Stelios to step down from EasyJet
EasyJet boss Stelios Haji-Ioannou was today set to stand down as chairman of the budget airline he founded with a £5m (€7.9m) loan from his father.
The departure of the “serial entrepreneur” coincides with the publication of easyJet’s full-year results – forecast to show profits of £67m (€105.6m).
Mr Haji-Ioannou had intended to leave easyJet next year but brought forward the date after successfully completing the £374m (€590m) acquisition of Go.
He set the Luton-based company up in 1995 and is still a major shareholder but wants to focus on other business interests, which include easyInternetCafe, rental business easyCar and a new project easyCinema.
Today’s announcement should also provide an update on the state of negotiations with Airbus over a major new plane order.
A 45-day exclusivity agreement between the pair runs out tomorrow after the airline said it had switched allegiance from Boeing to provisionally order 120 planes from Airbus, the European firm part-owned by BAE Systems.
The annual figures should include the first two months of Go’s ownership, although passengers will not see any operational difference until next spring.
Aerospace veteran Sir Colin Chandler, who joined the firm as deputy chairman, will take over from Mr Haji-Ioannou.
