EasyJet targets French expansion with two new bases

Posted on 7 October, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

EasyJet targets French expansion with two new bases

Oct 06, 2011 08:28AM GMT

EasyJet is to increase its focus on the south of France with two new bases announced for Nice and Toulouse.

The no-frills carrier will station two Airbus 319 aircraft at each of the airports from summer 2012, adding to its existing French bases at Orly, Charles de Gaulle and Lyon and bringing its total number of bases to 22.

The move is set to reinforce easyJet’s position as the second largest carrier in France, behind Air France. In 2011, it flew 12 million passengers in and out of the country.

Catherine Lynn, easyJet customer and revenue director, said: “France is a strategic market for easyJet, where the airline – already the country’s second largest – clearly has room to grow. Low-cost penetration is only 24% – half the European average. This strategic investment will allow us to strengthen our position in one of Europe’s key markets.”

She added: “EasyJet’s commercial performance continues to be robust across our network, with particular strength on city routes used by business and short break leisure travellers. These results demonstrate the success of our strategy and we will continue to build on this trend.

EasyJet claims the introduction of the two new bases will allow it to extend its portfolio of European routes from 27 to 37. Flights on the new routes will go on sale from November.

Posted on 30 September, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Princess to have 45% of capacity in Europe next year

By Donna Tunney

Princess Cruises took the wraps off of its 2012 Europe program. The line will deploy seven ships, about 45% of its capacity, to the region next year with 125 departures and 57 itineraries.

Highlights include the European debut of the 3,100-passenger Caribbean Princess and a new 14-day Baltic Heritage itinerary, operating roundtrip from London with calls at Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Gdansk and Oslo.

Across the fleet, overnight port calls are featured in Turkey, Italy, Russia, Egypt and Israel. Two new ports will debut during the season — Korcula, Croatia, and Nessebar, Bulgaria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Summer lates boost keeps Tui Travel on course

Posted on 22 September, 2011 by Spacejunkie2

Summer lates boost keeps Tui Travel on course

Sep 22, 2011 07:50AM GMT

Summer lates boost keeps Tui Travel on course

A strong performance in this summer’s lates market has helped Tui Travel keep on course to meet its full year expectations.

Improved margins for late sales in the UK and Germany have helped boost Europe’s largest travel group. Winter 2011/12 trading to date is described as “satisfactory” overall with differentiated holidays performing well, particularly in the UK and Nordic regions.

Winter capacity has been cut by 7% from the UK to Egypt and Tunisia following political upheaval in North Africa. This has helped push the average selling price up by 6%, also reflecting higher fuel and accommodation costs.

Differentiated holiday sales are up by 7% year on year while the percentage of online sales has grown by three percentage points to 37%. The group has sold 10% of it summer 2012 programme from the UK, described as being broadly in line with last year.

Bookings are currently 11% down, partly reflecting a 4% drop in capacity, while average selling prices are up by 10%.

“Margin performance is a key driver for the group. We anticipate that in the UK, cost inflation will be just over 5% for summer 2012 and our prices are designed to recover these input costs in this competitive market,” the company said in a trading update today.

Chief executive Peter Long said: “We are pleased with our performance in the lates market for summer 2011, and most of our programmes are now almost fully sold.

“We remain confident that the full year results will be in line with our expectations. Trading for winter 2011/12 is satisfactory overall, but we are anticipating a slow recovery in trading to Egypt and Tunisia, and have managed our capacity accordingly.”

He added: “Our focus remains on differentiated product, maintaining margins, prudent capacity management, and delivering our turnaround and cost savings programme. The flexibility of our business model means that we are well placed to achieve this.”