News: Easyjet re-launch Zurich flights from London
Flights > News > # 1218 (15/03/2007)
Easyjet is re-launching flights from London Luton to Zurich this autumn.
The no-frills airline pulled out of the Swiss hub in October 2004 after the handling fees at Zurich’s Kloten airport were increased, transferring many of its routes to Basle instead.
Easyjet will operate a twice daily service from Luton to Zurich on weekdays, and a daily service at the weekend. The re-launched route takes off on September 18, with fares starting from £50 return.
An Easyjet spokesman would not comment on the airline’s previous problems with Zurich airport, but said there is a strong demand for low-fares services to/from the Swiss business capital.
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Comment:
Easyjet have previously made a big song and dance about the high charges imposed by Zurich airport, and the inappropriateness on its new terminal extension for usage by low-cost airlines. Indeed, Zurich in particular was singled out for heavy criticism by Easyjet chief executive, Andrew Harrison, at last year's World Low-cost Airlines conference in London. Easyjet hasn’t previously shown any interest in restarting Luton to Zurich flights, even after the Swiss budget airline Helvetic pulled off this route. Why the sudden change of heart? Easyjet's official comment on this issue merely states the obvious, but doesn't tell us anything new:
"We are always assessing opportunities at a variety of airports. We recognise there is a strong demand for low-fares services to/from Zurich which is why we are reintroducing this service. We cannot comment on specific negotiations as this is commercially sensitive information."
If the strong demand has always been there, then we can only speculate that the airport have offered Easyjet a good enough deal to restart their Zurich flights, especially as they have reduced their Luton to Basel frequencies at the same time. Does this mean that there will be more cheap flights to Zurich from any other UK airports? We doubt it, as we expect to see Easyjet introduce flights between Zurich and their other major European airports like Berlin and Madrid long before they consider any other UK links. Meanwhile, we expect Easyjet to keep plenty of focus on their Geneva base, from where they are rumoured to be interested in offering flights to additional UK airports like Birmingham. Watch this space!
