easyJet

[White Heather]

Everyone on here keeps talking about Easy opening a base at LBA but seem happy with what Easy are doing here now with the supposed promise of a base in the not too distant future.

If you look at what they are running at Liverpool you might be surprised, as I was, and think, rightly, that we are not doing very well at all in comparision. Their range of flights from there puts us to shame. I don't know how long their programme took to build up there but our measly offering, compared, is something of a disgrace when we have been courting them for what seems ages and Liverpool is only a stones throw away from Man.

Relatively speaking, LBA have only just begun as far as Easyjet is concerned. For a couple.of years we just had flights to Geneva. They were then canned and for a few years, we had nothing. Then we got Belfast. That was only a couple of years ago. Then Paris, with Geneva back in winter. Now, we have Palma and Malaga so we have gone from 1 route to 5, albeit seasonal.

Liverpool has been an Easyjet base for many years so it's entirely expected that they have far more than LBA. Bear in mind that whilst Easyjet were building up their programme at LPL, there was no Jet2 presence. Their only serious competition was Ryanair..

So I think you are expecting too much too quickly. What Easyjet are doing at LBA is very much what they have done at other airports ahead of opening a base. However, there is no ' promise'. Hope, yes. Expectation, probably. You seem to be forgetting too that LBA simply doesnt have the capacity yet to accommodate several more based aircraft. Nor does it have the night time movements available, and in the event LBA loses the CLEUD appeal, that is a major stumbling block.

 

[pug]

Liverpool though has been a pretty established base since they started.

Indeed, one of their first bases where other airports saw it as something of a flash in the pan and refused to adapt their business models around it. But LPL is clearly overshadowed by MAN. If LBA get it right there is the potential to open up a number of city destinations that are currently unserved, I suspect this is the target and not just more flights to Alicante and Palma.

 

[Silvercity]

Liverpool brought the Low Cost airlines to the North of England with Easyjet followed by Ryanair. At the time Manchester was very sniffy about the whole idea.
Eventually as Manchester started loosing business, they obviously did deals with both carriers and both airlines expanded rapidly at Manchester, thus affecting Liverpools growth.
Fortunately Liverpool is on the up now, and Easyjet is up to 8 aircraft, I think it was 9 at their height so not far off.
There was also bmi baby at the time, which from memory finished when Easyjet/ Ryanair moved into Manchester.

Indeed, one of their first bases where other airports saw it as something of a flash in the pan and refused to adapt their business models around it. But LPL is clearly overshadowed by MAN. If LBA get it right there is the potential to open up a number of city destinations that are currently unserved, I suspect this is the target and not just more flights to Alicante and Palma.

I wouldn't bank on city destinations with Easyjet, leisure is more their focus

 

[pug]

Liverpool brought the Low Cost airlines to the North of England with Easyjet followed by Ryanair. At the time Manchester was very sniffy about the whole idea.
Eventually as Manchester started loosing business, they obviously did deals with both carriers and both airlines expanded rapidly at Manchester, thus affecting Liverpools growth.
Fortunately Liverpool is on the up now, and Easyjet is up to 8 aircraft, I think it was 9 at their height so not far off.
There was also bmi baby at the time, which from memory finished when Easyjet/ Ryanair moved into Manchester.


I wouldn't bank on city destinations with Easyjet, leisure is more their focus

Of course the bulk of their volume will be leisure, but as we’ve seen with CDG there is likely to be an uptick in routes to places like AMS, CDG, PRG and maybe a German airport as part of a base agreement.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Don’t forget Liverpool (with its Irish ties) does very well for easyJet and Ryanair on Belfast/Dublin flights. Those flights made it profitable base; with then other routes added into mix to see what the market likes and what’s profitable.

EasyJet have gone back into growth mode at LPL, thanks now to the limited growth Man can offer & Jet2 competition. One suspects that if they can get some serious A321 numbers on board to displace A320’s we’ll be in a good shout of getting a 3 aircraft base. Reality is they need to free upto 6 airframes for both LBA & NCL. That can only be done by serious A321 numbers been delivered.

And as said before - that fleet order spreads far and wide with London Gatwick also in contention (one would imagine eventually it'l be a small fleet of A320's and large A321)

 

[LBA4EVER]

Liverpool though has been a pretty established base since they started.

Im sure LPL was one of the very first to offer easyjet flights? Which airport in the 90s was the first for easyjet?

 

[Finger66]

Im sure LPL was one of the very first to offer easyjet flights? Which airport in the 90s was the first for easyjet?

I believe LTN was their initial base and think it may have been with just 2 leased 737-200s. Back in the Capital Airlines days even LBA had a flight to LTN. Oh how things have moved on for LBA, LTN and especially Easyjet

 

[Silvercity]

Yes was Luton, think their first route was Glasgow.

