Traveling around but want to stay connected? Try Saily!
Ahh, what a week it has been. With all the chatter surrounding whether or not Heathrow will build a third runway, which you can read about here, by the way, I came across something very interesting today: Easyjet is backing the third runway of Heathrow Airport. Yes, you read that right. Why is that? It’s because Easyjet wants to operate flights in and out of Heathrow Airport “at scale.” I know, right?
Ok, let’s dissect things properly,
While this isn’t a new idea, easyJet has long wanted to start flying from Heathrow. However, Heathrow Airport is so controlled these days. For example, British Airways accounts for about 46% of capacity, followed by Virgin Atlantic at 6.5%, American Airlines at 3.9%, United Airlines at 2.6%, and Lufthansa at 2.4%.
During the Covid pandemic in November 2020, easyJet applied for 14 daily pairs of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow. But they didn’t get them.
As we all know, London Gatwick airport is an easyJet stronghold: as Simon writes in the Independent, this summer, it will offer more than 6 million seats from the Sussex airport, while none of its key rivals—British Airways, Vueling, and Wizz Air—can muster as many as a million.
So, will this actually happen?
Look, it’s hard to say if it will or won’t, but then again, things happen every day in the aviation world, which is good and sometimes not so good.
So what does easyJet mean by “at scale”?
EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis said, “Heathrow fits with our primary airport strategy and is probably the white spot we have in terms of primary airports throughout Europe. If a new runway comes along, that gives us a chance to look at what a scale move might look like—and that’s what we’d be interested in.”
Jarvis also reiterated his support for a second full-time runway at Gatwick Airport. EasyJet is already the largest carrier there, holding a 35.2% share of all departure seats in January 2025, according to OAG Schedules Analyser data. So, clearly, they want Gatwick to open up the second runway, too, which begs the question: Why not just stay at Gatwick?
Let me know your thoughts on this matter in the comments section!
