EasyJet plc styled as easyJet is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. Since its establishment in , EasyJet has expanded through a combination of acquisitions , [ 6 ] [ 7 ] and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel.
It has 29 bases across Europe, the largest being Gatwick. EasyJet was featured in the television series Airline , broadcast on ITV β , which followed the airline's operations in London Luton and later at other bases. Its pilot training scheme was the subject of another ITV television series, easyJet: Inside the Cockpit , which premiered in August EasyJet has its roots in the business activity of Greek - Cypriot Stelios Haji-Ioannou , who reportedly gained an interest in the aviation business after being approached as a potential investor in Virgin Atlantic 's Greek franchisee.
This principle became a cornerstone of EasyJet's operations. In , EasyJet was established by Stelios, being the first company in what would later become the EasyGroup conglomerate.
Upon launch, it employed just 70 people; the company is based at London Luton Airport , which was traditionally used only by charter flights. These were flown on two routes: Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Early on, EasyJet operated as a paper airline , the aircraft themselves being flown and maintained under a lease. Early promotional activity focused on the airline's relatively low pricing compared to incumbent operators. In April , the first wholly owned aircraft was delivered to EasyJet, enabling the company's first international route, to Amsterdam , which was operated in direct competition with rival airlines British Airways BA and Dutch flag carrier KLM.
