easyJet plc (LSE: EZJ) carried 225,000 passengers on its Israeli-Europe routes in 2011, 55% more than in 2010. Part of the reason was the inauguration of its second Israeli route, between Basel and Tel Aviv, in December 2010, and the subsequent increase of flights from three to four per week.
easyJet inaugurated its Israeli operations in November 2009, with a Tel Aviv-London Luton route, which operates seven weekly flights. It launched a Geneva-Tel Aviv route in August 2010, on which it operates four weekly flights.
easyJet said that the Tel Aviv-Basel route is popular with both tourists and businesspeople, because of Basel's proximity to both France and Germany, in addition to its location in Switzerland. The airline carried over 50,000 passengers on this route in 2011.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2012
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