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EasyJet announced last month that it had arranged to convert
part of an Airbus order to larger planes to cut costs per seat,
and was also postponing some orders of smaller planes as it
reported a bigger-than-expected half year loss.
The low-cost airline took delivery of its first A320neo jet on
Wednesday, its 300th plane, with new, more fuel efficient
engines.
"A 15 pct reduction in fuel burn is relevant at any fuel price,"
CEO Carolyn McCall said in Toulouse as the A320neo was
delivered. She was referring to the fact fuel prices have fallen
since the planes were ordered.
"We are able to take more A321neos in our framework but we
haven't as yet committed to taking any more... It will be on our
radar as we go through the next 12-18 months", she said.
EasyJet has already switched 30 of its 130 A320neo orders for
larger A321neo's, which seat an additional 49 passengers and are
set to bring the cost per seat down by 8-9 percent compared with
the smaller plane.
RIVALS UPSIZE TOO
Rivals are also banking on bigger planes. Wizz Air <WIZZ.L> is
shifting from the 180-seat A320 to A321s which can carry up to
239 passengers. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Ryanair <RYA.I>
is set to order Boeing's proposed new 737 MAX 10 airliner, which
seats up to 230 passengers and is designed to challenge the
A321.
EasyJet is likely to use the larger planes to fly out of
airports such as London Gatwick, Paris Orly and Amsterdam where
it is hard to get new slots.
McCall told journalists she had not seen any impact on bookings
from recent attacks in London and Manchester.
EasyJet has expressed an interest to administrators looking to
sell Alitalia, but McCall said that interested parties had been
asked not to comment further.
The engines of the A320neo are made by CFM International, a
joint venture between General Electric Co <GE.N> and Safran SA <SAF.PA>
of France.
A rival engine made by Pratt & Whitney has suffered hardware and
software problems, leading to delivery delays.
"My goodness, we're glad we choose CFM," McCall quipped.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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