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Showing posts with label Boeing 787. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boeing 787. Show all posts

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Private Jet

Private Jet Charter
Personalized Chartered Flights
A Private jet can get you anywhere fast and safe. 247 Jet's private jets get you to the right place at the right price on your time. We guarantee your privacy and safety. The quality of our private jet service is proven by our returning customers. At 247 Jet, we pride ourselves on our commitment to the highest level of customer service every time you charter a flight. We are ready to address your every requirement: whenever, wherever and however. And we don't stop there, Private Jet Terminal Facilities, Limousine Services, Ground Transportation, Connecting Flights, Hotel Accommodations, Restaurant Reservations (and even Last Minute Changes) are all part of our private jet rental service.
State-of-Art Private Jets
These modern private jets can be the edge that you need to smoke your competitors. Choose the right jet to get you to that important meeting, reach the client before others do, be successful! 247Jet can air charter any private jet for you - everything from Lear to Gulfstream.
Charter Flights - Business Jet Service
Our luxury business jet service can charter a flight to Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Washington, San Jose and Santa Monica. We also fly to smaller regional airports like Van Nuys, Teterboro and out of the way airports with our private jet fleet. If there is a place where a business jet can lend, we can take you to it. For your vacation we also provide private jet charter vacations to exotic locations like Hawaii, Tokoyo, Paris, Riyadh, Moscow, Leabanon, and London England.
Private Jet Rentals
One Way, Backhaul, Deadhead or Empty Leg
247 Private Jet Rentals are also specialized in one way, empty leg and backhaul trips.

A deadhead is when a charter is scheduled to fly a return leg of a flight without cargo or passengers also known as a one way, or an empty leg or a back haul. The private jet charter price is much smaller in these cases because the pricing to charter these "deadhead" flights is based on the actual flight time of the business jet which is calculated from airport A to airport B. While on demand the flight is based on the pricing: Home Base Airport - Pickup Airport - Drop Off Airport - Home Base Airport. See the difference!

Using our empty leg or round trip means that, when we book you a one way, you still get a First Class luxury private jet but at a fraction of the actual price. Our private jet rental services are based all across the United States and are available on a moments notice for a backhaul flight. We will do our best to maximize your flight by putting you on the right plane at the right price.
Private jet charter from 247Jet
Our Private jet charter program has more and more customers who wish to charter private jets and are also interested in finding empty leg or one way or backhaul trips for their planned one-way flights. We have access to virtually every private jet operator in the US and the world. We have contacted jet for hire operators and have asked these operators to forward their empty legs to us so that we can post them on a daily basis.

(source:247jet.com)

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Iran Air jet reportedly crashes at Urmia

Preliminary reports from Iran indicate that a passenger aircraft with over 100 people on board has crashed in the north of the country.
Initial reports had indicated the aircraft was a Fokker type but local media is also suggesting the aircraft was a Boeing 727 of Iran Air.
The aircraft is said by Iranian Government media to have been attempting to land at Urmia but came down near a large lake located on the eastern side of the city.
Iran's state news agency is reporting that the aircraft was flying in poor weather conditions when its track was lost from radar surveillance.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport,Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino


Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport
Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino
Roma/Fiumicino Airport
Rome Airport Logo.png
Rom Fiumicino 04.jpg
IATA: FCO – ICAO: LIRF





FCO is located in Italy
FCO
Location of the airport in Italy
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAeroporti di Roma SpA
ServesRome
LocationFiumicino
Hub for
Elevation AMSL15 feet (4.6 m) ft / 5 m
Coordinates41°48′01″N 012°14′20″E
Websitewww.adr.it
Runways
DirectionLengthSurface
mft
07/253,30910,856Asphalt
16R/34L3,90012,795Asphalt
16L/34R3,90012,795Asphalt
16C/34C3,60011,811Asphalt
Source: Italian Aeronautical Information Publication

Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (Italian: Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino) (IATA: FCO, ICAO: LIRF), also commonly known as Fiumicino Airport, is Italy's largest airport with 33,811,637 passengers served in 2009, located in Fiumicino, 35 km from Rome's historic city centre.
It was the world's 27th busiest airport by passenger traffic in 2009, and the hub for Alitalia.
The airport is named after Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, who first designed a proto helicopter and a flying machine with wings.

