EasyJet Founder Fears Grim Summer Ahead

January 29, 2009

British-based budget airline easyJet faces a grim summer in 2009 as the recession bites, underlining the case for capping the size of its fleet, the group's founder said on Thursday.

Stelios Haji-Iannou welcomed last week's quarterly results but said he remained bearish on prospects for the year ahead.

EasyJet has become embroiled in a boardroom row with founder and non-executive director Haji-Iannou over its plans to grow the fleet rather than focus on potential future dividends.

Haji-Iannou said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum he believed easyJet -- as one of the largest companies in Britain -- should look to pay a dividend when prudent, although this would likely not be before 2011.