Easyjet Boeing 737
In 1995, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the son of a Cypriot shipping mogul, began EasyJet with a loan from his father, despite, in his own words, knowing nothing about running an airline. He was inspired by the success of low-cost airlines such as Ryanair of Europe and Southwest of the United States, and thought, in the volatile world of European airlines, another low-cost carrier would be successful. The market was indeed large enough that a no-frills airline had a chance at success. Initially, EasyJet’s two Boeing 737s were leased from GB Airways, and it was not until 1997 that the airline flew under its own titles with its own aircraft.
Haji-Ioannou followed Southwest’s business model by reducing service to the bare bones: there was no inflight meal or even snacks, except for those purchased by passengers from the airline; there was no reserved seating, except for those who paid extra for the service (which often led to passengers boarding the aircraft in what has been called a stampede); there were fees for all but small carryon items. Booking was initially done entirely by phone—EasyJet helpfully painted its aircraft with the phone number—with no travel agent involvement. The airline in 1998 adopted online ticket sales and check-in, and repainted its fleet with the web address. To save costs even further, boarding was not done at a jetway at the terminal, but rather passengers were bussed to the aircraft, usually parked on the far end of the tarmac; this saved parking fees at the airport. Airliners were quickly turned around, passengers disembarked and embarked quickly, and flights as frequent as possible.
It paid off. EasyJet rapidly became one of the most popular airlines in Europe, with fares as low as “a pair of jeans,” as the airline’s publicity campaign stated, accurately enough. EasyJet went from two leased 737s in 1995 to one of the largest fleets in Europe a decade later: another way to save costs was to standardize the fleet on one type, and so EasyJet replaced its 737s as a whole with Airbus A320s. By 2014, the airline operated over 200 aircraft, becoming the third-largest airline in the UK (behind British Airways and Virgin Atlantic) and the largest in passenger volume; it is second only to Ryanair in passenger volume in Europe. It also aggressively bought out other low-cost airlines, acquiring Swiss airline TEA Basle in 1998 and UK-based Go in 2002. It began offering package holiday travel in 2012.
Though the airline has been careful not to dive into the cutthroat world of European holiday package airlines, EasyJet’s fares are low enough to allow it to compete nonetheless. Everything for the airline has been about saving money, including adding lift-enhancing “sharklets” to wings and coating its aircraft in low-drag polymers, but it has made the airline one of Europe’s true success stories.
Easyjet is represented in the Poletto Collection by one of its earlier 737s, painted in the "Telephone Number" livery. This scheme has been replaced with the Airbus A320 fleet.
Easyjet Boeing 737
In 1995, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the son of a Cypriot shipping mogul, began EasyJet with a loan from his father, despite, in his own words, knowing nothing about running an airline. He was inspired by the success of low-cost airlines such as Ryanair of Europe and Southwest of the United States, and thought, in the volatile world of European airlines, another low-cost carrier would be successful. The market was indeed large enough that a no-frills airline had a chance at success. Initially, EasyJet’s two Boeing 737s were leased from GB Airways, and it was not until 1997 that the airline flew under its own titles with its own aircraft.
Haji-Ioannou followed Southwest’s business model by reducing service to the bare bones: there was no inflight meal or even snacks, except for those purchased by passengers from the airline; there was no reserved seating, except for those who paid extra for the service (which often led to passengers boarding the aircraft in what has been called a stampede); there were fees for all but small carryon items. Booking was initially done entirely by phone—EasyJet helpfully painted its aircraft with the phone number—with no travel agent involvement. The airline in 1998 adopted online ticket sales and check-in, and repainted its fleet with the web address. To save costs even further, boarding was not done at a jetway at the terminal, but rather passengers were bussed to the aircraft, usually parked on the far end of the tarmac; this saved parking fees at the airport. Airliners were quickly turned around, passengers disembarked and embarked quickly, and flights as frequent as possible.
It paid off. EasyJet rapidly became one of the most popular airlines in Europe, with fares as low as “a pair of jeans,” as the airline’s publicity campaign stated, accurately enough. EasyJet went from two leased 737s in 1995 to one of the largest fleets in Europe a decade later: another way to save costs was to standardize the fleet on one type, and so EasyJet replaced its 737s as a whole with Airbus A320s. By 2014, the airline operated over 200 aircraft, becoming the third-largest airline in the UK (behind British Airways and Virgin Atlantic) and the largest in passenger volume; it is second only to Ryanair in passenger volume in Europe. It also aggressively bought out other low-cost airlines, acquiring Swiss airline TEA Basle in 1998 and UK-based Go in 2002. It began offering package holiday travel in 2012.
Though the airline has been careful not to dive into the cutthroat world of European holiday package airlines, EasyJet’s fares are low enough to allow it to compete nonetheless. Everything for the airline has been about saving money, including adding lift-enhancing “sharklets” to wings and coating its aircraft in low-drag polymers, but it has made the airline one of Europe’s true success stories.
Easyjet is represented in the Poletto Collection by one of its earlier 737s, painted in the "Telephone Number" livery. This scheme has been replaced with the Airbus A320 fleet.