History

The airport was officially opened on January 15, 1961, with two runways, replacing the small Rome Ciampino Airport which remains in service for domestic and charter operations. During the decade Alitalia invested heavily in the new airport, building hangars and maintenance centers; in the same period a third runway was added (16L/34R).
Four runways presently operate at Leonardo da Vinci airport: 16L/34R and 16R/34L (separated by a distance of 4,000 metres), 16C/34C (close to 16L/34R), mostly used as a taxiway or as a backup of 16L/34R, and 07/25, used only westwards for takeoffs due to dominant winds.
Since 2005 the airport operates a category III B instrument landing system (ILS). Further improvement work was implemented in 2007 to enable the airport to handle 30 takeoffs/landings per hour, up from 10, in the event of thick fog.
The terminal areas were upgraded during the 1990s :
1991: Opening of the domestic pier with 12 loading bridges (Pier A);
1995: Opening of the international pier with 10 loading bridges (Pier B);
1999: Opening of the west satellite with 11 loading bridges (satellite C) and sky-bridge train connecting it with the main terminal;
2000: Opening of the new domestic terminal (terminal A). Reorganization of terminal buildings, then comprising of: terminal A (and pier A), terminal AA, terminal B (and pier B), terminal C (and west satellite);
2004: Opening of new cargo terminal called Cargo City;
2008: Opening of terminal 5 for check-in of American carrier flights and El-Al (passengers are then bussed to the Main terminal building); serves 950,000 passengers per year. Extended work to build new pier C.
2009: Renaming of terminals - A has been renamed T1, AA has become T2, B and C became T3 and T5 has remained as T5.
2010: Launch of the new single Baggage Handling System (BHS) for more efficient luggage delivery.
The next commitments will be the following:
completion of environment-friendly cogeneration system allowing the airport to self-produce energy;
the new pier C (dedicated to international flights) with 16 additional loading bridges, to be completed by 2011-2012 to enable handling the expected growth from present-day 38 million passengers per year to 55 million by 2018.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Aegean Airlines Athens, Rhodes
Seasonal: Heraklion, Mykonos, Santorini 3
Aer Lingus Dublin
Seasonal: Belfast-International, Cork 3
Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo 3
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires-Ezeiza 3
Afriqiyah Airways Tripoli 3
Air Algérie Algiers 3
Air Alps Bolzano, Parma
Seasonal: Rimini 1
Air Berlin Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Nuremberg 3
Air Canada Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson 3
Air China Beijing-Capital 3
Air Europa Madrid, Palma de Mallorca 3
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle 1
Air France operated by Airlinair Marseille 1
Air France operated by Brit Air Lyon 1
Air France operated by Régional Bordeaux, Toulouse 1
Air Italy Turin, Verona 1
Air Italy Asmara, Dabaa City, Dubai, Fortaleza, Havana, Hurghada, Maceio, Mombasa, Natal, Nosy Be, Pointe-à-Pitre, Sharm el-Sheikh, Zanzibar 3
Air Malta Malta, Reggio Calabria 3
Air Moldova Chisinau 3
Air Seychelles Mahé 3
Air Transat Seasonal: Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver 3
AirBaltic Riga, Vilnius 3
Alitalia Amsterdam, Ancona, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Bologna, Brindisi, Brussels, Cagliari, Catania, Crotone, Florence, Frankfurt, Geneva, Genoa, Lamezia Terme, Madrid, Malaga, Malta, Milan-Linate, Milan-Malpensa, Milan-Orio al Serio, Munich, Naples, Nice, Palermo, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Pisa, Reggio Calabria, Thessaloniki, Turin, Valencia, Venice-Marco Polo, Verona, Vienna, Warsaw
Seasonal: Lampedusa, Pantelleria 1
Alitalia Accra, Algiers, Amman-Queen Alia, Beijing-Capital [resumes 2 June], Beirut, Belgrade, Boston, Bucharest-Otopeni, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Caracas, Cairo, Casablanca, Chicago-O'Hare, Damascus, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kiev-Boryspil, Lagos, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, New York-JFK, Newark, Osaka-Kansai, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão [resumes 4 June], St Petersburg, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sofia, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson, Tripoli, Tunis 3
Alitalia operated by Air Alps Salerno 1
Alitalia operated by Air One Alghero, Brindisi, Cagliari, Frankfurt, London-Heathrow, Vienna 1
American Airlines Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare, New York-JFK 5
Armavia Yerevan 3
