EASYJETchairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou has earmarked Germany, Italy and France as possible destinations for expansion of the carrier’s network next year.
The new services will be from UK airports and from thecarrier’s mainland European hubs following the beginning of the deliveries of 15 149-seater Boeing 737s later this year.
The aircraft will not provide more capacity individually than EasyJet’s 18 existing B737s but will be more efficient.
A spokesman for Haji-Ioannou said Germany, especially Munich, was a possibility. Italy and France are also thought to be targets.
EasyJet does not serve German or Italian markets yet and its only French destination is Nice.
The spokesman ruled out EasyJet launching flights to Scandinavia, a favourite for budget carriers, due to too much capacity from competitors such as Ryanair and Go.
“We will also use the new aircraft to increase frequencies on existing routes,” said the spokesman.
Only one new route is planned this summer, from Liverpool to Palma. The daily service will be a year-round operation from March 27.
The new flight continues EasyJet’s policy of building up its Liverpool hub as an alternative to its main Luton base. Four aircraft are currently based in the northwest.
The spokesman said EasyJet is also looking to use the new aircraft to build up operations at its mainland European bases of Geneva and, to a lesser extent, Barcelona. EasyJet already serves Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Liverpool, Barcelona, Nice and Amsterdam from the Swiss city.
During 2000, EasyJet forecasts it will handle 5.1m passengers, up from the 3.5m last year.
Growth will continue once the 15 new B737s join EasyJet’s fleet. The carrier also has options with Boeing to take a further 15.
Haji-Ioannou is currently courting City institutions before launching a 25% partial flotation on stock markets in London and New York. The £100m expected to be raised will pay for additional aircraft (Travel Weekly January 24).