EasyJet

Earned seats is a method of counting passenger numbers which includes all seats sold whether the passenger turns up or not, and also seats used for promotional purposes and staff business travel. The first activity is now the responsibility of a new public company, Administrador de Infrestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF), while Renfe (full name: Renfe Operadora) owns the rolling-stock and remains responsible for the planning, marketing, and operation of passenger and freight services (though no longer with a legal monopoly). These are "earned seat" numbers. The Railway Sector Act of 2003 separated the management, maintenance, and construction of rail infrastructure from train operation. easyJet has published the following passenger numbers:. The line to Lleida is slower at present, though there are plans for eventual operation at 350 km/h on this route.
. Speed on the Seville line is 300 km/h.

Now, flights can only be booked over the Internet except during the 2 weeks immediately before the flight when telephone booking is also available. The high-speed lines are built to the standard European gauge. Within a year 15% of bookings were made using the web site, by April 2004 the figure had jumped to 98%. The name is both an acronym of Alta Velocidad Española (Spanish high-speed) and a play on the Spanish word ave ( "bird"). The planes were repainted with the web address. The Spanish high-speed system is called AVE. Internet bookings were priced cheaper than booking over the phone, to reflect the reduced call centre costs. Another high speed route from Madrid to Valladolid is under construction, and other lines to Valencia and Lisbon are being designed.

Later he changed his mind, and easyJet became the first UK airline to offer online booking in April 1998. The last high-speed line opened is Madrid - Toledo, in November 2005. When asked about the possibility of Internet sales, Stelios had replied that the Internet was "just for geeks". The greater part of the line, from Madrid to Lleida, was put in service on October 11, 2003, with connection to Huesca from Zaragoza; the extension to Barcelona is expected to open in 2007. There is no incentive for travel agents to sell easyJet bookings because there is no commission, a standard practice for the low cost carriers. The second high-speed rail, from Madrid to Barcelona, is under construction. Initially booking was by telephone only, all the planes were painted with the booking telephone number. In 1988 construction of the high-speed rail between Madrid and Seville began, and in 1991 operation of this line was started.

[3]. In the latter it is supplemented by the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalonia's rail system. When the last of the Airbus A319s has been delivered in 2007 easyJet still expects to be operating all its 32 Boeing 737-700s and to have completely retired its 737-300s. The former was targeted in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings. Easyjet converted 20 of its options into orders in December 2005[2]. In addition to intercity transport, RENFE operates commuter train systems in a number of major cities, including Madrid and Barcelona. These were first introduced to easyJet's Geneva base, UK bases followed in 2004. The company was formed on 24 January 1941 when Spain's railways were nationalized.

In September 2003 it broke with its previous philosophy of operating just one aircraft type by ordering 120 Airbus A319s (and 120 options) with CFM56-5B engines [1]. Certain through trains do run to and from France: they adjust the separation of their wheels at the frontier, so that they can run on both railway systems. Like most low cost carriers at the time, easyJet initially operated exclusively Boeing 737 aircraft. A few years later this technical problem was solved, but the huge cost of a possible change of the tracks and the rolling stock to the European gauge left the Spanish network rather isolated from the rest of Western Europe, except for Portugal, which adopted the Spanish gauge. ^{* Includes 10 aircraft placed with easyJet Switzerland.}. Because of this, a commission estimated that a gauge wider than the European one would allow bigger steam engines, which would make easier the ascent of the slopes. The easyJet fleet consists of the following aircraft (at January 2006):. Spain is a country with many mountain ranges.

