EasyJet 2014 Annual Report Download - page 17

www.easyJet.com 15
Strategic report
A key part of easyJet’s strategy is to drive revenues by
optimising its network, improving brand awareness across
Europe, developing its competitive advantage through
its bespoke revenue management system, improving its
customer relationship management capabilities, driving
conversion and implementing its wider digital strategy.
Revenue per seat grew by 1.2% on a reported basis to
£63.31 and by 1.9% on a constant currency basis. The
growth in revenue per seat in a competitive market was
driven by the:
• continued improvement in the mix of routes, with the
ability to respond quickly to increases or decreases in
demand from customers including in season where the
mix of fleet enables easyJet to deploy the right sized
aircraft to meet peak demand and take advantage
of opportunities;
• improved conversion and yield from more sophisticated
pricing for customers through further developments
of the bespoke revenue management system;
• performance of allocated seating and the yield
management of bag charges;
• load factor which increased by 1.3 percentage points
to 90.6%;
• initiatives to target the business passenger; and
• continued roll-out of digital, brand and revenue initiatives.
Revenue per seat growth continued to improve with the
exception of London Gatwick where easyJet started flying
the Flybe slots on 30 March 2014. In the six months to
30 September 2014 easyJet increased capacity by around
15% at London Gatwick and as expected this resulted in
short-term yield pressure at the airport. easyJet sees a
significant opportunity over the next two years to drive
improvement in revenue performance at London Gatwick
as it optimises the use of slots and as the additional
capacity matures.
easyJet continues to make travel easy and affordable
for its customers by driving innovation through its digital
strategy. The Company’s award-winning app has now
been downloaded by over ten million people and the use
of mobile boarding passes continues to grow. During the
year easyJet launched a series of innovations including
becoming the first European carrier to allow planes to
be tracked in real time on a map of Europe and a trial
of iBeacons at London Luton, London Gatwick and Paris
Charles de Gaulle. These strategically placed beacons
trigger helpful notifications to passengers’ mobiles during
critical points of the airport journey. Other initiatives
launched in the year included a ‘lowest fare finder’ on
easyjet.com and Hebrew and Chinese language websites.
The Company’s business passenger initiative continues
to perform in line with expectations. In the 2014 financial
year easyJet continued to drive sales of new business
products, such as inclusive fare and flexi fare, the latter
of which grew by 48% year-on-year. easyJet also grew its
managed business – those corporates where easyJet has
a contractual relationship – by 10% year-on-year. easyJet’s
sales through dedicated business channels such as Global
Distribution Systems, API and on-line booking tools grew by
34%. In September 2014 easyJet launched a TV advertising
campaign focused on its business passenger offering and
carried its highest ever number of business passengers in
a month. During the year easyJet continued to develop
its business passenger initiative; partnering with Sabre to
enhance its booking process in October 2013 and renewing
its distribution agreement with Travelport in February 2014.
easyJet also renewed its travel deal with the UK Houses of
Parliament. The success of easyJet’s developments within
the corporate travel arena was recognised when it won
Best Short-Haul Airline at the 2014 Business Travel awards.
Non-seat revenue per seat declined by £0.03 per seat to
£0.91 per seat. This was primarily due to the non-recurrence
of a one-off benefit in the prior year. easyJet continues to
review and expand its portfolio of partners, inflight services
and fees and charges to drive improvements in its
customer experience.
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FLY STRAIGHT THROUGH
THE AIRPORT
Our Flexi fares allow you to use fast track to get
through security with speed and ease, making your
journey through the airport seamless.
Now that makes complete business sense.
makes complete busine
ness sense.
 
3. DRIVE DEMAND, CONVERSION AND
YIELDS ACROSS EUROPE