Austrian Airlines Vienna 3
Baboo Geneva 3
Belavia Minsk 3
Belle Air Tirana 3
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dhaka 3
Blue Air Bacău, Bucharest-Baneasa 2
Blue Panorama Airlines Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Cancun, Cayo Largo, Havana, Hurghada, Kos, La Romana, Luxor, Malé, Marsa Alam, Mersa Matruh, Montego Bay, Mykonos, Palma de Mallorca, Phuket, Roatan, Santiago de Cuba, Santorini, Sharm el-Sheikh, Zanzibar 3
Blue1 Helsinki 3
Blu-express Brindisi, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Genoa, Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen, Kos, Lampedusa, Minorca, Mykonos, Nice, Palermo, Pantelleria, Rhodes, Santorini, Turin 3
British Airways London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow 3
Brussels Airlines Brussels 3
Bulgaria Air Sofia 3
Carpatair Craiova, Timisoara 3
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong 3
China Airlines Delhi, Taipei-Taoyuan 3
China Eastern Airlines Shanghai-Pudong [begins 29 March] 3
Cimber Sterling Billund, Copenhagen 3
Continental Airlines Newark 5
Croatia Airlines Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb 3
Cyprus Airways Larnaca 3
Czech Airlines Prague 3
Darwin Airline Lugano 3
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, New York-JFK
Seasonal: Detroit 5
Eagles Airlines Pristina, Tirana, Venice-Marco Polo 3
EasyJet Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin-Schönefeld [begins 10 January], Bilbao, Dubrovnik [resumes 6 July], Düsseldorf, Geneva, Heraklion [resumes 5 July], Ibiza [resumes 4 July], Lamezia Terme [ends 26 March], Lisbon, London-Gatwick, Madrid, Malta, Milan-Malpensa, Mykonos [resumes 4 July], Nice, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca [resumes 4 July], Split [resumes 5 July], Toulouse, Venice-Marco Polo 2
EasyJet Switzerland Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva 2
EgyptAir Cairo 3
El Al Tel Aviv 5
Emirates Dubai 3
Europe Airpost Ostend [begins 7 May], Tangier [begins 6 May] 3
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa 3
Finnair Helsinki 3
FlyOristano Oristano 3
Freebird Airlines Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen 3
Germanwings Cologne/Bonn, Hanover, Stuttgart 3
Iberia Madrid 3
Iran Air Tehran-Imam Khomeini 3
Israir Airlines Tel Aviv 3
Jat Airways Belgrade, Portorož [begins 13 January] 3
Jet2.com Leeds/Bradford, Manchester 3
Kenya Airways Nairobi 3
KLM Amsterdam 1
Korean Air Seoul-Incheon 3
Kuwait Airways Kuwait, Paris-Charles de Gaulle 3
Libyan Airlines Benghazi, Tripoli 3
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw
Seasonal: Kraków 3
Lufthansa Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich 3
Lufthansa Regional operated by Air Dolomiti Munich 3
Luxair Luxembourg 3
Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur 3
Malév Hungarian Airlines Budapest 3
Meridiana Fly Cagliari, Olbia, Turin, Verona 1
Meridiana Fly Dakar, Malé, Mauritius, Mombasa, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tel Aviv, Zanzibar 3
Middle East Airlines Beirut 3
Montenegro Airlines Podgorica 3
Neos Boa Vista, Cancun, Mahe Island, Malé, Mombasa, Zanzibar 3
Niki Vienna 3
Norwegian Air Shuttle Bergen, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 3
Onur Air Antalya 3
Qatar Airways Doha 3
Pegasus Airlines İstanbul-Sabiha Gökçen 3
Rossiya St Petersburg 3
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca 3
Royal Jordanian Amman-Queen Alia 3
Saudi Arabian Airlines Jeddah, Riyadh 3
Scandinavian Airlines Copenhagen
Seasonal: Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda 3
Singapore Airlines Singapore 3
Smart Wings Prague 3
SriLankan Airlines Colombo 3
Sun d'Or International Airlines Seasonal: Tel Aviv 3
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich 3
Syrian Air Aleppo, Damascus 3
TAP Portugal Lisbon 3
TAP operated by Portugalia Porto 3
TAROM Bucharest-Otopeni 3
Thai Airways International Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi 3
Transavia.com Rotterdam 3
Tunisair Monastir [resumes 28 March], Tunis 3
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk 3
Ukraine International Airlines Kiev-Boryspil, Lviv 3
United Airlines Washington-Dulles
Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare 5
Ural Airlines Yekaterinburg 3
US Airways Charlotte, Philadelphia 5
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent 3
Vueling Airlines Barcelona, Ibiza, Madrid, Malaga, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Orly, Seville, Valencia 3
Wind Jet Catania, Forlì, Palermo 2
Wizz Air Belgrade, Brno [begins 27 March], Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Gdansk, Poznan, Prague, Sofia, Timisoara, Vilnius [begins 16 April], Warsaw 3
Yemenia Sana'a 3

