Turbulence at Easyjet as boss stands down sending share price plummeting 6%

The boss of Easyjet is to face down after steering the airline by the pandemic.

Johan Lundgren might be changed by finance boss Kenton Jarvis at first of subsequent yr.

The pair labored collectively at rival Tui, the place Lundgren rose to deputy chief govt earlier than taking the helm at Easyjet in 2017, changing Carolyn McCall, who’s now the boss of ITV.

However Lundgren’s tenure has been removed from easy. 

Easyjet suffered main turbulence through the pandemic as lockdowns and journey restrictions introduced the business to its knees.

He then needed to struggle for his job after Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder and largest shareholder, tried to get him sacked.

Requested if had any regrets, he stated: ‘Gosh, sure. You don’t do that except you additionally assume that ought to have been finished higher.

‘However the issues that actually matter we received proper.’ 

Lundgren landed in scorching water in 2019 when he raised the worth of the ticket to Madrid to £1,000 after two British groups certified for soccer’s Champions League closing that yr.

He stated the hike was pushed by the ‘monumental’ surge in demand. 

The group posted losses of £350million for the six months to the top of March. 

This was down from losses of £411million in the identical interval the yr earlier than. 

Easyjet has pinned its hopes on one other report summer season. 

It is going to be boosted by new bases in Birmingham and Alicante, and booming demand for packages.

However shares fell 6 per cent, or 31.7p, to 497.7p yesterday. 

Russ Mould, at AJ Bell, stated: ‘The unfavorable share value response implies the market doesn’t approve and traders needed an outsider to shake issues up.’