Tag Archives: easyJet (UK)

EasyJet reveals the most popular seats on its aircraft and who picks what type

EasyJet (UK) (London-Luton) has revealed some interesting data on what are the most popular seats on its Airbus A319s and A320s. The science of seat selection is explained:

Window or aisle? Front or back? With millions set to jet off this summer easyJet has revealed the most popular places to sit on the plane.

The UK’s largest airline polled 10,000 passengers from countries across Europe on their seat preference and found that nationality, age and travel companion all play an important factor in where passengers prefer to sit.

Universally the window is the most coveted position, with 59% of participants preferring this seat, followed by the aisle at 38%. easyJet sales also reveal the right hand side of the plane is more popular than the left and rows 6-7 sell out fastest.

There is a ‘squeezed middle’ in aviation but just 3% of people across Europe prefer the middle seat – usually after letting their partner take the window or aisle. easyJet sales reveal 7F is Europe’s favourite seat and 19C is the least popular. Row 7 is the first in the aircraft available to allocate from £3.

Window or aisle? Front or back? With millions set to jet off this summer easyJet has revealed the most popular places to sit on the plane.

Portuguese are the most passionate about sitting by the window (80% prefer it)

Dutch (48%) and German are the nationalities most likely to choose the aisle

Under 25’s are most keen to sit by window (76%) with passengers increasingly opting for the aisle as they get older

UK travellers do everything possible to avoid the middle with 56% preferring the window and 41% opting for the aisle

Commentary from passengers revealed more inquisitive or nervous travellers are likely to choose the window for the view and to observe what’s happening en route. Younger travellers also prefer the window for photo opportunities of the scenery and wing mid-flight.

Travellers selecting the aisle seat value their space and the ability to move around during the flight. It was particularly favoured by older passengers, business travellers and people with a second home keen to disembark first.

Peter Duffy, Group Commercial Director for easyJet, said: “The window versus aisle debate is one of the most frequently overheard conversations while flying. Since introducing allocated seating in 2012, all easyJet passengers have been able to select their seat and by combining that data with feedback from thousands of travellers we’ve mapped out the most popular parts of the plane.

“It is clear that no matter where you live having the ability to choose your seat is important and is something that our customers value. The window is overwhelmingly the most coveted position, but particularly popular amongst Portuguese passengers and people aged 25 or under. As passengers get older the aisle becomes increasingly popular and it is also a sought after seat for frequent flyers travelling on business or visiting their second home.”

According to the results you are most likely to find:

In the window seat: Female passengers aged 25 or under from Portugal and Czech Republic
In the middle seat: Passengers aged between 45 and 54
In the aisle seat: Male passengers aged 65 or over from Holland and Germany

All passengers are allocated a seat for free on easyJet’s flights but also have the choice of selecting their seat for a fee. easyJet uses one of the most sophisticated algorithms in aviation and seats the whole aircraft using a complex formula in less than 1 second. Passengers or families travelling together on the same booking will be seated together wherever possible.More data form the survey:

Under 35 are much more likely to say they prefer the window seat (U25s, 76%; 25-34s, 67%), while the 45s and over are more likely to prefer the aisle seat (45-54, 41%; 55-64, 40%; 65+ 47%)
Females are more likely to prefer the window seat (62% versus 59% overall) and men the aisle seat (41% versus 38% overall)

The window seat is the popular choice among the Portuguese (80%), Czechs (67%) and French (66%).

The Dutch (48%), German (42%) and UK travellers (41%) are more likely to choose the aisle seat
Short breakers (65%) and passengers connecting to another flight (64%) have a stronger preference for the window seat. And, unsurprisingly, business trippers (46%, closely followed by second homers 44%) are more likely to opt for an aisle seat

Quotes from passengers regarding their seat choice:

On the window seat:

“I like to look out at everything as we fly along, and take photos of any best bits.”
“Because I don’t move from my seat when flying and don’t like to be disturbed by other passengers needing out to the toilet.”
“I like looking out of the window and watching the clouds!”
“I like to sleep so to have some where to rest my head helps”

On the aisle seat:

“So you can stretch your legs out, walk around and go to the toilet as much as you want without disturbing the people who are sitting next to you.”
“Feels more spacious, ease of access to toilet & speed to get of plane at other end”

On the middle seat:

“We travel as a couple and my husband likes aisle seat and I prefer the middle.”
“My wife likes the aisle and I like sitting next to her”

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBF (msn 2923) in the special Tartan “Inverness” color scheme prepares to depart at Zurich.