Ground handling

Ground handling services have been provided by Aeroporti di Roma up to 1999 when it created Aeroporti di Roma Handling (to serve all airlines apart from Alitalia, which continued being handled by Aeroporti di Roma itself). Alitalia provided passenger assistance even before 1999. In 2001 Alitalia created Alitalia Airport and started providing self-handling and third party handling. Air One created EAS and started providing third-party services too. Aeroporti di Roma Handling remains the biggest handler in terms of airlines handled but Alitalia Airport is the biggest handler in terms of airplanes handled as Alitalia aircraft account for 50% of the ones in Fiumicino. There are some private handlers that provide passenger assistance alone: ARE Group, Globeground Italia and ICTS Italia.
On 2 May 2006 Meridiana's passenger handling staff transferred to Alitalia Airport and the ramp transferred to Alitalia Airport in February 2007 (from Aeroporti di Roma Handling).
The ground handling deregulation has brought confusion on who does what and has decreased service levels especially on transferring baggage.
In May 2006 Italy's Civil Aviation Authority announced that it took off the limitation of 3 ramp handlers in Rome Leonardo da Vinci airport. ARE Group and Aviapartner announced that they would create a company called Aviapartner (51% Aviapartner; 49% ARE Group) to serve Milan Malpensa and Rome Leonardo da Vinci. There are fears that luggage mishandling will go up.
In November 2006 Aeroporti di Roma Handling was sold to Flightcare (itself owned by Spanish company FCC), an Aviance member.

Security services

Security Services transferred from the Polizia di Stato to Aeroporti di Roma in 2000. Aeroporti di Roma created Airport Security (100%-owned) to provide these services as well as security services to airlines (in competition with other security companies such as IVRI). Airport Security is supervised by Polizia di Stato (Italian State Police), Guardia di Finanza (Italian Customs Police), Ente Nazionale Aviazione Civile (Italy's Civil Aviation Authority) and Aeroporti di Roma.

Ground transportation
Fiumicino Aeroporto railway station
Leonardo da Vinci is about 35 kilometres (22 miles) by car from Rome's historic city centre. The airport is well served by the 6-lane motorway A91 Roma-Fiumicino and numerous buses and taxis.
Fiumicino Aeroporto railway station is served by the Leonardo Express train operated by Trenitalia, available at the airport terminal. It takes 30 minutes to get to Termini Station in a non-stop trip that is provided twice an hour. Alternatively, local trains leave once every 15 minutes, stopping at all stations. Passengers may have to change at Trastevere, Ostiense (Metro Piramide) or Tuscolana.

Accidents and incidents

From the 1960s until the 1980s, the airport experienced significant aircraft hijackings as well as being the scene of two major terrorist attacks and the port of origin for an aircraft bombing in flight—all engendered by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On 23 November 1964 TWA Flight 800 (1964) an engine caught fire on the Boeing 707 during take off. 50 out of the 73 passengers and crew on board were killed.
On 05 March 1967 Varig flight 837, a Douglas DC-8-33 registration PP-PEA flying from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Monrovia, caught fire after a mistaken approach to Monrovia, missing the threshold of the runway by 6,023 ft. Of the 90 passengers and crew aboard, 51 died.
On 17 December 1973 Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) Flight 110 was attacked by Palestinian terrorists. 30 passengers were killed when phosphorus bombs were thrown aboard the aircraft as it was preparing for departure.
On 27 December 1985 during the Rome and Vienna airport attacks terrorists shot and killed 16 people and wounded 99 other at the airport.
On 2 April 1986, Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 840, which was travelling from Fiumicino to Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece, was bombed, ejecting 4 people out of the plane to their deaths. The plane landed safely.
On 17 October 1988, Uganda Airlines flight 775, en route from London Gatwick Airport to Rome then Entebbe International Airport, crashed short of the runway after two missed approaches. 26 of 45 aboard and all 7 crew members died.
7 September 2005 - Ryanair is under investigation by ANSV, the Italian air accident investigation agency, for an attempted bad weather approach. During an unstabilised approach, the non-flying co-pilot had to intervene to initiate a late go-around, then the crew decided to divert to Pescara.

