easyJet — Flights, Punctuality & Cancellations in 2021

easyJet — Flights, Punctuality & Cancellations in 2021

Since we looked at Hungary’s Wizz Air with our latest post, we want to continue with Europe’s biggest low-cost carriers. Especially since we’ve already analyzed some of Europe’s biggest flag-carrier, such as Lufthansa, British Airways, or Air France. Therefore, we analyzed easyJet’s flight performance in 2021: Flight rankings, punctuality reports, and cancellation rates. Moreover, we benchmarked the airline’s flight performance against regional and global averages. Here’s what’s contained in detail:

Flight Analysis
Monthly Flight Overview
Global & Europen Ranking By Number of Flights
Pre-COVID Benchmark

Flight Punctuality
Monthly Punctuality Overview
Global & European Ranking By Punctuality

Flight Cancellations
Monthly Cancellation Overview
Global & European Ranking By Cancellation Rate

easyJet – Flight Analysis

Let’s start the analysis with details about easyJet’s flights from February to June 2021. Then, on top of the overall numbers, we also provide information on the airline’s share in terms of EMEA traffic and the carrier’s ranking compared to other European and global airlines. Finally, and as the icing on the cake, we compare easyJet’s performance in 2021 to pre-COVID results from 2019. So let’s dive into it!

Monthly Flight Overview

Similar to its competitor Wizz Air and most other European airlines, easyJet started in 2021 with a tiny amount of flights. Especially compared to its pre-COVID level (see below), the number of flights is almost non-existent. In March, easyJet slightly increased the number of flights but remained at a minimal level. Finally, in April, the carrier managed to add almost 50% to its flight schedule, followed by another 27.5% in May. Moreover, June seems to be a breakthrough since easyJet increased its flight volume by more than 75%.

Month	No. Flights	vs. prev. Month
February	3,458
March	3,726	7.7%
April	5,464	46.6%
May	6,968	27.5%
June	12,310	76.7%
Avg. ’21	6,385	39.6%

The below chart on the right side perfectly illustrates easyJet’s performance in the first half of 2021. However, it will be essential to continue on that growth path during the following months. When looking at the overall EMEA flights, the U.K.-carrier continuously increased its share from a 1.5% low in March to almost 3% in June.

Global & European Ranking By Number of Flights

Based on the discussed increase in flight volume and easyJet’s low in March, the low-cost carrier constantly climbed more than ten positions and ranks as EMEA’s 8th-largest airline in June. From a global point of view, easyJet rose some 30 positions and ranked 33rd in June. Moreover, the airlines continuously ranked as U.K.’s biggest airline from February to June — leaving British Airways and other carriers behind.

Pre-COVID Benchmark

We prepared dozens of such reports for airlines in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. However, we’ve never seen such devastating numbers when comparing the flight volume to pre-COVID levels. Here are the most shocking: On average, easyJet performed ~45,000 fewer monthly flights. That’s a reduction of almost 90%. Even in June, when easyJet nearly doubled its volume from 7,000 to 12,300, the carrier is 44,000 short compared to 2019. Nevertheless, the pre-COVID gap has been slowly decreasing since March to 78% in June.

Month	Flights 2021	Flights 2019	’21 vs. ’19 (abs)	’21 vs. ’19 (%)
February	3,458	41,236	37,778	91.6%
March	3,726	47,928	44,202	92.2%
April	5,464	53,688	48,224	89.8%
May	6,968	56,818	49,850	87.8%
June	12,310	55,999	43,689	78.0%
Average	6,385	51,133	44,748	87.9%

easyJet – Flight Punctuality

In the following chapter, we take a deeper look at easyJet’s flight performance regarding punctuality. Again, we benchmark the airline’s results with EMEA averages and provide a domestic, regional, and global ranking.

Monthly Puncutality Overview

In terms of on-time performance, easyJet performs in line with some of Europe’s top airlines, such as Ryanair (>92%), Aeroflot (>92%), or KLM (>90%). On average, easyJet achieved a punctuality level of 91.6% from February to June 2021. That’s almost 10 pp better than the EMA average and 11.7 pp better than the global average.

easyJet Flights — Global & European Ranking By Punctuality

Since European airlines performed very well in terms of punctuality, easyJet does not rank among the top players — despite its fantastic performance. On average, the low-cost carrier ranks 33rd in EMEA. However, from a global point of view, easyJet, on average, ranks in the top 50.

[rp4wp]

easyJet – Flight Cancellations

In the last chapter of this report, we take a detailed look at easyJet’s flight cancellations. Similar to the previous chapter, we put results in relation to regional averages and provide rankings.

Monthly Cancellation Overview

With a monthly flight cancellation average of 0.3%, the low-cost airlines did a fantastic job so far. The airline’s result is much better than the EMEA average (3.9%) and miles ahead of the global average (7.5%). And even more important to see that easyJet was able to maintain the low cancellation level despite increasing its flight volume.

easyJet Flights — European Ranking by Cancellations

Compared to other EMEA airlines, easyJet ranks 32nd on average. From a global point of view, easyJet ranks 52nd on average.

Used Data

The shown information is based on OAG data and internal data sources. Rankings only included airlines that operated more than 500 flights in the respective month. However, the global benchmark includes all tracked flights. On average, 200 airlines are included in each month’s analysis. Whenever stated, EMEA refers to airlines based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.

What Do You Think?

We’re always happy to get your feedback. Just leave a comment below or get in touch with the author on social media.