British Airways loses Gatwick standing to easyJet

British Airways, which until now could pride itself as the largest carrier operating out of London’s Gatwick Airport, must now settle for second best, after having been eclipsed by easyJet. The UK-based discount carrier EasyJet’s recent acquisition of BG Airways helped secure its place as Gatwick’s most important player and the fact that the low cost carrier has kept on purchasing up more slots at Gatwick since the beginning of the year has made it a true force to be reckoned with at Britain’s second busiest airport. Part of easyJet’s upgraded status has to do with the fact that Heathrow’s recent expansion and British Airways’ move to the newly constructed Terminal 5, has meant that some major carriers have decided to relocate from Gatwick to its much larger rival to the west of London. This gave easyJet an ideal opportunity to buy up even more landing slots.

EasyJet has already launched 20 new routes from Gatwick earlier this year and it plans to open up an additional seven before December. While this level of expansion would be impressive even in the most conducive economic environment, the fact that the airline industry is experiencing a slump due to high jet fuel prices and falling demand makes it all the more noteworthy.

But changes are on the way for Gatwick Airport as well. Late this past summer, BAA-the Spanish-owned company that operates both Heathrow and Gatwick-has bowed to pressure from UK regulators and has agreed to sell the latter in the coming months.

Thank you to anna.aero for the initial report.

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