FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Commenting on easyJet’s third quarter financial release, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the budget airline’s  founder and largest shareholder said:

“The Shareholder spring  clearly works for shareholders .

“Our constant questioning of senior management has forced easyJet’s house broker Credit Suisse to reveal another special dividend for shareholders next year. Or is this just another cynical move to save Mike Rake from getting the sack next month?

“We also welcome, for the first time, a black and white statement from the company that all future aircraft orders will be put to a shareholder vote. The next step is to ensure Standard Life’s conflicted easyJet shareholdings are not included in any ballot – they are too close to Airbus.

“However we remain worried that the old contract with Airbus has been labelled as “competitive.” This is plainly incorrect. Airbus has doubled the price per aircraft in the last 10 years. And this board pretends this is a good deal for shareholders. In plain English…it’s a rip-off and has to stop!

“We now need to ensure the “Shareholder Spring” that has erupted at other UK plcs now takes a firm grip at easyJet.  It is disgraceful there appears to be little progress on replacing the current discredited ROCE-based bonus calculation. It has now been rumbling on for a year while running up huge bills with Deloittes…and to tell us something we already know…”shareholders are being ripped off by these huge bonuses. An ideal target for bonuses should be based on profit margins of around 10 per cent - the current 6-7 per cent.”

ENDS