Easyjet delayed? Request compensation!
The British airline EasyJet is the second largest European low-cost airline after the Irish Ryanair. In addition to easyJet Airline Company, which is headquartered in Luton near London, its subsidiaries easyJet Switzerland, based in Meyrin, Switzerland, and easyJet Europe, headquartered in Vienna, also exist.
EasyJet was founded on October 18, 1995 by Stelios Haji-Ioannou. To start the airline, five million pounds had to be borrowed from the family. The first two airplanes with the easyJet logo were two British Airways-leased Boeing 737-200s that flew on routes from London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The headquarters of easyJet is still in Luton today.
In autumn 1999, online sales of easyJet reached the threshold of one million flights sold. One year later, in October 2000, the listing took place on the London Stock Exchange. It began easyJet's presence at London Stansted Airport, by which time London-Luton was the central base in Greater London.
Until September 2003 easyJet flew exclusively with the aircraft type Boeing 737, which also many other low-cost airlines used. In October 2002, easyJet announced that from now on it would prefer Airbus and order 120 copies of the Airbus A319-100, the first of which were delivered in the fall of 2003. The choice fell on this type of aircraft, as an Airbus of the 320 family has, inter alia, a wider center aisle than a Boeing 737 and thus allows a supposedly faster entry and exit. In April 2004, easyJet entered the German market for the first time, initially offering 23 routes from the Schönefeld, Cologne and Dortmund airports.
On May 28, 2004, the check-in of a whole flight was handled for the first time at Nottingham East Midlands Airport via the new and then groundbreaking self-check-in machines. Another milestone in the history of easyJet is the 18th of May 2005, when the 100 millionth passenger was served on this day.
EasyJet was Europe's fourth largest airline in 2007 and the world's third largest low cost airline, considering the number of passengers carried after US Southwest Airlines and Irish Ryanair. In 2006, easyJet carried a total of 33.6 million passengers.
On October 28, 2017, it was announced that easyJet will take over parts of the Air Berlin business (25 leased Airbus A-320 and take-off and landing rights at Berlin-Tegel Airport) from the insolvent Air Berlin for 40 million euros.
Due to the planned withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and EasyJet's risk of losing air traffic rights, the airline has applied for a European Air Operator Certificate in Austria. This will ensure that Easyjet after the planned EU exit, "flights throughout Europe and also within EU countries" can offer, as the airline announced on 14 July 2017. A new corporate structure is also being planned. Easyjet intends to become a pan-European airline group with three airlines in Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom as well as a UK-based trading and services company. All three airlines are said to be daughters of Easyjet plc. Easyjet plc will continue to be listed on the London Stock Exchange and based in the United Kingdom.
On July 20, 2017, EasyJet's first aircraft with Austrian national emblem OE-IVA landed at Vienna International Airport. The group announced that one third of the airline is to operate in Vienna and did not rule out the stationing of part of the fleet in Vienna.
Since the end of 2009 easyJet offers all travelers with checked baggage the possibility to check in online. On-line Check-in for Checked Baggage is available at 95 out of 113 easyJet airports and on almost all flights. There are no additional costs for check-in. The additional booking of Speedy Boarding during the online booking process offers passengers the opportunity to board before the scheduled time.