• Easyjet
    easyJet
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    U2/EZY (UK) | EC/EJU (Europe) | DS/EZS (Switzerland)
    Airline Type:
    Low-Cost Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Geneva Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Luton Airport, Milan Malpensa Airport
    Year Founded:
    1995
    CEO:
    Johan Lundgren

In late-July, low-cost carrier easyJet announced a raft of new routes serving the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. One of these will see the city linked with Birmingham, in the UK's West Midlands. With tickets for this UK-Portugal link about to go on sale, let's take a closer look at the ins and outs of easyJet's upcoming route.

Four days to go

As recently announced by easyJet, the airline plans to make tickets available to purchase in four days, on Monday, August 15th. This will give purchasers plenty of time to prepare for a trip to the Portuguese capital, given that flights won't start until November 2nd. Lisbon will be easyJet's 10th destination from Birmingham.

As noted by Simple Flying last week in an analysis of easyJet's 21 new routes from Lisbon, the flights from Birmingham will operate twice a week. The days of operation will be Wednesday and Saturday, making an ideal window for a city break. Commenting on the new route, easyJet's UK Country Manager Ali Gayward stated:

"As the UK’s largest airline, we are delighted to announce yet another new route from Birmingham. We remain focused on offering more choice and great value for our customers in the Midlands, whether they are traveling on their holidays, visiting friends and family, or for business."

A320neo easyJet
Birmingham and Lisbon are both growing bases for easyJet. Photo: Airbus

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Budget competition

As it stands, there are presently no carriers offering a direct link between Birmingham and Lisbon. However, when easyJet operates its first flight on this UK-Portugal corridor, it won't have a monopoly on the route. Indeed, by then, rival European low-cost airline Ryanair also plans to have recommenced such flights.

The timing of this move is rather interesting. As previously mentioned, easyJet will begin flying between Birmingham and Lisbon on Wednesday, November 2nd. However, Ryanair will just about beat them to it, having opted to resume its flights on this corridor on, you've guessed it, Tuesday, November 1st, 2022.

Much like easyJet, Ryanair's Birmingham-Lisbon flights will also operate twice a week, albeit on Tuesdays and Saturdays, rather than easyJet's Wednesday and Saturday rotations. On Tuesdays, the outbound flight will leave BHX at 14:50, and touch down at LIS at 17:40. After a classic Ryanair 25-minute turnaround, the inbound flight will depart at 17:55, and return to Birmingham at 20:35.

Ryanair Boeing 737-800
Ryanair is conveniently resuming its Birmingham-Lisbon flights a day before easyJet begins serving the route. Photo: Boeing

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Meanwhile, Ryanair's Saturday Birmingham-Lisbon-Birmingham rotation operates an hour earlier, retaining the 160-minute sectors each side of the 25-minute turnaround. It will be interesting to see how easyJet's timings compare.

The largest UK-Portugal operator this winter

The launch of the Birmingham-Lisbon route will help easyJet hold the esteemed title of the largest UK-Portugal carrier in terms of available seats this winter. In addition to Birmingham, it will also serve Bristol, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Luton, and Manchester from Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) alone.

Of course, the airline's coverage of Portugal from its UK bases isn't limited to the country's capital city. Indeed, easyJet also flies to Faro, Funchal (Madeira), and Porto, with each of these serving multiple UK-bound routes all year round. With such consistent and widespread coverage, it is easy (pardon the pun) to see why the airline will be the largest operator of UK-Portugal flights this winter.

What do you make of easyJet's upcoming Birmingham-Lisbon route? Have you ever flown between the UK and Portugal with the airline? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!