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easyJet,
a low cost European airline, is to expand its presence in France by opening its 18th and 19th bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle and at Lyon airports in spring
2008.
easyJet will initially base five additional aircraft in France
- three in Paris and two in Lyon - operating a total of 13 routes and creating
hundreds of jobs for pilots, cabin crew and associated support services. The airline anticipates that it will carry over 6 million passengers
through French airports in 2007 and a further 2 million in 2008 due to the opening of the new bases.
The
expansion
is part of a long-term growth strategy for France, which includes a €600m investment over a four-year-period. By
2011, the airline plans to have 20 aircraft based there and to carry 12 million passengers. By that time, easyJet will operate over 80 routes in and
out of France and will directly employ almost 1,000 people.
Three brand-new A319, manufactured by Toulouse-based Airbus, will be based in Paris-Charles de Gaulle from February 2008 to
complement easyJet's existing six aircraft at Paris Orly. The opening of the Charles de Gaulle base will enable easyJet to initially launch six
additional domestic and international routes (Biarritz, Oporto, Venice, Marrakech, Hamburg and Krakow) at France's main airport and to
strengthen easyJet's position in the French capital.
easyJet's second new base in France will be launched at Lyon's Saint-Exupéry Airport. Initially two Airbus A319 will arrive in France's
second largest city from April 2008 to operate seven domestic and international routes (Bordeaux, Toulouse, Casablanca, Marrakech,
Venice, Porto and Lisbon).
Over the past few years, France has become an increasingly important market for easyJet. The airline already offers 50 routes in France and
as much as 40 daily flights to and from Paris.
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