Media appearances

The mission "Rome-Naples Airline Run" supplied with Microsoft Flight Simulator X begins at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport.


(source:wikipedia)

EasyJet

EasyJet
IATA
U2
ICAO
EZY
Callsign
EASY
Founded1995
Bases
  • Basel
  • Belfast
  • Berlin-Schönefeld
  • Bristol
  • Edinburgh
  • Geneva
  • Glasgow
  • Lisbon
  • Liverpool
  • London-Gatwick (Largest Base)
  • London-Luton (HQ)
  • London-Stansted
  • Lyon
  • Madrid
  • Manchester
  • Milan-Malpensa
  • Newcastle
  • Paris-Charles de Gaulle
  • Paris-Orly
  • Rome-Fiumicino
Fleet size175 (+57 orders)
Destinations123
Company slogan"Come on, let's fly!" and "The web's favourite airline"
Parent companyEasyJet plc
HeadquartersLondon Luton Airport
Luton, United Kingdom
Key peopleCarolyn McCall (CEO)
Warwick Brady (COO)
Jeff Carr (CFO)
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Founder)
Websitewww.easyjet.com
EasyJet Airline Company Limited (styled as easyJet) is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports.The parent company, EasyJet plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: EZJ) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. As at 30 September 2009, it employed 8,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.
EasyJet has seen rapid expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The airline, along with franchise airline EasyJet Switzerland, now operates over 180 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319. It has 20 bases across Europe, the most important one being London-Gatwick. In 2009, EasyJet carried 45.2 million passengers and is the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, behind Ryanair.
EasyJet was featured in Airline series broadcast on ITV which followed the airline's operations at London Luton and later at other bases. EasyJet's founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was featured heavily in the series.
History

The airline was established in 1995. It was launched by Greek-Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannou with two wet leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft, initially operating two routes: London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In April 1996, the first wholly-owned aircraft was delivered to Easyjet, enabling its first international route, to Amsterdam. Until October 1997, the aircraft were operated by GB Airways, and subsequently by Air Foyle as EasyJet had not yet received its Air Operator's Certificate.

Business and financials
EasyJet was floated on the London Stock Exchange on the 5th November 2000. In October 2004 the FL Group, owner of the airlines Icelandair and Sterling, purchased an 8.4% stake in EasyJet. Over the course of 2005, FL increased its share in the company periodically to 16.9%, fuelling speculation that it would mount a takeover bid for the UK carrier. However, in April 2006 the threat of takeover receded as FL sold its stake for €325 million, securing a profit of €140m on its investment. In November 2005, Ray Webster stood down after 10 years as EasyJet's chief executive officer (CEO) and was replaced by former RAC plc CEO, Andrew Harrison.

EasyJet financial performance
Year endedPassengers flownLoad factorTurnover (£m)Profit/loss before tax (£m)Net profit/loss (£m)Basic EPS (p)
30 September 201048,754,36687.0%2,973.1154.0121.328.4
30 September 200945,164,27985.5%2,666.854.771.216.9
30 September 200843,659,47884.1%2,362.8110.283.219.8
30 September 200737,230,07983.7%1,797.2201.9152.336.62
30 September 200632,953,28784.8%1,619.7129.294.123.18
30 September 200529,557,64085.2%1,314.467.942.610.68
30 September 200424,343,64984.5%1,091.062.241.110.34
30 September 200320,332,97384.1%931.851.532.48.24
30 September 200211,350,35084.8%551.871.649.014.61
30 September 20017,115,14783.03%356.940.137.915.2
30 September 20005,600,000263.722.122.111.9


Marketing
A Boeing 737-200 showing the phone-number livery at London Luton Airport in 1996
EasyJet's early marketing strategy was based on "making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans" and urged travellers to "cut out the travel agent". Its early advertising consisted of little more than the airline's telephone booking number painted in bright orange on the side of its aircraft.
The Airline TV series created by LWT and filmed between 1999 and 2007 made EasyJet a household name in the United Kingdom. The series, while not always portraying EasyJet in a positive light, did much to promote the airline during this time.EasyJet has used a number of slogans since its establishment. Its current slogan is "Come on, let's fly!", a reflection on the airline's cheeky and cheerful image. EasyJet has previously styled itself as "the web's favourite airline", a play on the British Airways slogan "the world's favourite airline".

