Javier Gándara: "The expansion of El Prat airport is necessary because at certain times it cannot grow any larger."

BarcelonaEasyJet's story in Barcelona began a few months after the low-cost airline was founded at London Luton Airport 30 years ago. El Prat Airport eventually became one of its most important airports, and it currently operates four aircraft and employs more than 200 people there. Furthermore, it has just launched a new service in the city. a digital center which will serve the entire British company. This marks the anniversary of having transported more than 55 million passengers, primarily tourists from its native United Kingdom, but also from Switzerland, Italy, and Portugal. Javier Gándara has been EasyJet's Managing Director for Southern Europe since 2020, and also chairs the Airline Association (ALA), the main employers' association for the sector in Spain.

What has Barcelona represented in EasyJet's history?

— We were founded in late 1995, initially connecting London with Edinburgh, and before we were a year old, we decided to start flying outside the UK. One of our first three destinations was Barcelona, ​​along with Amsterdam and Nice. From then on, we steadily grew stronger, until in 2016 we established a base at El Prat Airport. It was the natural next step, allowing us to continue expanding, and we've gone from operating 15 routes ten years ago to 26 now.

They have never moved from T2, not even when T1 was launched.

— When we arrived, Terminal 2 was the entire airport. There were more and more passengers at El Prat, and they ended up building Terminal 1 because Terminal 2 was at capacity and couldn't accommodate any more passengers. With the opening of Terminal 1, Terminal 2 was left empty, and we were practically the only airline operating there. Then, the terminal filled up again when Ryanair started investing in Barcelona, ​​and other airlines like Wizz Air, Transavia, and Norwegian followed suit.

Do they feel abandoned in Terminal 2?

— Terminal 2 is the older terminal and, as is the case in other airports like Barajas, it needs a facelift. It needs some restoration and modernization to be more in line with Terminal 1. It's true that, in our case, we're in the newer part of the terminal, Terminal 2C, where Vueling started checking in.

Does EasyJet want the third runway to be lengthened?

— The expansion of El Prat airport is necessary because at certain times it can no longer grow; especially during the early morning and late evening hours, which are crucial for having more aircraft based there. For EasyJet, the expansion is what will allow us to continue growing and dedicate more aircraft to Barcelona.

How are they gaining capacity?

— How we manage. Sometimes, with slightly larger aircraft. We have three types of planes: the Airbus A319, A320, and A321, which have 156, 186, and 235 seats, respectively. At El Prat, since the limitation is on the airfield, a larger aircraft is prioritized because it allows you to move more passengers within the same time slot. We also try to redistribute demand outside of peak hours and throughout the year, but Barcelona isn't a particularly seasonal airport.

Closely related to the expansion is the increase in fees proposed by Aena, an issue that the association he heads has been very critical of.

— Since we operate in a competitive market, we don't set ticket prices; they are the result of the interaction between supply and demand. Therefore, if costs rise on a route and the fare increases accordingly, passengers will stop flying with that airline and switch to another. Consequently, the airlines lower prices again and ultimately absorb the increased costs.

Ryanair is taking the most aggressive stance against Aena. In response, it's cutting seats in Spain. Is EasyJet taking advantage of this?

— We always keep an eye on competitors when they leave an airport. But in Ryanair's case, they're taking traffic away from regional airports where we have little to no presence. In fact, at the main airports where we operate in Spain, such as Barcelona, ​​Palma, Malaga, and Alicante, Ryanair is increasing its capacity. At the moment, we haven't seen any opportunities yet.

At El Prat airport, they've fallen from the top three and are now the fourth airline with the most passengers. Do they want to be third again?

— We're not obsessed with market share—we're second, third, or fourth, after all—but with profitable growth. What we're aiming for is reasonable profitability that keeps increasing.

What are your plans for this summer?

— The supply will remain fairly stable compared to last year because we are optimizing profitability and above all we are focused on the expansion.

And in Reus?

— We've carried nearly 160,000 passengers since we started flying in 2019, and we've just announced three new routes—Bristol, Newcastle, and London Gatwick. It's performing quite well, and it's not just a destination for flying; we're also selling holiday packages. In fact, driven primarily by Reus, our EasyJet Holidays division will grow by 21% this summer in Catalonia.

How might the conflict in the Middle East affect them?

— In our case, the direct impact is limited. We did fly to Israel, but we've stopped. It remains to be seen what the impact will be on destinations we fly to from the UK, not from Spain, but from the UK, such as Turkey and Egypt. It's still too early to tell. The important thing is the indirect impact, and for now, this is happening in the price of fuel. We have a guaranteed price for 70% of our estimated consumption for this summer, so the impact is limited for now, but if it continues, it will increase our costs. But it's a situation we're used to because we've experienced it many times before.

There are voices in the tourism sector that indicate it could benefit destinations like Spain.

— Some destinations are closed, like Dubai and Qatar, while others, such as Egypt, Turkey, and even Cyprus, may not be, but people will think twice before traveling there. If we consider similar situations, like the Arab Spring, we've seen that destinations like Barcelona and Spain in general can be temporarily strengthened because they are perceived as safer.