easyJet’s Average Fleet Age Increases Despite Welcoming 16 Airbus A320neo And A321neo Aircraft

easyJet has revealed that despite the low-cost carrier welcoming 16 new Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft during the 12 months to September 2024, its average fleet age increased slightly, driven the airline adding eight second-hand A320ceos.

Growing fleet

The low-cost carrier’s FY2024 financial report showed that between September 30, 2023, and September 30, 2024, it welcomed 24 aircraft to its fleet, which was offset by 13 A319ceo retirements.

Out of the 24 new aircraft, 15 were A320neo, while one was an A321neo. The other eight were second-hand A320ceo aircraft, which easyJet spread out across its different air operator’s certificates (AOC) during the fiscal year.

Ch-aviation data showed that easyJet Europe, registered in Austria, welcomed five ex-Peach Aviation A320ceos between October 2023 and May, while easyJet UK added two ex- Cebu Pacific A320ceos.

easyJet UK also added another A320ceo, which, for two brief days in October 2023, was registered under the Austrian AOC on October 13, 2023. The aircraft also belonged to Japan-based low-cost carrier Peach Aviation, which is a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA).

As a result, easyJet’s average fleet age increased from 9.9 years to 10.2 years by September 30. The carrier’s average gauge grew by two seats to 181 at the end of the financial period.

According to the airline, it still has 299 firm orders for the A320neo and A321neo, split between 131 and 168 orders, respectively.

“easyJet retains the ability to utilise its existing fleet of A319 aircraft to maintain its base fleet plan despite FY26 – FY28 deliveries being reduced.”

Leasing aircraft from Lufthansa

Interestingly, during FY2025, which will end on September 30, 2025, easyJet will welcome three aircraft from Lufthansa Groupon a wet lease basis. The trio will join the low-cost carrier’s fleet due to the group and ITA Airways’ proposed remedy measures to finalize their merger.

easyJet detailed that since it has been proposed to be the remedy taker to clear the merger, it would also open bases at Milan Linate Airport (LIN) and Rome Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO).

“[This] gives us a one-off opportunity at these high yielding slot-constrained airports and allowing diversification in the EU.”

In total, easyJet will post eight aircraft at Milan-Linate and Rome-Fiumicino, with the planned starting date of the bases being sometime during the upcoming summer season.

During FY2025, easyJet will also welcome nine new aircraft, with the airline planning its capital expenditures to be (CapEx) around £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion).

While around 25% of easyJet’s fleet is comprised of the A320neo aircraft family, because the airline’s next-generation A320s are powered by the CFM International LEAP-1A, it has avoided the issues that have plagued the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A320neo family aircraft.

As a result, it operated a peak of 333 aircraft in FY2024, compared to 319 in FY2023, with its total seat capacity growing by 8% year-on-year (YoY).

Strong summer driving profits

Nevertheless, easyJet ended FY2024 with a profit after tax of £452 million ($572.5 million), compared to £324 million ($410.3 million) a year prior.

Johan Lundgren, the chief executive officer (CEO) of easyJet, remarked that the group’s strong performance, which includes easyJet Holidays, reflected the effectiveness and execution of its strategy and the continued popularity of the company’s flights and holidays.

“It also represents a significant step towards our goal of sustainably generating over £1 billion [$1.2 billion – ed. note] annual profit before tax.”

easyJet’s pre-tax profits, which rose 34% YoY, were underpinned by another record summer, it highlighted, with the airline, despite operating more flights and carrying more passengers, increasing its average load factor by 0.6% YoY.

Kenton Jarvis, the chief financial officer (CFO) and CEO-designate, with Lundgren stepping down from his role on January 1, 2025, said that the company’s outlook was positive since travel has remained a firm priority with customers who value easyJet’s low fares.

“The airline will continue to grow, particularly on popular longer leisure routes like North Africa and the Canaries and we plan to take 25% more customers away on package holidays, as easyJet holidays continues to thrive.”

Jarvis concluded that he was looking forward to taking over the reins of easyJet, with the company still having a lot of work to do before it reaches its financial goals.