easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, today celebrates 10 years since its first flight took off from Gatwick.
In the decade since that first flight to Barcelona, easyJet has become the biggest operator at the airport.
easyJet now operates 50 aircraft flying around 300 flights a day to and from Gatwick, with a choice of 94 destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Since first taking off at Gatwick, easyJet has flown more than 70 million passengers from the airport and is celebrating the milestone with commemorative gifts and entertainment for passengers checking in for flights throughout the morning.
Last year alone easyJet added more than ten new routes from Gatwick, including: Amman, Bari, Catania, Fuerteventura, Seville, Izmir, Bologna, Verona, Zagreb and Aberdeen, and ten years on, the airline still offers affordable fares, starting from just £21.99 one way (inc taxes).
Catherine Lynn, easyJet’s Customer and Revenue Director, said: “We’re excited to be celebrating a decade of service to passengers at Gatwick Airport and are proud that we have grown to become the largest airline at the airport in that time.
“Our success is testament to easyJet’s commitment to listening to our passengers and adding routes to the destinations they tell us they want to fly to at the most convenient times. Our mission is to make travel easy and affordable and we are dedicated to sustaining further growth over the coming years.
“Over the past ten years easyJet has developed its offering to business passengers, the airline now offers 45 business destinations to choose from with many flights leaving before 9am. Frequency has also increased across many routes including Barcelona, which now flies six times day from London Gatwick.”
Guy Stephenson, Gatwick Airport’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“easyJet’s growth at Gatwick over the last decade is a fantastic measure of the airlines’ overall success. For our part, we are committed to providing all our customers with the facilities and management support they need in order to grow.
“Since Gatwick’s change of ownership just over two years ago, easyJet has introduced 20 new routes for their passengers and increased the number of aircraft based here to 50, opening up even more travel options for their passengers. We look forward to another decade of working with easyJet and supporting their ambitions for growth and to providing passengers with a great service.”
Henry Smith, Member of Parliament for Crawley and the Gatwick Airport area, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for easyJet at Gatwick. Since arriving in 2002 the airline now employs more than 1,800 staff based at the airport, which has had a great impact on the Gatwick and surrounding region.
“easyJet has spent a great deal of time engaging with the local community and businesses to ensure the airline meets their needs, beats their expectations and creates the best experience for customers across Crawley and Gatwick.”
Jason Holt, easyJet’s Head of Gatwick, added: “Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at easyJet. The airline currently has the winning market share of over 40 per cent at the airport and we consistently deliver on our on-time performance, which has helped to create a better experience for our customers and deliver above their expectations.”
“The team based at Gatwick work hard to exceed standards and create a better experience for our passengers in order to ensure continued success and growth for easyJet at the airport.”