EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational
low-cost airline group headquartered at
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the Airports of London, fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a comp ...
. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlines
EasyJet UK,
EasyJet Switzerland, and
EasyJet Europe. The company employs circa 13,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.
EasyJet plc is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
and is a constituent of the
FTSE 100 Index
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on ...
.
Since its establishment in 1995, EasyJet has expanded through a combination of
acquisitions,
and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The group, along with associate companies
EasyJet UK,
EasyJet Europe and
EasyJet Switzerland, operates 321 aircraft. It has 29 bases across Europe, the largest being
Gatwick.
In 2022, the airline carried more than 69.7 million passengers, making it the second largest budget airline in Europe by number of passengers carried, behind
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
.
EasyJet was featured in the television series ''
Airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
'', broadcast on
ITV (1998–2007), which followed the airline's operations in London Luton and later at other bases. Its pilot training scheme was the subject of another ITV television series, ''
easyJet: Inside the Cockpit'', which premiered in August 2017.
History
Origins and formation
EasyJet has its roots in the business activity of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
-
Cypriot Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who reportedly gained an interest in the aviation business after being approached as a potential
investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...
in
Virgin Atlantic's Greek franchisee. Recognising a vacant niche in the market, Stelios decided to examine the prospects for launching his airline, having secured a commitment of a £5 million loan from his father.
While studying various business models in the industry, Stelios took a significant interest in the American operator
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...
, which had successfully adopted the practice of price elasticity to be competitive with traditionally cheaper buses and attract customers that would not normally have considered air travel. This principle became a cornerstone of EasyJet's operations.
In 1995, EasyJet was established by Stelios, being the first company in what would later become the
EasyGroup conglomerate. Upon launch, it employed just 70 people; the company is based at
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the Airports of London, fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a comp ...
, which was traditionally used only by
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
flights.
To encourage the company, Luton Airport chose to give EasyJet free use of a building for its headquarters, which it named ''EasyLand''; its management style typified minimal
overhead, such as an early implementation of the
paperless office
A paperless office (or paper-free office) is a Workplace, work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form, a process known as digitization. Propone ...
concept.
EasyJet initially operated a pair of
wet leased
Boeing 737-200 aircraft, capable of seating 130 passengers. These were flown on two routes: Luton to
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Early on, EasyJet operated as a ''paper airline'', the aircraft themselves being flown and maintained under a lease.
Early promotional activity focused on the airline's relatively low pricing compared to incumbent operators.
Within its first year, EasyJet reportedly carried approximately 40,000 passengers.
In April 1996, the first wholly owned aircraft was delivered to EasyJet, enabling the company's first international route, to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, which was operated in direct competition with rival airlines
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
(BA) and
Dutch flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations.
Histo ...
KLM.
Competitors responded to the emerging EasyJet in different ways; while BA was largely indifferent, KLM allegedly chose to respond with a
predatory pricing
Predatory pricing, also known as price slashing, is a commercial pricing strategy which involves reducing the retail prices to a level lower than competitors to eliminate competition. Selling at lower prices than a competitor is known as underc ...
strategy
Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " a ...
that led to an investigation by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
over unfair competitive practices.
Despite commercial pressure from the emergent no-frills sector, traditional airlines have been unable to directly adopt similar practices to EasyJet due to vigorous protection of existing employee privileges by
unions.
EasyJet's aircraft were initially operated by
GB Airways from November 1995 until July 1996 and subsequently by
Air Foyle HeavyLift until October 1997, as EasyJet had not yet received its
Air Operator's Certificate.
Flotation
On 5 November 2000, EasyJet was floated on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
.
In October 2004, the
FL Group, owner of the airlines
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
and
Sterling Airlines, purchased an 8.4% stake in the airline.
Over the course of 2005, FL increased its share in the company periodically to 16.9%,
fuelling speculation that it would mount a takeover bid for the UK carrier. However, in April 2006, the threat of takeover receded as FL sold its stake for €325 million, securing a profit of €140 million on its investment.
In March 2013, EasyJet was promoted to the
FTSE 100
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most market capitalisation, highly capitalised ...
