The airline EasyJet will expand its summer offering from Zurich from next year. For the moment, it excludes basing planes there, the low-cost carrier preferring to concentrate its efforts on the airports of Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse, where it enjoys a dominant positioning.
“This is the development of EasyJet bases at resort locations [desservis depuis Zurich] which allows us to offer these new destinations at the important network point that Zurich has always represented,” explained Managing Director for Switzerland Thomas Haagensen on Wednesday.
The orange company will add a daily flight to Palma de Mallorca, as well as multi-weekly connections to Malaga, Faro, Olbia and, further north, Edinburgh. These additions will complement a leisure offer hitherto concentrated on Alicante, Lisbon or Naples and otherwise more business-oriented, with destinations like Berlin and, above all, a good part of the numerous London airports.
Growth of 11% over the 2023/24 financial year
The new offer is also based on the growth of flight + accommodation offers in its Holidays program, EasyJet having at least one hotel partner in each of the destinations concerned. The extension of the connections to Zurich should also have no impact on the development of the Geneva and Rhine bases of EasyJet Suisse.
Takeoff and landing window capacities are starting to be limited in Geneva, but there is still availability in Basel-Mulhouse
“After adding three new aircraft last year to reach a total of 28, we plan to stabilize our Swiss fleet. Capacity in terms of takeoff and landing windows is starting to be limited in Geneva, but there is still availability in Basel-Mulhouse”, indicated Thomas Haagensen.
EasyJet Switzerland posted growth of 11% in turnover for the 2023/24 financial year, ending at the end of September, to 877 million pounds (980 million francs). The group as a whole recorded a growth spurt of 14% to 9.3 billion pounds, improving its profitability in the process.
“Travel remains a budgetary priority”
Guest on the RTS show Forum on Wednesday, Thomas Haagensen attributes the excellent results of the low-cost airline to a demand for travel which remains stable and promising.
“Opinion surveys show that travel, particularly for vacations, remains a budgetary priority for consumers. Demand is therefore very present. Furthermore, EasyJet strives to offer destinations in line with travelers’ expectations “By combining this with cost control, which always remains at the heart of our priorities, this allows us to deliver a record profit,” he explains.
Switzerland remains Easyjet’s third national market, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary there this year.
>> Listen to the interview with Thomas Haagensen in Forum:
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