Low-fare airline has started selling tickets for its June launch of flights from Geneva and Basel to Prishtina
PRISHTINA, Feb. 16 – One for Europe’s largest low-cost carriers, UK-based Easyjet, has started selling tickets for its June 9 and 26 launch of flights from Geneva and Basel to Prishtina, confirming an earlier announcement that it would start flying into Kosovo.
“The arrival of Easyjet presents historic decision not only for the Prishtina International Airport, but for all civil aviation in Kosovo and the Republic of Kosovo itself,” Airport Managing Director Agron Mustafa said in a statement to Kosovar media.
Easyjet will start with four flights a week, with the price of the ticket being 39.95 one-way, 85.90 Swiss franks, return, with taxes included. (Roughly 30 and 60 euros respectively). The company only sells its tickets online at its Web site.
“We are the only truly European airline and thanks to our growth in Kosovo, Israel and the Isle of Man, we now offer a choice of over 500 routes in 29 countries,” said Andy Harrison, Easyjet’s chief executive. “Easyjet has become Europe’s number one air transport network by providing the lowest fares to the most convenient airports. As a result 300 million passengers now live within an hour of an Easyjet Airport.”
The addition of these four new routes will take the total number of new Easyjet routes to be added to the airline’s network in 2010 to 74. Easyjet currently operates 182 aircraft on 504 routes, to 119 airports in 29 countries. Easyjet carried over 46 million passengers last year.
The opening of the new flights starts after two years of talks with local officials.
“In December we met with representatives of Easyjet in Geneva, and its team came to the airport top make an audit. Following positive results in PIA Audit of operations, came as the company’s concrete decision to start flights and issuing tickets,” Mr. Mustafa told Telegrafi, a Kosovar newspaper.
He added that the arrival of the company provides a powerful signal for the country’s political and economic stability, and it is also a very encouraging for all potential investors who intend to invest in Kosovo.
The move is part of Kosovo’s and Prishtina International Airport’s market liberalization plan for increased competition in civil aviation.
