 pax/opx] (Jan-Nov)

Years pass and easyJet is in the same situation at ALC airport that five-six years ago (in terms of passengers). And now without 12 weekly flights to Stansted.

I think easyJet has past his prime in Alicante.

[wowzz]

I think it would be more fair if you were to show the figures for EZY at San Javier as well, to give a true reflection of EZY pax numbers to that part of Spain.
However, I would agree that EZY do seem to be reducing their presence, with the withdrawal of flights from STN, and with BA flying to ALC from LGW in 2013 [at lower prices than EZY], pax number are likely to reduce further.

[davidjohnson6]

Easyjet is a business whose primary aim is to make a profit. Turnover is not the same as profit.
Aircraft cost money and like any airline they must be deployed in the most effective way possible to maximise profit. Passenger numbers are incidental in comparison.
I see an airline that has significantly raised the number of pax per flight (ie load factor) over the years and mamaged to free up aircraft for other in demand routes instead.

Commercial aviation spends far too much time bragging about the biggest network or flett but seems to ignore that elusive concept of return on capital

[Flightrider]

Quote from the footer text on the easyJet.com home page:

Manchester - Moscow, now on sale: "London to Moscow coming soon": Both our 'Manchester to Moscow' and 'Manchester to London' routes are subject to government approval before launch.

I presume this is a mistake and should say "London to Moscow" route rather than MAN-LON?

[EI-BUD]

FCO MXP starting tomorrow I think, up to 5 rotations a day!

[vectisman]

Unless of course Easyjet have decided to pick up the Gatwick-Manchester route. However, I do not believe that such a route requires Government approval, just agreements between the airports and the operator. We shall see.

[aeulad]

easyjet have looked at MAN-LGW. It will not be happening.

[Kinder]

Transaero decided to move both 2x daily flights to LHR from Moscow Domodedovo to Moscow Vnukovo (they moved one rotation already and now announced to move second rotation).

I see "easyJet" is not placing on sale LGW-DME route, but they managed to put MAN-DME fast after announcement.

AFAIK, "easyJet" get permission to operate LON-MOW flights with condition they are going to have codeshare with Transaero (it should be a first easyJet codeshare route and very rare in LCC world).

My doubt is, maybe "easyJet" having problems in managing codeshare with Transaero? Maybe that is the reason of the delay with the start of sales?

[FR-]

Good set of numbers,

Passengers1 4,339,836 4,135,562 +4.9%
Load Factor 2 87.9% 85.6% +2.3%

Rolling year:
Passengers1 59,204,632 +6.7%
Load Factor 2 88.9% +1.4%

News | Interactive Investor (http://www.iii.co.uk/investment/detail?code=cotn:EZJ.L&display=news&it=le)

[Ramper1]

tson easyjet pax figures are down at ALc are that in 2007 they accquired GB airways so had their own flights to ALC and GB's flights to ALC, almost 16 flights per day between LGW and ALC! they the accquired A320 in the following years therefore increasing capacity but reducing flights to compensate. nothing to do with competition etc. Since the announcement by ALC airport that all airlines have to use airbridges and not steps, this made easyjet reduce frequencies until the issue has been rectified.

[easyflyer83]

To be fair, didn't EZY operate its ALC schedule and GB's during 2008?
Airbridges have nothing to do with it I sure.

[pabely]

Easyjet order soon??

[cornishsimon]

Someone reading another forum ?


cs

[wowzz]

What percentage of seats do EZY overbook? [Cornishsimon - thought I'd ask it for you!!]

[cornishsimon]

[Cornishsimon - thought I'd ask it for you!!]



:confused:


cs

[The Flying Cokeman]

easyJet do not overbook flights- unless due to cancelled flights etc

[ezycrew]

Yes they do

[pabely]

cornishsimon - NO.

[Barling Magna]

Airport marketing hype, of course, but satisfying for EZY's new base none the less:

http://www.southendairport.com/news/latest-news/london-southend-airport-rated-highest-in-europe-by-easyjet-s-passengers/

[FRatSTN]

These surveys are always a load of s*** anyway and 26,000 people for travel across Europe is the tiniest slice of a decent sample size.

[Mr A Tis]

I recently made my first return EZY flights under the new allocated seating system.
At bag drop at both airports I was told to board via front steps.
However, both flights operated from a single airbridge.
Boarding is not done by seat rows. So the usual EZY boarding scrum continues.
All the people at the front get on first & it takes ages to board.
I am all for allocated seating, but on a full A320/ A319 why don't they board by seat rows?

On this score, I prefer Monarch, as boarding is by rows & also, people are not sent to the aircraft until it is ready to accept passengers.

[davidjohnson6]

Mr A Tis - the most efficient way of boarding an aircraft is actually a surprisingly complex topic and certainly worthy of its own thread. Boarding people at the back first and front last is not necessarily the most efficient way of getting people into their seats
An introduction can be found here courtesy of the BBC

BBC News - Tests show fastest way to board passenger planes (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14717695)

[Mr A Tis]

With respect that report is cobblers.
There is no way you can split kids up from parents to board window, centre & aisle separately.
A fine example of difference between theory & practice.

I can only speak from experience.
Boarding a Monarch flight is relatively civilised, an EZY flight is a messy scrum;)

[davidjohnson6]

certainly worthy of its own threadMr A Tis - might I suggest adding your comments to the thread mentioned below, or alternatively setting up another thread within Airlines, Airports and Routes, so that all who are interested can contribute rather than just those interested in Easyjet ?

http://www.pprune.org/cabin-crew/365220-boarding-quicker-without-assigned-seating.html

[FRatSTN]

I just prefered the days of Speeding Boarding. Pay a bit extra, to be amongst the first to board and choose your seat there and then. I don't like having to pay extra for a specific seat.

I understand the theory that people will not have that worry of being seperated from their group and/or not sitting in their prefered area of the plane. But I find 2 problems:

- There's nothing I hate more than thinking you'll reserve a window seat and once on the plane realise that your row is actually one of those between 2 windows so you can't see out very well.
- Also, as wind direction depends on which direction you fly out of an airport, I like to be able to choose which side to sit to get the best view, and you can't do that by seat reservation.

I like to be able to think for example, "OK, we're flying out on the westerly direction, so I'll sit on the right so I can see the city/sea/mountains/airport terminal/parked aircraft or whatever, in a seat that actually has its own window, and with Speedy Boarding, you could have that freewill of where you wanted to sit on that flight on that day under those circumstances.

[Larrylaz]

Please tell me you're joking!

[paully]

I`ve just booked FUE flights in April and the pick your seats, extra legroom seats, have worked out cheaper than the `old` speedy boarding. Suits me

[occasional]

Has anyone worked out the details of how the seat allocation functions ?

[FRatSTN]

You can reserves seats when you book your flight/s or if you choose not to, you will be allocated seats at check-in and whilst EasyJet will try their best to sit your group together, it can't be guaranteed.

Unfortunately, in my experince, 27 of us went to Marrakech. The plane was very full and our group were all randomly placed throughout the whole plane where a maximum of 5 or 6 were able to sit together so I would say if travelling in a group larger than that, probably best to reserve although becomes expensive.

[Larrylaz]

I'm not being funny, but a group of 27 is hardly representative!

[lfc84]

the system deliberatley split such a large group :ok:

[FRatSTN]

I'm not being funny, but a group of 27 is hardly representative!

Yes I understand that. It was a trip which I didn't organise but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that generally it seemed that no more than 5 or 6 could sit together so if it were up to me, I'd be unsure whether to pay for anymore than 5 or 6 or just risk it.

[eu01]

generally it seemed that no more than 5 or 6 could sit together so if it were up to me, I'd be unsure whether to pay for anymore than 5 or 6 or just risk it.
In December I've travelled with the group of 12 pax, got entire 2 rows for them. Possibly an early check-in did the trick (one month before the trip).

[FRatSTN]

Possibly. Our group did airport check-in 2 hours before.

[Larrylaz]

Did you honestly think you'd get 27 seats together 2 hours before departure!

[Friendly Dispatcher]

To my knowledge, passengers who haven't pre-selected a seat or checked-in online have a seat assigned to them by a computer algorithm that runs several hours before departure. Their seats are not just assigned by check-in staff when they arrive at the desk. The algorithm attempts to seat passengers in the same booking reference together.

