easyJet, one of the UK’s leading airline, has announced the launch of new early morning flights between Inverness and London Gatwick, with the unveiling of a special edition tartan plane and easyJet tartan kilts.
easyJet will now offer six flights per day between London and the Highlands, including a convenient early morning flight enabling business travellers to travel to London in the morning and return the same day. Over 300,000 people are expected to fly on easyJet between the Inverness and London airports over the coming year, with fares starting from GBP17.99 one way.
To celebrate the occasion, easyJet unveiled the ‘Highland aircraft’ tartan in one of the most prominent orange designs. The easyJet tartan also features on a special edition Airbus A319 aircraft – named ‘Inverness’ – which will operate on easyJet routes across Europe to help promote the Highlands as a tourism destination.
Ali Gayward, easyJet’s Head of Scotland, said: ‘Today we are here to celebrate the long term future of flights between the Scottish Highlands and London. We know the addition of this early morning departure is crucial for businesses in the Highlands and will be very much in demand with almost 200,000 passengers expected to use this flight each year.
The new schedule from Inverness to Gatwick will offer a day return for business travellers and easy, affordable fares to help boost tourism. It will be followed by four new Scottish routes this summerand in recognition of this we are proud to unveil a special edition tartan aircraft.’
Inglis Lyon, Managing Director of Inverness Airport operator HIAL, said: ‘EasyJet’s success over the past decade has been instrumental in supporting business and tourism growth across the Highlands. The airline has helped revolutionise air travel to and from the Highlands, ensuring that business and leisure travellers are well connected to the UK’s main airports, including Gatwick, and providing access to key markets for businesses across the north of Scotland.’
Following the new Inverness flights, easyJet will launch four new routes this spring – Herakilon and Bodrum from Edinburgh and Spilt and Kos from Glasgow. In total, easyJet expects to carry over 5.3 million passengers on Scottish flights this year and will remain Scotland’s largest airline, it said.
