The Guvnor
8th Jan 2002, 16:56
From today's Scotsman
[quote]EasyJet expansion will mean more routes
Iain Dey
SCOTLAND is set to be one of the main beneficiaries of no-frills airline easyJet’s decision to buy £2.7 billion worth of new planes.
The Luton-based carrier said the 75-plane deal would lead to an expansion of its Scottish services with both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports picking up new routes once the planes start work.
A spokesman for easyJet said: "There will certainly be further expansion in Scotland. Scottish airports have provided very good routes for us."
He explained that the new planes would see Glasgow and Edinburgh gain new services to Southern Spain, Nice, Geneva and Barcelona.
He added that a Scottish link to Paris is also on the cards if easyJet manages to negotiate flight space at Orly airport .
Although easyJet operates from four Scottish airports, the spokesman said the expansion would centre on Edinburgh and Glasgow.
He said: "Aberdeen and Inverness work very well for us as destination airports going to London, but there is the not the volume of passengers to support new routes."
He added: "We like to launch new services where we know we will be able to fly two or three times a day." EasyJet currently operates shuttle services from both airports to London.
EasyJet is in talks with Boeing and its European rival Airbus about the order, set to be the largest ever from a European budget carrier.
But Boeing is in pole position to win the deal.
The easyJet spokesman said: "We currently operate a Boeing-only fleet. We would need to be very sure that it was cheaper for us to switch to a fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes before we would consider it."
There will be expansion. Scottish airports have provided very good routes for us
He said huge savings can be made by sticking to one supplier, as replacement parts can be bought in bulk and the business is less complicated.
He added: "There is also the issue of staff training. If everyone is trained to use one aircraft there are benefits at all levels of the company."
The order up for grabs is for planes which come into service between 2004 and 2007 as part of easyJet’s five-year expansion plan.
The airline, which currently has a fleet of 27 Boeing 737s, has already ordered 23 Boeing 737-700 aircraft to be delivered by May 2004.
Airbus has previously been ignored by budget carriers due to smaller seat capacity on its 737 rival, the A319. But a recent move to increase seat capacity on the plane to 150 - one more than the 737 - has put the A319 back in contention with low-cost operators.
An extra seat, however, seems unlikely to outweigh the drawbacks of a mixed Airbus/Boeing fleet.
The new aircraft will see easyJet increase capacity by 25 per cent every year until 2007. The move will help the airline build on a surge in trade which has taken it through the seven million passengers a year mark.
It is now very close to overtaking British Midland to become the UK’s second largest scheduled airline.
Within six years, both easyJet and Ryanair expect to carry more passengers than all but British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France.
Shares in easyJet rose 21.5p, or 4.6 per cent, to close at 490p.<hr></blockquote>
[quote]EasyJet expansion will mean more routes
Iain Dey
SCOTLAND is set to be one of the main beneficiaries of no-frills airline easyJet’s decision to buy £2.7 billion worth of new planes.
The Luton-based carrier said the 75-plane deal would lead to an expansion of its Scottish services with both Glasgow and Edinburgh airports picking up new routes once the planes start work.
A spokesman for easyJet said: "There will certainly be further expansion in Scotland. Scottish airports have provided very good routes for us."
He explained that the new planes would see Glasgow and Edinburgh gain new services to Southern Spain, Nice, Geneva and Barcelona.
He added that a Scottish link to Paris is also on the cards if easyJet manages to negotiate flight space at Orly airport .
Although easyJet operates from four Scottish airports, the spokesman said the expansion would centre on Edinburgh and Glasgow.
He said: "Aberdeen and Inverness work very well for us as destination airports going to London, but there is the not the volume of passengers to support new routes."
He added: "We like to launch new services where we know we will be able to fly two or three times a day." EasyJet currently operates shuttle services from both airports to London.
EasyJet is in talks with Boeing and its European rival Airbus about the order, set to be the largest ever from a European budget carrier.
But Boeing is in pole position to win the deal.
The easyJet spokesman said: "We currently operate a Boeing-only fleet. We would need to be very sure that it was cheaper for us to switch to a fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes before we would consider it."
There will be expansion. Scottish airports have provided very good routes for us
He said huge savings can be made by sticking to one supplier, as replacement parts can be bought in bulk and the business is less complicated.
He added: "There is also the issue of staff training. If everyone is trained to use one aircraft there are benefits at all levels of the company."
The order up for grabs is for planes which come into service between 2004 and 2007 as part of easyJet’s five-year expansion plan.
The airline, which currently has a fleet of 27 Boeing 737s, has already ordered 23 Boeing 737-700 aircraft to be delivered by May 2004.
Airbus has previously been ignored by budget carriers due to smaller seat capacity on its 737 rival, the A319. But a recent move to increase seat capacity on the plane to 150 - one more than the 737 - has put the A319 back in contention with low-cost operators.
An extra seat, however, seems unlikely to outweigh the drawbacks of a mixed Airbus/Boeing fleet.
The new aircraft will see easyJet increase capacity by 25 per cent every year until 2007. The move will help the airline build on a surge in trade which has taken it through the seven million passengers a year mark.
It is now very close to overtaking British Midland to become the UK’s second largest scheduled airline.
Within six years, both easyJet and Ryanair expect to carry more passengers than all but British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France.
Shares in easyJet rose 21.5p, or 4.6 per cent, to close at 490p.<hr></blockquote>