I'm not sure how well it works if it finds a group of 27 pax under a single reference. Whatever logic they have worked into it, it seems to be fairly good at distributing the pax evenly between the three cabin bays onboard. Trying to seat 27 pax immediately together when seats have already been selected by other pax scattered throughout the cabin would be pretty difficult.

[cornishsimon]

Anyone know how advanced sales are going for the two summer NQY routes ?


cs

[occasional]

The way seat allocation at on-line check in works can surely not be so complicated as to be a complete mystery.

By now, somebody on this board must have tried to check in and decided that they did not like the seat they were allocated. Perhaps they could explain what they did next.

[kingston_toon]

Twice now I've left it to around T-6 to check-in online and been allocated an exit row seat. Granted one was a middle seat but once we were fully boarded the aisle remained free so I moved there.

[FRatSTN]

Did you honestly think you'd get 27 seats together 2 hours before departure!

Like I said, I didn't organise the trip so I wasn't sure whether we had reserved seats or not. The point is that 5 or 6 seats together seems to be the maximum you can get based on my experience.

[wowzz]

So Mrs Wowz and I should be OK, sitting together on our next trip, unless 25 of our friends decide to join us.
Personally, I would think that EZY did a favour to every other pax on that flight by making sure that all 27 in a 'group' were well seperated!
No offence!

[Tableview]

I am somewhat disgruntled, having booked a Flexi Fare at a considerable premium over the standard fare to discover that I could not change the route, but only the date. I thought it was possibly me doing something stupid, as I couldn't change the 'From' and 'To' boxes.

Looking for the Ts and Cs I found this :
easyJet Flexi Bookings do not allow route changes (i.e. You are not entitled to change the departure or destination airports of Your original Booking).

Fair enough, I should have done my homework before but I had assumed - foolishly - that it would allow a route change, all I was trying to change was the departure airport.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Try the call centre and see what fee they levy for changing the airport. Will most likely be cheaper than buying a new ticket.

[Drive4it]

Hi all,
Any idea when to expect EZY flights for Winter 2013/14 to be on sale for ACE/LPA (or TFS)

[racedo]

easyJet denies organising whip-round to pay passengers to leave overweight plane - Home News - UK - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/easyjet-denies-organising-whipround-to-pay-passengers-to-leave-overweight-plane-8458078.html)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Mr A Tis]

Surely, the airline knew days in advance the M / F ratio of bookings & the total check bags weight would have been known before boarding.
Therefore why was it left to off load people from the aircraft. £100 each is a bit paltry for such a failure.

[FR-]

If easyJet knew in advance do you not think the ground staff would of not let a few people check in, or stop pax at the gate? Plus people often check-in bags that are over weight. Personally I would of had a few hold bags offloaded and flown on the next flight and taxi them to pax.

One thing easyJet doesn't do is lie to its pax, you might want to look at other airlines for that.

fr-

[FRatSTN]

One thing easyJet doesn't do is lie to its pax, you might want to look at other airlines for that.

You're joking aren't you!? They always promote Southend and say how great all the growth is, and makes people think that EasyJet are really adding capacity where what they don't tell you is that all the aircraft and crew at Southend have just moved down the road from Stansted. When easyJet opened the Southend base. They said that Stansted would not lose capcity when in the first summer, it lost more flights than Southend gained!

EZY have cut STN by a good 30%, a decision thay they may now regret since it's been sold to MAG and not once have EasyJet said anything about it. Ryanair for instance says it how it is. The most truthful outhere. If they cut back at an airport by even 20%, beleive me they will tell you about it!!!

[Falcon666]

Easyjet won't regret that decision,why should they.
Ryanair failed to take the opportunity to expand around London,Easy had the vision and good on them!

[FRatSTN]

Ryanair failed to take the opportunity to expand around London,Easy had the vision and good on them!

And that just proves my point perfectly. EasyJet have you fooled. They have not expanded around London, they have shifted their capacity to cut costs and they may regret the decision if MAG either:

- Lower landing fees and operating costs to airlines & passengers so they can attain higher profits (although I admit price reductions are unlikely any time soon)

- As Stansted returns to growth (no ifs/buts, Stansted WILL grow again), which is exactly the reason why MAG have bought the airport because they see growth potential, their is going to be fierce competition on their Southend routes.

[Falcon666]

FR
I am not fooled in any way.
The only shift in capacity has been from STN to SEN.
LTN has had 16 (?)based units for years,certainly routes have been transferred for business demands but the based units hasnt changed.
Ryanair for reasons known only to them turned down the opportunities that came available at LGW.Easy simply took the opportunity and now have ,what is it 30-40 based units.
They were new units not shifted capacity.
Don't forget Easy have a agreement with SEN for what some ten years.OK could be broken but I am not expecting a quick return of units to STN.

[adfly]

Easy will have over 50 based at Gatwick in the summer!

[FRatSTN]

I'm not saying they will shift aircraft back to Stansted. Personally, I think they should but one person's opinion doesn't go far in the real world. The growth of traffic at Stansted, more so if it's not EasyJet, is still likely to make Southend feel the pinch of competition. I'm not saying EasyJet WILL regret the move, just that they MIGHT do further down the line as Southend's promotion and it's sort of new, quick, modern and friendly advantages begin to wear off and Stansted becomes more competitive.

[racedo]

Easy will have over 50 based at Gatwick in the summer!

Thats 25% of their fleet based at one airport......................

[ReallyAnnoyed]

The company would base 50% of the fleet at LGW if they could get the runway slots for it. It is like a money printing press.

[LGS6753]

Sir Stelios threatens to sell family stake in fresh easyJet row - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9815704/Sir-Stelios-threatens-to-sell-family-stake-in-fresh-easyJet-row.html)

[eu01]

"If they place such an order now I will be looking to dispose of more of my stake before this happens." (Stelios)

A threat? But what actually would happen if he sold his stake? Most likely a significant drop in stock's value, but a transient one, I assume. Am I wrong?

[davidjohnson6]

Stelios is mouthing off. To dump over 25% of a company's shares on the market is a non trivial exercise. By forcing the sale of shares into the market, the price will fall while the market takes a gulp to absorb the shares. Stelios will see a decline on the value of his investment. Within a couple of weeks pension funds and insurers will have all bought up the stock cheaply and the share price will have returned largely to normal. Furthermore Easyjet's board will likely be pleased to see the back of an overbearing shareholder and return to running their business. It is possible that the share price will rise as they will see a board acting in the interests of all shareholders rather than just one.

If Stelios wants to sell, let him go ahead

Shed - no offence taken - always nice when someone has the same sentiment but for slightly different reasoning

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

If a large block of shares in an otherwise valuable company were to be disposed of in a reckless and hasty manner, the party driving the selling would be exposed as the real loser once the dust settles. In reality, a large shareholder looking to dispose of a significant shareholding needs to sell in accordance with a sensible strategy in order to protect their own interests by achieving the highest possible price for the asset. When a shareholding constitutes some 37% of a successful, profitable company with (arguably) bright prospects, it should be relatively straightforward to broker the sale of large blocs of shares directly to institutional investors without trashing the shareprice on the open market.

However, if a large shareholder actually wishes to disrupt the market in a company's shares as part of a larger agenda (to apply pressure on management, for example), then the rapid disposal of a significant bloc of shares into the mainstream market will achieve the desired effect. Whilst this could only be done as a tactic (the shares sold would achieve well below best price for the seller), a 37% shareholder could sustain such losses for quite some time before eating significantly into his core holding. A disgruntled major shareholder could regard the sum forfeited as a consequence of intentional reckless selling as a worthwhile 'price' for making his point.

The above observations are of course generic. In the specific case of EasyJet, we are not party to the motives and objectives of Stelios and his allies (although we may deduce certain patterns from media reports). IMHO, if Stelios and allies were intent on selling out, I believe that there would be sufficient institutional interest to buy him out at or close to the prevailing shareprice. Of course, if the true motive is to remain a major shareholder for the long term, then a programme of tactical disposals (at a cost) may make sense to the selling party in order to exert influence over company policy.

Having followed this story for a very long time, it is difficult to foresee a joyful reconciliation between Stelios and his allies on one side and EasyJet management on the other. If Stelios could be persuaded to sell up (and reinvest the proceeds realised in companies better aligned with his stated investment objectives), this could be the best outcome for all parties concerned. Stelios could invest elsewhere for dividend income; EasyJet management could plan their fleet procurement as they see fit going forward.