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to use cutting-edge technologies including drones to inspect the aircraft

EasyJet (London-Luton), the UK’s largest airline, has announced it will be applying new and innovative technologies to help operate its fleet of 220 Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft even more efficiently and reduce delays while maintaining its industry leading punctuality and safety records.

Commenting on these advances, chief executive of easyJet, Carolyn McCall, said:

“We have examined and assessed cutting edge technology across many different industries and are now applying a range of new technologies to the aviation sector for the first time to help us run our fleet of aircraft more effectively, efficiently and safely.”

“The advantage of these emerging technologies is threefold – freeing up our engineering team to undertake more skilled tasks, keeping our costs down which in turn keeps our fares low and helping to minimise delays so maintaining our industry leading punctuality for our passengers.

“Safety is our number one priority and so all of these new technologies will be applied by our experienced engineering and flight crew to ensure our leading safety record is maintained.”

DRONE AND ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY

The airline has announced it is working with Coptercraft, Measurement Solutions and Bristol Robotics Laboratory to modify existing technology so that drones can be employed to inspect its fleet of Airbus aircraft. The drones will be programmed to scan and assess the planes reporting back to engineers on any damage which may require further inspection or maintenance work. The drones are currently in development with a view to trialling them in the coming months and introducing them into operation as early as next year.

Ian Davies, Head of Engineering for easyJet, commented;

“Drone technology could be used extremely effectively to help us perform aircraft checks. Checks that would usually take more than a day could be performed in a couple of hours and potentially with greater accuracy.”

Dr Arthur Richards, Head of Aerial Robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a partnership between the University of Bristol and the University of West England, commented:

“Aircraft inspection is a great application for drones. Coupled with smart navigation and computer vision, they can get accurate data from really awkward places.

“We look forward to working with easyJet to develop safe, effective and efficient drone systems for this challenge.”

3D AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY

Alongside the drone technology, easyJet is looking at deploying 3D Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technology by Epson and Vuzix which enables a remote engineering team to see exactly what a pilot or engineer is seeing using virtual reality glasses. The glasses use the world’s first high definition see through display system, providing augmented reality helping easyJet to remotely diagnose a technical issue.

This technology will be especially useful in some of the airline’s more remote airports across its network – the airline currently flies to 138 airports with some as far away as Sharm el Sheikh and Tel Aviv.
Currently engineers and pilots have to email pictures and call easyJet’s Operations Control Centre to try and resolve the issue over the phone. easyJet is also currently trialling similar video technology from Vidcie and XO Eye that allows live streaming between the engineer on the ramp and easyJet’s OCC.
OCC will also be able to provide live information to the engineers and pilots in real time, along with technical assistance through an integrated handsfree head set.

Ian Davies continued:

“3D augmented reality technology is key to easyJet reducing longer delays when an aircraft is down route. This will help us get greater clarity on any technical issues which occur hundreds of miles away. By wearing the augmented reality glasses, pilots or engineers down route can transmit live pictures and data to the

EasyJet Operations Control Centre at Luton giving them direct access to visual information making it easier for them to resolve any technical issue.”

APPS

EasyJet’s engineering department has also worked with Output42 to develop their own bespoke apps which will allow our engineers to perform certain day-to-day issues more efficiently and enable easyJet to return aircraft to service more quickly. For example, one app helps engineers identify and replace damaged fan blades (for example, after a bird strike) more quickly by scanning fan blades and automatically ordering a suitable replacement blade from the airline’s inventory.

The apps are in different stages of development and we expect to be trialling a range of them over the course of the summer.

PAPERLESS AIRCRAFT

EasyJet will complete the fitting of Panasonic Toughpads, in place of laptops and printed navigational charts, in all of its cockpits by the end of this month. This means that the airline is already nearing a completely paperless plane. These tablets will also make easyJet one of the first airlines to use this type of device in all phases of flight and on the ground. By replacing heavy printed log books easyJet expects to reduce fuel costs by around $500,000 each year. Every kilo of weight taken off easyJet’s fleet of aircraft saves around $20,000 per year.

