EasyJet founder leads shareholders' revolt

EasyJet shareholders, led by founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, on Thursday refused to approve last year's pay deal for the no-frills airline's directors, including former CEO Andy Harrison.

The vote was close with 51.5 percent of votes cast rejecting the figures.

Founder and still the biggest shareholder Haji-Ioannou, who holds 26 percent of the capital of the holding company easyGroup, had called for the shareholders' revolt and swiftly welcomed the decision at the company's annual general meeting.

"This morning’s AGM result proves beyond doubt that I am not the only shareholder who feels that Andrew Harrison’s compensation package was undeserved and completely unjustified," he said in a statement.

"I sincerely hope that this is the last time in the life of this company that a bonus is paid without taking the company’s financial results into account," he added.

The British budget airline warned last month that first-half losses could double on the back of soaring fuel costs, but the group insisted it was on course for a profitable year.

The no-frills airline, like many of its competitors, generally posts losses over this period because it covers the seasonally slower months of the year.

The first-half loss is anticipated to be between £140 million and £160 million (166-190 million euros, $224-256 million).

Harrison, now chief executive of Whitbread, left the airline last June but remains available on a consultative basis.

Last year he received over 2.5 million pounds, including an exceptional bonus of a million pounds which was seen as a move to keep him at the helm for a few months longer than he planned.

Thursday's vote will have no practical consequences to the directors' pay but sounds a warning for future decisions.

The easyGroup tycoon Sir Stelios was in dispute last year with the airline he founded over its use of the "easy" brand.