Low-cost airline moves closer to greener fleet

Low-budget airline easyJet has announced an agreement with aircraft makers Airbus to exercise existing options to buy 35 new Airbus 319 planes.

The aircraft will be delivered during 2011 and 2012 and easyJet, which has hubs at Bristol Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Liverpool Airport, suggested the move 'underpins its long-term growth and ensures it operates one of the youngest fleets of any major airline'.

It plans to hold 135 of the cleanest and quietest aircraft in their class in Europe, highlighting the fact that the A319 is one of the most "environmentally-efficient" planes around.

Andy Harrison, easyJet chief executive, said that the new order supported the company's efforts to become one of Europe's largest airlines, adding that it expected to have 229 aircraft by 2012 – carrying around 65 million passengers a year.

Mr Harrison reaffirmed the airline's intention to maintain a greener fleet of aircraft and called on the government to offer incentives for consumers who choose to fly with airlines operating with cleaner planes and penalise those that don't.

"Our partnership with Airbus has underpinned our growth in the last few years and puts us in a fantastic position to continue to take advantage of the outstanding opportunities that Europe represents for us," he concluded.