14th Nov 2006 07:02
easyJet PLC14 November 2006 easyJet plc MAJOR NEW EASYJET AIRCRAFT ORDER - EASYJET EXERCISES OPTIONS OVER 52 AIRBUS 319 AIRCRAFT - SECURES OPTIONS OVER A FURTHER 75 A320 FAMILY AIRCRAFT - 104 AIRCRAFT NOW ON FIRM ORDER WORTH OVER $4 BILLION easyJet today announces that it has reached agreement with the European aircraftmanufacturer, Airbus, to exercise existing options ("Additional PurchaseRights") over 52 Airbus A319 aircraft for delivery between 2008 and 2010 and tosecure new options over a further 75 A320 family aircraft. This will underpin easyJet's growth over the coming years and ensures that theairline continues to operate some of the cleanest, quietest aircraft available.It will also help to secure thousands of European manufacturing jobs. Today's announcement means that easyJet now has 104 aircraft on firm order withAirbus, with a list price of over $4 billion, and holds purchase rights over afurther 123 aircraft. The total size of easyJet's order of Airbus aircraft(including options), first announced in October 2002, is 315. Of these, 88 havealready been delivered. The exercise of the 52 options is subject to shareholder approval. Andy Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive, said: "This major new aircraft order underpins our continuing rapid growth, which hasbeen driven by our winning combination of low fares with care and convenience. "This order supports both our growth and our environmental credentials. Thecombination of our modern fleet, with an average age of 2.2 years, and highutilisation means that we emit nearly 30% fewer emissions per passengerkilometre than traditional airlines flying similar routes. We welcome the SternReview, which says that aviation accounts for just 1.6% of greenhouse gasemissions, and we have long campaigned to bring aviation into the EuropeanEmissions Trading System as soon as possible. "easyJet's growth over the coming years and the scale of this order will alsosupport thousands of European jobs in aircraft manufacturing, tourism, airportsand the many other industries that aviation supports." Under the agreement, dated 30 December 2002, and made between easyJet plc andAirbus G.I.E. (the "Airbus Contract"), the Company agreed to purchase 120 newAirbus A319 aircraft and was granted the right to purchase, at the same basicprice, up to 120 additional Airbus A319 aircraft "Additional Purchase Rights".The agreement was conditional upon shareholder approval which was obtained at anExtraordinary General Meeting on 12 March 2003. easyJet announced that it hadexercised Additional Purchase Rights over 20 Airbus A319 aircraft on 22 December2005. easyJet today has exercised its right to acquire a further 52 A319 aircraftunder the Additional Purchase Rights granted to it pursuant to the AirbusContract. It has also agreed certain amendments to the Airbus Contract includingthe grant of new Additional Purchase Rights over a further 75 A320 familyaircraft; the release by easyJet of an undertaking given by Airbus relating tothe maintenance costs of the A319 and a number of provisions which are ofconsiderable economic benefit to easyJet. The exercise of the 52 AdditionalPurchase Rights and the amendments to the Airbus Contract are subject toshareholder approval and a circular setting out details of the amendments to theAirbus Contract and containing a notice convening an Extraordinary GeneralMeeting will be despatched to easyJet shareholders in due course. The terms of purchase of these 52 aircraft, including the basic price, certainpurchase incentives and credits made available and the terms of payment aresubstantially the same as those for the purchase of the first 120 aircraft underthe Airbus Contract, which were described in the circular to shareholders dated24 February 2003 (the "Circular"). However, in recognition of the exercise ofthe Additional Purchase Rights and the release of the undertaking referred toabove, Airbus has granted price concessions under the agreement amending theAirbus Contract in relation to these 52 aircraft and the other 68 aircraftsubject to the Additional Purchase Rights. As confirmed in the Circular, underthe Airbus Contract the aircraft basic price of each A319 aircraft, as atJanuary 2001 being the date by reference to which the contractual base price isquoted, was approximately US$44.2 million. Thus the total list price for 52 newA319 aircraft would be approximately US$2.3 billion. However, under the AirbusContract (as to be amended) easyJet has been granted substantial priceconcessions by Airbus and the selected engine manufacturer - all prices aboveare subject to price escalation which reflects inflation. Of the 240 A319 aircraft covered by the original Airbus Contract, 192 have nowbeen ordered of which 88 have been delivered with 32 scheduled for delivery bythe end of September 2008. ENDS CONTACTS: easyJet plc Press: Toby Nicol Corporate Communications +44 (0) 1582 525 339 Analysts: Julia Collins Investor Relations +44 (0) 1582 525 258 There will be an analyst presentation to discuss our Preliminary results for thefinancial year ended 30th September 2006 and the above announcement at 9:00 amon 14 November 2006 at ABN AMRO, 3rd floor, 250 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4AA. A livewebcast of the presentation will be available at www.easyJet.com. There will be an analyst and investor conference call at 2:00 pm on 14 November2006. For further details, contact Katy Balderston at Financial Dynamics on 0207269 7228. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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