EasyJet fined 60,000 euros in discrimination case

A French court on Thursday fined British budget airline easyJet 60,000 euros (over US$80,000) for refusing to let a partially paralysed woman fly unaccompanied to her son's funeral.

The fine for discrimination is the second slapped on the airline this year in France. In February, the carrier was fined 50,000 euros for having forced a disabled woman off a flight.

The court in the Paris suburb of Bobigny also slapped a 30,000-euro fine on Europe Handling, a company hired by easyJet to carry out passenger registrations and check-ins at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

The complainant, a 65-year-old woman who is paralysed on one side, was prevented by easyJet from travelling from Paris to Portugal in October 2009 because she was unaccompanied.

She then bought a ticket with another airline and made it to the funeral and filed a suit for discrimination upon her return.

In the other case, easyJet was fined for forcing a wheelchair-bound woman off a Paris-Nice flight in March 2010 on the same grounds.

Cabin crew had told the 39-year-old that she could not travel alone because she could not reach an emergency exit without assistance.

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easyJet's Portugal pilots to strike Christmas-New Year

Pilots based in Portugal for the British lowcost airline easyJet announced on Friday they are to strike five days over the Christmas-New Year's period to demand better conditions.

"The easyJet pilots based in Lisbon have lodged strike notice for December 13, 24, 26 and 31 as well as for January 1," their SPAC union said in a statement.

The industrial action will see the 43 company pilots stopping work for 24 hours each time, with only a minimum service ensuring daily links to Portugal's Madeira archipelago, a sunny location in the Atlantic off the African coast which attracts winter tourism.

The pilots complain that easyJet is not respecting Portuguese labour law in terms of vacation leave and maximum working hours.

They also claim that the British budget airline is "taking advantage" of Portugal's fragile economy "to sacrifice its workers' labour conditions, especially those of its pilots who are the worst paid of all the company's European bases".

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Easyjet announces soaring profits

British no-frills airline Easyjet on Tuesday announced a leap in annual profits as increased demand for its flights across Europe offset higher costs.

Net profit surged 56 percent to 398 million pounds (US$641 million, 474 million euros) in the year to September 30 compared with the group's performance in 2011/12, Easyjet said in an earnings statement.

It added that 308 million pounds would be returned to shareholders via dividend payments.

Pre-tax profit jumped 50.9 percent to 478 million pounds, in line with the airline's own raised forecast given last month.

Revenue rose 10.5 percent to 4.258 billion pounds in the reporting period. Costs excluding jet fuel grew to 2.598 billion pounds, while fuel charges climbed to 1.182 billion pounds.

"As evidence of our continued confidence in the future prospects of the business, the board has recommended to return 308 million pounds to shareholders through the combination of an ordinary and special dividend," Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall said in the statement.

"We will continue to deliver our strategy of offering our customers low fares to great destinations with friendly service so that we can continue to win in a more competitive market. This means we are well placed to continue to deliver sustainable returns and growth for our shareholders," she added.

Easyjet had said in October that annual profits would be at the upper end of expectations, and cited keen demand for flights during July and August.

The carrier had revised higher its pre-tax profits forecast to between 470 million pounds and 480 million pounds. That compared with its prior July guidance of between 450 million pounds and 480 million pounds.

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EasyJet shareholders approve huge Airbus order

Shareholders in British no-frills airline EasyJet on Thursday voted in favour of its deal to buy 135 Airbus single-aisle A320 passenger planes, defying objections from founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

The carrier said in a statement that 57.3 per cent of shareholder votes cast at a general meeting backed the multi-billion-pound order, despite opposition from Haji-Ioannou whose family controls almost 37 per cent of EasyJet.

About 85 per cent of the company's shareholders cast their votes at the meeting at its headquarters in Luton, north of London.

However, just 43 per cent of those votes were cast against the plans to expand the fleet. That was short of the 50-percent level needed in order to overturn the plans.

"The vote in favour of our new fleet arrangements will allow EasyJet to continue its successful strategy of modest, profitable growth and sustainable returns for our shareholders," said Chairman John Barton in the statement.

Following the vote, Airbus confirmed that EasyJet had firmed up the purchase of the 135 Airbus A320 family aircraft.

John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer-Customers at Airbus said in a statement the company was "delighted".

However earlier this month, Haji-Ioannou had written to shareholders, arguing that the Airbus order was a "bad deal" owing to the high cost.

Back in June, EasyJet had unveiled the order for 35 current generation A320 planes for delivery between 2015 and 2017 and 100 new generation A320neo aircraft from 2017 until 2022.

The airline said at the time it had negotiated "very substantial" discounts on the combined list price of US$11.9 billion. Industry sources told AFP that EasyJet may end up paying only half the amount.

There is also an option to buy a further 100 Airbus planes as part of the deal.

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The purchase will go ahead and Airbus is the happiest party in this deal. A win-win situation for both parties when the airline gets huge discount while the manufacturer continues to make profits and provide jobs for its employees.

easyJet to buy 135 Airbus A320s for US$12b

British no-frills airline easyJet on Tuesday announced a deal to purchase 135 Airbus single-aisle A320 passenger planes, including 100 new-generation neo aircraft for $11.9 billion (8.9 billion euros), after agreeing sizeable discounts.

easyJet, issuing a statement amid the Paris Air Show where European aircraft maker Airbus is battling for orders with US rival Boeing, said that it has secured an option to buy an additional 100 A320neo planes.

"I am delighted that easyJet is able to announce its fleet plans today," said the airline's chief executive Carolyn McCall.

"All manufacturers competed hard for the easyJet business. Both Airbus and Boeing offered us new generation aircraft that met our requirements and offered greatly improved fuel efficiency.

"Ultimately, Airbus offered us the best deal, and at a price with a greater discount to the list price than their landmark fleet purchase with easyJet in 2002," she added.

easyJet is to acquire 35 current-generation A320 aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2017 under an existing option agreement, and 100 new generation A320neo planes for delivery between 2017 and 2022 under a new deal.

It added that 85 of the 135 ordered aircraft will be used to replace ageing passenger planes, with the remaining 50 used to build on easyJet's strategy of increasing its seat capacity of between three and five percent annually.

The huge transaction is subject to approval by easyJet shareholders, including its largest -- the airline's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou -- who has bitterly opposed the company's desire to purchase new planes.

Haji-Ioannou, or simply Stelios as he is widely known, was meanwhile last year defeated in his attempt to throw out a multi-million-pound pay deal for executives. Stelios and his family currently own almost 37 percent of easyJet.

The founder argues that easyJet should be returning money to shareholders via the payment of dividends, rather than increasing its seating capacity.

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Big order for Airbus in another leap over its Boeing rival. However this order is mainly for fleet renewal in the airline with only 50 birds used for expansion plans.