In addition, new ‘e-paper’ technology created by Sony, could see easyJet completely eradicate printed forms in the cabin; this would mean an entirely paperless plane. This new Digital Paper is the latest lightweight design from Sony which makes it feel like the user is writing on paper. Completed forms can be quickly saved into a central database enabling the airline’s operational team quick and easy access to information on all of the aircraft. Trials will start in the coming months.

INFLIGHT MONITORING AND PROGNOSIS

EasyJet is working with FlightWatching to install a state-of-the-art early fault prognosis tool which can provide the airline’s operations and engineering staff with live updates directly from all of its aircraft as they fly.

The system is an innovative web-based software system from FlightWatching called WILCO which can receive real time values of aircraft system parameters via the ACARS messaging system. This data is then transformed into an animated schematic that can be used to predict any potential issues or to troubleshoot known technical faults before the plane lands. This means the prognostic tool will enable the ground-based engineers to start investigation mid-flight and ensure that the correct engineering resource or parts are available for when the flight lands, thus increasing efficiency.

EASYJET’S FLEET – BACKGROUND INFORMATION

EasyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ regulations, often exceeding them. The airline employs a highly skilled workforce of 237 engineering staff as well as outsourcing to external suppliers in many bases across its network.

EasyJet’s engineering department has a track record in innovation, last year working alongside Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation to prove its ash detection technology which is expected to be fitted onto an easyJet aircraft within the coming months.

EasyJet recently placed an order to acquire 35 current generation A320 aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2017 under its existing agreement and 100 new generation A320neo aircraft for delivery from 2017 until 2022.

EasyJet employs 2500 pilots operating on its 220 Airbus aircraft across its network of more than 680 routes.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZEZ (msn 2360) now promotes the destination of Napoli (Naples) in Italy. It previously promoted the now delayed Berlin Brandenburg Airport and Willy Brandt (1913-1992).

EasyJet (UK):

easyJet’s new William Shakespeare Airbus A319 logo jet and oldest William Shakespeare are the center points of a new campaign to recognize the famous playwright on the British calendar

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) as previously reported, painted one of its Airbus A319 with likeness of playwright William Shakespeare. We now know the reason. The airline today (April 2) launched a campaign to get the playwright officially recognized on the British calendar. The airline issued this statement:

Britain’s oldest real life William Shakespeare (below) has today launched a campaign to get the world’s most famous playwright officially recognized in the British calendar.

The 91 year old, from Bristol, was joined by Stratford-upon-Avon MP Nadhim Zahawias. Mr. Zahawias signed the petition to recognize April 23 as the national William Shakespeare Day.

Copyright Photo: EasyJet. Will-I-Am: Britain’s oldest William Shakespeare (above) launches campaign to make April 23 official day of the Bard.

The duo launched the campaign at London’s Gatwick Airport by unveiling a special edition easyJet Airbus A319 (G-EZBI) with an image of William Shakespeare on the fuselage. The airline is backing the bid to get the Bard recognized and is helping to garner the 100,000 signatures necessary for the issue to be debated in parliament and trending online with #Shakesonaplane

Heritage and culture remain one of the key drivers of tourism to the UK (Visit Britain report) and easyJet has arranged a program of free Shakespearean performances at airports across the country to share the playwright’s most famous work. The airline’s special William Shakespeare plane will also operate on flights across easyJet’s network this summer to help promote the UK as one of Europe’s leading cultural hot spots. The campaign for national William Shakespeare Day will culminate on the 450th anniversary of the Bard’s birth this April 23.

William Shakespeare from Bristol, said: “It is such an honor to be chosen to launch this campaign to recognise my namesake. All my life I have been proud to share my name with such an iconic British figure and I think it is important we recognise his achievements with an official day in the calendar.”

Paul Moore, Communications Director for easyJet said: ‎”William Shakespeare is Britain’s most famous author so easyJet is proud to back the bid to make 23 April his national day. We are asking our UK passengers to sign the petition while suggesting to those from the rest of Europe that they visit the land of Shakespeare to learn more about him and see his works performed.

