Happy New Year for easyJet customers as ntl:Telewest
Business helps manage demand
24 January, 2008. easyJet, Europe’s fourth
largest airline, is using ntl:Telewest Business, part of the Virgin
Media group, to upgrade its communications infrastructure ahead of
the New Year rush when traffic to the company’s website jumps by 60
per cent as people look to escape the January blues. easyJet
expects to carry close to 3 million passengers in January alone,
and will be taking bookings for the next 10 months.
The company is deploying 300 Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines
from ntl:Telewest Business to create a single communications
environment that provides voice, data and internet services to its
head quarters and three sites at Luton Airport. The ISDN connection
offers a resilient, integrated service that enables users to send
information and make calls simultaneously. Because ISDN is an
integrated network solution, it provides a cost effective way for
easyJet to connect workgroups at its different locations.
The network helps easyJet to effectively
manage the massive spikes in customer demand, through providing
fast digital connections between the company’s data centre and the
rest of its network, and by empowering employees with faster
communication services. Having a fast and reliable network
infrastructure underpinning all communications means that easyJet
is able to ensure each customer embarks on their journey as quickly
and as effectively as possible.
"The start of the year is always one of the
busiest times for us. Once the turkey sandwiches have run out,
people like to book a trip to get away and banish the January blues
and we see a massive increase in sales," said Bill Codd, IT
Manager, easyJet. “Approximately 98 per cent of all our sales come
via our website, so it’s vital that we have the right
communications infrastructure in place to be able to meet demand.
The network that ntl:Telewest Business has built for us means that
we are always in a position to capitalise on customer interest no
matter how great the numbers.”
In the year September 2006 to September 2007
easyJet flew more than 37 million passengers making it the fourth
largest airline in Europe. Flying 289 routes through 77
airports, the company employs more than 5,600 staff and generates
£1.8 billion in annual revenue.
“Competition in the airline industry is so
intense that having a fast, resilient and cost effective
communications infrastructure in place can make all the difference.
The performance of a company’s IT systems and website in this
sector may reflect upon the overall performance of the airline to
customers, so ensuring that all runs smoothly especially at
the busiest times of year, is vital,” said James Nicolson, Business
Sales Manager for ntl:Telewest Business in the Home Counties and
East Anglia. “The infrastructure we have delivered provides easyJet
with the means to meet customer demand and ensure an excellent
level of service no matter how great the demand is.”
Notes to the editor:
About ntl:Telewest Business
ntl:Telewest Business, part of the UK’s second
largest fixed-line telecommunications company, is a leading
communications provider to businesses, public sector organisations
and service providers in the UK. It delivers a complete portfolio
of voice, data and internet solutions nation-wide.
ntl:Telewest Business sales and support
teams are located across the UK, in close proximity to our
customers, as part of a commitment to deliver superior customer
service.
ntl:Telewest Business delivers services over
the Group’s £13bn investment in its state-of-the-art infrastructure
giving business customers access to the largest alternative network
in the UK.
ntl:Telewest Business is trusted to provide
critical communications to high profile customers
including: Heathrow's Terminal 5, Birmingham City Council and
Cambridgeshire County Council.
For further information go to http://www.ntltelewestbusiness.co.uk/
About easyJet
easyJet is Europe's leading low-fares airline,
currently operating 137 aircraft on 360 routes between 89 airports
in 23 countries. easyJet carried over 38 million passengers in the
past 12 months.
easyJet flies to:
Aberdeen, Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam,
Asturias, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Basel, Belfast, Berlin,
Biarritz, Bilbao, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bournemouth, Bristol,
Budapest, Brussels, Bucharest, Catania, Cagliari, Cologne,
Copenhagen, Casablanca, Dortmund, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Faro,
Fuerteventura, Gdansk, Geneva, Glasgow, Gran Canaria, Grenoble,
Hamburg, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Inverness, Istanbul, Jersey, Krakow, La
Coruna, Lanzarote, La Rochelle, Lisbon, Liverpool, Ljubljana,
London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Lyon, Madeira,
Madrid, Mahon, Malaga, Marrakech, Marseille, Milan Linate, Milan
Malpensa, Munich, Murcia, Naples, Newcastle, Nice, Olbia, Palermo,
Palma, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Pisa, Porto, Prague,
Riga, Rijeka, Rimini, Rome, Sofia, Split, Tangier, Tallinn,
Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Turin, Valencia, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw,
Zurich.
Book online at http://www.easyjet.com/
Sara Doggett
ntl:Telewest Business
T: 01256 753101
E sara.doggett@virginmedia.co.uk
Sam Grace, Press Office
Rainier PR
T: 020 7494 6593
E: sgrace@rainierpr.co.uk