easyJet (UK) is planning to open its 10th base in the United Kingdom. The low-cost carrier will base three Airbus A320neo aircraft starting in March 2025.
The airline is planning to launch six new routes to Pisa, Gran Canaria, Dalaman, Antalya, Marrakech and Enfidha in Tunisia.
Southend Airport issued this statement:
- The new UK base will open next March creating around 130 direct and supporting many more indirect jobs
- Three A320neo aircraft will be based at London Southend, with six new routes launching to popular leisure destinations for summer 2025 and more to be announced in the coming weeks.
- Summer 2024 is set to be the biggest ever for easyJet holidays and this year the airline will operate more UK flying than ever before with 57 million seats and 70 new routes, fuelled by strong consumer demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays
easyJet has today announced it will be expanding its UK network by opening a three-aircraft base at London Southend next March. The investment will create around 130 direct jobs for pilots and crew in the UK and support many more indirect jobs.
The move signals easyJet’s continued expansion in the UK, having launched a base at Birmingham International Airport in March as part of the airline’s strategy to take advantage of key growth opportunities across its network.
The UK is easyJet’s largest market with 56% of all easyJet passengers flying to and from UK airports and this announcement comes as the airline is set to operate more UK flying than ever before this year with over 57 million seats – a 10% increase versus last year – and has launched 70 new routes from the UK, fuelled by strong consumer demand for easyJet’s flights and holidays.
Investing in a 10th base in the UK with three 186-seat A320neo aircraft at the airport strengthens easyJet’s network by positioning it as the carrier of choice to serve UK consumers and capture the continued demand for travel.
The airline already serves international routes from London Southend to popular beach and city destinations Amsterdam, Geneva, Faro, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Paris Charles de Gaulle and has flown over seven million customers from London Southend since operations began in 2012.
The planned addition of more aircraft is already enabling the airline to launch six new routes to Pisa, Gran Canaria, Dalaman and Antalya, Marrakech as well as Enfidha in Tunisia. easyJet holidays will be on sale from tomorrow with departures from 1 May 2025, meaning package holidays from London Southend will be available seven days a week, with flights on sale in the coming months.
On the financial side, the airline issued this six month report:
Positive summer demand is expected to deliver strong FY24 earnings growth
– Headline loss before tax of £350 million (Reported loss before tax of £347 million)
o £61m YoY improvement driven by 12% capacity growth & flat unit cost ex fuel
o Holidays profitable customer growth of 42% YoY
– Strong investment grade balance sheet to support growth and shareholder returns
o £146 million net cash
– Continue to expect H2 headline CPS ex fuel up low single digits YoY
– Upgauging on track in FY24 – expect 16 A320neo family aircraft deliveries as planned
o All Airbus fleet powered by CFM engines
– Agreed purchase of an established heavy base maintenance facility in Malta – providing supply certainty and unlocking further cost benefits
– Targeted growth:
o Birmingham & Alicante bases successfully launched – sold load factors ahead of network average
o Tenth UK base announced at Southend to open summer 25, further building on easyJet’s leisure network and easyJet holidays’ continued growth
– Positive outlook for FY24
o Q3 Airline RPS expected to be slightly up YoY, with the Easter peak falling into March
o Q4 Airline RPS: Load factor ahead with yield slightly up YoY
o H2’24 c.59m seats on sale, +8% YoY. Expect FY24 capacity of c. 100m seats
o easyJet holidays expected to deliver >£170m PBT (>40% growth YoY)
– On track to deliver our ambitious medium term target of >£1bn PBT
Commenting on the results, Johan Lundgren, easyJet CEO said:
“easyJet’s targeted growth and focus on productivity has delivered a reduction in winter losses, boosted by our trusted brand and network that we continue to invest in.
“Our two newest bases, Alicante and Birmingham, are achieving passenger numbers well above the network average and we have announced a tenth UK base at London Southend from next March, continuing the growth of our leisure network in the UK where easyJet holidays plays an increasingly important role.
“We are now absolutely focused on another record summer which is expected to deliver strong FY24 earnings growth and are on track to achieve our medium term targets.”
