FLEET - easyJet to accelerate A319 exit to 2029

easyJet (London Luton) will accelerate the phase-out of its remaining A319-100s by one year, and plans to exit the type's operations by the end of September 2029, the carrier divulged in its half-yearly results.

The airline said that the hastened exit, made possible by accelerated deliveries of A320neo family aircraft, would generate approximately GBP250 million pounds (USD336 million) of incremental annual cost efficiencies in the financial years 2027 (October 2026-September 2027) and 2028. easyJet previously planned to exit the A319 type by 2030.

The A319 was once the mainstay of easyJet's fleet, comprising more than three-quarters of all aircraft at its peak in 2010-2011 (155 units in 2011). easyJet began taking A319s in 2004 to gradually replace first the legacy B737-300s and then its B737-700s. ch-aviation data shows the LCC currently operates forty-four A319s via the easyJet UK AOC, and another thirty-five via easyJet Europe.

The aircraft are being gradually replaced by A320-200Ns and A321-200NX, allowing the airline to upgauge its fleet.

"By replacing our A319 sub-fleet with more efficient A320neo family aircraft, we are structurally improving returns across the business," chief financial officer Jan De Raeymaeker said during an earnings call. "An A320neo delivers a 24% reduction in fuel burn per seat compared to an A319, increasing to around 30% for an A321neo."

The airline's new-generation fleet currently comprises seventy-six A320-200Ns and twenty-four A321-200NX across the British, Austrian, and easyJet Switzerland AOCs. It also operates 180 A320-200s. The airline has 284 unfilled orders for A320neo family aircraft, which it plans to take by 2034. It expects another 14 new aircraft by September 2026, 30 in the following 12 months, and 43 in the 12 months after that. Including deliveries, the airline's fleet will grow by 11 aircraft in financial year 2027, and by another eight in the next one.

CH Aviation