PS. davidjohnson6 - My posting was already in composition before your reply appeared on the thread. No intention to tread on your toes here. Regards.

[racedo]

If Stelios and family sell all shareholding to one party Easyjet would be in a takeover situation. Th enew owner of the shares would have to make a bid for all shares.

Interesting scenario.

Based on last published accounts 4 shareholders control over 50% of the shares.
Easygroup holdings 26.07
Polys Haji-Ioannou 11.11
Prudential 6.24
Standard Life 7.36
(Standard Life have acquired up to another 1% since then)

Even if he didn't sell then all it would need is one Institution to stop supporting management for a substantial Board change to occur.

[compton3bravo]

Being a bit of a cynic wondering if Stelios decided to sell some shares because they are at the highest they have ever been. A nice little profit. Surely not?

[Fairdealfrank]

On the other hand, if he wants to ensure that his will always prevails, he needs to be buying shares, until he owns 50%+1.

[davidjohnson6]

Fairdeal - if Stelios wants to go from his family's current 37% stake to 50%, he'll need to find a minimum of £450m. That's ignoring any possible obligations to make an offer for the remaining 50% of shares. Wealthy though Stelios may be, it's a lot of money to find and I doubt a bank or syndicate of banks would be looking to lend him that kind of cash any time soon even if he puts up the shares as collateral

[pabely]

So Stelios wants no new order in a buying climate where delivery slots are pushing further into the future.......re-equip in 2020+ when dozens of airbus would have been scrapped for sold off and an ageing fleet, with that's expence....
I would take the boards side in getting the delivery slots, MOI. At least they are in the chain before multiple Asian carriers order 200+ from A or B.
The big question is buying from whom and what number of seats 70-200?

[Binder]

Yes Compton,

I think he needs the cash for other ventures (fastJet?)

The rest is just the usual hot air. Disruptive 'passenger' now!

Binder

[Sunnyjohn]

I think he needs the cash for other ventures (fastJet?)

Somebody's beaten him to it:

Our Airline - Fastjet (http://www.fastjet.com/tz/our-airline)

[airadio]

Thats his airline and doing well

[Sunnyjohn]

Apologies, but you can see why I was confused:

While originally thought to be competing with easyJet, it was later claimed by The Daily Telegraph that Fastjet is planned to be a transatlantic long-haul airline. It was eventually revealed that Fastjet was a proposed low-cost African airline, and that an agreement had been signed with Rubicon Investments.

(from Wiki)

[airadio]

Never take for granted what wiki says about anything:rolleyes:

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Good numbers for the first quarter of the 2013 financial year: Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/24-01-2012-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[LGS6753]

Looks like a new order is being considered:

easyJet defies Sir Stelios with plan for new aircraft - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9830634/easyJet-defies-Sir-Stelios-with-plan-for-new-aircraft.html)

[OltonPete]

BBC News - The Middle East conflict at 35,000 feet (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21185791)

I suppose some flights are more difficult and others?

Seems easyjet are very accommodating to the needs of some passengers.

Out of interest is TLV in the mix for any Cabin Crew or is there a dedicated team? It certainly sounds an interesting route - well as long as you are not on one of these flights.

Well at least the first problem was sorted by diplomatic persuasion but the second is quite mind-boggling on a 180 seat A320 with not that much space to play with.


Pete

[mad_rich]

Wow. That BBC journo is a shoe-in at the awards ceremony for 'Most Painful Metaphor'.

[ajamieson]

TLV is up there with LOS on the cabin crew sh1tlist. Awful.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Off to a good start in 2013:

Monthly traffic statistics - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/investors/monthly-traffic-statistics/2013/january.aspx?sc_lang=en)

4.0% increase in passengers and 2.4% loadfactor increase to 84.4%

[MANTHRUST]

Good for who?

[ReallyAnnoyed]

The shareholders.

[EcamSurprise]

And the Stakeholders. :ok:

[MANTHRUST]

Wot about the workers?

[mikkie4]

as long as they are doing better than ryanair and that nasty MOL

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Wot about the workers?

A round of applause and, to quote Mr Grace in Are You Being Served, "Well done, you've all done very well." :ok:

[mart901]

oooh my pu**y........sorry I couldn't resist

[FR-]

Many of the workers are shareholders.

[GayFriendly]

Out of interest is TLV in the mix for any Cabin Crew or is there a dedicated team? It certainly sounds an interesting route - well as long as you are not on one of these flights.

When I worked at BA EuroGatwick in the mid 90's as crew we did TLV there and back on a 737, it was top of the 'go sick' duties and I never enjoyed working it, passengers were demanding to say the elast and a 734 was not the right kind of aircraft for the route. There was no dedicated crew, you just got rostered it, with a NAP nightstop the day after as a 'sweetener'. Hats off to the EZY crew who i'm sure also do it as a there and back. Probably followed by another there and back the next day.....

[EI-DAC]

5 daily flights are expected on LIN-FCO route.

Departures from LIN:
06.40
08.40
11.00
19.20
20.40

Announcement on monday feb. 11th.

[CabinCrewe]

Eventually SEN-EDI announced, which was supposed to be one fo the first of the new base at the outset. Can't see it generating new traffic tbh. Which London point will it steal from... ?

[flyOU]

new route begins 19 April (first route to Serbia)

MXP-BEG 357

[BAladdy]

Eventually SEN-EDI announced, which was supposed to be one fo the first of the new base at the outset. Can't see it generating new traffic tbh. Which London point will it steal from... ?
I think EZY will attract leisure pax to the route. However I think they will find it hard to attract the higher revenue business traveler due to it being a early afternoon departure and there only being 6 flights a week. It would have made more sense to launch the route with a 2 x daily frequency similar to that operated to BFS.

[Barling Magna]

Agreed. There should be some traffic from Royal Bank of Scotland whose office complex is located at the foot of SEN's extended runway, but once a day is no use for them.....

[FRatSTN]

SEN-BFS has been reduced to just once a day so that's now little use to business travellers whilst the JER service has had some time changes to fit in the new EDI route.

The NQY route replaced some BFS and AMS services also. I'm getting the impression that business trvaellers are not choosing Southend!

[GAZMO]

BFS to SEN is only once daily on Tues and Wed and double daily ex sat
Probably due to a quiet time of year, February
Would be greater pax numbers if the flight originated from BFS. It's probably difficult to get to SEN for the early morning departure if you are in central London, LGW much easier
Have to admit I do like SEN especially if travelling to East London

[Barling Magna]

It's getting increasingly difficult to distinguish between business and leisure travellers these days, but if suits are anything to go by there seem to be plenty of them passing through SEN's terminals on the Irish flights.

[EI-BUD]

It seems that when you search for flights to or from London(All Airports) on easyJet, it doesnt give Southend, even though easyJet has it classed as a London airport.

This has not always been the case, and I would say it is some sort of glitch, and doesn't help SEN to promote its services.

Take for e.g. BFS which is being cut down to daily on most days doesnt get represented when the budget traveller searches for London (All airports), as the SEN option wont come up and quite likely people who dont know of it, wont check it separately.

Be good if this was sorted out.

[Expressflight]

EI-BUD

It's a glitch which arose when the SEN-EDI was pre-loaded onto the system. For some reason it's going to take a couple of days to restore SEN flights to the 'London (all airports)' listings.

I do agree that it seems a little odd to operate both SEN-EDI and SEN-BFS as only once daily. I would have thought a double daily EDI would be better, otherwise perhaps you get the worst of both worlds, although I do think the EDI service will be well supported even at once daily.

[FRatSTN]

I think Southend is going to always be a leisure airport with mainly seasonal summer sun, winter ski and popular city break destinations serving the local area of Essex, Suffolk, Kent and East London.

It's getting increasingly difficult to distinguish between business and leisure travellers these days, but if suits are anything to go by there seem to be plenty of them passing through SEN's terminals on the Irish flights.

I assume most of the people in suits are on the Aer Lingus service to Dublin, where there are onward connections to the US? Remember also that suits is not solely related to business travel. People could be travelling for all sorts of formal occasions.

