easyJet's most profitable airports achieved approximate profitability of £608.6 million ($805 million) in the 12 months to March 2020, according to data experts RDC Aviation. While impacted by coronavirus, it's more insightful to see its core performance in normal times. Led by the UK and France, what airports fall in its most profitable airport list?
easyJet's most profitable airports
According to RDC's Apex platform, Gatwick was easyJet's most profitable airport, with an approximate £181.7 million. And Gatwick was (and remains) by far its largest airport.
easyJet will be expanding at Gatwick from next summer. In a recent webcast, its CEO said it'll be leasing slots from British Airways. When they're added to slots obtained from Norwegian ending its Gatwick base, easyJet will station 79 aircraft at the airport next summer, up from 63 in summer 2019. As always, the strong get stronger.
Bristol stands out. It was easyJet's ninth-largest airport but the third most profitable. The LCC was responsible for nearly six in ten of the airport's seats. With a wide mixture of domestic, leisure, sun, and business destinations, its Bristol network resembles Gatwick.
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easyJet #1 at six of its most profitable airports
Leading positions at primary airports (or otherwise significant airports) is of strategic importance for easyJet. It is a crucial competitive weapon, and it frequently mentions this in investor relations documents.
By possessing a good chunk of slots, other carriers (especially those with lower costs) cannot expand to the same degree. Think about Wizz Air's inability to expand beyond one aircraft at Gatwick. This domination should result easyJet achieving stronger pricing, higher yields, and hopefully higher performance.
easyJet was the largest airline at six of its most profitable airports: Gatwick, Geneva, Bristol, Basel, Edinburgh, and Nice. It ranked second at Paris CDG, Manchester, and Malaga, third at Paris Orly, and fourth at Palma. Its share of seats at its most profitable airports averaged 28%.
Size doesn't always go with financial results
Large airports for easyJet do not necessarily mean financially strong airports. Berlin Tegel (since replaced by Brandenburg), Milan Malpensa, London Luton, Amsterdam, and Belfast International – all within easyJet's top-10 list by seats for sale – were not in its core list for financial performance.
Berlin Tegel was its second-busiest airport but lost about £13.6 million. easyJet expanded rapidly at the airport following the end of airberlin. However, Germany has often done poorly for easyJet, mainly from fast growth, higher charges, but lower yields. In summer 2022, easyJet plans to cut the number of aircraft based at Brandenburg.
Malpensa was easyJet's fourth-largest airport, and it has jumped to third in 2021 from cut elsewhere. While profitable (£9.3 million), the carrier's performance at Malpensa won't be helped by Wizz Air's new base at the airport. In summer 2021, the pair competed on 21 routes, especially domestically and to Greece.
Some smaller airports did well
Five airports that did not lead by size – Edinburgh, Manchester, Nice, Palma, Paris Orly – all performed stronger by estimated profitability. Palma stands out. Introduced as a seasonal base in 2017, easyJet benefits enormously from peak summer performance when its network nearly doubles.
easyJet will resume Palma to London Southend next year. It would probably like more summer Palma flights if slots were available, but Ryanair has taken many following its aggressive expansion from the airport over the past few years.
Have you flown easyJet this year? Let us know your experiences in the comments.