EasyJet has unveiled its network expansion decision with the addition of five aircraft to seasonal bases in Malaga (AGP), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), and Faro (FAO) for next summer. From May 22 next year, the budget carrier will expand its fleet with the intent to generate around 120 direct jobs in Spain, along with 30 new positions at the Portuguese site. Currently, the airline has employed more than 400 people under local contracts there.
On September 21, the airline announced to base five aircraft in Malaga and seven in Palma to capture a large slice of peak travel demand. As the airline already has four planes deployed in Barcelona base, EasyJet will expand the Spanish fleet to 16 aircraft altogether with recent aircraft addition. The airline will add an aircraft into Faro base in Portugal too.
The expansion of seasonal bases implies that the fleet in Portugal and Spain next year will outperform the fleet of the pre-pandemic period by 70%. The CEO of EasyJet, Johan Lundgren, stated the reason behind the decision to add five aircraft to these bases. While EasyJet has come through the unprecedented break induced by the pandemic effectively, launching two seasonal bases in Spain will optimize the carrier’s network and contribute to the post-pandemic recovery. Mr. Lundgren also explained the opportunities EasyJet can grab in this recovery phase across Europe, where full-service network carriers will retrench. EasyJet Airlines is confident and ready to grab the market with leisure and beach travel recovery next summer.
Also Read: EasyJet: Manchester Flight Delayed after Woman ” Punched Pilot In Face”
A growing presence in Malaga and Palma will provide flexibility for EasyJet to capture demand on these key destinations. Comparative low fares, unrivaled air network, and brand of EasyJet will strengthen these strategic growth opportunities. UK-based EasyJet will explore new traffic flows in the future by increasing capacity in Malaga and Faro, which it operated earlier year.
Air Travel Scenario in Malaga and Palma de Mallorca
The European aviation market is gradually ramping up with increased tourism demand and flight operations. Malaga-Costa Airport, the fourth busiest airport in Spain, serves as a focus city for Ryanair, Vueling, and EasyJet from next summer. On October 8, 2020, EasyJet had announced to launch of seasonal flights in Malaga by its subsidiary EasyJet Europe. The Malaga airport transported over 5 million passengers in 2020. Given the European government progressively opening up to enable travel without restriction, Malaga will soon witness the air traffic crowding.
Major domestic UK expansion for @easyJet this summer. Part of this is backfilling where Stobart operated. But a lot of it is taking advantage of domestic tourism demand as border reopening remains unclear.https://t.co/97TebjYyTZ pic.twitter.com/5Y8bLixUHd
— Seth Miller (@WandrMe) June 17, 2021
Palma de Mallorca, the gateway to the pristine Island of Mallorca, is the third busiest airport in Spain which transports more than 20 million travelers every year. Although the pandemic hit hard on this vacation island, the hotels are opening up again and have got off to a promising start. The vaccination drive and low COVID infection number show that the airport will handle as many movements as it used to during busy periods.
EasyJet’s summer base Faro
Over the summer months, the resilient and growing demand across Europe prompted EasyJet to open its third operating base in Portugal besides Lisbon and Porto. Faro base will operate for summer months until October, contributing to the sustainable growth of the country. Faro will serve destinations such as Luxembourg, Munich, Lille, Toulouse, and Zurich alongside UK destinations such as Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Gatwick, Luton, and Manchester. In the past 22 years, the budget carrier EasyJet transported more than 20 million travelers in and out of Algarve.
During summer 2021, EasyJet served 18 destinations from Malaga. Similarly, 22 Faro routes and 25 routes from Palma were also operated. The rescission of travel bans in Europe has sparked a positive booking momentum for holidays across Europe, with a strong shift of holiday flights in Europe.
About EasyJet Airlines
Headquartered at London Luton Airport, EasyJet Airlines is a UK-based low-cost carrier that operates domestic and international flights in more than 30 countries, founded in March 1995. Operating the fleet of more than 300 aircraft, it flies to the extensive network of more than 1000 routes. Behind Ryanair, it is Europe’s second-largest budget airline carrying hundreds of thousands of passengers every year.
Also Read: Airbus profit distressed
Recently, the UK government has issued a statement announcing non-requirement for fully-vaccinated travelers to go through pre-departure tests for returning to the UK from non-red list nations starting from October 4. So, EasyJet Airlines will be increasing further 51000 seats for departure from the UK for that month to the European cities like Alicante, Majorca, and Faro, etc. In June, the airline had increased its seating capacity by 150000 on the intra-European network.