Overview
easyJet is well positioned to deliver strong earnings growth year-on-year, driven by positive summer demand, strong easyJet holidays profit growth and the £61 million reduction in winter losses. Actions taken over the last year have enabled us to deliver an improved operational performance. As a trusted brand, easyJet is well-placed to capitalise on the positive demand environment as consumers prioritise travel. We are continuing to expand our primary airport network with 158 new routes launched for the current financial year.
Summer 2023 investments into our network in Porto and Lisbon continue to deliver profit improvements as these routes mature. Ancillary revenue continues to grow as easyJet’s inflight retail delivered a 40% increase in profit per seat in H1’24 as a result of improved customer proposition.
Bookings continue to progress in line with expectations, with Q3’24 currently c.77% of the program sold, +1 ppt year-on-year and Q4’24 is c.39% sold, +1 ppt year-on-year. easyJet holidays has currently sold 77% of the plan for this summer.
easyJet holidays is also benefitting from the Birmingham base launch, with 15% of all departing airline seats being easyJet holidays customers. easyJet holidays continues to provide an excellent customer experience with customer satisfaction at 85%, with 80% of customers likely to re-book.
Fuel & FX Hedging
| Jet Fuel | H2’24 | H1’25 | H2’25 | USD | H2’24 | H1’25 | H2’25 | |
| Hedged position | 74% | 56% | 21% | Hedged position | 75% | 53% | 22% | |
| Average hedged rate ($/MT) | $825 | $832 | $818 | Average hedged rate (USD/GBP) | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.26 | |
| Current spot ($/MT) at 15.05.24 | c. 810 | Current spot (USD/GBP) at 15.05.24 | c. 1.26 | |||||
– Carbon obligation
o CY24: 100% covered at €43/MT
o CY25: 82% covered at €30/MT
– USD Lease payments hedged for the next three years at 1.27
– Capex hedged for the next 12 months in EUR & USD
Fleet
easyJet’s total fleet as at 31 March 2024 comprised 343 aircraft (30 September 2023: 336 aircraft). The increase was driven by the delivery of nine new A320neo aircraft and five mid-life A320 leased aircraft.
Seven older leased aircraft exited the fleet at the end of their lease-term (all A319 aircraft), as easyJet continues its journey of retiring older, less efficient aircraft, whilst benefitting from the A320neo family aircraft with their superior fuel efficiency and greater number of seats.
easyJet already has 78 A320neo family aircraft within its fleet. It also has an existing order book with Airbus to FY34 for a further 306 A320neo family aircraft which are still to be delivered alongside 100 purchase rights. This provides easyJet with the ability to complete its fleet replacement program of A319 aircraft and replace approximately half of the A320ceo aircraft, alongside providing the foundation for disciplined growth.
The average age of the fleet increased to 10.0 years (30 September 2023: 9.9 years). The average gauge of the fleet is currently 180 seats per aircraft (30 September 2023: 179 seats).
Fleet as at 31 March 2024
| Owned | Leased | Total | % of fleet | Changes since Sep-23 | Firm Orders | |
| A319 | 18 | 70 | 88 | 26% | (7) | – |
| A320 | 103 | 74 | 177 | 52% | 5 | – |
| A320neo | 56 | 7 | 63 | 18% | 9 | 137a |
| A321neo | 4 | 11 | 15 | 4% | – | 169a |
| 181 | 162 | 343 | 306 | |||
| Percentage of total fleet | 53% | 47% |
a) easyJet retains the option to alter the aircraft type of future deliveries, subject to providing sufficient notification to the OEM.
Our flexible fleet plan allows us to expand or contract the size of the fleet depending on the demand outlook. easyJet retains the ability to utilise its existing fleet of A319 aircraft to maintain its base fleet plan despite FY25 deliveries being reduced.
| Number of aircraft | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 | FY27 | |
| Current contractual maximum | 347 | 356 | 380 | 392 | |
| Base fleet plan | 347 | 356 | 370 | 384 | |
| Current contractual minimum | 347 | 346 | 330 | 311 | |
| New aircraft deliveries | 16 | 9 | 25 | 34 | |
| Gross capital expenditure (£’m) | c.1,300 | c.1,300 | c.1,900 | c.2,400 | |
Capex is comprised of new fleet delivery payments, maintenance related expenditure, spares investment, lease payments and other capital expenditure such as IT development.
Top Copyright Photo: easyJet (UK) Airbus A320-251N WL G-UZHU (msn 8681) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 961694.
easyJet aircraft photo gallery:
