Skift Travel News Blog

easyJet has launched a new campaign in collaboration with creative agency VCCP London that features some of the world’s most renowned faces in art brought to life.

The ‘Get Out There’ campaign sees Mona Lisa, David, The Thinker, Girl with the Pearl Earring, and even a pair of cherubs as they embark on journeys through Europe – with the much loved tourist attractions becoming the tourists themselves. 

As more and more creative agencies continue to utilize the power of AI-generated content for their marketing campaigns, easyJet and VCCP London chose to find and cast real people to star in the campaign in order to ‘capture the humanity and unbounded spirit of these historic icons experiencing travel for the first time.’

“We are so excited about our new brand platform. With this campaign we have redefined the role of advertising at easyJet and taken it back to fundamental marketing principles. We know travel is a category where distinctiveness is a challenge, and we think this work makes easyJet more emotional and memorable than we’ve ever been before,” said Gabriella Neudecker, customer and marketing director at easyJet.

KLM has won its court case against the Dutch government, which proposed cutting flights at Schiphol Airport from 500,000 a year to 440,000 a year to reduce noise pollution.

The court stated the government did not comply with European rules, which specify a flight cap can only take effect after all measures to limit noise nuisance had been considered.

The District Court of Noord-Holland’s preliminary proceedings were brought by KLM and other airlines, including Delta Air Lines, easyJet, TUI and Corendon.

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith earlier this year said any flight cap would also disrupt planning for the arrival of efficient new jets better able to curb emissions. The Franco-Dutch airline group said it had invested heavily in newer planes based on foreseeable capacity at KLM’s hub only to see the goal posts move abruptly.

Dutch businesses and citizens have also campaigned against the limiting of flights to Schiphol, arguing it will simply divert the traffic to other airports, and do little to reduce aviation emissions. Some 84,000 jobs could also be jeopardized if Dutch air travel was weakened, they added.

Schiphol Airport meanwhile plans to axe late-night flights over the next two years.

Datalex, a Dublin-based tech company, partnered with easyJet to up the airline’s game in merchandising to travelers and the customer experience.

EasyJet offers passengers Standard, Standard Plus, and Essentials fares, as well as add-ons such as extra legroom.

A Datalex spokesperson said this new digital retail partnership with the airline would enable EasyJet to “personalize fare families and bundles,” and give passengers “additional ancillary options.”

Among airlines, Datalex already works with Virgin Australia, JetBlue, Aer Lingus, Air China, and Air Transat. 

EasyJet’s Peter Bellew has resigned as chief operating officer, following weeks of turmoil at the airline.

He has now left “to pursue other business opportunities” the airline said in a statement on Monday, effective July 1, as other European airlines prepare for a difficult summer ahead — including SAS which will now face widespread strikes after pilots voted on Monday to take industrial action.

Airport caps will also contribute to an already challenging period.

For now, David Morgan, easyJet’s director of flight operations, will lead the operations function in an interim role, reporting to CEO Johan Lundgren.

“The board would like to thank Peter for his hard work over the last two and half years and wishes him well in his future endeavours,” the airline said, adding it continues to operate up to 1,700 flights each day, carrying up to 250,000 passengers.

Meanwhile, pilots at beleaguered Scandinavian carrier SAS Airlines will be going on strike after their wage talks with the management failed to yield any results.

The strike is expected to impact 50 percent of all flights, or 30,000 passengers per day. Flights operated by SAS Link, SAS Connect and SAS’ external partners will not be affected.

“The decision to go on strike now demonstrates reckless behavior from the pilots’ unions and a shockingly low understanding of the critical situation that SAS is in,” said Anko van der Werff, the airline’s president and CEO, in a statement.

A strike at this point is also devastating for debt-ridden SAS which is in dire financial straits as a result of hefty debts.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, the airline has its hubs in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. Sweden and Denmark both have 21.8 percent stakes in SAS. However, following the latest financial crisis, Sweden had refused to inject more money into the airline.

Low-cost carrier easyJet admitted it missed out on a strong Easter break after failing to have enough operations staff.

CEO Johan Lundgren said easyJet was “absolutely focused” on strengthening its operational resilience after it canceled flights due to crew absences, as it posted a first-half loss of $674 million.

Demand is set to be strong this summer, and the airline reported bookings made in the last 10 weeks were above pre-pandemic levels. It also expects to fly 90 percent of its 2019 capacity in the third quarter. Sold ticket yields for the fourth quarter are 15 percent above 2019 levels.