EasyJet’s CEO, Carolyn McCall, took over in July and has been conducting a strategy review at the urging of [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> EasyJet, the second-largest discount airline in Europe after Ryanair, is adjusting its strategy and increasing the size of its fleet, and it is also paying a shareholder dividend for the first time in the airline’s 15-year history.

EasyJet’s CEO, Carolyn McCall, took over in July and has been conducting a strategy review at the urging of the airline’s founder, entrepreneur Stelios Haji-loannou.  McCall said that the business model is strong, and the plan is to take advantage of continuing growth in the European short-haul market.

To target that sector of the market, including more corporate travellers, EasyJet will be offering flexible fares that allow passengers to change flights as late as two hours before departure, plus speedy check-in and boarding.  They will also be adding 24 aircraft to the fleet, for a total of 220 by September 2013.

EasyJet showed a pre-tax profit of £154 million, up by about 70% from the last fiscal year. The revised strategy is intended to build on the existing network and lure more business travellers to supplement or supplant the seasonal and tourist-oriented packages.  Business travel currently accounts for about 18% of the airline’s revenue, and although the re-focus will require an investment, McCall believes it will more than pay for itself.

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This week, TUI Travel and Easyjet announced their costs from the volcano’s eruption with losses of £78.7 from Easyjet, which [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> The global financial crisis hurt the travel industry enough in 2010, but the volcanic ash cloud that caused most European airlines to close for five days during April was symbolically simply an additional catalyst for disaster.

This week, TUI Travel and Easyjet announced their costs from the volcano’s eruption with losses of £78.7 from Easyjet, which is lower than expected although the carrier did suffer as it was forced to cancel around 6,500 flights.  Up until the disaster, the company was expecting profits this year to reach almost £200m but now full year profits are expected to reach a max of £150m.

Easyjet chief executive, Andy Harrison, stated that EasyJet will continue to turn profit in 2010 even though it faced the recession, terrible snowfalls, and the volcanic closures, which is quite a surprise and a testament to the company.

On the other hand, TUI Travel reported that it was forced to cancel the holiday plans of around 175,000 people, forcing them to issue refunds to around 180,000 customers costing them a total of about £90m.  At the same time, the company already had reported losses during the first half of 2010, making the volcano especially hurtful.

However, TUI Travel still performed better than most analysts predicted and the company believes that summer holidays will remain unaffected with their current trading strong before the eruption and expected to regain its balance once the debris and threat is finally over.

Chief executive of TUI Travel, Peter Long, stated that he expects the company to get their momentum back in the latter part of 2010.

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