World first as EasyJet tries new paint technique for a lighter shade of plane

The method will mainly cut the number of coats needed per plane to paint the iconic EasyJet white and orange design. The budget airline is working with Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings for the paint system, which has already been used on 38 planes. 

Although the technique is still very new, making EasyJet one of the earliest airlines to use it, it is still expected to cut about 27kg of weight per aircraft. That, in turn, is expected to translate into about 1,296 tonnes of fuel savings, once EasyJet's entire fleet uses the new paint system. 

However, the company has also highlighted that it is looking into several other steps to decrease plane weights, in an attempt to further cut carbon emission and fuel usage levels. This includes focusing on improving operational efficiencies, fleet renewal and airspace modernisation. 

The new paint system is expected to be adopted by EasyJet's whole fleet by the end of this decade. 

The company has already experienced some fuel savings from the aircrafts testing out the new method. That could be important in providing EasyJet with some much-needed cost savings down the line, once a fleet-wide rollout is achieved, especially given how competitive the current aviation market is. 

EasyJet has also faced a number of issues in the last several months, namely increased flight delays and cancellations. There have also been a number of cabin crew strikes which has further complicated operations. 

However, the airline was still resilient in 2024, bumping up annual profits by 34% and seeing a record number of passengers. 

Lahiru Ranasinghe, director of sustainability and EasyJet, said in a press release on the company's website: "EasyJet is constantly exploring and developing innovative solutions to lower the impact of our operations. 

"While this forms a small part of a bigger strategy, formulating a new lightweight paint with our partners at Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings exemplifies how we're assessing every single part of our operation to find efficiency gains to help us achieve this mission."

Andrew Richardson, aviation sales manager at Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings, also said in the press release: "We are pleased to have been easyJet's chosen coatings partner for the last 15 years and to have worked on this sustainability driven project. Sustainability and Environmental guardianship are at the heart of Mankiewicz's core values and being able to work closely with easyJet on this has been very rewarding."