 

[rollo]

First ever EasyJet service was Luton - Glasgow Nov 10th 1995 followed two weeks later to Edinburgh using one of two 737-200. Liverpool was their second base opened Oct 1997 with flights to Amsterdam, Geneva and Nice.

They've come a long way since.

 

[rollo]

Just had a thought, it's EasyJets 30th Anniversary this November 10th nice time to announce a new base for summer 26 !!!

Place your bets ladies and gentlemen.

 

[lbaspotter]

I’ve been told rumour from a very credible source that an easyJet announcement could come soon

It sounds like they may have done a deal to open new routes from both NCL & LBA whilst getting some of the new LTN slots.

 

[BCFC]

Im sure LPL was one of the very first to offer easyjet flights? Which airport in the 90s was the first for easyjet?

It was Luton…

 

[Bigman]

Maybe a new Newcastle base with W legs to LBA from Alicante and Faro. Anything will be welcome if it happens

 

[oldendays]

New easyJet base at Newcastle confirmed. Opening spring 2026.

 

[Finger66]

New easyJet base at Newcastle confirmed. Opening spring 2026.

And DSA in 2027 apparently. Just messing on that one!!
Whilst no one knew for sure NCL was widely predicted so no great surprise.
I think it may also have been quite widely predicted that LBA would follow so let's hope that is the case for 2027 (if not before).

 

[SierraHotel]

Seemingly no NCL LBA deal as rumoured earlier this week?

 

[Statto]

Seemingly no NCL LBA deal as rumoured earlier this week?

Probably unlikely that level of detail would be shared. Why give your competitors any more advance notice of your plans than you need to. We do know that Infrabridge who own LBA also have a significant interest in NCL and LTN. Although they exist as independent companies with separate management teams, they have some common non-exec directors who sit across all three airports. So logical that there would be moves at the top to try and build relationships. It’s also clear from reading the EasyJet investor update that they are focussed on growing the holidays arm of their business and see ‘underserved regions’ as an opportunity. They also refer to Jet2 specifically as being “capacity constrained”
Anyway, I suppose the test for LBA will be whether more routes appear from away based aircraft as that seems to be the approach they take before committing to a base

 

[White Heather]

Probably unlikely that level of detail would be shared. Why give your competitors any more advance notice of your plans than you need to. We do know that Infrabridge who own LBA also have a significant interest in NCL and LTN. Although they exist as independent companies with separate management teams, they have some common non-exec directors who sit across all three airports. So logical that there would be moves at the top to try and build relationships. It’s also clear from reading the EasyJet investor update that they are focussed on growing the holidays arm of their business and see ‘underserved regions’ as an opportunity. They also refer to Jet2 specifically as being “capacity constrained”
Anyway, I suppose the test for LBA will be whether more routes appear from away based aircraft as that seems to be the approach they take before committing to a base

I can't see any airline committing to a base at LBA until it's certain that their movements won't be constrained by the night flight quota, which is of course dependent upon the outcome of the recent CLEUD enquiry. Nor can I see LBA signing up to such a base for the same reasons, but that wont stop them negotiating a deal for the future, especially one based on NEO ops, as they may be confirmed as exempt from the night movement quota.

Until that CLEUD outcome is known though, LBA is currently at capacity in summer as far as based surcraft are concerned.

 

[752]

Probably unlikely that level of detail would be shared. Why give your competitors any more advance notice of your plans than you need to. We do know that Infrabridge who own LBA also have a significant interest in NCL and LTN. Although they exist as independent companies with separate management teams, they have some common non-exec directors who sit across all three airports. So logical that there would be moves at the top to try and build relationships. It’s also clear from reading the EasyJet investor update that they are focussed on growing the holidays arm of their business and see ‘underserved regions’ as an opportunity. They also refer to Jet2 specifically as being “capacity constrained”
Anyway, I suppose the test for LBA will be whether more routes appear from away based aircraft as that seems to be the approach they take before committing to a base

Interesting, does anybody know what they mean by Jet2 being 'Capacity Constraint'?

NCL has come at no shock, I'm for one glad they returned to SEN.

I like SOU/LBA seem to be in the running for a 2027 base. Hopefully LBA gets it.

For now id be more then happy to see AMS/ALC/FAO appear on our departure boards.

If they flew the NEO's they would be exempt from the CLEUD. Hopefully all that sh*te goes away soon, impossible to see how LCC can restrict an airport so bad when the government is giving the green light to every other airport.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Interesting, does anybody know what they mean by Jet2 being 'Capacity Constraint'?.

Delays on A321?

Constraint on crews?

Who knows. But both of those, are ironically, what easy will also suffer with.