; during the same month, the company launched its 100th route from Gatwick Airport, offering flights directly from London to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. By 2015, the company was flying routes to more than 130 destinations in 31 countries, operated 26 bases centred around Europe, and had a total of 10,000 employees.
Expansion and acquisitions

In March 1998, EasyJet purchased a 40% stake in Swiss charter airline
TEA Basle for three million
Swiss franc
The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...
s. The airline was renamed
EasyJet Switzerland and commenced
franchise services on 1 April 1999, having relocated its headquarters to
Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...
. Geneva was EasyJet's first new base outside the United Kingdom.
In 2002, rival airline
Go Fly was purchased for £374 million; the airline inherited three new bases from Go, at
Bristol Airport,
East Midlands Airport and
London Stansted Airport
Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London.
As London's Airports of London, third-bu ...
; the acquisition of Go almost doubled the number of
Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the EasyJet fleet.
In 2002, the airline opened its base at
Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...
. Between 2003 and 2007, it opened additional bases in Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, establishing a presence in continental Europe.
By 2007, EasyJet was claiming to be operating more flights per day than any other European airline.
On 25 October 2007, EasyJet purchased the entire share capital of
GB Airways from the
Bland Group
The Bland Group Ltd. is made up of a number of small and medium-sized operating company, companies based in Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Morocco.
History
During 1810, English merchant Marcus Henry Bland arrived in Gibraltar, shortly therea ...
. This acquisition was valued at £103.5 million, and was used by the airline to expand its operations at Gatwick, and to establish a base at
Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...
.
In June 2011, the airline opened its eleventh British base – at
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport is an international airport situated on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, approximately from the Charing Cross#Official use as central point, centre of London. The airport straddles the boundaries b ...
, offering flights to
Alicante
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Faro,
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
,
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
,
Palma de Mallorca
Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...
and
Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
.
In July 2017, EasyJet announced it would open a new European headquarters in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
to enable it to operate after
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
.
On 28 October 2017, EasyJet announced it would lease 25 former
Air Berlin A320 aircraft to operate across
EasyJet Europe's network, under its European AOC. Several of these aircraft were based at
Berlin-Tegel Airport, before its closure. These aircraft have subsequently been transferred to
Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. Previously EasyJet had only operated from
Berlin-Schönefeld Airport and
Berlin-Tegel Airport, where EasyJet had taken over some of Air Berlin's old services.
On 30 March 2020, EasyJet suspended all flights, grounded its entire fleet, and furloughed its crews due to travel restrictions imposed in response to the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
This came after the company had flown 650 "rescue flights", taking 45,000 people back home. In April 2020, EasyJet secured a £600 million loan from the
UK Government
His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. . In June 2020, EasyJet announced their intention to resume flights, flying half of their routes in July 2020 and up to 75 per cent in August 2020, though with reduced frequency.
In April 2020, EasyJet became involved in a dispute with its owner and largest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Haji-Ioannou criticised the airline's decision not to seek to cancel the outstanding Airbus order, claiming it would create an additional £4.5 billion of capital which the airline could not afford to spend. He threatened to call a general meeting to remove a director every three weeks unless subsequent action was taken. A general meeting was held on 22 May, where shareholders ultimately voted over 99% in favour of the EasyJet board and retaining the Airbus contract.
On 19 May 2020, the company revealed that it had been the subject of a
cyber-attack
A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the CIA triad, confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content.
The rising dependence on increasingly comple ...
resulting in the release of the personal information of 9 million customers.
On 10 September 2021, the company claimed it had rejected a takeover bid from rival
Wizz Air
{{Infobox airline
, airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc.
, IATA =
, ICAO =
, callsign =
, aoc =
, hubs =
, focus_cities =
, frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap
, Wizz All You Can Fly
, Wizz Discount Club
, Wizz Privilege Pass
, ...
.
On 30 September 2021, Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family lost control of the company, after failing to take up the
rights issue
A rights issue or rights offer is a dividend of subscription rights to buy additional securities in a company made to the company's existing security holders. When the rights are for equity securities, such as shares, in a public company, it can ...
and being diluted: their stake was 15.27% as of 30 September 2021.
