easyJet unveils new Spanish base
easyJet has announced a
significant expansion of its services in Spain and the launch of a new
base at Madrid’s Barajas airport.Madrid will be the airline’s 17th base
and the first in Spain.
The Madrid base will commence operations on 16 February 2007 with
several brand new routes from Spain’s largest airport. The details of
the new routes and the size of the operation will be announced in
September.
easyJet began operating from Barajas in 1998 and has since grown
significantly every year. It is now the fourth largest airline and the
largest low-fares airline to operate from the Spanish capital. Last year
alone easyJet carried 900.000 passengers to and from Madrid - twice as
many as in 2004.
Andy Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said:
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“easyJet continues to grow across its network and in particular in
continental Europe. We believe that Spain has excellent opportunities
for growth, as air travel is still dominated by inefficient traditional
airlines that do not act in the interest of the consumer.
Spain has been a key market for easyJet for the past ten years and the
new base will take our commitment to a completely new level. While
Madrid is one of Europe’s largest and most important capital cities, it
is still underserved by low-fares airlines. easyJet’s new base will make
Madrid much more accessible for international visitors and will offer
Spanish consumers low cost with care and convenience.”
easyJet currently serves nine international routes from Madrid,
including London, Bristol and Liverpool, and offers a total of 72 routes
to 11 Spanish airports. With 7.5m passengers in 2005, easyJet is the
largest low-fares airline in Spain and carriers more international
visitors to the country than any other airline apart from the flag
carrier Iberia. Spain is easyJet’s second largest market, behind the UK.
easyJet has also been nominated this year for a
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World Travel Award as Europe’s Leading Budget / No Frills Airline.
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