EasyJet! GB Airways Routes!

On Sunday I predicted that easyJet's profile would continue to improve in 2008. Part of the evidence I marshaled toward this end was the airline's purchase in October of BA franchise GB Airways, which will be dissolved into easyJet at the end of March. It became apparent shortly after the purchase that easyJet's main strategy was to increase routes at Gatwick, and that GB's specific routes were almost incidental to the endeavor.

Yesterday, the airline announced that they're going to be flying all of the routes they're inheriting from GB Airways in and out of Gatwick, originally on a codeshare basis. This means that all sorts of destinations currently underserved by budget airlines will soon be reached affordably from Gatwick—including Ajaccio, Bastia, Gibraltar, and Paphos.

According to this article in the Independent, the routes will be maintained as long as they remain profitable, which, um, makes sense.