Just a little background knowlege for those less aware, there are three main types of tourism. Business, Leisure and VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives). There are other types like "Special Interest" and "Dark" tourism (memorials/things relating to death, eg. visiting Auswitch in Poland.) but these do tie into the three main types stated above.

As much as it may be hard to distinguish the different types which I do agree with to an extent, the airlines, like any business have to sterotype to what the typical type of tourist/traveller requires so easyJet's decisions will be based around this.

A 13:30 departure to Edinburgh from an airport 40 miles east of London is clearly not aimed at business travel. Primarliy, business travellers are going to choose the more conveniant Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports for such services where the surface transport to the airport and range of facilities in the airport are generally more of a consideration than the cost. Again, seems stereotypical but that is the business world.

BFS with only one flight a day is also less feasible to a typical business traveller as they generally require a good choice of flights due to them having less flexability in flying times, days of the week etc. but usually need morning outbound services and evening inbound ones.

With other short routes like Jersey and Newquay, unique to Southend in the London area with EasyJet, I think further shows the emphasis on leisure travel, especially since the Newquay route replaced 1 or 2 Amsterdam and Belfast services.

[GAZMO]

SEN to BFS is twice daily. The last evening flight on Tues and Wed from SEN was dropped for the last few weeks, probably due to quiet time of the year.
EZY website now showing twice daily

[FRatSTN]

From around 20th May it only goes once daily except on Tuesdays and Thursdays where it will go twice.

From the middle of June it goes down to one every day.

From 1st October, it's showing only 6 return flights a week with no service on Tuesday's.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm sure the Belfast route didn't reduce to that frequency last year.

[Seljuk22]

5 daily flights are expected on LIN-FCO route.

Departures from LIN:
06.40
08.40
11.00
19.20
20.40

Announcement on monday feb. 11th.

Seems like other routes will be dropped or reduced starting 8th April:
FCO-MAD 1 daily cancelled, FCO-VCE down from 2 to 1 daily, LIN-LGW down from 2 to 1 daily and FCO-MXP down from 5 to 3 daily

Guess FCO-LIN starts on Monday, 8th April


Strong numbers for January:

Passengers: 3,878,640 +4.0%
Load Factor: 84.4% +2.4 pp
Passenger Statistics for January 2013 (http://otp.investis.com/generic/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=2&newsid=312682)

[LGS6753]

Stelios sets sights on easyJet chairman - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9860211/Stelios-sets-sights-on-easyJet-chairman.html)

You might think he was satisfied with a trebling in the value of his stake....

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Why his hatred for all things Airbus ?

[AppleMacster]

Try this:

easyGroup AGM Voting Intentions (http://easy.com/articlepdf/easyGroup%20Holdings%20Ltd%20on%20rake%20AGM%20vote%208feb13 %20final.pdf)

[chaps2011]

He sounds very bitter to me

Chaps

[davidjohnson6]

Bitter, but in the interests of good governance, it would probably be a good thing for easyJet to put out a press release addressing the points Stelios raises, so that other shareholders can consider the 2 viewpoints on their own merits. Those people in PR get paid well, and now is their chance to show they earn their money.

[compton3bravo]

Come on Stelios - easyJet shares at their highest ever, company soon to be in FTSE100, reduced losses for the winter etc. May I ask how Fastjet is doing?
PS. Cannot even come to call the gentleman Sir Michael Rake - just Rake.
Very sad all round I am afraid.

[rogera]

Last week I had a ski-ing holiday in the French Alps. We left on the 0600 flight from Liverpool to Geneva on Saturday 2nd Feb and returned on the 0635 flight on Saturday 9th Feb, one of the 4 daily LPL - GVA flights Easyjet operate on Saturdays at this time of the year. I am impressed by Easyjet - very reasonable charges, on time, clean modern aircraft. I think I will be buying shares in Easjyet !

[ezycrew]

Eastjet shares reached £10 per share today before closing at £9.915

Maybe a good time to Stelios to sell his share and leave the management to manage the company without having to deal with his toys being threw out the pram every other month.

[compton3bravo]

I see easyJet are not very happy about the so-called ´new deal´´ that Gatwick Airport (50 aircraft based) is proposing, complaining about the rise in passenger charges. Now where have I heard that before!

[Seljuk22]

FCO-LIN starts 25th March 2 daily, increasing to 5 daily from 8th April :ok:

[OltonPete]

Monthly traffic statistics - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/investors/monthly-traffic-statistics/2013/february.aspx?sc_lang=en)

easyjet carried 4,112,186 up 3.4% rolling 59,490,203 +7%

Load Factor 90.5% up 2.9%

Per the Ryanair thread it was close on pax alone with FR reporting 4.2 million.

Pete

[davidjohnson6]

I know Easyjet is a well run company and a lot of talented people do their very best to keep aircraft as near full as possible. I do not wish to detract from their achievement and efforts, but a load factor in Europe in February, when the weather is awful and leisure demand to beaches is low, of over 90% sounds suspiciously high and suggests the headline statistic may be hiding some other story. Are things really as good as they seem ?

[Hangar6]

Mmm yes very impressive LF that's right up there at charter company level even FR was much lower despite 80 planes resting is this figure correct? If so then were any planes taken off line ? Just interested

[ReallyAnnoyed]

There are definitely less flights in the winter than in the summer, but that does not change the LF. Doesn't mean the winter is profitable, but the losses will be substantially lower than they have been previous winters, percentage wise.

[racedo]

There are definitely less flights in the winter than in the summer, but that does not change the LF.

Load factor of A319 at 90% is a lot different that Load factor of a A320 and Easyjet has roughly 154 A319 - 56 A320.....

So based on 153 and 183 seating configs and 90% LF then if every plane in air at same time there would be 30,800 Pax...............with an all A320's fleet and 90% it would be 34,600 pax..............a not inconsiderable difference

[BFS BHD]

Looks like a new route or two for BFS for summer! On another aviation website! And increasing from 6 based to 7 based for summer! Anyone on here have any other info on this?

Cheers :)

[EI-BUD]

I know Easyjet is a well run company and a lot of talented people do their
very best to keep aircraft as near full as possible. I do not wish to detract
from their achievement and efforts, but a load factor in Europe in February,
when the weather is awful and leisure demand to beaches is low, of over 90%
sounds suspiciously high and suggests the headline statistic may be hiding some
other story



I travel everywhere with easyJet on staff travel. This has been the most challenging winter to get seats at any time. I think it certainly is a true statistic and not too good to be true.

Take Belfast as an example. They have scaled back some route frequency London overall but more notably some of the Euro routes, couple that with Aer Lingus not being on these routes over winter e.g. ALC, goes from 5/6 a week down to 3, Malaga, similar.

In other markets they had reduced frequency, bmibaby is gone, Spanair is gone, Malev, airline closures, the market has been tighting up, hence easyJet seats more on demand. Also Ryanair reduction in fly programme assisting to some extent I would say in similar markets?

Carolyn has clearly said that staff travel availability would be down, and this is due to the demand they are seeing at the moment.

Furthermore, there is a lot of positivity around about easyJet and their addition of pre assigned seats etc. easyJet's strategy of modest growth and 'low' fares to convenient airports paying off so much so that they will be in FTE 100!!

EI-BUD

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Racedo, loadfactor is loadfactor. It is independant of plane type. It is the percentage of offered seats sold. It is a raw number and any comments about yield and other derivatives is pure speculation.

Furthermore, the ezy specification is 156/180 seats. However, that is still completely irrelevant to loadfactor as LF is still a percentage. You get less passengers moved with 90% LF on a A319 than on a A320, but that is, again, besides the point. Operating costs differ between the two, naturally.

If you want a view over the financial performance of a route/season, you need a lot more than just a loadfactor. Good luck trying to get an airline to give you access to their yield monitoring.

[compton3bravo]

Let us not forget gentlemen that Racedo is our resident Ryanair representative on PPrune although of course he will deny it!

[paully]

Is he the successor to Leo Hairy Camel...for those long enough on here to remember :E

[racedo]

Racedo, loadfactor is loadfactor. It is independant of plane type. It is the percentage of offered seats sold. It is a raw number and any comments about yield and other derivatives is pure speculation.

Furthermore, the ezy specification is 156/180 seats. However, that is still completely irrelevant to loadfactor as LF is still a percentage. You get less passengers moved with 90% LF on a A319 than on a A320, but that is, again, besides the point. Operating costs differ between the two, naturally.


