Much of the Q2 capacity centers on domestic routes in the UK, France and Italy. But if international borders are closed, then it's going to be much more focused on domestic.”. “There's no evidence that this in any way restricts competition at all. At the start of the pandemic, he took a voluntary pay cut of 20 per cent, when they were offered to everyone in the company, as they tried to keep up with flight cancellations and customersâ concerns about refunds. Some things â quarantine, restrictions and travel â have not been thought through by the Government. https://static.routesonline.com/images/common/logo-gpt.png. Read our, Met cop held on suspicion of murder over Sarah Everard disappearance, Surge testing to take place in new south London postcodes, Lottery winner not guilty of causing death of pensioner by dangerous driving, PM presses Iranâs president for immediate release of Nazanin, Business evictions ban extended, in government move to help tenants, Man who threatened to kill MP banned from contacting politicians, UK-based airlines have lost nearly £7 billion since March, Matt Hancock more optimistic than ever for âgreat British summerâ, Londonerâs Diary: âTories donât fear Keir Starmerâ, Shock as Met cop held over missing Sarah Everard, Police investigating Sarah Everard disappearance find âhuman remainsâ. “You've got to cut through the noise here—and this is a nonsense debate,” Lundgren said when asked about Wizz Air’s claims. David is responsible for providing insight to the Routesonline community through the latest breaking news, as well as regular features and analysis on developments and trends within the sector. Easyjet has lost £835 million (before tax) since the start of the pandemic and he had to oversee 4,500 job losses. “EasyJet could be flying planes powered by batteries rather than petroleum to destinations including Paris and Amsterdam within a decade.” "British airline easyJet has moved a step closer to commercial electric flying on short-haul routes after its partner said it would begin development of engines for its electric narrow-body aircraft." Twitter Â, âWe donât want to hit normal, hard-working families for whom holidays were not available before companies like easyJet. The carrier has also picked up some additional slots from Norwegian. It helps to remember that while you canât control what happens to you, you can always control your response. Senior Network Planning Editor. LinkedIn In addition to not-for-profit and non-executive experience, Charles brings decades of executive experience, including as former chief executive of both Thomson Travel and TUI Northern Europe. 2011– end 2020 EasyJet Deputy Chair. Wizz Air has claimed that the decision to suspend the rules governing takeoff and landing rights at slot-constrained airports is preventing it from expanding at London Gatwick (LGW), where easyJet holds a dominant position. âWe only speak rarely, we are all busyâ. Routes is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC. EasyJet CEO remains ‘positive for a strong summer’ ... EasyJet is this summer expanding its LGW base by four aircraft, taking the airline's fleet at the airport to 71. Â, For Lundgren, 54, this past year has been âtremendously difficultâ, a phrase he repeats five times during our interview. âNow itâs just me, my wife and the dog,â he says in his gently musical Swedish lilt. The successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccine programs across Europe will translate into strong international traffic growth during the upcoming summer season, according to easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren. When you look in the mirror you want to think you did the best you could with the information you had available and one day will look back and think you did your upmost. Johan Lundgren also refuted claims that extending the airport slot waiver in Europe for the duration of the summer season is anti-competitive. At one point he tells me that flying should be âfor the many, not the fewâ. âWe cannot afford for restrictions to linger on. This website uses some cookies to give you the best experience. Easyjet has a pool of redundant staff who they will call the minute they can hire again. â31 December was still a big day here but I am proud to say that even with reduced flying in place we did not get any operational difficulties.â, Still, there have been moments this year when he has woken up âand felt overwhelmedâ. When he isnât thinking about planes, he speaks to friends and family, inclduding his brother in Sweden. This website uses some cookies to give you the best experience. There is a cost attached to it of course but it is the right thing to do.â Fellow Swede Greta Thunberg has âhad an amazing impactâ. He previously spent 11 years as a business journalist, which included five as the editor of an award-winning digital news team. Feeling powerless is one of the worst feelings, not just in business.â, Lundgren is even-handed. âNo one wants to announce losses, it has been tremendously difficult,â he says. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC. David Casey We have a goal to come out of this stronger. A message from the President of Aviation Week, Eurowings believes strong position at German airports bodes well, Recovery Tracker: Japan Airlines, easyJet, Austrian Airlines and more, JetBlue files complaint over London slot access, Cathay Pacific plans UK flight resumption, EasyJet to base four more aircraft at Gatwick. His ambition extends to keeping up easyJetâs pledge to be green, despite current pressures on budgets. Andy Owen-Jones, CEO at bd4travel, added: “The trial period proved to easyJet holidays how easily our technology lets them display the right holiday to the right user at the right time. Johan Lundgren, easyJet CEO, said: “We are incredibly proud to be supporting The Sun… âEvery company is better equipped to deal with challenges if they are more diverse. I think there there will be an absolute boom in travel because there’s such underlying, pent-up demand out there.”. “We acted by taking on the two Moscow slots in Gatwick. We did a deal with Norwegian in this case. We cant do more than that.â, THen there has been Brexit, which actually hasnât affected easyJet much yet. Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet said:“We have consistently seen that there is pent up demand for travel and this surge in bookings shows that this … Speaking during the latest CAPA Live event on Feb. 10, Lundgren said the UK carrier is upbeat that demand for air travel will return over the coming months, despite planning to fly just 10% of its 2019 capacity during the second quarter (Q2) of 2021. What is interesting is that hardly any government is approaching this in the same way. This is a free market. He has been grounded at home in Cobham in Surrey, lifting his mood by going on lots of walks with his labradoodle, Molly. Lundgren called on governments in Europe to set out a plan detailing how and when they are going to “unwind” the travel restrictions currently in place, subject to vaccines proving resistant to the new strains of COVID-19. âWe know that the single factor that constrains customers from booking and travelling is restrictions like quarantine.