EasyJet will remain a low-cost airline, but it could become one increasingly less in the experience offered to passengers. More premium services, greater attention to business travellers, new paid extras, a real loyalty program and agreements with major airlines to connect European flights to intercontinental routes. It is the project that Apollo has prepared for one of the largest low-cost airlines in Europe.
The US fund reached an agreement on 6 August 2026 with the board of directors of easyJet for an acquisition by £5.7 billionoffering £7.15 per share and beating the bid of competitor Castlelake, which withdrew from the tender. The completion of the transaction – which still needs to obtain approval from shareholders, the British court and the competent authorities in several countries – is expected by the first quarter of 2027.
EasyJet targets business customers
Revealing how far the transformation could go is the Financial Timeswho analyzed the offer documentation. But many of Apollo’s intentions are also written in black and white in the documents filed by the company.
The US fund identifies a series of opportunities to grow revenues and margins while maintaining, at least in the declared intentions, easyJet’s “DNA” based on low costs and fares. However, one of the words used is significant: “premiumisation”. Apollo wants to introduce “premium or business-oriented product features” on main routes that will attract new customers in growth markets. The transformation, moreover, is already partially underway. The offer documentation itself underlines easyJet’s choice to concentrate on large primary airports where slots are scarce, a strategy that allows the company to obtain higher average revenues than the more aggressive low cost companies.
More extras for a fee
The second front is the so-called ancillary revenues, that is, everything that the passenger buys in addition to the simple seat on the plane: baggage, seat choice, priority boarding and other services.
Apollo believes that easyJet can get more out of it and plans to do so also through a more advanced technological platform. The document explicitly talks about a strengthening of the ancillary offer compared to competitors. The objective is clear: to increase how much each passenger leaves to the company without simply increasing the base price of the ticket.
EasyJet could connect to intercontinental flights
Then there is potentially even more significant news. Apollo wants to explore interline and code sharing agreements with other airlines. Code sharing essentially allows multiple carriers to market flights within the same trip. The interline instead allows you to build itineraries that include flights operated by different companies. For easyJet it could mean becoming the first or last European segment of an intercontinental journey.
It is a usual practice for large airlines, much less for pure low cost ones. And it also brings with it operational problems: from managing connecting passengers to transferring baggage in the case of itineraries made up of multiple carriers.