At a press conference today at Lisbon Airport, easyjet Chief Executive, Carolyn McCall, announced the opening of a new permanent aircraft base at Lisbon airport.
Carolyn McCall, made the announcement in the presence of the Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Sócrates; Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications António Mendonça and other members of Government and official representatives,

easyjet expects to increase passenger numbers from 1.5 million to up to 2.5 million per year and add up to 10 new destinations to their existing 15 routes.

The base at Lisbon Airport will be the airline's 20th in Europe and enables further expansion, the development of new routes, and the provision of improved service to customers. easyJet has selected Lisbon over a number of other European cities because of its market potential. Representing an investment of up to €300m, the base will open during the 2011 winter season with a capacity of up to seven Airbus 319 aircraft. As a result of this investment, a potential of 2,000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created in the region.

Carolyn McCall said, "We are making it easier to visit this beautiful country. As one of Europe's most attractive capital cities, Lisbon already attracts 3.6 million tourists and 4 million business travellers a year. The increase in easyJet aircraft based in Lisbon will stimulate demand and contribute to visitor numbers by over 1 million passengers a year, with clear benefits to the Portuguese economy.

We also look forward to giving the people of Portugal the opportunity to fly to new beach and city destinations at low-fares. Portugal has identified the need to improve aviation links with other European hubs and easyJet provides a service suitable for all travel needs. We already carry 20% of business travellers across Europe and look forward to contributing to further economic growth."

Paulo Campos Secretary of State of Public Works and Communications said, "The opening of the easyJet aircraft base is a focus on development of air transportation sector, contributing positively to the Portuguese economy."

easyJet has been operating in the country since 1999 and currently flies from four Portuguese airports – Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Funchal – and already carries more than 3.4 million passengers a year to Portugal.

At a ceremony at Lisbon airport, Carolyn McCall and Jose Socrates christened a brand new easyJet A-319 aircraft "Pride of Lisbon", as a symbol of easyJet's commitment to the market. Attending the ceremony were members of the Government and officials including Paulo Campos, Secretary of State for Public Works; Bernardo Trindade, Secretary of State for Tourism; Antonio Costa, Mayor of Lisbon and President of The Lisbon Tourism Board and Antonio Guilhermino Rodrigues, President of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal. The aircraft will now promote the destination across easyJet's network, the No. 1 in Europe, with more than 500 routes between 123 airports in 29 countries.

easyJet is Europe's No. 1 air transport network due to its leading presence on Europe's top 100 routes and at Europe's 50 largest airports. More than 300 million Europeans live within one hour's drive of an easyJet airport, more than any other airline.

By offering the lowest fares to the most convenient airports, this year easyJet will grow profitably by 10% and will carry 50 million passengers on over 500 routes between 123 airports in 29 countries.

easyJet is the UK's largest and Europe's fourth largest airline by passenger numbers. In 2009, the airline carried 28 million passengers in the UK and 46 million in total. On average easyJet flies passengers 1100 km for just ₤45/€50.

easyJet takes sustainability seriously. Over the last 10 years, the airline has reduced CO2 emissions per passenger km by 25% by investing in the latest technology. Its fleet of nearly 200 state-of-the-art aircraft is only 3.5 years old.