easyJet is a Finalist for Best Short-Haul Airline at the
2026 Travelling for Business Awards, and few carriers can claim to touch as many British business journeys. From Gatwick — where it is comfortably the largest airline — to bases the length of the country, the orange network has become default infrastructure for UK European travel: dense, frequent and priced to make the finance director smile.
The network never stands still. This year alone easyJet has
added three new UK routes for summer 2026,
launched a Stansted–Paris CDG service squarely aimed at rising cross-Channel business demand, and bolted on thirteen new winter routes across Europe and North Africa. The airline flew into its busiest Christmas on record last season — a reminder that its schedule is now as much about year-round connectivity as summer sun.
For working travellers, the proposition has quietly matured. Flexible fares bundle speedy boarding, seat selection and bag allowances; the app handles disruption rebooking with minimal fuss; and frequency on core city pairs — London to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Geneva, Milan — gives day-trippers realistic options in both directions. Distribution through the booking channels corporate travel programmes actually use, together with bases spanning Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Bristol, Belfast and Glasgow, makes the orange network easy to police for policy and spend. It is low-cost flying engineered for people who fly often, not just once a year.
The fleet strategy compounds the advantage. easyJet operates one of Europe's largest Airbus A320-family fleets and holds a substantial order book for A320neo and A321neo aircraft, cutting fuel burn and emissions per seat while adding capacity on constrained routes. Longer-term innovation is real too: the airline partnered with Rolls-Royce on a successful 100 per cent hydrogen aero-engine test, part of a serious research push toward decarbonising short-haul flight.
Its 2026 Finalist status recognises the carrier that has done most to make European short-haul travel a commodity in the best sense — abundant, affordable and dependable — while steadily improving the experience for the frequent business flyer. Winners will be announced at the 2026 Travelling for Business Awards, and easyJet's blend of scale and value makes it a formidable presence in the category.
