Stelios moves back onboard EasyJet

EasyJet today said its boss was stepping down and founder and part-owner Stelios Haji-Ioannou was rejoining the board.

The Luton-based airline said chief executive Ray Webster was resigning after leading it through “a period of unprecedented growth” in the last ten years.

It said Mr Webster would quit when a replacement is appointed, although he would continue to work for the company until his planned retirement at the end of November next year.

The airline added that Mr Haji-Ioannou, who has a 66% stake in easyJet, would replace non-executive director Amir Eilon.

Mr Haji-Ioannou said he hoped to bring to bear his “close understanding of the easyJet business model” in his new role.

However, he stressed it would be business as usual and that he had “no current intentions to take the company private”.

Mr Webster steered the group through a stock market listing, the acquisition of rival budget airline Go and the purchase of 120 Airbus A319 jets.

EasyJet said he had decided to stand down to allow the company to speed up the appointment of his successor, given that he planned to retire next year.

Chairman Colin Chandler described Mr Webster’s contribution to the success of the airline as “hugely significant”.

“EasyJet continues to perform strongly in the face of competition and other challenges and in line with our expectations,” he said.

“Ray’s leadership of the easyJet team for almost ten years has underpinned this sustained achievement.”

Mr Haji-Ioannou said: “Ray’s contribution to easyJet and to the European airline industry as a whole has been immense and cannot be understated.”

Mr Webster said building and developing easyJet had been the highlight of his career.

However, he said he had experienced some “personal costs” as chief executive and believed it was the right time to go.

“The airline is in good shape, with a strong management team and dedicated people, operating in dynamic markets and I wish the easyJet team considerable future success,” he said.

EasyJet flies to more than 60 airports and has developed new bases over the past year in Berlin and Dortmund. It reached a milestone last month when it received its 100th aircraft – the 37th Airbus A319 to join its fleet.