EasyJet Airline Company Limited, better known simply as easyJet, is a leading British airline carrier that operates low-cost flights across Europe. The company’s head office is at London Luton Airport. In 2018, it employed over 14,000 people on local contracts in eight countries across Europe. With an extensive airport network, the company operates around 980 routes in over 30 countries. The carrier has strong representation in key airports such as London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Nice Côte d'Azur, Venice Marco Polo, Milan Malpensa, Naples International, Basel Mulhouse Freiburg and Geneva. With 315 Airbus aircraft in its fleet and more than 14,000 members of staff, easyJet carries over 70 million passengers to their destinations every year.
EasyJet was founded in 1995 by Greek Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannou. In its early days, it only had two leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft at its disposal, initially operating only from London Luton Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In 1996, easyJet got its first wholly owned aircraft and started international flights – initially to Amsterdam.
Years of expansion and acquisitions followed: in 2002, easyJet opened its base at Gatwick Airport, and by 2007, it was claiming to be operating more flights per day than any other European carrier. The easyJet share price has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2000. In March 2013, the company celebrated another landmark – its promotion to the FTSE 100 Index.
In July 2017, easyJet announced that it had been granted an Austrian Air Operator Certificate. The move enabled the establishment of Vienna-headquartered easyJet Europe as a subsidiary of easyJet plc and will allow easyJet to continue operating flights within the EU after Brexit. In February 2018, investors at easyJet’s AGM backed the board’s plans to change the company’s shareholder set-up so that it complies with EU ownership rules for airlines after Brexit.
Presently, easyJet has a strong capital base, with a market capitalisation of around £6.3 billion in February 2018 and a net cash position of £357 million on 30 September 2017. The company’s credit ratings are among the strongest in the world for an airline. In 2018, easyJet reported its annual revenue of over £5.89 billion.
The easyJet stock price is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. The easyJet plc share price hit an all-time high of £19.15 in April 2015. As of February 2018, easyJet was ranked 70th in the FTSE 100 in terms of market capitalisation.
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