The airline will also convert 35 existing A320neo deliveries into A321neo aircraft, enabling continued growth opportunities in slot constrained airports.
Following shareholder approval easyJet has confirmed a firm order for 157 additional A320neo Family aircraft, as well as 100 purchase rights. 56 A320neo and 101 A321neo aircraft will be delivered between FY29 and FY34, while 35 A320neo already on order will be converted into larger A321neo aircraft.
The order and aircraft type conversion will provide easyJet with the opportunity to grow its capacity through a combination of incremental aircraft and accelerated upgauging to larger aircraft, as well as to complete its fleet replacement programme of older A319 aircraft and replace approximately half of the A320ceo aircraft, providing the foundation for disciplined growth and bringing cost and sustainability improvements to the business.
The airline already has 69 A320neo Family aircraft in its fleet and an existing order book with Airbus to FY29 for a further 158 A320neo Family aircraft still to be delivered. With limited delivery slots in the market for narrow body aircraft until at least 2029, confirming this order now ensures easyJet has a supply of future delivery slots between FY29 and FY34 to retain its current scale through replacing aircraft leaving the fleet and this enables easyJet to execute its growth strategy. The 100 purchase rights provides the airline with the opportunity to further grow depending on when they are delivered.
The adoption of the more efficient new technology aircraft is also a core component of easyJet’s path to net zero carbon emissions. The new aircraft will continue the modernisation of the easyJet fleet and deliver between a 13% to 30% unit fuel burn efficiency improvement, depending on which aircraft they replace. Alongside this, the new aircraft are significantly quieter, with half the noise footprint of the older aircraft they are replacing.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, commented: “We are very pleased to be able to confirm this significant order which not only enables easyJet to replace its older aircraft with more efficient aircraft, a core component of our net zero roadmap, but also provides us the ability for disciplined growth, including the significant opportunity that upgauging brings. With this order, easyJet will be able to continue to cement its leading position at Europe’s primary airports and so we look forward to working in partnership with Airbus in the years to come
Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus, said: “Airbus is delighted to be accompanying easyJet in its fleet growth and renewal. Its Airbus fleet allows easyJet to differentiate its offering in its competitive market with the most state-of-the-art, modern and comfortable aircraft. easyJet and Airbus both are strong advocates for the decarbonisation of the aviation sector and so this significant investment into the most fuel efficient and SAF-capable aircraft is a testimony to our joint commitment in this respect. Bravo easyJet, and thank you!”
Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said: “This is another huge success for our world-leading aerospace sector, proving that our plan for British manufacturing is working, helping to secure the highly-skilled jobs of the future and driving economic growth.
“The UK is one of the best places to invest, and this deal for easyJet is another shot in the arm for UK manufacturing, following a string of recent airline announcements and over £6 billion of recent private investment wins, including from Tata and Nissan.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
