Easyjet Takes on Air France

The low-cost airline Easyjet has clearly decided to take on Air France on its own turf, by announcing new expansion plans in France. The company proposes to invest €600 million between now and 2011 to create two new bases at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle and at Lyon Saint-Exupéry airports. With this investment, the company is planning to increase passenger numbers from the current 6 million to 12 million in 2011. By then the company says it will be flying to 80 destinations from bases in France. At present the company has six aircraft in France based at Orly airport outside of Paris, which it will increase to 11 in 2008 (including 3 at Lyon) and 20 aircraft by 2011. Six destinations are proposed to run out of Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, to Biarritz, Porto, Marrakesh, Krakow, Hamburg, and Venice. From Lyon there will be flights from next April to Bordeaux, Toulouse, Venice, Porto, Casablanca, and Lisbon, to add to their existing flights to London and Rome. Flights to Barcelona and Berlin will also commence at the end of the month. All the interior routes will be in direct competition with Air France, who hold a virtual monopoly of internal flights in France, on which they make a handsome return. The flights to tourist destinations outside of France will also be in competition with the low-cost airline Transavia, recently established by Air France to combat the assault on its citadel from low-cost airlines. At Lyon, Easyjet will operate out of lower cost terminal facilities, much to the chagrin of Air France, who may well be willing to bring a legal action against Easyjet on grounds of unfair competition! The regulatory authorities have also often come to the aid of Air France, by restricting access to their market by other airlines. However, the plans by Easyjet are a tricky one for the authorities, because they will create hundreds of new jobs at the airports and provide orders for new Airbus aircraft. There are currently orders for over 100 Airbus aircraft from Easyjet in the pipeline, for a sum around €4 billion. Ideally, Easyjet would have liked to reinforce their existing platform at Orly airport, but there were no slots available. Air France reduced the number of their flights from Orly last year, but handed them to its affiliate, Transavia. It can be a trial to try and keep up to date with travel developments to and from France. One useful site to do so is with Craig McGinty on his site at Thisfrenchlife.