Expansion and acquisitions
EasyJet has expanded rapidly since its establishment in 1995, driven by base openings both in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, and by a number of acquisitions. Its expansion has also been fuelled by a rise in consumer demand for low cost travel.
Go Fly Boeing 737-300 in 2004
In March 1998, EasyJet purchased a 40% stake in Swiss charter airline TEA Basle for a consideration of three million Swiss francs. The airline was renamed EasyJet Switzerland and commenced franchise services on 1 April 1999, having relocated its headquarters to Geneva International Airport. This was EasyJet's first new base outside the United Kingdom. On 16 May 2002, EasyJet announced its intention to purchase rival airline, London Stansted-based Go for £374 million. EasyJet inherited three new bases from Go, at Bristol Airport, East Midlands Airport and London Stansted Airport. The acquisition of Go almost doubled the number of Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the EasyJet fleet.
In 2001, EasyJet opened its base at London Gatwick Airport, and between 2003 and 2007, EasyJet opened bases in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, establishing a sizeable presence in continental Europe. On 25 October 2007 EasyJet announced that it had agreed to purchase the entire share capital of GB Airways from the Bland Group. The deal was worth £103.5 million and was used to expand EasyJet operations at London Gatwick Airport and also to establish a base at Manchester Airport.

Strategy

EasyJet, like Ryanair, borrows its business model from United States carrier Southwest Airlines. Both airlines have adapted this model for the European market through further cost-cutting measures such as not selling connecting flights or providing complimentary snacks on board. The key points of this business model are high aircraft utilisation, quick turnaround times, charging for extras (such as priority boarding, hold baggage and food) and keeping operating costs low. One main difference EasyJet and Ryanair have from Southwest is they both fly a young fleet of aircraft. Southwest have a fleet age of 14.1 years whereas easyjet's fleet age is just 3.6 years.
While the two airlines share a common business idea, EasyJet's strategy differs from Ryanair's in a number of areas. EasyJet flies mainly to primary airports in the cities that it serves, while Ryanair often chooses secondary airports to further reduce costs. For example, EasyJet flies to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Paris Orly, the primary airports in Paris, while Ryanair flies to the smaller Beauvais-Tillé Airport, a 75 minute bus journey from Paris. EasyJet also focuses on attracting business passengers by offering convenient services such as the option to transfer on to an earlier flight without charge.

Environment

Main article: EcoJet

Winglet on an Airbus A319-100
In June 2007, EasyJet announced plans for construction of its own airliner, dubbed EcoJet. Featuring propfan engines, the EcoJet would feature an increase in fuel efficiency. It would be constructed with extensive use of carbon fiber composite material. The date for the first flight was given to be in 2015.
Since then, no news on the advances of the EcoJet project have been released. Therefore, it is unclear whether EasyJet still pursues its construction, or whether the original purpose of project was to put aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus under pressure to construct an airliner that serves the need of EasyJet.
EasyJet is offering the possibility to carbon offset the CO2 to their customers' trips for a surcharge via a calculator which calculates a passenger's carbon footprint.

Destinations

European and North African destinations; focus cities indicated in grey
Main article: EasyJet destinations
EasyJet's three largest bases in order are London-Gatwick, Milan Malpensa and London-Luton. London-Gatwick has over forty EasyJet aircraft based there, they operate roughly eighty routes from the base.
EasyJet prefers to fly to major/primary airports, usually very close to the city they serve. For example EasyJet flies to the primary airports of Paris, which are Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, located 25 km or 16 miles away from the city, and Paris-Orly, located 13 km or 8 miles from Paris. EasyJet often have large bases at primary airports and they will avoid seconday airports where possible. EasyJet does still serve a number of minor/secondary airports including Doncaster-Sheffield and Rome-Ciampino.
EasyJet has a large number of European 'bases'. Despite this, they have a very large presence in Britain, where the airline is based.

Fleet

An EasyJet Airbus A320-200 taxiing to the gate at Manchester Airport.