“Our campaign will run during April in our in-flight magazine read by 5 million passengers a month, across thousands of seat back adverts and we will be staging free Shakespearean performances at airports across the UK. Passengers can win free flights by writing a sonnet supporting the campaign and it will be launched with our special Airbus which will carry Shakespeare’s image on the side. Aviation and Shakespearean language combine for the name – Romeo Alpha Juliet.”

Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon said:

“Is it a Bard, is it a plane? William Shakespeare is one of Britain’s greatest gifts to the world, ‘he was not of an age, but for all time’, and I have long argued this sceptre’d isle should celebrate April 23 as a national holiday. I’m delighted that easyJet have chosen to campaign on this issue – let’s hope we can get it off the runway.”

EasyJet will be collecting signatures and offering free Shakespeare performances at the following airports this month:

• London Gatwick: April 12-13
• London Luton: April 14-15
• Edinburgh: April 14-15
• London Stansted: April 14-15
• Manchester: April 16-17
• Bristol: April 16-17

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBI (msn 3003) is seen departing from Gatwick Airport near London. (all others by EasyJet).

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to expand its presence at its London’s Luton Airport home, unveils the new Tartan livery at Inverness

EasyJet (UK) (London-Luton) has agreed a new 10 year deal with London Luton Airport which could see the airline more than double its size at the airport from four to nine million passengers a year. The expansion would also see the creation of 2,500 new jobs at the airport – the UK’s sixth largest – and in the surrounding region.

EasyJet has 15 aircraft based at London Luton, its second largest London base, and plans to grow its capacity by around 20% over the next year – adding new business and leisure routes and increasing frequencies on some of its existing 39 routes from London Luton.

EasyJet is the largest airline operating from London Luton with 1,600 staff employed locally and 39 destinations served.

EasyJet first launched flights from London Luton Airport with one aircraft in 1995 and the airport remains the home of the airline with its headquarters based there.

London Luton Airport is one of the UK’s largest airports and carried 9.7 million passengers in 2013, departing to over 100 destinations. The Airport directly and indirectly employs over 600 and 8,000 staff respectively and is a key economic driver for the region.

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by EasyJet). Airbus A319-111 G-EZBF (msn 2923) in the Tartan design prepares to depart from Gatwick Airport on the south side of London.

The airline issued this statement about G-EZBF:

EasyJet today (March 31) celebrated the launch of new early morning flights between Inverness and London Gatwick by unveiling a special edition tartan plane and EasyJet tartan kilts.

EasyJet was joined by Transport Minister Keith Brown MSP and Highlands MP Danny Alexander as well as representatives from Visit Scotland, Scottish Council for Development and Industry and the Inverness Chamber of Commerce .

These services not only secure the long term future of air links between the Highlands and London following Flybe’s decision to exit the route but will also help to keep businesses in the Highlands connected to London.

To mark the occasion easyJet created the ‘Highland aircraft’ tartan which is the first to be registered to an airline since records started in 2008 and one of the most prominent orange designs available. The easyJet tartan also features on a special edition Airbus A319 aircraft – named ‘Inverness’ – which will operate on easyJet routes across Europe to help promote the Highlands as a tourism destination.

The new Inverness to Gatwick flights will be followed by four new easyJet routes launching this spring – Herakilon and Bodrum from Edinburgh and Spilt and Kos from Glasgow. In total EasyJet expects to carry over 5.3 million passengers on Scottish flights this year ensuring it remains Scotland’s largest airline.

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to expand operations at London’s Gatwick Airport after a new seven year agreement with GAL

EasyJet (UK) (London-Luton) has announced that it has agreed a new seven year deal with Gatwick Airport (GAL) from April 2014 which will incentivise the airline to grow at the airport and provide the framework for EasyJet and GAL to further improve customer experience for easyJet’s passengers.

EasyJet plans to continue to grow at Gatwick through increasing our slots and by deploying larger aircraft as EasyJet replaces 156 seat A319s with 180 seat A320s and, from 2017, A320neos. In the next fiscal year (ending in March 2015) alone the airline will increase capacity and passenger numbers by around 10% compared to the previous year.

The agreement has been reached within the new ‘commitments’ framework which will replace the current regulatory regime as confirmed by the CAA last year‎.

