A new economic impact report from the largest UK airline reveals UK-Europe connectivity has grown 61% since 1995, with 170 of net new direct routes operated by easyJet.

easyJet fares are now cheaper in real terms compared to 1995, with starting fares on routes launched in the 90s including to Glasgow, Belfast, Amsterdam, Milan and Barcelona, over 50% less in real terms

In the last year, easyJet has facilitated £21 billion GVA and 243,600 jobs for the UK economy, equivalent to £300 in GVA for every UK resident.

15 million tourists flying with easyJet last year spent £9.7 billion across the UK economy with 58% of inbound passengers landing outside of London.

easyJet now employs around 19,000 people including 12,000 in the UK in every country and in all nine English regions

easyJet continues to grow with new bases opening in Newcastle and Marrakech in 2026, creating connectivity and supporting hundreds of jobs

New consumer research shows almost all (96%) agree that easyJet has made air travel more accessible to more people over the past three decades with low fares and choice of destinations.*

On the anniversary of its first ever flight, easyJet has launched a new impact report revealing the effect more accessible air travel has had on the UK economy, jobs, connectivity, consumer choice and affordability, over the past three decades.

When EZY121 from London Luton to Glasgow took off 10 November 1995, easyJet made affordable international travel possible for millions for the first time enabling them to connect with loved ones, experience new cultures and take advantage of life-enriching opportunities that were previously inaccessible to many.

Since then, the airline has evolved from being the original challenger brand to a high-flying success story – and the biggest UK airline. Today, easyJet annually flies 50 million customers to and from the UK alone and around 100 million in total across Europe, meaning the airline has carried around 1.2bn customers in total since launching - almost twice the entire population of Europe.

The new report from easyJet reveals how, over the past three decades, easyJet has built up a substantial economic footprint across the UK, contributing meaningfully towards the country’s economic output, GDP, productivity, and employment. It also shows the UK is now better connected than ever and that flying with easyJet is more affordable than it was 30 years ago.

Kenton Jarvis, easyJet CEO commented:

“Very few companies remain as close to their roots as easyJet and now, in our 30th year, our mission remains to democratise travel – always aiming to make flying easy and affordable.

“I am proud of the significant contribution that easyJet and our people’s unwavering commitment to making travel easy and affordable has had - not just for the UK economy, jobs and skills but for our society as a whole. The UK is now better connected than ever, and flying is more affordable than it was 30 years ago.In short, this is the easyJet effect.

“Our long heritage of highly efficient operations has not only kept fares low, but paved the way for our focus on sustainability, where we are championing innovative solutions to help lower our impact on the environment. It is also crucial we manage this transition effectively to ensure flying never reverts back to being the preserve of only the rich.

“And this focus remains at the heart of the airline which will ensure many more people can reap the social and economic benefits that travel and tourism bring over the next 30 years and beyond.”

Connectivity

Over the last 30 years, the airline has contributed materially to UK connectivity growth, building a distinctive network offering frequent, convenient flights from the UK and Europe’s major airports, directly creating more choice and competitive low fares for consumers.

Connectivity between the UK and Europe has grown 61% since 1995, with 987 more unique airline routes - up from 1,628 to 2,615 last year. easyJet operated 170 of these net new direct routes and nearly one fifth (18%) of all routes between the UK and Europe last year.

easyJet now provides over 1000 routes across its network, including 630 routes from 22 UK airports to 140 destinations across Europe and North Africa, providing connectivity not just for holidaymakers, but mobility for students, businesspeople and workers and access to European markets for UK SMEs and exporters.

A recent easyJet consumer survey revealed nearly three quarters (73%) of Brits say opportunities fly to Europe from their local airport have increased over the past three decades and 40% said flying was now critical for their business. *

The airline now has 33 bases and continues to grow its unrivalled short-haul network. It will open a new base at Newcastle and its first ever African base in Marrakech in spring 2026, creating greater connectivity, choice and hundreds of jobs.

Economic impact

In its last financial year, easyJet enabled a contribution of £21 billion in Gross Value Add (GVA) and 243,600 jobs for the UK economy, equivalent to £300 in GVA for every UK resident. This includes the impact of easyJet’s UK operations, multi-billion-pound investments in Airbus aircraft and easyJet-enabled inbound and domestic tourism.

Having started operations in 1995 with one leased Boeing 737, the airline now operates a fleet of 356 aircraft and has a further 290 modern and more fuel-efficient Airbus A320 family NEO aircraft being delivered up to 2034, providing further growth opportunities. These new aircraft will also deliver between a 13%-30% unit fuel efficiency improvement and are significantly quieter, with half the noise footprint compared to the aircraft they replace.

15 million tourists, both international arrivals and domestic travellers, spent £9.7 billion across the UK economy in hotels, restaurants, retail and other sectors. This is supporting both the national and regional visitor economy, with 58% of inbound easyJet passengers landing outside of London.

Affordability

easyJet famously launched offering fares for the price of a pair of Levis jeans. Today starting fares on key routes launched in the 90s are considerably lower than those jeans and have fallen by 50% in real terms.