An EasyJet Boeing 737-300 landing at Madrid Barajas International Airport in 2005


An EasyJet Airbus A320 parked at Innsbruck Airport in 2008. This aircraft was acquired in the takeover of GB Airways.


EasyJet Airbus A319 takes off in 2006


Airbus A319 in special livery, the hundredth Airbus to be delivered to easyJet, lands at Bristol Airport, England in 2008
The EasyJet fleet consists of the following aircraft (at January 2011):
EasyJet fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 143 12 156 Largest A319 operator
Airbus A320-200 24 45 180 Includes 2 orders inherited from GB Airways, to be delivered in 2013
Boeing 737-700 8 0 149 Being phased out until late 2011
Total 175 57
EasyJet is the largest operator of the Airbus A319.
The average age of the EasyJet fleet, at January 2011, is 3.8 years.

Fleet strategy and aircraft orders
EasyJet initially operated Boeing 737 aircraft exclusively. In October 2002, it broke with its previous philosophy of operating just one aircraft type by ordering 120 Airbus A319 aircraft, plus 120 options, with CFM56-5B engines.
Airbus A320 family orders
Date A319 A320 Options Purchase rights Notes
30 December 2002 120 120
21 December 2005 140 100 20 purchase rights converted
13 November 2006 192 123 52 purchase rights converted
75 new purchase rights
June 2007 227 24 64 35 purchase rights converted into orders
24 purchase rights converted into options
July 2008 202 25 24 64 25 A319 changed for A320
February 2010 192 35 24 64 10 A319 changed for A320
December 2010 172 70 42 31 15 A320 options converted
20 A319 changed for A320

33 purchase rights converted into options
EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft were first introduced to EasyJet's Geneva base in October 2003. Due to toilet and galley configuration allowing the installation of more seats than a standard Airbus A319, EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of overwing exits, instead of the standard one pair configuration found on most Airbus A319 aircraft, to satisfy safety requirements. EasyJet has 33 outstanding options with Airbus valid until March 2013 and 40 outstanding options and purchase rights valid until 2015, which may be taken as any member of the Airbus A320 family.
EasyJet still operates the Boeing 737-700 from its London Luton base; however, beginning in December 2006, the airline started to return the Boeing 737-700 aircraft to their lessors. The Belfast base was converted to an A319 operation; the conversion finished in March 2010 with a total of 6 A319 aircraft. EasyJet plans to dispose of their entire Boeing 737 fleet by 2011.
Through the acquisition of GB Airways, EasyJet inherited nine Airbus A320 and six Airbus A321 aircraft. This gave the airline some time to evaluate the feasibility of operating these larger gauge aircraft. Based on this evaluation, EasyJet decided to swap 25 A319 orders for A320 in July 2008.
17 A319 planes and 1 A320 are used by its subsidiary EasyJet Switzerland with a Swiss registration.

Aircraft operated
EasyJet has operated the following types of aircraft:
Fleet history
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A319 2004 — In service
Airbus A320 2008 — In service
Airbus A321 2008 2010 Inherited from GB Airways
Boeing 737-300 1996 2007 Replaced by A319's
Boeing 737-700 2000 — To be retired by the end of 2011

Head office

Hangar 89 at London Luton Airport, EasyJet head office
Easyjet's head office is Hangar 89 (H89), a building located on the grounds of London Luton Airport in Luton, Bedfordshire; the hangar, a former Britannia Airways/TUI facility, is located 150 metres (490 ft) from EasyLand, the previous headquarters of EasyJet. Hangar 89, built in 1974, has 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of office space and can house three aircraft the size of an Airbus A319 or Boeing 737 at one time. When EasyJet received H89, it had a 1970s style office setup. EasyJet modernised the building and painted it orange.