EasyJet started flying from London Gatwick Airport in 1999 and now has 57 aircraft based there, operating on 108 routes. The airline has around 1400 cabin crew and 700 pilots operating from the airport.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. William Shakespeare touches down at EuroAirport serving the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg area on the fuselage of Airbus A319-111 G-EZBI (msn 3003).

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to launch five new routes from London’s Gatwick Airport

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton), the UK and London Gatwick’s largest airline will see the launch of five new year-round services from London Gatwick this month.

The airline’s inaugural flights to Brussels, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Jersey, Newcastle and Strasbourg take off for the first time on March 30, 2014.

The frequency of EasyJet’s services between Gatwick and Inverness will also double from one to two return services each day with the launch of EasyJet’s first evening flight from London Gatwick to Inverness and early arrival into London Gatwick. This will further strengthen the airline’s comprehensive network of routes from the airport and is expected to be popular with business travellers.
2.3 million passengers flew easyJet on business in and out of London Gatwick in 2013 and over 800,000 passengers are expected to use the five new services annually. This will increase the number of passengers who fly easyJet to and from the airport by 5% and to a total of 108 destinations to further extend the airline’s ongoing commitment to providing easy and affordable business links across Europe.

Previously on March 19, EasyJet commemorated the deal it agreed to last June with Airbus for 135 Airbus A320 aircraft in Paris, with an official signing ceremony.

EasyJet is the fourth largest airline in Europe with a current fleet of 217 Airbus A319s and A320s and has taken delivery of 245 Airbus aircraft in total. EasyJet’s Airbus order is the largest placed by any European airline to date.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. EasyJet is saluting William Shakespeare with this newly painted Airbus A319-111 registered G-EZBI (msn 3003). G-EZBI is appropriately named “Romeo Alpha Juliet”.

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to expand EasyJet Holidays to become a pan-European tour operator with Hotelopia, unveils a Tartan logo jet

EasyJet Holidays (EasyJet) (London-Luton) has announced that it will become a major pan-European tour operator through a new partnership with the online travel agency Hotelopia.

Six new websites are planned in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands as easyJet holidays re-launches itself across the main European countries where the airline has a large presence. This will open up easyJet holidays to up to 100 million people across Europe, all fully protected according to the industry standard local regulations of each source markets such as ATOL in the UK or ATOUT in France.

EasyJet Holidays will continue to offer competitively priced, flexible holidays across the airline’s extensive network including city breaks, beach and ski holidays. In addition, a brand new range of activity holidays such as cycling and golfing breaks will also be added and for the first time ever, excursions will be on offer in all major destinations. The three year and five month deal with Hotelopia SLU commences in May.

Hotelopia, which is part of TUI Travel PLC, one of the world’s leading leisure travel companies will provide their extensive portfolio of hotels across the seven countries where easyJet holidays is operating. This extensive product choice on easyJet holidays website specially selected by Hotelopia will be augmented by the already very popular Spanish Paradores and Disneyland Paris Hotels as well as more than 27,000 self-catering accommodation options with Interhome.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBF (msn 2923) was painted in this special Tartan color scheme. The airliner was rolled out this morning at Southend and is now named “Inverness”.

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to launch five new routes from Rome Fiumicino, adding more pricing pressure on Alitalia

EasyJet (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has announced it will launch five new routes from Rome Fiumicino. The five new routes are year-round services to Montpellier, Thessaloniki and Belgrade along with summer services to the popular islands of Menorca and Rhodes.

This move continues easyJet’s expansion plan in Rome which will see it increasing its capacity by a third. In December the airline announced two new routes – a daily service to Prague and thrice-weekly services to Nantes, both of which will begin operations this spring.

With the launch of these new routes, easyJet now operates 33 routes to and from Rome Fiumicino (new pressure on debt-ridden Alitalia), with a total of 154 routes operated to and from Italy. EasyJet opened a base at Fiumicino in 2009 and currently carries three million passengers each year to and from the airport – this is expected to rise to four million annually through its expansion plans. 96% of easyJet’s Italian customers say they would fly with easyJet again and one in four Italians now say EasyJet is their preferred airline.

