What is easyJet doing right?

EasyJet’s announcement today that its profits are up 50 per cent is in sharp contrast to Irish airline Ryanair’s recent surprise profit warnings. So what is the British airline doing right? According to the Chief Executive, Carolyn McCall, much of that rise in its profits comes from its system of seat allocation which she introduced last year, and which allows passengers to pay to choose their seats (or have them allocated automatically at no charge).

It marked a step change from the unseemly scrum endured by passengers boarding flights - a stressful experience which did nothing to enhance the reputation for no frills airlines, and seemed to sum up the difference between the positive, customer-oriented image of McCall, and the brash, aggressive, like-it-or-lump stance of her rival at Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, an image which he is desperately now trying to improve.

Since the surge in popularity of no-frills airlines a decade or so ago, easyJet has always managed to give the impression that it is focused on customer service as much as it is on price. True, it hasn’t always been fully successful at convincing Telegraph readers of its merits - although it was rated best low-cost airline in our readers’ travel awards in 2000 and 2001 it has slipped into the position of also-ran since then.