Route

Starting fare when launched

1990’s price in real terms**

Starting fare 2024

Change in real price

1995

Luton to Glasgow

£29

£58

£26

-55%

Luton to Edinburgh

£29

£58

£27

-52%

1996

Luton to Aberdeen

£29

£56

£26

-53%

Luton to Inverness

£29

£56

£27

-51%

Luton to Amsterdam

£35

£68

£33

-52%

Luton to Milan Malpensa

£29 – £35

£56 – £68

£25

-63% to -56%

Luton to Nice

£29 – £49

£56-£95

£30

-69% to -47%

Luton to Barcelona

£29 – £49

£56-£95

£26

-72% to -53%

Luton to Geneva

£29

£56

£33

-42%

Luton to Malaga

£29 – £49

£56-£95

£31

-67% to -44%

Luton to Palma de Mallorca

£29 – £49

£56-£95

£32

-66% to 43%

1998

Belfast International to Luton

£29

£55

£25

-53%

1999

Belfast International to Liverpool

£29

£54

£23

-57%

Compared to other goods, easyJet flights have beaten inflationary rises in prices, as other everyday items and experiences have become more expensive.

Item

1995 price

1995 price in

real terms

2024 price

Change in real price

easyJet starting fare

£29

£58

£26

-55%

Pair of Levi’s Original jeans

£32

£63.76

£100

57%

First class stamp

25p

50p

£1.65

231%

Glastonbury ticket

£65

£129

£360

178%

Average house

£51,529

£102,675

£260,826

154%

Arsenal ticket

£12.50

£24.91

£61.54

147%

Loaf of bread

53p

£1.06

£1.68

59%

Big mac

£1.74

£3.47

£5.39

55%

Pint of lager

£1.60

£3.19

£4.43

39%

Petrol (unleaded litre)

52p

£1.04

£1.29

24%

Cinema ticket

£3.48

£6.93

£7.71

11%

According to a recent survey of 2000 British adults, almost all (96%) agree that easyJet has made air travel more accessible to more people over the past three decades with low fares and choice of destinations. 94% agree that going on family holidays to Europe is much easier than when they were children and 83% say they travel abroad to Europe more regularly with their family compared to the previous generation. *

- ENDS –

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office at easyJet.com/en/news/contacts or on 01582 525252

Notes to editors

*Survey of 2,000 British adults conducted by 3Gem in October 2025

**This is the starting fare when the route was launched in the 1990s, adjusted for inflation to be expressed in real (2024) terms.

About easyJet

easyJet is one of Europe’s largest airlines offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe's primary airports with great value fares and friendly service.

easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 100 million passengers in 2024. The airline has over 340 aircraft flying on over 1000 routes to more than 160 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour's drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in nine countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £17m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

In 2022, easyJet published its roadmap to net zero by 2050. The roadmap, which also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology, has set an ambitious interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035, validated by the Science-based targets initiative (SBTi). The airline’s ultimate aim is to fully transition its fleet to zero carbon emission technology, which it will achieve through a number of strategic partnerships including with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace Solutions. Since 2000, the airline has successfully reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third and is the number 1 ESG rated airline in Europe by Sustainalytics, MSCI and CDP.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching nearly 30 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital and operational innovations to make travel easier and more affordable for its passengers.

In 2023 easyJet was named by TIME as one of the World’s Best Companies and a Leader in Diversity 2024 by The Financial Times.

The easyJet effect report methodology

This report has been prepared by easyJet drawing on the results of economic impact analysis commissioned from a team of professional economists at FTI Consulting. The analysis is produced using a standard economic impact modelling framework, based on well-established and widely accepted input-output modelling methods, to quantify easyJet’s contribution to the UK economy.

Focusing on FY 2024 (year ending September 2024), the analysis examines three distinct channels through which easyJet generates economic benefits: the company’s day-to-day airline and holiday operations in the UK; the UK economic impact of easyJet’s capital investment in Airbus aircraft; and the catalytic effects of inbound and domestic tourism spending facilitated by easyJet’s connectivity. The economic footprint is measured in terms of: (a) economic output (a gross measure of economic activity, representing the total value of goods and services produced), (b) Gross Value Added (“GVA”, or the value of goods and services produced, less the cost of any inputs used up in that production process, which is a standard measure of an organisation’s contribution to a country’s Gross Domestic Product, or “GDP”), and (c) employment (measured in full-time equivalent jobs). The methodology captures not only the ‘direct’ impacts of easyJet’s own activities, but also the rounds of ‘indirect’ impacts generated through the company’s UK supply chain, and the ‘induced’ impacts arising from the spending of employees of easyJet and suppliers.

The analysis draws on economic, financial and operational data from both public and non-public sources. Public sources include the UK’s official Input-Output tables published by the Office for National Statistics, tourist surveys conducted by the ONS and VisitBritain, and data on routes and passenger numbers published by the Civil Aviation Authority. Non-public data has been provided to FTI Consulting by easyJet; the accuracy of this data has not been independently verified by FTI Consulting.