No disagreement but a 90% load factor on a A320 v A319 means flogging another 22 seats on a flight.

An all A320 fleet would require a 12% increase in tickets sold to maintain same load factor.

[racedo]

Let us not forget gentlemen that Racedo is our resident Ryanair representative on PPRuNe although of course he will deny it!

Have always been very clear I am not a rep for anyone on this site.

I have no reason to lie so less of the accusations you can't back up.

[StoneyBridge Radar]

The fact Ryanair has to park up a proportion of its fleet and trim schedules more dramatically than Easy during winter to achieve anything remotely close to Easy's load factor suggest to me that Easy got it right in having a 156 seater than having to struggle filling a fleet wholly made up of 180 seaters.

Just MHO.

edited due fat fingers, poor eye sight and small keypad.

[Jack1985]

Have always been very clear I am not a rep for anyone on this site.

Haha love that comment :}

[PPRuNe Pop]

Gentlemen, cut out the snide. It is NOT interesting and is unneccessary.

PPP

[Ramper1]

I've worked exclusively in the 320 this winter from LGW and I can truthfully say that I have never had less than 176 pax on any flight. They constantly go out oversold with one or two nit taking the flight. So the high load factor is correct. 3 years ago we old take 30 or 40 pax on a flight In jan but not any more!

[WHBM]

They constantly go out oversold with one or two not taking the flight.
Can we ask how Easy handle overbookings ? Experience of the majors doing this but not LCCs procedures. Any asking for volunteers ? What is offered ?

[CabinCrewe]

I was recently told EZY do not overbook from a revenue point of view but only as a result of operational reasons. Compensation is always offered and volunteers requested. If no volunteers and essential offloads required, its last to check in. Seems reasonable.

[Jack1985]

Pardon my ignorance but do easyJet over-book? :O

[johnnychips]

Just the question I wanted to ask too, Jack, but I thought I was being ignorant as well!

[ReallyAnnoyed]

On some routes yes and others not. Generally not on the charter destinations as most people show up, but there is regularly overbookings on business routes. On these routes, it is not uncommen to have 5-10 people not showing up, thus leaving departure airport with quite a few empty seats despite a few overbookings.

[FRatSTN]

I can see the reasoning behind that but is it really worth it?

If 5-10 people don't show up to the airport, they have still paid for their flight so surely any airline would benefit somewhat by having empty seats, because it means less people and bags on the plane which would save fuel, time and money whilst still getting the revenue by the payment of those who didn't turn up.

[davidjohnson6]

By overbooking, for 156 seats on an aircraft, Easyjet can sell tickets to 165 people and gain the extra revenue while knowing it is extremely unlikely 156 people will turn ip at the gate. Yes, that's an extra 400 or 500 pounds per sector just by doing some statistical analysis of previous passenger records. 6 sectors per day across a large fleet comes to seriously big cash per year - well worth the cost of a few statisticians on the payroll and the fairly rare EU261 denied boarding compensation.

[compton3bravo]

I see the company has joined the FTSE100 - haven´t heard any comments from Stelios yet!

[RAT 5]

I was told years ago that 'officially' ez did not overbook. How could a computer put more people on a flight than seats? Someone suggested they might on some routes and not others. I suppose a computer could do that. It might be common for business men commuters to make multiple early bookings on Mondays & Fridays at the lowest pricers and then throw away the unused.However, the excellent policy of allowing you onto an earlier flight, space available, might negate that idea. Sadly, this allowance is only on the return sector of the same booking reference. Why do they have such a good customer convenience idea and then make it restrictive? People often book a single out & then back. This does not allow you to catch an earlier flight.
Overbooking on the business weekend flights is highly lucrative as the few over bookings will be at the highest prices. Statistics will show how real the gamble is and it could be a nice little earner.

[Richard Taylor]

Have to say I find the constant sniping by Stelios rather tedious. EZY seem to be doing just fine without him from what I can see.

[Ramper1]

RAT 5. - in response to your question, it's because people would take the piss! They would book a later flight cause it is cheaper than the earlier flight, and then turn up early to get on the more expensive flight at no extra cost. That's why it's restrictive.

[Capetonian]

easyJet are going to encourage more people to check in online from 30APR by closing the airport check in desks.

No doubt they will come in for the usual barrage of criticism from their detractors but it seems to make sense. Online check in is available from 30 days prior to departure, so it would be difficult for anyone to say that they couldn't access a computer within that period. They are not planning to charge for airport check in, which will still remain for 'exceptional' circumstances.

As long as they increase the number of bagdrop desks to compensate, it should work fine. It seems to me that in the last few years the difference, from a passenger perspective, between check-in, with hold luggage, and bag drop, has become blurred anyway.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

Not all passengers book 30 days in advance, and sit next to the printer ready to pounce and print the relevent boarding passes.

I frequently have my operations book flights off duty for me, at 1 days notice....that our life...... they book from the office, and send me an sms with trip data.... I then run from my trusty steed, to the main terminal...and find no check in, no staff, and a security desk that will not let me pass....or even worse, as it was not my CC that made the booking I am treated like a hijacker.

I can only assume this is progress.

glf

[Capetonian]

Gulfstreamaviator, fair comments, but then your situation is relatively unusual and you would be catered for as 'exceptional'. I usually book within the 30 days and print my boarding pass after finalising the booking.

I hope the idea of closing check in desks is to speed the flow generally - that needs to be done at several of easyJet's departure points - and to free up more staff to assist passengers who, like yourself, have a slightly different situation. It will be interesting to see how it works.

[paully]

Hi Capetonian....hope you are well

Just wondering about this..looking at the age profile of a lot of EZY pax especially in the summer months, many give the impression of being,shall we say, pre computer/printout era, without wishing to be unkind. If there is still one desk open then many of them will make a beeline for it and bring the whole thing to a halt.

Whether bag drops are quicker is a moot point, but seeing as airlines rent their desks by the hour, the bottom line demands that this is the future..

Airports love it, they can take out the check in desks and build more shops :{

[Expressflight]

Paully's point is well made.

On line check in is no problem for me and I prefer it, but a number of older friends like the 'traditional' means of checking in for their flights. This market segment often fly only rarely and are simply unfamiliar/uneasy with using a computer to print out vital documents.

It will no doubt save EZY a few bob but I suspect there will be a fair number of their current customers who will, at the very least, look to see if more user-friendly (in their view) options exist. Retaining the possibility of airport check in for a reasonable additional charge might have been a better decision perhaps.

[Hipennine]

Interesting move on check-in, and flies in the face of what's happened at GVA, where for a couple of years there was self service check-in plus bag drop, and I found it very quick and effective. They have now gone back to a queing maze leading to a large bank of "bag-drops", but on observation recently, are all acting as check-in desks.

[Capetonian]

large bank of "bag-drops", but on observation recently, are all acting as check-in desks.

That's exactly the point I made earlier, that the distinction between check-in and bag-drop has blurred.

As far as Paully's point is concerned, I think that's true to some extent but there comes a time when people have to move with the times, so possibly a phasing-in approach would have been better, or as Expressflight said .....Retaining the possibility of airport check in for a reasonable additional charge might have been a better decision perhaps. Saving money is a very strong motivator for change.

[MerchantVenturer]

Interesting points about the generation thing. Having been born towards the end of World War 2 I suppose I fall into the 'older friends' category.

I'm certainly no technophile - far from it - but around 15 years of Internet use from home (I never encountered computers at first hand when I worked) has enabled me to carry out basic tasks. I know many people in my age group who are equally capable to this limited degree, so the worry that older people in general might find online check-in a problem may not necessarily be the case. If it is, it will be a passing phase as the ensuing generations will have grown up with the technology.

Anyway, don't most leisure travellers (the group that most older people fall into) book their easyJet flights online? If so they must have some computer knowledge or know someone who does it for them, so presumably it won't be a huge leap to print out their boarding passes.

This week my wife and I flew with easyJet from Bristol to Glasgow for a short break before returning. It was the first time we'd been able to pre-book specific seats with this airline - we've been leisure customers of easyJet since the Go days - which is a great improvement over the old 'rush to the steps' game.

