EASYJET has underlined the importance of Scotland to its expansion plans, revealing that it is actively working on deals to bring new routes to the country before the end of the year.
The commitment came shortly after the airline pledged yesterday to create 50 new jobs at Glasgow Airport by adding a fifth aircraft to its base at the hub. The announcement provided a major boost to Glasgow following the decision by Ryanair to shut its base and slash the number of routes it runs from the airport last year, a move which put around 300 jobs at risk.
EasyJet said the introduction of a fifth Airbus A320 to the Glasgow base will create openings for flight, cabin and ground crew, boosting significantly the 200-strong headcount it already employs at the hub.
READ MORE: easyJet cheers Easter sales boost and hires Ryanair operations boss
The aircraft will largely be used to serve a new route between Glasgow and Birmingham, which will operate 13 times a week throughout the year from March 29 next year, though it will also be used by easyJet to “top up” capacity on other domestic routes.
The extra Airbus 320, which will complement the two Airbus A319 and two A320 aircraft already based in Glasgow, will provide 340,000 more seats for passengers coming in and out of Glasgow.
Ali Gayward, UK country manager for the airline, said the new connection was sparked by demand from business travellers and regular commuters who have been calling for more choice when it comes to travelling to the Midlands.
READ MORE: EasyJet pledges 50 jobs for Glasgow Airport
And she said the airline was close to clinching further deals to add even more routes to Scotland.
As well as the five aircraft in Glasgow, easyJet has eight based at Edinburgh airport, with the level of inbound connections to Glasgow meaning that it operates roughly the same amount of flights to both cities. It also runs services from Aberdeen and Inverness to destinations such as Luton, Gatwick, and Geneva.
Mr Gayward said: “There are some more new routes we are planning to add, we’re just finalising those. We’ll be able to announce that later on this year, and they will all start from the 29th of March when the new aircraft arrives. We have a few up our sleeve.”
While Brexit uncertainty has been cited by Thomas Cook for weaker demand for holidays abroad this year, Ms Gayward said easyJet is not anticipating any reduction in appetite from UK consumers for flights abroad. Around 50 per cent of the flights operated by easyJet are on domestic UK routes, with the balance connecting locations within Europe.
Asked whether easyJet had seen any growth in demand for domestic flight because more UK citizens are holidaying at home this year, Ms Gayward said: “We’re still seeing great demand for outbound leisure holidays. Look at the weather today – we still need our bit of sunshine, don’t we? I don’t think that demand is going to go in spite of Brexit.”
She added: “We’re still seeing demand from holidaymakers, and it is in response to that demand we are adding the extra plane in Glasgow.”
Ms Gayward acknowledged the challenges currently affecting the wider European aviation market, from rising fuel prices to broader economic and political uncertainty, and admitted the conditions could see more smaller operators fail.
Highlighting the cyclical nature of the aviation industry, Ms Gayward said: “Sadly, in times like this when you have got rising fuel prices and perhaps softening of yields, after years of strong aviation growth, there is now a lot of capacity in the marketplace. And when there is any macroeconomic uncertainty, yes unfortunately the weaker airlines… are less able to weather the storm.
“EasyJet is in a very strong position, [and] we actually will ride the storm very well.”
The company has not been affected by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max model following fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia, which claimed a total of 346 lives.
EasyJet is an “all Airbus operator”, Ms Gayward said.
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