EasyJet expect jump in profits but investors want more reassurance

LOW-COST airline easyJet is expected to report a jump in annual profit this week, but investors want reassurance they are not in for a bumpy ride as chairman and founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou officially steps down.

Run out of a bright orange corrugated iron shed near Luton Airport, easyJet is the very acme of the booming budget airline sector, which has stripped business from conventional carriers by focusing on Internet booking and scrapping free in-flight meals.

The colourful, go-getting Stelios, a 35-year-old who built easyJet from a two- aircraft outfit in 1995 to become Europe's biggest 'no-frills' airline, is the epitome of his company.