The Financial Times today reports on easyJet's order of 15 extra Airbus A320 aircaft:

easyJet gave further details of the expansion of... the company of buying too many aircraft. easyJet declined to give a cost for the new orders... solidification of a supply deal struck between easyJet and Airbus at the end of 2002.

Read the article in full

Stelios commented:

"As most shareholders in easyJet PLC know, I wear two hats when it comes to my relationship with the Company.

As the licensor of the easyJet brand, any move that increases easyJet’s turnover should lead to higher royalties, so today’s announcement sounds like good news at least in the short term from this perspective.

As the largest single shareholder in the Company,  I am not focused on seat  capacity numbers but on earnings per share (EPS). The new management team should deliver on the analysts forecasts of increasing EPS from 28 pence last year to over 60 pence by 2013, or profit after tax of more than £250m in 2013. We shall see if these 15 incremental aircraft will find deployment on profitable new routes and earn the appropriate return on capital employed. I am still hoping to get greater transparency on which routes these and any other new aircraft are to be deployed."

Further coverage

BBC: easyJet orders 15 Airbus A320 planes 

Dow Jones: easyJet plc aircraft order with Airbus

Bloomberg: easyJet converts A320 options to firm orders, boosting fleet

Reuters: easyJet confirms order for 15 Airbus A320s

Agence France Presse/ MSN Finance:  easyJet buys 15 Airbus planes to boost no-frills growth

StockMarketWire.com: Stelios welcomes order for 15 new planes

Management Today: easyJet expands fleet again - despite Stelios reservations

Evening Standard: easyJet targets Europe with new Airbus A320 planes

Deutsche Bank - Equity Research: easyJet alert: new aircraft order

Interactive Investor: Low cost airline easyJet has exercised existing options over 15 A320 Airbus aircraft...