New route announcement

easyJet PLC 12 February 2004 Embargoed until 07.00 Thursday 11th February EXPANSION OF AIRPORT NETWORK INTO NEW EU COUNTRIES AND SWITZERLAND easyJet, Europe's leading low-cost airline, announced today new routes to seven new routes, including three completely new destinations - two in countries which are soon to join the European Community. The seven routes, which will bring easyJet's network to 135 routes, cover: - London Stansted to Basel and Ljubljana International - London Luton to Budapest International - London Gatwick to Naples, Ibiza, Faro and Prague Ten new countries join the EU on 1 May and easyJet is taking advantage of the enlargement by extending its services to Hungary and Slovenia from that date. Slovenia is considered to be one of the most up and coming ski, and summer holiday destinations, while its capital, Ljubljana, is famous for its Baroque Old Town. With its rich cultural heritage, Hungary's capital is known as the 'Paris of Eastern Europe' and is an increasingly popular tourist destination. easyJet is also expanding further in Switzerland, with new a service linking London to Basel's Euroairport. The airline already ranks as the biggest airline at Geneva Airport and recently announced that it was withdrawing its service from London Gatwick to Zurich Airport due an excessive increase in landing charges in Zurich. Today's announcement follows that in November when easyJet confirmed a long-term deal with Berlin Schonefeld Airport, initially to operate 11 routes to six countries, and previous statements about putting additional capacity into the London area. Ray Webster, easyJet Chief Executive said: 'There are good opportunities for growth in Europe at present, particularly as the EU expands. Having already announced the establishment of operations from Berlin Schonefeld, today's announcement is a further key step in the planned growth of easyJet and is a result of the airport tender that we announced in mid-2003. 'With 10 new Member States joining the EU from 1st May, the market for low-cost airline services will expand dramatically. We plan to be part of that expansion from the very first day. 'The addition of Basel to the easyJet network demonstrates that our future lies with those airports that embrace the low-cost model and want to be part of easyJet's long-term future growth.' ENDS This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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