EasyJet sees no need to enter long-haul: CEO

EasyJet won't enter the rapidly growing low-cost, long-haul market given its abundance of options to buy parts of failed European airlines, CEO Carolyn McCall said Tuesday. In the last week, easyJet has confirmed its interest in parts of Air Berlin and Alitalia, which went into administration earlier this year, and McCall said easyJet was also interested in airport slots of failed airline Monarch after it went bust at the start of October. EasyJet has also agreed a long haul connection service with Norwegian Air Shuttle. But asked if easyJet had any interest in getting involved in long haul directly, McCall said no. "From a board perspective, that's not on the agenda. There's so much organic growth. If you look at the consolidation, Monarch, Alitalia, Air Berlin, we are talking to all of them," she said. She said negotiations over Air Berlin were ongoing, without elaborating, after easyJet on Friday said it was interested in operating 25 of the German airline's planes at Berlin's Tegel airport.<br/>