Airline Profile: easyJet
One of be Europe’s largest low fare airlines, EasyJet operates frequent daily scheduled services for both leisure and business passengers, to more than 280 routes between over seventy major cities across Europe.
History
Stelios Haji-Ioannou launched easyJet with two leased aircraft operating from London Luton on routes to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Operations from Liverpool Airport began in 1997 and in 1998, EasyJet acquired a 40 per cent stake in TEA Switzerland. EasyJet floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 2000.
It completed the acquisition of Go Fly Aviation (established by British Airways in May 1998) on 10 December 2002.
The FL Group acquired an 11.5 per cent stake in the airline in October 2004, which was increased to 16.18 per cent in October 2005, before being sold off on 5 May 2006. Blackrock Investment Management acquired a minority share in the airline in August 2007.
On 25 October 2007, easyJet announced that it had agreed to acquire GB Airways for GBP 103.5 million (US $212 million) in cash. The deal received Office of Fair Trading approval and was completed in January 2008. The GB Airways fleet was fully integrated under a new European AOC by 31 March 2008 with operations from Manchester Airport launched on 29 September 2008 with a service to Alicante.
Fleet
- 135x Airbus A320 Family
- 24x Boeing 737
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