easyJet to open New Bases in France

easyJet, a low cost European airline, is to expand its presence in France by opening its 18th and 19th bases at Paris Charles de Gaulle and at Lyon airports in spring 2008.

easyJet will initially base five additional aircraft in France - three in Paris and two in Lyon - operating a total of 13 routes and creating hundreds of jobs for pilots, cabin crew and associated support services. The airline anticipates that it will carry over 6 million passengers through French airports in 2007 and a further 2 million in 2008 due to the opening of the new bases.

The expansion is part of a long-term growth strategy for France, which includes a €600m investment over a four-year-period. By 2011, the airline plans to have 20 aircraft based there and to carry 12 million passengers. By that time, easyJet will operate over 80 routes in and out of France and will directly employ almost 1,000 people.

Three brand-new A319, manufactured by Toulouse-based Airbus, will be based in Paris-Charles de Gaulle from February 2008 to complement easyJet's existing six aircraft at Paris Orly. The opening of the Charles de Gaulle base will enable easyJet to initially launch six additional domestic and international routes (Biarritz, Oporto, Venice, Marrakech, Hamburg and Krakow) at France's main airport and to strengthen easyJet's position in the French capital.

easyJet's second new base in France will be launched at Lyon's Saint-Exupéry Airport. Initially two Airbus A319 will arrive in France's second largest city from April 2008 to operate seven domestic and international routes (Bordeaux, Toulouse, Casablanca, Marrakech, Venice, Porto and Lisbon). 

Over the past few years, France has become an increasingly important market for easyJet. The airline already offers 50 routes in France and as much as 40 daily flights to and from Paris.

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