Named on a napkin: EasyJet celebrates 30 years

EasyJet made its first flight on 10 November 1995 from Luton to Glasgow

Taking to the skies in its unmistakable white and orange aircraft, EasyJet is celebrating 30 years since its first ever flight from Luton Airport to Glasgow.

Since 1995, the budget airline has massively grown its business and brand – in part thanks to the TV documentary Airline.

"Few recent moments in travel have been more important than the explosion of mass travel, brought about by the rise of budget airlines like EasyJet," said Cathy Adams, travel news features editor of the Times and Sunday Times.

Former EasyJet pilot George Hibberd said although the company has "done some good by making flying a lot more accessible for the average person, unfortunately that has come at a cost" to the climate.

So what are the airline's big milestones, and where is it heading in the coming decades?

Entrepreneur Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou was 28 when he founded EasyJet

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou founded EasyJet after carrying out research in the USA.

"I learned if you really want to make money in this area, you should start a low cost airline," he said.

He came up with the name by "scribbling on a napkin".

"I tried Stel-Air, CheapJet, Lite Jet, then the word 'Easy' came up and I thought, 'This is it'," he said.

Making Luton Airport its base was "a risky selection" that paid off.

"Luton was considered in the middle of nowhere back then - we chose the cheapest of the London airports," he said.

Sir Stelios recalls the "cold and wet November morning" when EasyJet's first flight took off from Luton to Glasgow at 07:00 GMT on 10 November 1995.

At the time, the company owned one aircraft and employed 77 people.

Now it is the UK's largest airline with 356 aircraft, more than 1200 routes, and employs 19,000 staff – including 3,847 in Luton.

'Easy and simple'

Jane Boulton (second from right) was one of the stars of ITV fly-on-the-wall series Airline, which followed EasyJet staff

Its fame grew through stunts such as the time its founder and friends boarded a rival's plane wearing EasyJet orange boiler suits, and the ITV series Airline.

"Letting the cameras in to a small airline - it was a free audience. That put EasyJet into every home in Britain," Sir Stelios said.

Jane Boulton, one of the stars of Airline, joked that the TV documentary led to the "misconception that a lot of people missed their flight".

"But it took a year to film six episodes.

"For the most part, we were having a great time with passengers – not telling people they'd missed their flight."

She recalled the phone sales lines lighting up after each episode.

"Stelios is a very clever man, he couldn't have had a better marketing strategy," she said.

Jane joined EasyJet in 1996 as a check-in supervisor and said the team worked "like a well-oiled machine"

Ms Boulton remembers the heady days of working as EasyJet's check-in supervisor at Luton Airport.

"From the time the aircraft landed and took off again, we only had 20 minutes to get everybody off, people and bags back on, and refuel if necessary.

"Safety was always the priority. The passengers didn't know, but behind the scenes it was a hive of activity."

She said the brand lived up to its name, as "everything was easy and simple".

"We didn't have printed boarding cards, we had plastic ones that we reused. It was much quicker to check in and board people."

Ms Boulton said many other airlines were more "prim and proper", but EasyJet "made it more casual".

"We wore denim jeans and bomber jackets. I think they were the first of their kind."

'Reshaped travel'

Sunday Times travel editor Cathy Adams said British travellers had to be "savvier than ever" in dealing with budget airlines

Cathy Adams said the rise of low-cost airlines like EasyJet had "reshaped our expectations around travel".

"I grew up in the EasyJet and Ryanair generation, where it was entirely normal to hop on £2.99 return flights to an obscure capital on the continent.

"Before budget carriers arrived, air travel was an elite pursuit for the very few, but now for millions it's possible to travel multiple times a year."

MP for Luton South Rachel Hopkins agreed that cheap flights had "made the opportunity to travel a real possibility for hardworking local people in Luton – when you could get a flight for less than a pair of Levi 501 jeans!"

Hopkins said it was "a huge moment" when EasyJet chose Luton as their base.

"They have grown significantly, becoming a key local employer in our town and providing thousands of job and apprenticeship opportunities," she added.

'Wrong flight path'

George Hibberd worked for EasyJet for three years but became "increasingly uncomfortable" about aviation's impact on the climate

For all those celebrating, others are concerned that mass aviation has added millions of tonnes of excess carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

George Hibberd, 32, left his job as an EasyJet pilot to co-found Safe Landing, a community of aviation workers concerned about climate change.

"Aviation has connected cultures all around the world, it's a true gift.

"I'm glad it's no longer a privilege to fly, but the majority of emissions are made by a small minority of very frequent fliers.

"The direction the industry is going is on the wrong flight path," he said.

EasyJet emitted eight million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2024 – more than the total emissions of Albania or Sierra Leone.

It has launched a plan to reach net zero by 2050, admitting its "operations are negatively contributing to climate change".

However, Mr Hibberd said it relied too heavily on unproven technologies, and that planned passenger growth would cancel out any success.

"They're getting more efficient, but if you plot it against the projected growth overall, [emissions are] going up and up."

He added that EasyJet's net zero pathway graph was "quite misleading".

"That downward line looks like their total emissions, but it's actually the 'emissions intensity' which is per passenger."

Mr Hibberd believes "we need to temporarily reduce the amount we fly", and advocates a frequent flier levy.

Captain David Morgan says EasyJet began with a Boeing 737 fleet before switching to Airbus jets

Captain David Morgan, EasyJet's chief operating officer and one of their pilots, said: "It's widely known that aviation is one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise, because of the energy you need to power a commercial aeroplane.

"We're acutely aware of our sustainability responsibilities and have a very clear net zero road map.

"We invest in the most efficient planes that it's possible to buy, and use sustainable aviation fuel in line with mandates."

He said the airline, which runs almost 2,000 flights per day in the summer, hopes to continue growing.

Having opened a new base in Southend in 2025, it will open ones in Newcastle and Marrakech in 2026.

"We're always looking to what's next, what places are popular - such as North Africa and Iceland. Markets are emerging all the time.

"Our mission is to be Europe's most loved airline," he said.

MP Rachel Hopkins, centre, says she hopes EasyJet will "continue to thrive in Luton for many years to come"