easyJet exec predicts rash of airline bankruptcies
03.06.08
Record fuel prices will trigger a rash of airline bankruptcies, leaving only 5 major carriers in Europe, the head of easyJet's German unit said in an interview published yesterday. John Kohlsaat told Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel: ‘Several airlines in Europe will go out of business. Theoretically, 50 are endangered.’
He said several airlines had been hit hard by rising fuel costs and were sliding into the red -- a development that in the end would leave only BA, Air France/KLM, Lufthansa, Ryanair, ‘and us’. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has made similar predictions recently, with the same airline survivors other than he excluded easyJet from his list.
easyJet will weather the storm due to its relatively low operating costs and modern, fuel-efficient fleet, Mr Kohlsaat said, adding ‘a new Airbus consumes 20% less fuel than an old Boeing 737.'
He said easyJet, currently the fourth-biggest airline in Europe, had no plans to revise its aircraft orders despite the high cost of fuel. ‘We have ordered 119 and have options for another 88. We will double in size in the next 5 years.’
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