easyJet – the British low-cost carrier headquartered out of London Luton Airport – has a CEO in Johan Lundgren deeply concerned about France’s ongoing air traffic control (ATC) strike action. However, easyJet, in a financial report, says that 99.8% of flights are operated regardless.

easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren concerned about reliability

According to the AFP report, easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren bluntly said that regarding the French air traffic controllers striking over pension reform, the situation is “quite unacceptable” with “ten million people affected by this.” Lundgren has written the French government asking for more air traffic control services.

Lundgren also added;

"The more reputation an industry or a country gets for strikes and not being reliable, that will have a dampening effect on demand, people will just go somewhere else, Why should I go to France if I think I can be exposed to a strike?"

Ryanair also chiming in

Another low-cost carrier, Ireland’s Ryanair, concurs. According to Politico.eu and Simple Flying, Ryanair is irate that overflights of France are being impacted by the air traffic controller strike.

Please read our guide to freedoms of the air.

So, Ryanair has an online petition calling on European Union (EU) President Ursula Von Der Leyen to take the following actions:

1. Protect EU overflights (under min services laws) as they do in Greece and Italy.

2. Allow Europe's other ATCs to manage flights over France during French ATC strikes.

3. Mandate that French ATC unions engage in arbitration instead of strikes.

The online petition with over 405,000 signatures as of April 23, 2023, also claims that with 39 days of strike action – Ryanair has canceled over 3,500 flights that overfly France. Still, to help further its case, the airline has posted cheeky tweets like the one below to make its case for EU action.

Reasons for strategic optimism nonetheless

There are reasons for strategic optimism, however. According to thelocal.fr, France is regaining being the world’s top tourism destination that France held pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, even Lundgren saw reasons for optimism for growth in bookings. As Lundgren said, according to thelocal.fr,

"While there is a cost-of-living crisis across Europe and in many parts of the world, travel and flying has been the thing that people now, even more, prioritize coming out of the pandemic."

Lundgren also went on to say easyJet is doing what it can to keep fares affordable by raising them below the rate of the fuel price increase. Finally, in an April 18, 2023 “Trading Update” to investors, Lundgren elucidated that,

"We see continued strong booking momentum into summer as customers prioritize spending on travel and choose airlines like easyJet, offering the best value and destination mix, as well as easyJet holidays, which is continuing its steep growth trajectory as the fastest-growing holiday's company in the UK."

Please get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today.

What is your assessment of the situation? Please share in the comments.

Sources: AFP, Politico.eu, thelocal.fr,

• 

  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

• 

  Ryanair

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  FR/RYR

  Airline Type:

  Low-Cost Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Dublin Airport, London Stansted Airport, Milan Bergamo Airport

  Year Founded:

  1985

  Airline Group:

  Ryanair Group

  CEO:

  Eddie Wilson

  Country:

  Ireland