Printing our boarding cards at home and using the efficient boarding card automatic readers (I'm not sure that's the correct technical term) at both airports, and with only carry-on bags, meant the procedure was simplicity itself and formalities were therefore much quicker than in the past, though it wasn't the first time we'd printed our own boarding cards.

Perhaps we were exceptionally lucky all round because on the return journey we were airborne at GLA at 2055, had a pleasant flight with a friendly and informative flight deck crew and cabin crew that lasted 51 minutes, and arrived at our house which is nine miles from Bristol Airport at 2225 having retrieved our car from the airport long stay car park.

As one of the older generation I welcome and embrace any technology that improves the passenger experience.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

New route from London Gatwick to Bergen in Norway from end of May. Guess it's a retaliation against Norwegian horning in on easyJet territory in LGW.

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/25-03-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[LAX_LHR]

Delete wrong thread

[Stampe]

Norwegians product is much superior to Easyjets offering.Its the only loco airline I,ve flown with and enjoyed the experience to the point that I,ve been happy to spend money on board with them.I,ve traveled to Scandanavia quite a lot in the course of work in the last 2 years with both airlines and Easy are really going to have to improve their mediocre product to compete with Norwegian and that's not taking into account the free wifi which is a real bonus.Regards Stampe

[few@two]

Undercutting the Norwegian price will prob help.....

[VickersVicount]

Whats so good about Norwegian product ?

[Skipness One Echo]

No issue with losing airport check in unless I need to print my own BP. Will be allowed to use a self service machine to pick that up?

[Stampe]

What's so good about Norwegian, in my experience:-

Modern aircraft bright but not gaudy/tacky interiors roomy.
Free wifi.
Allocated seating no fuss airport experience.
Free entertainment in cabin on drop down screens sure only cartoons and adverts but it adds to the ambiance and colour of the cabin.
Cabin crew well presented in a Scandanavian way,professional not scratch card toting.
Tasteful cabin offering ,beverage and food you don,t feel your being mugged on board,not pushy.
Good website,fare prices Seem reasonable .For me company pays.

To sum up when the company send me Norwegian I,m happy ,Easy I,m definitely not.I,d happily take my family on Norwegian.The Norwegian loco product is the best in Europe at the moment Easy have a long way to improve.
Regards Stampe

[Skipness One Echo]

You actually just wrote you don't think people from Essex or Liverpool are professional and you will fly a foreign carrier to avoid them. Was that really what you meant?

[The African Dude]

I think YOU wrote that... I see nothing above from Stampe of those words.

[LAX_LHR]

I think YOU wrote that... I see nothing above from Stampe of those words.

Stampe has since deleted the comments, as can be seen by the time of the edit after Skipness' post.

I can confirm there was a comment about Essex and Liverpool folk in the original, unedited post.

[The African Dude]

Ah, fair enough. Fell victim to the old edit function.
Sorry Skippy!

Had many great days out with Liverpool/Essex crew, FWIW.

[EcamSurprise]

Winter routes (up to March) are on sale from tomorrow.

[Ramper1]

Well stampe.....I really think you're talking utter bull......t

Easyjet have modern , clean aircraft like Norwegian.

Easyjet have allocated seating....again like Norwegian

Easyjet have a fuss free check in process ....like Norwegian

Easyjet have great cabin crew .....like Norwegian

Easyjet have no wifi....but Norwegians is constantly dropping out and is not in all aircraft

Easyjets catering is worth every penny unlike Norwegian who charges €9 for a sandwich...

Easy jets OTP is better than Norwegians.

Norwegian has very few point to point routes unlike easyjet

So have you actually ever flown easyjet? I think not.

[ScotsSLF]

Easyjet's catering is worth every penny?? Aye right!

[GAZMO]

Any hints at new routes especially from BFS?

[Stampe]

Sadly Ramper my employer occasionally inflict Easyjet on me the last one being Lgw-Cph on 13th February. I returned by Norwegian Hel-Lgw on16th February.My perception and that of my colleagues is that Norwegian have developed a quite exceptional loco offering such that competitors will need to up their game.I avoid loco carriers as much as possible.Norwegian have come as a very pleasant surprise the wifi has always worked well on my flights and entertainment whilst limited brightens the cabin.Maybe not what you want to hear but that's my experience! regards Stampe

[EI-BUD]

I've never heard such rubbish about easyJet being a poor service/ bad experience.

Their on time performance (OTP) is excellent
Modern Fleet
Convenient Airports
Competitive fares
easyJet plus - good benefits with the card
Competitive fares

No they dont have wifi, that for me would appear to be the gap, but lets see how they fair at LGW, Aer Lingus have had rock bottom fares ex LGW and it didnt work. It wont work for Norweigan ex LGW on any routes except the Scandinavian routes where they are well known.

Carolyn McCall has said that easyJet will rigourously defend their patch at LGW and core markets. Welcome Vueling and Norweigan, easyJet will be completely up for the challenge. with some luck this move by DY will put other Scandinavian destinations on the map for easyJet in a market that to date has been a gap...

EI-BUD

[Capetonian]

I agree with Ramper1 on all points except the catering. I don't have a problem with the pricing on EZY's products, but with the quality of the sandwiches and hot snacks. Very poor. Captive audience pricing, I just paid £6.80 for a cider and a packet of chips (Boxsters I think they're called).

On the other hand, it was a packed flight, the CC were helping people stow their hand luggage, we pushed back a few minutes early and arrived on stand 20 minutes early, and as always the entire performance was professional and as good as you can expect when flying economy class.

I am about to have my first experience of Norwegian in a couple of weeks, it will be interesting to compare, I have heard a lot of good reports.

[Zag23]

........but then again EI-BUD, you do work for easyjet.......:ok:

[EI-BUD]

but then again EI-BUD, you do work for easyjet.......http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif


Thanks Zag23, but totally incorrect!!

[Zag23]

hmmmmmmmmmm.............."Apart from based A320, we are getting lots of visits from other bases of A320! Within 2hours this evening there were 2 in and out, one left just ahead of my flight to ALC. "

[Buster the Bear]

And some of their excellent pilots being paid less than a bus driver for the privilage!

[EcamSurprise]

Honestly, whatever plane I am sitting on it is usually a relief after the airport experience!!

[paully]

Well I dont work for or have shares in Easyjet but I love to fly with them. Very customer orientated and excellent to deal with.Ramper is spot on.. Unlike Norweigen, Easyjet actually fly to the sun with an extensive route network and a thankful absence of drop down screens showing cartoons and adverts :ugh:

I reckon Stampe had a bad flight once with them and will always hold these views..

[Capetonian]

No they dont have wifi, that for me would appear to be the gap

Can't we live without internet access for what must be an average block to block time of three hours? Have we really come to that? I do understand that the time spent on an aircraft is 'dead' time but there are books, magazines, newspapers, Kindle thingies, neighbours to chat to, or just having a doze.

Apart from anything else, it's usually quite uncomfortable and awkward to use a laptop on a plane, I know a lot of people have smartphones and I-pads etc but ...... FFS ...... we sleep for 8 hours a day and the world doesn't end because we don't check our email and Pprune through the night!

And now ........
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8NZuzKLDJJstXluaajLzLcKS_qQelQZRIalI_e8j WK8u_z-2_8A&t=1

[EcamSurprise]

I tend to agree.

Unless a interactive system like Emirates could be offered (yeh right..) then the screens are pointless in the aircraft as everyone would just watch their own stuff on iPads etc.

The few airlines that do have these drop down screens show pointless drivel anyway!

I DO fly for the company and so I know a lot of the ins and outs, but I also happen to fly as a passenger with them every weekend and, as I alluded to before, the only bit that bothers and stresses me is the airport experience and some of the staff at the airports.

Once I am on the aircraft I am on the home straight, which I tend to pass away playing angry birds or sleeping...

[TSR2]

Agree with you fully, very well said.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

The half year results are out: http://corporate.easyjet.com/~/media/Files/E/Easyjet-Plc-V2/pdf/investors/results-centre/2013/trading-update-05042013.pdf

The numbers look good to me with a halving of the winter losses to 60-65 M pounds, but the market certainly didn't like it. Shares down by 7%.

Traffic numbers look strong for March as well:

Monthly traffic statistics - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/investors/monthly-traffic-statistics/2013/march.aspx?sc_lang=en)

90.5% load factor and 5.3% increase in passengers carried.

