17 November 2008

Easyjet denies interest in Gatwick bid

Easyjet has denied that it plans to put together a bid for Gatwick Airport.

The airline made the statement after media reports that it was in talks with Virgin Atlantic about forming a joint bid for the airport.

But today a spokesman for Easyjet said the reports were factually incorrect.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe have no plans to form or front a bid. At the most, we were considering offering an as-yet unidentified bidder some sort of long-term commitment on capacity at the airport to enable them to evaluate their bid,Ã¢â¬~ he said.

He said Easyjet was just one of many companies that Virgin was talking to.

Last week, a Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: "Virgin Atlantic is in talks with Easyjet about the possibility of a bid for Gatwick Airport.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe have previously said we are interested in forming a consortium to own and operate the airport, and are currently in talks with interested parties."

The airportÃ¢â¬â¢s owner BAA is hoping to sell Gatwick for Ã&#pound;2.5 billion as it seeks to appease competition authorities seeking to weaken its stranglehold on London-areas airports.

But a more likely figure of Ã&#pound;1.5 billion is being seen as realistic in the current economic downturn.

By Phil Davies and Bev Fearis