Low-cost airline easyJet is to expand its operations at Bristol Airport, where it is already the largest operator, by adding an extra aircraft to its fleet based there.
The Airbus A320neo, which will start operations next summer, will be easyJet’s 18th aircraft dedicated to flights from Bristol Airport.
Its arrival will create a further 40 jobs at the airport and enable easyJet to introduce further new destinations and additional capacity to the 70 routes it already operates from Bristol – more than half all those from the airport.
These will include two new twice-weekly summer services to Tivat in Montenegro and the Greek island of Skiathos.
Over the past year easyJet has added a number of new routes from Bristol, including to Marrakech, Belfast City, Enfidha in Tunisia and Chania in Crete.
It will also add flights to Malta for the first time next summer.
EasyJet UK country manager Ali Gayward, pictured, said: “We are proud to be Bristol’s largest airline and we continue to see opportunities to offer our customers in the South West even more choice which is why we are delighted to announce the expansion of our aircraft fleet in Bristol and more new routes for our network.
“This is a testament to our focus on providing great value and convenient connectivity at Bristol, while continuing to support job opportunities for the local economy.”
The announcement of the additional Bristol aircraft comes just two weeks after easyJet celebrated hitting the 70m-passenger mark at the airport. The airline began services from Bristol in May 2001 – six years after its launch by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou – initially flying to Palma, Faro and Nice.
EasyJet, which operates an all-Airbus fleet, said the new A320neo (new engine option) aircraft bound for Bristol Airport would bring environmental and operational efficiencies compared to its current generation of aircraft, resulting in at least 15% less CO2 emissions and 50% less noise during take-off and landing.
The A320neo, capable of seating between 140 and 180 passengers, has become the workhorse of the budget airline sector, along with Boeing’s 737-MAX 8200, which is used by rival Ryanair.
EasyJet operates 69 A320neo family aircraft within its 336-strong fleet and has a further 158 on order from Airbus.
EasyJet’s expansion at Bristol has made the airport one of the UK’s fastest growing and quickest to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Ryanair increased its Bristol-based fleet from four to five planes this summer, which will enable it to increase its route network from the airport to 33 with four new destinations.
The airport has also attracted a number of new operators this year, including Aegean Airlines, Sun Express and Corendon Airlines, while full-service German flag carrier Lufthansa has increased the frequency on its Frankfurt route, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has launched the airport’s first direct service to Zurich and Aer Lingus has reintroduced flights to Cork.