[Espada III]

EZY from TLV to MAN was cancelled yesterday. All passengers put up in 5* hotel in Tel Aviv. Good show Easyjet!

Anyone know the cause of the cancellation?

[Geeooo73]

EZY219 STN-GLA due in GLA at 20:55 now showing ETA 00:55 on FID at GLA but EasyJet website stating ontime. Can anyone shed light to save me hanging around GLA for the next few hours?!

[StainesFS]

Sad to say, eJ are showing an estimated departure time on their website of 23:50.

SFS

[Geeooo73]

SFS - appreciate it, though their website still displays on time when I'm looking at it, couldn't script that!

EDIT - I was looking at mobile site, full site shows delay. Thanks again.

[EcamSurprise]

The aircraft is doing a 4 sector, GLA - AMS, AMS GLA, GLA STN and then STN GLA.

It's pretty much only just left Glasgow enroute to Amsterdam (flying over leeds currently) but if it leaves on its new estimated time, the knock on effect won't see it landing from Stansted until 0110 Local.

[Geeooo73]

Thanks, very thorough. Did it go tech or was it a knock-on from elsewhere?

[EcamSurprise]

Sorry, don't have that information.

I imagine it was a delay due to earlier flights, and this just had a knock on effect through the whole day.

Could be tech, slot, crew, medical reasons.

Estimated arrival in Glasgow is now 0055L, but that could change if further turn arounds delayed.

[Geeooo73]

Only EZY delays in GLA today seem to be this aircraft and it's schedule. Guess we'll never know. On schedule for new eta at 00:55hrs. Thanks again for info.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Does anybody know when the winter schedule will be released for the European bases?

[VickersVicount]

There was an "oil leak" problem on a based A319 the other day on a GLA-BFS, maybe a knock on from that ?

[Jack1985]

Probably not the easiest question to answer but on the topic of easy I'm wondering would anyone know the percentage of flights booked to London through the London (All Airports) selection. I spotted recently Aer Lingus trialled a London (All Airports) selection before removing it although it has since been re-introduced. Whenever I'm flying to London (which I do regularly) I'm always certain as to which airport I'll be flying to but nevertheless there will always be that percentage that do not, anyone able to shed some info? Very much appreciated. :)

[standbykid]

Any Easyjetters know if there will be a LGW-TRN service this summer?

[canberra97]

Standbykid

Would it not be ALOT quicker to check out the easyjet website where you will find that information right away rather then having to WAIT untill someone on here tells you otherwise!!!

[FR-]

Today easyJet marked 60 million pax :ok:

[OntimeexceptACARS]

Today easyJet marked 60 million pax

With what?

[FR-]

Photo shoot outside hanger 89.

[CabinCrewe]

now thats what you call a celebration...

[lfc84]

this article was posted on the corporate website a while ago but is now featured in the current inflight magazine. the picture in the inflight magazine reminded me of a ryanair seat !

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/18-03-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[greatoaks]

http://www.thetravelmagazine.net/I/img_big/09042013111136.jpg

[LAX_LHR]

Have it on good authority that easyjet will start a 2 weekly MAN-LED (St Petersburg) from 26th October 2013.

Geneva and Gatwick to follow once the approvals are given.

[Dct_Mopas]

Regarding the possible LED flights, would that mean another airframe being based at MAN from the autumn? Just not sure if any space is available in the current winter schedule or not.

[LAX_LHR]

As far as im aware there are still plenty of gaps in the winter schedule that could fit the LED flights, but happily stand to be corrected.

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

Who has been messing about with the EZY flight booking software?

Today, as I have done without any problem in the past, I attempted to book MAN-BFS-MAN on behalf of an elderly neighbour who does not have internet access.

The EasyJet website wasn't having it. Even though I treated the booking as a "new customer" the website recognised my e.mail address as having been used for bookings before (for my own travel) and would not allow me to make a booking for someone else. It kept insisting that I book via the "account" which I use for my own travel under a different surname.

QUESTION ONE: What complete halfwit builds a landmine like this into the purchasing process? This totally unnecessary booking step actually blocks the new transaction from progressing at all. [FLYBE say thanks very much, by the way].

QUESTION TWO: Do EasyJet's management and IT programmers live in households from which only one named passenger ever travels? Have you ever heard of customers booking for other members of the family, or for friends? Why build in a booking step to PREVENT them from buying a flight?

QUESTION THREE: Is any reader aware of any other airline which has inserted a diamond-encrusted howler like this into their own booking engine to prevent customers from completing flight purchases?

PLEA TO MS. MCCALL: Please can you pop round to your IT programmers and give them a hefty whack with your handbag. Then tell them to remove this absurd e.mail address recognition software which PREVENTS other customers from the same household from making EasyJet bookings. If not, please can you explain to the shareholders why this superfluous booking step is so important to you that you are happy to block legitimate customers from spending money with your airline? Thanks.

Just KEEP IT SIMPLE please. You are called EASYJET, after all.

[OltonPete]

Another website howler?

BHX-BFS tomorrow night was showing sold out last night so it was a surprise to see it offered for a £5 when I checked tonight!!!!

I went through to seat selection and 150 out of 156 seats taken (no surprise as the NEC is busy this week) and although it looked like it could be £5.00 or £500 on the previous page it was in fact £5.

Naturally I didn't try and complete the booking but I can't believe this is right............easy paying APD as well ;)

I just checked it again and still £5

Thursday night which was showing £189 last night is now sold out so I assume £5 is to put it mildly a glitch.

[GAZMO]

Still showing £5. Maybe some lucky punter will get a bargain

[BHD2BFS]

I see Thursday evening is fully booked, route must be doing well for them, could we see EZY taking over the LBA now LS has dropped it?
If no one picks it up it will be good news for BE
But I find most time EZY go head to head with BE on a route they do very well, maybe they'll try it again

[GAZMO]

It would be nice to see. They have done well on MAN and BHX from BFS as they are big markets. Don't know if LBA is big enough, maybe EMA?

[OltonPete]

BHD2BFS

The easy route BHX-BFS seems to be fitting into a pattern - Every night the flight does fairly well plus both services on a Sunday, Monday morning inbound to BHX is also good as you would expect, so are Tuesdays and Wednesdays if an exhibition is on at the NEC. Friday evening both ways of course are healthy with Thursday, Friday and some Saturdays morning flights light at times although the latter is picking up.

easy have reconised this with Thursday and Friday increased to three daily from winter. Fares on the route do vary with still some bargains to be had on the morning flights.

To think you could have payed a fiver and be sitting next to someone who has paid £189 :ooh:

[horatio_b]

Half-year results(to March 31st 2013) published...

EasyJet boosted by sun-seeking Britons - FT.com (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f6c46cd8-bd2b-11e2-890a-00144feab7de.html)

[FRatSTN]

If looking at how many seats are unavailable to reserve on tomorrow mornings EasyJet flight from Southend to Belfast is an accurate way to see the load factor, then the load is really low!

Shown below is the aircraft type, number of unavailable seats/total number of seats and the load factor for the first EasyJet flight out of the following 4 London airports tomorrow (Thursday 16th May 2013):

GATWICK:.....A319.....87/156.....55.8%

LUTON:.....A319.....103/156.....66.0%

SOUTHEND:.....A319.....49/156.....31.4%

STANSTED:.....A319.....110/156.....70.5%

This is based on the number of seats now unavailable to reserve for these flights. As these flights leave within a matter of hours from now, I'm sure virtually everyone if not all passengers have now checked-in and been allocated a seat. Therefore, we should by now be able to see the total number of people booked to travel on these flights tommorrow morning.

It would seem with Southend's load seeming significantly lower that perhaps the lack of an early morning rail link is damaging loads? If this is how it often looks then there's really no surprise that the frequency was reduced. Compare it to the first departures to Amsterdam though, where Southend seems to come out best!