Senior leadership
* ''Chairman:''
Sir Stephen Hester (since December 2021)
* ''Chief Executive:'' Kenton Jarvis (Since January 2025)
* ''Chief Financial Officer:'' Jan De Raeymaeker (since October 2024)
Former chairmen
#
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (1995–2002)
# Sir Colin Chandler (2003–2009)
#
Sir Michael Rake (2010–2013)
#
John Barton (2013–2021)
Former chief executives
# Ray Webster (1996–2005)
#
Andy Harrison (2005–2010)
#
Carolyn McCall
Dame Carolyn Julia McCall (born 13 September 1961) is a British businesswoman. She was the chief executive of EasyJet from 2010 to 2017.
Early life
McCall was born on 13 September 1961 in Bangalore, India. Her Scottish father, Arthur McCal ...
(2010–2017)
#
Johan Lundgren (2017–2024)
Corporate affairs
Business strategy
EasyJet, like
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
, uses a business model pioneered by
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...
. Both airlines have adapted this model for the European market through further cost-cutting measures, such as not selling connecting flights or providing complimentary snacks on board. The key points of this business model are high aircraft utilisation, quick turnaround times, charging for extras (such as priority boarding, holding baggage, and food) and keeping operating costs low.
Initially, EasyJet's employment strategy was to maintain control with minimal union involvement. During the 2000s, the airline adopted a different approach, deciding to make accommodations for unions.
Originally, EasyJet did not allocate seats so passengers took any available seats, with the option to pay for "Speedy Boarding", which allowed them to be first onto the aircraft. Since 2012, all passengers are allocated numbered seats before boarding commences, as it was found that this does not slow down boarding times and could earn more revenue than Speedy Boarding. Passengers can pay an additional fee for certain seats such as the front few rows and overwing seats (which have extra legroom).
Business trends
Between the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and August 2020, EasyJet raised over £2.4 billion in new finance. Out of the sum, £600 million came from the Covid Corporate Financing Facility provided by the UK government and over £400 million was raised from the placement of shares. In November 2020, EasyJet announced that, due to the pandemic and the lockdowns in many countries, it would scale back its reduced flying schedule to no more than 20 per cent of capacity. It also announced its first annual loss during the 25-year history of the company.
The key trends for the EasyJet Group are (as of the financial year ending 30 September):
Head office

EasyJet's head office is Hangar 89 (H89), a building located on the grounds of
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the Airports of London, fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a comp ...
in
Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
; the hangar is located from EasyLand, the previous headquarters of the airline. Hangar 89, built in 1974, has of office space and can house three aircraft the size of an Airbus A319 at one time. When EasyJet received H89, it had a 1970s-style office setup. The airline modernised the building and painted it orange.
Marketing
EasyJet's early marketing slogan was "making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans". It urged travellers to cut out the travel agent. Its original advertising consisted of little more than the airline's telephone booking number painted in bright orange on the side of its aircraft.
The specific colour that EasyJet uses closely resembles that of the telecommunications corporation
Orange and was a subject of dispute between the two companies in 2004 when EasyGroup launched a mobile phone subsidiary,
easyMobile.
The ''
Airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
'' TV series created by
LWT and filmed between 1999 and 2007 made EasyJet a household name in the United Kingdom. The series, while not always portraying the airline in a positive light, did much to promote it during this time.
The airline has used a number of
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...
s since its establishment, including "The Web's Favourite Airline", "Come on, let's fly" and "To Fly, To Save" (a parody of
British Airways' slogan "To Fly, To Serve"). This was then followed by "
...by easyJet", with "Europe by easyJet" and "business by easyJet" being the most widely used. It currently uses the slogan "This is Generation easyJet".
Environment
In June 2007, EasyJet announced plans for the construction of its airliner, dubbed ''EcoJet''. It was claimed to possess improved
fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...
over contemporary airliners. To achieve this, the EcoJet was described as using
propfan
A propfan, also called an open rotor engine, open fan engine is an aircraft engine combining features of turbofans and turboprops. It uses advanced, curved propeller blades without a ducted fan, duct. Propfans aim to combine the speed capabili ...
engines, as well as being constructed with extensive use of
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
composite material
A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...
. At the time of the announcement, it was stated that the
first flight First Flight may refer to:
* Maiden flight, the first flight of a new aircraft type
* First Flight Airport, in North Carolina, United States
* First Flight High School, in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
* ''First Flight'' (sculpture), a sculp ...
was scheduled to occur sometime during 2015. Speaking at the time, EasyJet chief executive Andy Harrison commented that: "We have not developed a new concept. We have taken ideas from Boeing, Airbus and the engine manufacturers and put them together." Harrison claimed that the EcoJet, combined with other improvements in the industry, would enable a 50% reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
within eight years. However, there have been few announcements on the project since then.
EasyJet then campaigned for the UK to replace
air passenger duty (APD) with a new tax that would vary depending on distance travelled and aircraft type.
In July 2008, the
United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) criticised a press campaign by the airline, over a misleading environmental claim that its aircraft released 22% fewer emissions than rival airlines. The figures used were not based on emissions produced by an EasyJet aircraft or emissions produced by the airline overall as the advertisement implied, and ASA declared that the airline had broken advertising rules. The judgement that followed reprimanded the airline in April 2007 after it made comments that its aircraft created 30% less pollution per passenger than some of its rivals.
In February 2011, the airline painted eight of its aircraft with a lightweight, thin "revolutionary nanotechnology coating"
polymer
A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
. It works by reducing the build-up of debris and reduces
drag across the surface of the aircraft, thus reducing the fuel bill. It was estimated the airline could save 1–2% annually, equating to a £14 million reduction in fuel costs. The coating has already been used on US military aircraft and if successful EasyJet would apply the paint to its whole fleet. In late 2015, EasyJet started making use of
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
(AI) and
big data
Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...
for the purpose of improving efficiency, cutting costs, and enhancing the customer experience.
On 27 September 2017, EasyJet announced its partnership with an American start-up company
Wright Electric with the purpose of developing and introducing a short-haul 120-seat all-electric airline.
The propulsion system is said to comprise a series of eight electrically driven
ducted fan
In aeronautics, a ducted fan is a thrust-generating mechanical fan or Propeller (aeronautics), propeller mounted within a cylindrical wiktionary:duct, duct or shroud. Other terms include ducted propeller or shrouded propeller. When used in vertic ...
s that are buried in the wings, which are powered by numerous
battery packs distributed underneath the cabin floor; it is claimed to possess a range of roughly 335 miles, suitable for about one-fifth of EasyJet's current city routes, and facilitate zero-emission flights, as well as being 50% quieter and 10% less expensive to operate than conventional jet airliners. At the time, EasyJet stated that it intended to introduce electric aircraft into revenue service within 10 years.
In October 2018, EasyJet stated that progress was being made on its electric ambitions and that the partnerships planned to test a nine-seater electric plane as early as 2019.
Since November 2019, EasyJet has offset the carbon emissions from all of its flights using
carbon offset
Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting ...
ting projects that meet either the Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) accreditation. As a result, it is the first major airline in the world to operate net-carbon-zero flights across its entire network. The airline describes this as an "interim" measure whilst the next generation of aircraft propulsion is developed. Consequently, EasyJet announced a partnership with Airbus on a joint research project into zero-emission hydrogen aircraft.
Customer issues
EasyJet has been criticised in Germany for not observing
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
law on compensation (and assistance to passengers) in cases of denied boarding, delays or cancellations (
Regulation 261/2004). When flights are cancelled, passengers are supposed to be reimbursed within one week. In 2006, the airline did not always refund tickets in a timely fashion. Passengers occasionally had to wait longer for reimbursement of their expenses.
In July 2011, the airline tried to refuse the carriage of a boy with
muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...
because he had an electric wheelchair. In separate incidents in 2012,
paralympians received similar treatment, and a French court found the airline guilty of three counts of disability discrimination. In January 2017, the company was fined €60,000 by another French court because it had refused to allow a disabled passenger to the board in 2010; the company cited security concerns and internal regulations but said it would not appeal against the ruling.
In September 2013, a passenger who sent a
tweet complaining about the airline after his flight was delayed said he was initially told he would not be allowed to board the aircraft because of the posting.
On 27 August 2020, the airline was sued by a woman over discriminatory concerns. The woman had been asked to switch seats twice in a row, to accommodate two ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
On 18 August 2023, a blind couple stated the airline "refused" to assist them with booking tickets after a missed previous flight, stating they must book online and "told
hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
they couldn't help us". The airline offered an apology and
Swissport and
ABM who provided passenger assistance service on behalf of the airline that day said they are both "looking into this".
European AOC
Following the UK's referendum vote to leave the European Union, EasyJet announced a plan to establish an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in another EU member state. This will secure the flying rights of the 30% of EasyJet's network that remains wholly within and between EU states, excluding the UK. EasyJet expected a one-off cost of around £10 million over two years with up to £5 million incurred in the 2017 financial year. The primary driver of the cost is the re-registering of aircraft in an EU AOC jurisdiction. In July 2017, EasyJet announced that it has applied for, and was subsequently granted by the
Ministry of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
, an Austrian Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and operating permit, thereby establishing
EasyJet Europe. The new airline is headquartered in Vienna and will allow EasyJet to continue operating flights across and within European countries after the UK leaves the EU. The first aircraft, an Airbus A320, was re-registered as OE-IVA.
EasyJet announced that the transition would result in no job losses in the UK, as the staff to be employed by EasyJet Europe are already based in the EU27.
EasyJet UK staff would continue to be based in Luton. The group will thus comprise three airlines, EasyJet UK, EasyJet Europe, and EasyJet Switzerland, all of which are owned by EasyJet PLC, which is itself EU owned and controlled, listed on the London Stock Exchange, and based in the UK. In May 2018, EasyJet confirmed that it was very close to achieving the required majority EU27 share ownership and that the UK government will nevertheless continue to consider it as a UK airline.
Destinations

As of January 2024 EasyJet serves 183 destinations.
Codeshare agreements
In 2013, EasyJet entered a commercial agreement with
Transaero to set up a
codeshare agreement, whereby Transaero acquired the right to sell a certain number of seats on EasyJet's Moscow (
Domodedovo) – London (Gatwick) route. This was the first codeshare agreement for EasyJet; it was terminated when Transaero Airlines ceased to operate in October 2015. Citing diminishing demand on the route, EasyJet ceased all flights to Moscow in March 2016.
EasyJet has a reward miles sharing agreement with
Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
.
Interline agreements and other airline partners
Easyjet also has Interline agreements and partnership with the following airlines:
*
Aegean Airlines
*
Corsair International
*
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...
*
Icelandair
Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland.
Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean from its main airline hub, hub at Keflavík International Airport. Its smaller dom ...
*
La Compagnie
*
Neos
*
Norse Atlantic Airways
Norse Atlantic Airways Aksjeselskap, AS is a Norwegian Low-cost carrier, low-cost, long-haul airline headquartered in Arendal, Norway. Founded in February 2021, the airline operates a fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft between Europe, North America, ...
*
Play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
*
Sky Express
*
Virgin Atlantic
*
Westjet
Incidents
* On 15 September 2006,
EasyJet Flight 6074, an
Airbus A319-111,
registered as G-EZAC, suffered a major electrical failure, rendering the radio,
autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...
,
TCAS, and
electronic flight instrument system inoperable, among other critical systems. This nearly caused a
mid-air collision
In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight.
The potential for a mid-air collision is increased by Aviation communication, miscommunication, mistrus ...
with another aircraft, an
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...
, which diverted from its collision course with fewer than 30 seconds to spare. The A319's pilots continued their flight straight to
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
out of fear of being
shot down, since the failure knocked out their
transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...
. This made it impossible for the aircraft to be tracked by
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...
, which potentially would have forced the assumption that it had been
hijacked were it to deviate from its initially approved flight path without clearance.
