EasyJet plans to join a key committee that represents carriers operating out of Heathrow.
The budget carrier has applied to attend meetings of the London Airports Consultative Committee, which represents the “operational and strategic interests” of airlines operating at Heathrow, the Telegraph reported.
This follows chief executive Carolyn McCall suggesting that easyJet would consider setting up an operation at Heathrow if the airport was given the green light to build a third runway.
If Heathrow receives the go-ahead for a third runway, it will free up more take-off and landing and slots for new entrants. Heathrow has been full for a decade and landing slots currently exchange hands for tens of millions of pounds.
A spokesman for easyJet, which has increasingly been targeting business travellers, confirmed to the newspaper that the carrier had applied to join the committee.
He said that, as Britain’s biggest airline, easyJet has an interest in the expansion plans of “both Heathrow and Gatwick”, where it is the dominant carrier.
“Heathrow is one of less than a handful of primary airports in Europe we don’t operate from,” the spokesman said.
“We operate out of hub airports in France, in Italy, in Holland. We don’t currently [operate from Heathrow] but we’ve never said we wouldn’t in the future.”
A move into Heathrow would help the airline to significantly increase its share of the business travel market.