In a highly intriguing network twist, easyJet
has added Tbilisi to its route map, becoming its most eastward destination. For now, the Georgian capital will be served from Geneva, London Luton, and Milan Malpensa, with two routes beginning on April 1—no joke. Not coincidentally, 
British Airways
has announced London Heathtow-Tbilisi flights, having last served the route in 2013.
Ryanair served Tbilisi in 2019/2020 when it flew from Bergamo. Wizz Air is the largest airline serving Georgia, although it is only in Kutaisi, four hours away from Tbilisi. Kutaisi is a relatively small city and not a beach or skiing destination, but lower prices—influenced by significant financial incentives—mean many passengers, mainly Georgian diaspora, use it as a lower-priced but much more inconvenient way of reaching the capital. Wizz Air briefly flew to Tbilisi when Kutaisi underwent runway work.
Image: GCMap
Tbilisi joins easyJet and BA’s network
I first noticed the development on Sean Moulton’s X page, with the following table summarizing the routes. Notice Luton, which will only have a 30-minute turnaround, less time than easyJet’s other two Tbilisi routes. At 1,931 nautical miles (3,577 km) on a Great Circle basis, Luton-Tbilisi will only be the carrier’s 26th longest route networkwide and the fourth-longest from Luton.
Photo: Airbus
|
Route |
Start date |
Flights |
Times to Georgia (local) |
Times from Georgia (local) |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
easyJet: Geneva-Tbilisi |
March 31 |
Twice-weekly |
13:00-20:25 (Monday), 07:00-14:25 (Thursday) |
21:05-22:50 (Monday), 15:05-16:50 (Thursday) |
Unserved airport pair; not served in 20 years, if ever. It will be Geneva and, indeed, Switzerland’s only Georgian route. Geneva had around 10,500 Tbilisi indirect passengers in 2023. |
|
British Airways: London Heathrow-Tbilisi |
March 30 |
Four times weekly |
21:25-05:30+1 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday) |
07:10-09:40 (Wednesday) 07:30-10:00 (Monday, Friday, Sunday) |
Tbilisi and Georgia are currently unserved from the UK. BMED had Heathrow flights years ago, which were then operated by bmi when it took over the carrier. BA served Tbilisi from Heathrow en route to/from Almaty in 2012/2013. Georgian Airways served Gatwick between 2017-2020. Wizz Air previously flew Luton-Kutaisi (see later). London-Tbilisi had around 48,000 indirect passengers in 2023. |
|
easyJet: London Luton-Tbilisi |
April 1 |
Twice-weekly |
11:25-20:25 (Tuesday), 13:40-22:40 (Saturday) |
20:55-22:15 (Tuesday), 23:10-00:30+1 (Saturday) |
For the first time, London-Tbilisi will have two non-stop airlines. |
|
easyJet: Milan Malpensa-Tbilisi |
April 1 |
Twice-weekly |
13:50-21:05 (Tuesday), 07:30-14:45 (Saturday) |
21:40-23:15 (Tuesday), 15:20-16:55 (Saturday) |
Unserved airport pair. However, Georgian Airways has Tbilisi-Bergamo and Wizz Air Kutaisi-Malpensa. Tbilisi-Malpensa had around 14,000 indirect passengers in 2023. |
Image: GCMap
Luton had Georgian flights before
Wizz Air served Luton-Kutaisi between 2017 and 2020. According to Cirium data, the year-round route mainly operated twice weekly, with 105,000 seats for sale. The UK Civil Aviation Authority shows it carried 72,740 passengers, making a very low 69% load factor. Add in the length of haul and what else could be done with the aircraft, and it is not surprising it was cut.
Will easyJet do better?
Strong existing traffic, mainly via Istanbul, to/from Tbilisi will help. It will also stimulate demand through non-stop flights, lower fares, and, hopefully, good promotions on both ends of the route.
While easyJet is a largely unknown brand in Georgia, the UK end will probably be the main point of sale. However, the fact that London-Tbilisi will go from zero airlines and zero flights to two airlines and six weekly services is concerning and will clearly reduce yields.
Photo: easyJet
easyJet’s airport additions: 2023-2025
Using Cirium data to compare easyJet’s planned network in 2023-2025 versus 2004-2022 reveals the following airports have been added. Of course, more may be announced soon, so treat this as a snapshot as of September 18.
- Akureyri: from October 2023; brand-new to network
- Cairo Sphinx: from October 2023; brand-new to network
- City of Derry: from November 2024; brand-new to network
- Djerba: from April 2024; brand-new to network
- Istanbul Airport: from June 2023; brand-new to network
- Lourdes: from March 2023 until October 2024 (then ends); brand-new to network
- Luxor: from November 2024; last served in 2013
- Oslo: from October 2024; last served in 2020
- Sal: from October 2024; brand-new to network
- Salerno: from July 2024; brand-new to network
- Strasbourg: from October 2024; last served in 2016
- Rabat: from October 2023; brand-new to network
- Reus: from April 2024; last served in 2020
- Tbilisi: from March 2025; brand-new to network
- Tromsø: from November 2024; brand-new to network