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The biggest danger facing the airline industry is the global oil price, easyJet warned today, after it released strong passenger numbers.

The no-frills carrier said the passenger load factor, or proportion of seats sold per flight, was 84.6% in February compared with 82.8% for the same month last year. Passenger numbers, driven by the airline’s acquisition of more jets, rose by nearly a quarter to 3.2 million.

source: Guardian.co.uk

EasyJet’s decision to open two more French bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lyon is the latest sign that low-cost carriers are ready and willing to make a serious push into an airline market that offers significant potential, but has traditionally erected high barriers to entry.

The UK budget operator launched its CDG base earlier this month and will open its base at Lyon Saint-Exupery airport in April. This is in addition to the base it already has at Paris Orly, where the carrier has stationed six aircraft.

source: Flight Global

easyJet welcomed passengers onboard its inaugural flight from East Midlands to Palma, Mallorca thursday february 7th, providing travellers from the region with an even greater choice of destinations from their local airport.

source: Boarding.no

EasyJet will this week launch a credit card with loyalty perks just in time for the post-Christmas rush to book holidays.

The card, which charges interest at 16.9% on purchases – just above the average rate of about 15% – offers one free easyJet flight worth up to £40 including taxes if at least £250 is spent on the card in the first three months.

Also in the first three months it will offer 10% back on easyJet flights and purchases such as hotels and car hire made when booking the flight.

source: This is Money

Routes operated by GB Airways for summer 2008 have become available to book online at easyJet’s website.

A total of 32 routes include Sharm El Sheikh, the Canary Islands, Corfu, the Greek Islands and Turkey.

The move follows British Airways terminating the sale of GB Airways flights from March 30 onwards after easyJet acquired the BA franchise partner last October.

source: Travelmole

Low-cost airline easyJet PLC has said it will start a new four-times weekly service from London Gatwick airport to Biarritz, in the south of France, from July 4, 2008.

The service will run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, easyJet said. The carrier also launched a six-times weekly service from London Gatwick to Innsbruck earlier today.

source: Hemscott

Low-cost airline easyJet has upgraded and introduced its Speedy Boarding Plus facility across Europe.

The upgraded procedure combines Speedy Boarding, which allows passengers to pay to be amongst the first to be called to board a flight, with a dedicated check-in service.

source: Hemscott

Budget airline easyJet is to begin flights from Manchester as part of a massive expansion of its services in the north west.

Planes carrying the airline’s famous orange and white logo are set to lift off for foreign destinations from the airport for the first time late March.

Bosses at easyJet say the move, which is subject to approval by regulators, will make it the north west’s biggest operator.

source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk

easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, announced today it would introduce a new route from Newcastle to the Spanish city of Murcia this spring. The new three times weekly service will commence on 17 May 2008.

This new destination will be particularly popular as a family hotspot and a mini break destination and easyJet expects to carry 41,000 passengers on this new route in the first 12 months of operation.

source: Easier

EasyJet threw down the gauntlet to arch-rival Ryanair today, declaring that its profits will grow 20% over the next year on top of the 50% increase in earnings it has posted for the last 12 months.

That compares with Ryanair’s own estimated profit growth of about 17% as it expects to have to ramp up its ticket giveaways this winter to keep passengers flying.

Increasing ancillary revenues such as charging passengers extra for speedier boarding and persuading them to book hotels when they are booking their tickets, helped easyJet to record pre-tax profits of £201 million in the year to the end of September, up from £129 million last time.

source: ThisisLondon.com