Fleet
Current group fleet
EasyJet PLC's fleet consists entirely of
Airbus A320 family aircraft. , the group operates the following aircraft:
[ Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), monthly updated, accessed via ]
Fleet strategy and aircraft orders
In common with other
low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...
s, EasyJet has a strategy of operating just one aircraft type. Initially, it used
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...
aircraft exclusively, but in October 2002, it ordered 120
Airbus A319
The Airbus A319 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The A319 carries 124 to 156 passengers and has a maximum range of . Final ass ...
aircraft, plus 120
options.
Since then, all orders have been from the Airbus A320 family, and the Boeing aircraft have been phased out. With the acquisition of
GB Airways in 2007, EasyJet inherited nine Airbus A320 and six
Airbus A321
The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...
aircraft. This gave the airline some time to evaluate the feasibility of operating these larger aircraft. Based on this evaluation, EasyJet exchanged 25 A319 orders for A320s in July 2008 and later removed the A321 aircraft from the fleet.
On 18 June 2013, the airline announced an intention to acquire – subject to shareholder approval – 35 Airbus A320 aircraft, for delivery between 2015 and 2017, and 100 Airbus A320neo aircraft for delivery between 2017 and 2022.
As part of the agreement, the airline will have purchase rights on a further 100 A320neo aircraft.
The current generation A320s and fifty of the A320neos will replace the current A319 aircraft.
On 15 May 2017, EasyJet announced the conversion of 30 A320neo orders into A321neo aircraft to be used on busier routes.
The then-CEO of EasyJet, Carolyn McCall, stated of the change: "bigger planes would help easyJet increase capacity in slot-constrained airports at peak times, such as Geneva, Amsterdam and London Gatwick". She added that the A321neos would help to cut costs by 9 per cent. The company took delivery of the first A321neo on 18 July 2018 at the
Farnborough International Airshow.
On 20 November 2018, EasyJet ordered an additional 17 A320neo, taking their total neo order, including the A321neo, to 147. On 19 November 2019, EasyJet ordered an additional 12 A320neo, taking the total neo orders, including the A321neo, to 159.
On 20 July 2022, during the Farnborough International Airshow, EasyJet confirmed the placing of an order for 56 A320neo, including an upsizing of 18 A320neo from their original order to the longer A321neo model. EasyJet was reported to have secured a significant reduction on the list price of the aircraft as part of their original 2013 deal with Airbus.
In December 2023, the airline ordered 56 A320neo and 101 A321neo aircraft.
Services
Booking
Initially, booking was by telephone only; as a means of promoting this, all of the airline's aircraft were painted with the booking telephone number. There is no incentive for
travel agent
A travel agency is a private Retailing, retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related Service (economics), services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel supply chain, suppliers to offer different kin ...
s to book flights on the airline because it does not pay
commission
In-Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
s, which is an industry-standard practice for low-cost carriers.
In December 1997, one of EasyJet's design and advertising agencies suggested to Stelios Haji-Ioannou that he should consider trialling a website for direct bookings. Haji-Ioannou's reply was: "The Internet is for nerds, it will never make money for my business!" Other executives of the airline saw the potential and approved a website trial involving putting a different telephone reservation number on the website to track success. Once Haji-Ioannou saw the results, he changed his mind and an e-commerce website capable of offering real-time online booking went live in April 1998; this was the first such website for a low-cost carrier in Europe.
In December 2001, the airline switched from a third-party reservation system to an in-house system. Internet bookings were priced cheaper than booking by telephone to reflect the reduced
call centre
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone ...
costs; as a further means of encouraging the use of the website, aircraft were repainted with the web address. Within a year, over 50% of bookings were made using the website; by April 2004, the figure had reportedly jumped to 98%.
In December 2011, EasyJet launched their mobile app on the
App Store
An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...
and
Google Play Store allowing customers to book flights and store boarding passes. In 2019, the app accounted for 21.8% of bookings made with the airline.
