EasyJet considering TA-Paris route
Low-cost carrier, which has been active in Israel for three years, looking into adding new flights to French, Spanish and Italian capitals
Danny Sadeh
Published: 08.03.11, 09:07 / Israel Travel
Low-cost airline EasyJet, which has been active in Israel for three years now, is looking into adding new routes from Tel Aviv – to Paris, Madrid and Rome – following the success of the flights it has been operating to Israel from London Luton Airport and from Basel and Geneva in Switzerland.
A recent Israeli Airports Authority shows that within a short period of time, EasyJet has captured a market share of 20% in the Israel-Switzerland route and a 16% market share in the Tel Aviv-London route.
About 50% of the airline's passengers flying to Switzerland are Israelis, as are close to 30% of those traveling to London.
This year the company will fly more than 250,000 passengers on its flights to Israel, and according to its commercial manager, Hugh Aitken, its activity has strong growth potential.
Aitken, who visited Israel recently, told Yedioth Ahronoth that the company is planning to add flights on the Tel Aviv-London route as well, on which occupancy stands at more than 90%.
The airline is also considering operating flights from Israel to ski destinations in Europe, which are popular among Israelis.
According to Aitken, EasyJet is no longer a simple low-cost airline and is positioning itself between regular and cheap airlines.
The company has recently increased its business sales by offering flexible flight tickets which costs slightly more than regular tickets, but allow passengers to make many changes in the time of the flight, as opposed to regular tickets in which changes often cost even more than the ticket itself.
"Surveys we've conducted show that businesspeople are looking for cheap prices, high frequencies, flights on convenient hours and the option to make changes in the tickets if they missed their flights.
"This comes before free peanuts, a wet towel ahead of landing or a seat at the front of the plane," Aitken told Yedioth Ahronoth.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4097426,00.html
Low-cost carrier, which has been active in Israel for three years, looking into adding new flights to French, Spanish and Italian capitals
Danny Sadeh
Published: 08.03.11, 09:07 / Israel Travel
Low-cost airline EasyJet, which has been active in Israel for three years now, is looking into adding new routes from Tel Aviv – to Paris, Madrid and Rome – following the success of the flights it has been operating to Israel from London Luton Airport and from Basel and Geneva in Switzerland.
A recent Israeli Airports Authority shows that within a short period of time, EasyJet has captured a market share of 20% in the Israel-Switzerland route and a 16% market share in the Tel Aviv-London route.
About 50% of the airline's passengers flying to Switzerland are Israelis, as are close to 30% of those traveling to London.
This year the company will fly more than 250,000 passengers on its flights to Israel, and according to its commercial manager, Hugh Aitken, its activity has strong growth potential.
Aitken, who visited Israel recently, told Yedioth Ahronoth that the company is planning to add flights on the Tel Aviv-London route as well, on which occupancy stands at more than 90%.
The airline is also considering operating flights from Israel to ski destinations in Europe, which are popular among Israelis.
According to Aitken, EasyJet is no longer a simple low-cost airline and is positioning itself between regular and cheap airlines.
The company has recently increased its business sales by offering flexible flight tickets which costs slightly more than regular tickets, but allow passengers to make many changes in the time of the flight, as opposed to regular tickets in which changes often cost even more than the ticket itself.
"Surveys we've conducted show that businesspeople are looking for cheap prices, high frequencies, flights on convenient hours and the option to make changes in the tickets if they missed their flights.
"This comes before free peanuts, a wet towel ahead of landing or a seat at the front of the plane," Aitken told Yedioth Ahronoth.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4097426,00.html
