Twenty years at the same price

Easyjet officially celebrates its 20th anniversary tomorrow (Tuesday 10 November) and is marking the occasion  – and highlighting its low-fares heritage – by releasing details of research on changing consumer prices since it started in 1995.

The airline famously launched ‘air fares for the price of a pair of jeans’ in 1995 with Luton – Glasgow flights from £29. Two decades on, starting fares on the same route are now £27.49 – a reduction of 5.2% despite APD increasing by more than 160% in that period. The price of the Levi’s jeans on which the original ad was based has gone up from £32 to £75, an increase of 134%.

Peter Duffy, Commercial Director for easyJet, said: “When we began, it typically cost a couple of hundred pounds to fly into Europe. Our model of keeping costs low to keep fares low and then asking passengers to pay only for the services they use, was revolutionary then."

The official UK inflation rate has risen by 78% since November 1995, with property the biggest gainer. In 1995, the average UK house sold for £68,183. Today it is £295,000, a rise of 332%.  www.easyjet.com

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