Cabin and onboard services
The airline's main fleet, comprising Airbus A319, A320, A320neo and A321neo aircraft, carry up to 156, 186, 188 and 235 passengers, respectively, depending on the layout. An Airbus A319 carries 150 to 156 passengers depending on the layout in a single-class configuration, but as the airline does not serve meals on its shorter flights, it opted for smaller galleys and had a
lavatory installed in unused space at the rear of the aircraft. The space saved by having smaller galleys allowed for the installation of 156 seats. Due to this seating arrangement, to satisfy safety requirements, the airline's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of over-wing exits, instead of the standard one-pair configuration found on most Airbus A319 aircraft.
[Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), accessed via The figures include aircraft delivered to sister airlines EasyJet Europe and EasyJet Switzerland.]
EasyJet does not provide complimentary meals or drinks on its flights (except for some occasional charter flights operated by the airline). Passengers may purchase items on board from the "Eat Drink Shop"
buy on board programme. Onboard sales are an important part of the airline's
ancillary revenue; gifts such as fragrances, cosmetics, gadgets as well as duty-free cigarettes, rolling tobacco and a large selection of spirits. The airline's monthly
inflight magazine
An inflight magazine (or in-flight magazine) is a free magazine distributed via the seats of an airplane, by an airline company, or in an airport lounge.
Overview
Many airlines offer in-flight magazines to provide details about their fleet vehi ...
is called ''The Traveller''.
The airline had previously provided in-flight entertainment (IFE) in some aircraft, such as the ex-GB Airways fleet, using drop-down screens on some Airbus aircraft; by 2018, all use of IFE had been discontinued. The airline offers headphones for purchase, along with a travel pillow and eyeshades, subject to stock. During 2017, 'Air Time' was introduced on some
EasyJet Switzerland flights, which enables passengers to connect to watch a selection of films and read books through an on-board
WiFi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
network; this service is provided by
Rakuten.
Frequent flyer, business travel and loyalty products
Three distinct loyalty products are offered, tailored towards business and frequent flyers. These are Flexi Fare, EasyJet Plus and a new frequent traveller loyalty programme called Flight Club. Flexi Fare is a type of ticket that is usually more expensive than the regular fare and comparable to a business ticket with other airlines. This ticket offers additional flexibility, including unlimited free date changes within a set period, free route changes, complimentary checked baggage (1x20 kg), an increased carry-on baggage allowance, and a £7.50 on-board refreshment voucher. EasyJet Plus is an annual subscription product targeted at frequent flyers, both business and leisure. This service offers free allocated seating (including extra legroom), priority check-in, fast-track security, speedy boarding and extra cabin baggage. The airline's loyalty programme is called Flight Club.
EasyJet Hotels and EasyJet Holidays
On 14 December 2004, EasyJet and Hotelopia, a subsidiary of
First Choice Holidays, launched the co-branded EasyJetHotels accommodation booking service. EasyJetHotels offers accommodation products throughout the airline's network. Customers booking flights through the airline's website are provided with quotes for several hotels at their destination. Alternatively, customers can book accommodation separately at the EasyJetHotels website.
On 28 June 2007, the airline expanded its relationship with Hotelopia by launching EasyJet Holidays, which offers Travel Trust Association protected
package holidays made up of EasyJet flights and Hotelopia accommodation products.
On 6 November 2010, the airline started a venture with Low Cost Travel Group, to offer flights dynamically packaged with Low Cost Travel Group's accommodation through the EasyJet Holidays website. As of March 2011, EasyJet Holidays has provided holidays and city breaks to all of the airline's routes.
A mid November 2019 report indicated that the company planned to relaunch the package holiday business, after the bankruptcy of former competitor
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was born into a poor family in Derbyshire and left school at the age of ten to start work as a gardener's boy. He served an appren ...
.
"The total European package holidays market is worth around £61bn per year ... we know customers want holidays with various durations and not the traditional seven and 14 nights. The UK alone is a £13bn market and has grown by 6% annually," according to a company spokesperson.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Airlines established in 1995
EasyJet
Airlines of the United Kingdom
British brands
British companies established in 1995
Companies based in Luton
Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Companies in the FTSE 100 Index
EasyGroup
European Low Fares Airline Association
Airlines for Europe
Low-cost carriers
1995 establishments in England