EasyJet has also announced plans to launch a third base in Italy this year with a new base opening in Naples this March. The airline has also announced a 35% expansion of services to and from Catania in recent months. easyJet is the largest airline at Milan Malpensa, Venice and Naples. The airline currently has 25 aircraft based in Italy.

On the financial side, the airline issued this financial statement for its fiscal first quarter:

Drive demand, conversion and yields across Europe

Seats flown grew by 4.1% to 16.1 million. Passengers carried increased by 4.2% to 14.3 million, and the load factor increased by 0.1 percentage points to 88.7%.
Revenue per seat grew as expected by 3.4% on a reported basis to £55.71 per seat or by 1.4% at constant currency despite strong prior year comparators from post-Olympic trading in the UK and a challenging competitive environment. The growth in revenue per seat was driven by careful management of capacity, combined with the performance of allocated seating and the management of fees and charges. Revenue per seat also benefited from longer average sector lengths in the quarter.

Maintain cost advantage

Cost per seat excluding fuel increased by 3.0% on a reported basis and by 1.2% on a constant currency basis. This was driven by anticipated increases in charges at regulated airports and by increases in maintenance costs associated with the planned ageing of the fleet and increased proportion of leased aircraft.

Build strong number 1 and 2 network positions

EasyJet announced a new base in Naples which will be operational from Spring 2014 and the routes which will be flown from its new base in Hamburg.

Disciplined use of capital

Continued strong balance sheet with cash and money market deposits of £1.1 billion as at 31 December 2013.

With first half bookings in line with last year, easyJet expects to report a first half loss before tax of between £70 million and £90 million assuming normal levels of disruption compared to the £61 million loss reported in the first half of last year. Last year Easter fell on March 31 resulting in £25 million additional revenue in the first half of 2013. In this financial year Easter will fall in April.

Commenting on the results, Carolyn McCall, easyJet Chief Executive said:

“EasyJet has made a good start to the year. We have delivered revenue per seat growth in the quarter against a challenging competitive environment and the tough comparison with the prior year. The performance in the quarter demonstrates our continued focus on cost, progress against our strategic priorities and easyJet’s structural advantage in the European short-haul market against both the legacy and low-cost competition.

Our strategy of offering our customers low fares to great destinations with friendly service and a focus on cost control ensures that we can continue to deliver sustainable growth and returns for our shareholders.”

EasyJet (UK):

Current Routes from Rome Fiumicino:

EasyJet supports the decisions of CAA for London’s airports

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has issued this statement concerning recent decisions by the CAA concerning the future of London’s airports:

“easyJet welcomes the CAA’s decision that Gatwick Airport has substantial market power and that as a consequence Gatwick needs continued regulation through an airport licence.

“easyJet also welcomes the significant changes the CAA has made to the assumptions on passenger growth and cost of capital which have led to a lowering of its estimate of fair airport charges from RPI +1.6% to RPI – 1.6%.

“easyJet supports the CAA’s endorsement of Gatwick’s Commitments proposal. However, it is now up to Gatwick Airport to show that this more commercial approach can deliver lower charges and improved service for airlines and their passengers.

“easyJet welcomes the inclusion of the costs of the any second runway in the licence so that these can be scrutinised by the regulator.

“easyJet also welcomes CAA’s announcement that robust plans to deliver operational resilience in major disruption will also be under CAA regulatory oversight.

“Finally, easyJet is supportive of the CAA’s approach to Stansted airport which under new ownership has shown itself willing to take a more commercial approach to airlines which will also benefit passengers.”

In other news, the company is planning to drop the new Southend-Edinburgh route on June 15, 2014 according to Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBR (msn 3088) in the special “Airbus 100” holds short of the runway at London’s Gatwick Airport.

EasyJet (UK):

easyJet to start Milan Malpensa-Tel Aviv flights

EasyJet (UK) (London-Luton) has announced its plans to connect Milan with Tel Aviv in Israel. The airline, which already flies to Tel Aviv from London Gatwick, Manchester and London Luton, will start to provide services from Milan Malpensa in March 2014 by operating four flights per week.

This latest route is now EasyJet’s third since the signing of a historic Open Skies agreement between the EU and Israel. Across Europe the airline also currently serves Tel Aviv from Basel, Geneva, Rome Fiumicino and Berlin.

EasyJet (UK):