Airbus wins easyJet contract

Planemaker Airbus today appeared to be victorious in its battle with rival Boeing for a major aircraft order from budget airline easyJet.

Airbus, the firm part-owned by BAE Systems, has broken Boeing’s stranglehold as supplier to the low cost sector with the proposed order for 120 planes.

Luton-based easyJet said it had agreed in principle to take the A319 aircraft but that terms still needed to be settled over the next month.

The deal means easyJet will run a mixed fleet of planes, although chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou said today’s tie-up made economic sense long-term.

He added: “Low cost companies remain low cost by not wasting money. Sticking to old-fashioned fads like ‘low cost airlines only fly Boeing’ does not reduce costs.”

Airbus A319s, which seat 150 passengers, will initially be introduced at easyJet’s Geneva hub from August 2003 but should eventually interchange with existing Boeing planes on all routes.

The budget carrier, which currently has 64 planes following its takeover of rival Go!, also holds options on a further 120 Airbus A319s until 2012.

It is being offered extensive support from Airbus to ensure that the introduction of the planes is not more expensive than Boeing’s 737-700 planes in the first two years.

Today’s announcement is significant for the two planemakers as they battle to cope with the post-September 11 downturn in the aviation market.

Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard said: “The A319 will do an outstanding job for easyJet.”