A detailed list of cities served can be found in easyJet destinations. For historical reasons the tracks built up to 1988 are broad gauge tracks (1668 mm or 5 ft 5½ in), which is wider than the tracks of most other European countries.
. RENFE operates Spain's 15,000 km (or 9,500 mile) system of railways. It also has hubs at:-. The name RENFE is an acronym of Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (National Network of the Spanish Railways). easyJet's main base is London Luton (LTN), although its largest is now at London Gatwick (LGW). RENFE is Spain's national railway operator.

easyJet is claimed to be a more business-oriented airline than Ryanair, since it flies to major airports (as opposed to secondary airports) and has recently removed limits on hand luggage weight (within reason). It also holds a 49% stake in easyJet Switzerland. easyJet's main shareholder is Stelios Haji-Ioannou. In December 2003 easyJet announced it would open a new hub in Berlin, at Schönefeld Airport, from which it started flying on 11 routes from May 2004.

Operations were boosted in 2002 with the acquisition of rival airline, London Stansted based Go Fly. easyJet was floated on the London stock exchange in October 2000. In March 1998 it purchased a 40% stake in TEA Switzerland, renamed EasyJet Switzerland. This caused much outrage among travel agents.

Its early marketing strategy was based on 'making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans' and urged travellers to 'cut out the travel agent'. It was launched by Stelios Haji-Ioannou with two leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft wet leased from GB Airways and operating two routes: London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The airline was established on 18 October 1995 and started operations on 10 November 1995. The Irish airline claims to be 50% cheaper than easyJet, despite their fees and taxes being up to three times more expensive than those of easyJet's.

Ryanair has come under critisism for using agressive advertising techniques to inform consumers of their low fares. As of September 2005, Ryanair flies more passengers, but easyJet has a higher turnover, leading both of them to claim to be "Europe's number one low cost airline". This is mainly due to the different range of airports used and Ryanair routinely scheduling flights to take thirty minutes longer than required. Ryanair makes much of the fact that easyJet's average fares are higher and its average punctuality is consistently lower.

easyJet places more focus on attracting business travellers as well as leisure travellers, although all its aircraft have single-class cabins. easyJet flies mainly to leading airports while Ryanair uses far more secondary airports to reduce costs. The two companies have slightly different strategies. easyJet and its Republic of Ireland-based rival Ryanair are by far the largest low cost airlines in Europe, and the rivalry between them is intense and sometimes vituperative (especially on Ryanair's side from its high profile chief executive Michael O'Leary).

. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It was founded by easyGroup entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, but it is now listed on the London Stock Exchange and easyGroup owns only a minority stake. It operates frequent scheduled services for leisure and business passengers and serves more than 200 routes between more than 60 European airports.

The company is based at London Luton Airport.
easyJet is a low cost airline officially known as easyJet Airline Company Limited.
. easyJet has been seen on the A&E show Airline UK.

FL GROUP, the owner of airlines Icelandair and Sterling, holds 16,18% share in easyJet. The UK television station ITV runs a series called "Airline" featuring easyJet and its staff at work at Luton airport. This is facilitated by using the A320 centre fuselage section. Due to higher density passenger seating and the enforced extra safety requirement, easyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of overwing exits instead of standard one-pair exits found on all other Airbus A319.

On 14 December 2004, easyJet and Hotelopia, a subsidiary of First Choice Holidays, launched a co-branded easyJetHotels accommodation booking service. Year ended 30 September 1999: 3,100,000. Year ended 30 September 2000: 5,600,000. Year ended 30 September 2001: 7,100,000.

Year ended 30 September 2002: 11,400,000. Year ended 30 September 2003: 20,332,973. Year ended 30 September 2004: 24,343,649. Year ended 30 September 2005: 29,557,640.

32 Boeing 737-700. 16 Boeing 737-300. 60 Airbus A319-100* (further 80 on order). Orly Airport, Paris (ORY).

Nottingham East Midlands Airport (EMA),. Newcastle Airport (NCL),. Malpensa International Airport (MXP),. London Stansted (STN),.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL),. Glasgow International Airport (GLA),. Geneva Cointrin International Airport (GVA),. Edinburgh (EDI),.

Dortmund Airport (DTM),. Bristol International Airport (BRS),. Berlin Schönefeld (SXF),. Belfast International Airport (BFS),.

Basel (BSL),.