GATWICK:.....A320.....98/180.....54.4%

LUTON:.....A320.....76/180.....42.2%

SOUTHEND:.....A319.....130/156.....83.3%

STANSTED:.....A319.....109/156.....69.9%

[GAZMO]

For SEN to work properly the plane needs to be based in BFS. As posted many times trying to get to SEN for the 7.15 AM flight from central London is virtually impossible
I appears that pax from NI are using the service but very few London area based pax.
The daily service from later this month will suit NI pax only.
As stated would be better in NI based and flew early in morning to SEN then to European destination with the return flight at noon to BFS.
Peak days from BFS to SEN are good and I have noticed flights fully booked

[PAXboy]

Weight in two forms:

EasyJet tests new fan system to help improve onboard air quality - Business News - Business - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/easyjet-tests-new-fan-system-to-help-improve-onboard-air-quality-8483398.html)

From 2nd July: EasyJet asks passengers to slim down carry-on bags - News & Advice - Travel - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easyjet-asks-passengers-to-slim-down-carryon-bags-8617908.html)

[pabely]

EasyJet hints at CSeries order (http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/EasyJet+hints+CSeries+order/8396899/story.html)

[Buster the Bear]

Expect Sir Stelios to 'blow a gasket'! Not only more new planes, but possibly two different manufacturers!

[FRatSTN]

Since EasyJet will be cutting back at Stansted this winter (again) with no press release or announcement to say why they have reduced traffic by 30% in 2 years, along with the cancellation of such major routes like Alicante, Barcelona and Faro, I emailed them last week to ask them to reconsider some of the cut backs and cancelled routes in recent years. I got a response yesturday and this is what they had to say:

"I am sorry that you are disappointed with the route portfolio from Stansted. Aircraft are expensive assets and we need to ensure that we use them in a way which maximises share holder return. Therefore we have to make some fairly tough decisions about the routes on which we will operate. Just because a flight is full does not necessarily mean that it is profitable as our revenue management system will adjust pricing to fill a flight.

Stansted has also seen a significant increase in charges in recent years which has put added pressure on already weaker yields.
We believe we have a good range and selection of routes from our London market as a whole but do recognise for some that this is not as convenient anymore.

I hope this helps to explain our rationale and do recognise that this is not the solution you are seeking."

Let’s just pick the bones out of this:

"Just because a flight is full does not necessarily mean that it is profitable as our revenue management system will adjust pricing to fill a flight."

That’s true, but they are not challenging the fact that Stansted has high load factors and often full flights. We know from personal experience, passenger numbers and it only takes a quick look at the reserved seating section of the booking system to see that the vast majority of seats are filled.

It seems highly suspicious then why they fly to more expensive airports with similar fares and load factors all across Europe but are growing. The only possible reasons therefore why Stansted would not be making as good a profit would be because:

a) The price for customers is too low (full planes but low yields from each passenger)
b) The operating costs are too high (leads to same outcome, full planes but low yields)
c) The competition is too strong (full planes but competition and price wars leading also to lower fares than needed to make a healthy profit)

All these options closely relate, but option B appears to be their explanation but it comes straight back to point A. If you have high operating costs and lower yields yet your planes are being filled well, then it suggests the price customers are paying is lower than it could be and should be raised to improve yields whilst still operating with high load factors.

There is however strong competition from Ryanair but why would they after so many years of competing just pull the plug and let them win all the Stansted passengers?

After all they are in the same boat. Ryanair is equally unhappy about high costs and have no major advantage over EasyJet on the effected routes, but they have remained loyal to Stansted’s customers by offering more choice of routes rather than less despite cutting back.

“Stansted has also seen a significant increase in charges in recent years which has put added pressure on already weaker yields.”

Which goes back to point B but it seems very odd considering that the largest cut back in EasyJet traffic was actually in 2012 (coincidently when the Southend base opened) and had been no change in Stansted’s charges since 2007. Why did they continue to use Stansted as one of their largest bases up until 2011 if they were so unhappy about prices?

Perhaps it yet again comes down mainly to help promote Southend. People (even within Essex and the London market) who would have chosen Stansted are forced to go to Southend for any availability on routes such as Alicante, Barcelona and Faro with EasyJet.

The local and international media attention that EasyJet going to Southend has bought is a great PR stunt! Rarely is it ever mentioned though that they have actually just shifted capacity further east, further away from much of the existing customer base at Stansted. Some PR that would be, but hey, that’s the truth!

Improved yields at Southend therefore are dependent on not duplicating the same routes or flights from Stansted. On top of that, this damages their more distant customer base and market share of passengers at Stansted and its much larger catchment area, a godsend to Ryanair!

I’ve known people (including myself) who have switched to Ryanair because the convenience of going from Stansted prioritises over flying with EasyJet. They seem to admit this to some extent, but how oblivious are they about how many customers they are losing by this?

“We believe we have a good range and selection of routes from our London market.”

Well then, pretty oblivious it seems! Yes what they say may be true but all things considered, I don’t think Southend is a much better option than Stansted for much of the London market itself. The expression “think outside the box” should quite literally be applied here! What about those outside the London market but still in the catchment of its one or two of its airports?

"for some this is not as convenient anymore."

Oh, well that’s the answer to that! Perhaps they should rephrase to the truth: "for our catchment of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, The Midlands and those in Essex and London who are closer to Stansted, this makes EasyJet a less convenient or unfeasible option, so they instead fly from Stansted with Ryanair". The only people who it’s more convenient for are those in Essex and East London who are closer to Southend Airport.

How many customers do they define as “some”? How many customers do they admit they are losing or maybe in their eyes, making it “not as convenient” for? But most interesting of all, Do they really expect customers to be that loyal and still fly with them now they are “not as convenient anymore”?For many millions of passengers, the convenience of travel (that is heavily based on the origin/destination airport) is more of a consideration than the airline and its fares.

I completely understand that any business has to maximise the potential of its assets and return to share holders however I don’t see this to be the case, or only case should I say.

They may well be currently enjoying better yields at Southend, but it doesn’t look so good when that requires cancelling routes from Stansted or indeed that Ryanair once flew Stansted to Faro once a day, but now flies up to three times a day and also now serve Barcelona-El Prat Airport and with Alicante on sociable flight times and increased frequencies also.

The termination of such well established and popular routes from a major UK airport is not a sustainable approach to cut costs and increase yields. In business, it has to be about sustainability nowadays to remain competitive into the long term future.

Throwing customers away to rival airlines and scaling back/cancelling routes from a major airport to shift them to a more locally based airport with much weaker market share, power and recognition is an unsustainable and a risky long term strategy.

If your attempt to increase yields involves downsizing your catchment area and losing customers to a larger rival like Ryanair (because they can’t get the great yields at Southend without downsizing Stansted) then that is a highly unsustainable way to manage your assets and your target market.

[Falcon666]

FRatSTN

You sound like a man on a mission and as your title states your keen on both STN and Ryanair but now might be the time to let it drop.
Firstly Easyjet did respond to your question , it may not have been the answer you liked or understood , but they did answer which is more than we got from Ryanair who simply ignored us on several occasions .

Everybody would like to fly to their destination from the local airport.
At STN you have far more choice on routes than others around the UK thanks to FR.
Easyjet have a strategy that is working well for them.We used to travel LTN-VIE with them regularly , then they dropped it and moved to Gatwick.
Yes the loads were always good on the flights we were on but they were obviously not good enough and off it went south.
You just end up adapting to the situation.
May I suggest that you will never fully really understand why decisions are made.Easyjet have given you their view, please accept it and move on.
You never know maybe one day they will come back and expand at STN.

[FRatSTN]

At STN you have far more choice on routes than others around the UK thanks to FR.

Precisely the long term issue for EasyJet!

You never know maybe one day they will come back and expand at STN.

And would they then realise that Ryanair have already taken over their capacity and have stuffed up all opportunities of regaining that share of the market they once threw out to them!?

[Skipness One Echo]

There is however strong competition from Ryanair but why would they after so many years of competing just pull the plug and let them win all the Stansted passengers?
The aircraft can be deployed into a less competitive and more profitable airport.
That’s true, but they are not challenging the fact that Stansted has high load factors and often full flights.
Doesn't matter if it could make more money flying from somewhere that's not Ryanair's biggest base, yields are squeezed in a way that say LGW, isn't.
I completely understand that any business has to maximise the potential of its assets and return to share holders however I don’t see this to be the case, or only case should I say.
You'd be wrong, that's business 1-01.

[EZY7117LPL]

it only takes a quick look at the reserved seating section of the booking system to see that the vast majority of seats are filled.



Actually that doesn't give a very good idea at all as it doesn't include anyone who didn't book seats in advance so really just depends on what the people who have booked so far have chosen to do.