By Anthony O. Miller
BRITISH media claims to the contrary, EasyJet, whose no-frills flights have been turning heads (and profits) in Europe’s open skies, is not for sale – especially not to British Airways, EasyJet’s founder and two of its officials said yesterday.
“This airline is not for sale!” Stelios Hadjioannou, EasyJet’s founder, declared in a message on the Internet in reply to a story on Wednesday in the London newspaper, The Mirror.
The Mirror claimed Hadjioannou was calling it quits due to too much competition from other low-cost airlines, and was probably selling EasyJet to arch-rival British Airways.
“I think The Mirror got it wrong,” Jo Picciano, EasyJet’s marketing executive, said by phone from London.
Hadjioannou just last week told The Sunday Mail he planned to begin Larnaca-London service in May 1999. He said he also planned to open other routes from Cyprus when the Republic complies with EU law requiring an “open skies” policy, allowing competition with money-losing Cyprus Airways.
“It’s no secret that Stelios has considered, since he started the airline, the possibility of outside minority investment, be it the stock market, private equity, or through aircraft-related bonds,” James Rothnie, head of public relations for EasyJet said by phone from London. “But at no stage has he considered a majority sale or a total sale or the airline.”
“The story emanated from an interview he did with the Mirror two months ago, in which he was asked: ‘Would you ever sell your airline?’ and to which he replied: ‘Every man has his price,’ which I think is probably true, ” Rothnie said.
“But it’s a hypothetical question; the airline is not for sale,” Rothnie declared.
Even minority investment is out of the question, “with the state of the capital markets the way they are at the moment,” Rothnie said. “But certainly in principle… it’s something which he has considered in the past, and I’m sure will consider in the future.”
Meanwhile EasyJet continues to buy new aircraft, Rothnie said. “We’ve taken delivery of two aircraft in the past months. We’ve got another 10 coming between next month and the end of 1999, and another 30 of the next generation aircraft after that.”
Asked why Hadjioannou is waiting until May 1999 to begin the Larnaca-London route, instead of using one of his planes, or leasing another airline’s older plane, to begin it now, Rothnie said EasyJet wants to begin the new route with a new jetliner.
EasyJet does not want to “destroy an established route” by borrowing a plane from it, and the airline is “keen to avoid” leasing some old Boeing 737 from an East European carrier.
“Those planes have more technical problems and are more difficult to operate. That’s why we’re investing in brand new aircraft,” Rothnie said.
He called “highly unlikely” any prospect that British Airways (BA) might buy EasyJet, “since we’re actually pursuing them through the High Court… for abusing their dominant position” by starting up BA’s own no-frills’ carrier, GO.
EasyJet claims giant BA unfairly used its own funds to subsidise GO, instead of toughing it out at the bank the way other start-up airlines do. BA has denied the charge.