Services

Booking
Initially booking was by telephone only, with all EasyJet aircraft painted with the booking telephone number. There is no incentive for travel agents to sell EasyJet bookings because there is no commission, a standard practice for the low cost carriers.
In December 1997, Russell Sheffield of Tableau, one of EasyJet's design and adverting agencies, suggested to Stelios Haji-Ioannou that he should consider trialling a website for direct bookings. Haji-Ioannou's reply was "The Internet is for nerds, it will never make money for my business!". However Tony Anderson, EasyJet's marketing director, and Michael Coltman, EasyJet's business manager, saw the potential and approved a website trial involving putting a different telephone reservations number on the website, to track success. Once Haji-Ioannou saw the results he changed his mind, and EasyJet commissioned Tableau as partners to develop an e-commerce website capable of offering real-time online booking from April 1998—the first low cost carrier to do so in Europe.
In December 2001, easyJet switched from a third-party reservation system to an in-house system designed and developed for them by BulletProof Technologies, Inc. This is notable because it was the first successful implementation of an airline reservation system using a relational database and modern development tools. Internet bookings were priced cheaper than booking over the phone, to reflect the reduced call centre costs and the aircraft were repainted with the web address. Within a year over 50% of bookings were made using the web site; by April 2004 the figure had jumped to 98%. Now, flights can only be booked over the Internet except during the 3 months immediately before the flight when telephone booking is also available.

Cabin and onboard services

EasyJet Airbus A319 cabin
EasyJet's aircraft cabins are configured in a single class, high density layout.
The airline's main fleet, comprising the Boeing 737-700, Airbus A319 and Airbus A320-200, carry 149, 156 and up to 180 passengers respectively, depending on layout. A typical Airbus A319 carries approximately 140 passengers in a single class configuration, but as EasyJet do not serve meals on their shorter flights, the airline opted for smaller galleys and had a lavatory installed in unused space at the rear of the aircraft. The space saved by having smaller galleys allowed for the installation of 156 seats. Due to this seating arrangement, EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of overwing exits, instead of the standard one pair configuration found on most Airbus A319 aircraft, to satisfy safety requirements.[
EasyJet does not provide complimentary meals or beverages on board its flights (apart for some occasional charter flights operated by the airline). Passengers may purchase items on board from the "EasyJet Bistro" buy on board programme. Products include sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, hot meals, chocolate, snacks, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. Onboard sales are an important part of the airline's ancillary revenue. EasyJet also sells gifts such as fragrances, cosmetics and EasyJet branded items onboard, as well as tickets for airport transfer services or train tickets.
easyJet provides In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) on-board certain aircraft, with the ability to rent a PSP Device, which comes with 4 movies, games and TV shows pre-loaded, and available in different languages. This replaces the standard IFE that Airbus have, with the drop down screens. easyJet will still use the screens, however only to show the Airshow map, the route the aircraft is taking, and how long until arrival. easyJet also has headsets available to purchase, along with a travel pillow and eyeshades, subject to stock. EasyJet provides an in-flight magazine, published monthly, containing articles of interest to its customers and destination guides. As of May 2010, easyJet has been selling copies of Hello Magazine, Top Gear Magazine, and The Mail on Sunday, all at cover price. The Daily Mail is also available onboard, at a price of £0.50. Subject to stock.

]easyJetHotels and easyJetHolidays
On 14 December 2004, EasyJet and Hotelopia, a subsidiary of First Choice Holidays, launched the co-branded EasyJetHotels accommodation booking service. EasyJetHotels offers accommodation products throughout the EasyJet network. Customers booking flights through the EasyJet website are provided with quotes for a number of hotels at their destination. Alternatively, customers can book accommodation separately at the EasyJetHotels website.
On 28 June 2007, EasyJet announced it would expand its relationship with Hotelopia by launching EasyJetHolidays, which offers Travel Trust Association protected package holidays made up of EasyJet flights and Hotelopia accommodation products.

Criticism

Boarding an EasyJet Airbus A319
EasyJet has also come under criticism in Germany for not observing European Union law on compensation (and assistance to passengers) in cases of denied boarding, delays or cancellations (Regulation 261/2004). In the case of cancellation, passengers should be reimbursed within one week. In 2006, EasyJet did not always refund tickets in a timely fashion. Passengers occasionally had to wait longer for reimbursement of their expenses.
EasyJet is a major supporter of the plans to replace the air passenger duty (APD) tax in the UK with a new tax that varies depending on distance travelled and aircraft type.
In July 2008, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised a press campaign by EasyJet for a misleading environmental claim that its aircraft made 22% less emissions than rival airlines. The figures used were not based on emissions produced by an EasyJet aircraft or emissions produced by EasyJet airline overall as the ad implied, and ASA declared that airline had broken advertising rules. The judgement follows the airline being reprimanded in April 2007 after it made comments that its aircraft created 30% less pollution per passenger than some of its rivals.

See also

Low-cost carrier

(source:wikipwdia)