And airline bosses’ punishment for chaos? Up to £33m between them
AIRLINES responsible for inflicting travel misery on thousands of holidaymakers were last night condemned for offering eye-watering pay packages to senior executives which could total £33million this year.
The biggest package of more than £27million could be reaped by TUI’s top eight executives across Europe including the tour operator’s German chief executive Friedrich Joussen, who could receive a maximum of £6.4million.
EasyJet’s top two chief executives could receive up to £5million in pay and benefits between them depending on performance. Its Swedish chief executive Johan Lundgren could receive a package totalling £3.145million – including a basic salary of £740,000 plus a bonus of up to 200 per cent his salary and shares of up to 125 per cent. Kenton Jarvis, the chief financial officer, could earn up to £1.95million.
And British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group is to pay chief executive Luis Gallego a basic salary of £820,000. It does not include pension and benefits or incentives. His total 2021 package was £1.11million, including a £738,000 salary.
The details can be revealed after weeks of chaos in which hundreds of flights were cancelled. Most cancellations and delays have involved BA, Easyjet and TUI – which have struggled to recruit staff to replace those laid off during the pandemic.
Tory MP Greg Smith, a member of the Commons transport committee, said: ‘High salaries are fine when the business is providing a reliable, satisfactory service to consumers. The airlines simply are not.’
The figures were also met with fury by passengers. Habiba Adam, 41, from Blackburn, who was part of a family group of 13 who paid £12,000 for a TUI holiday to Turkey which was cancelled, described the wages as ‘absolutely appalling’.
Disclosure of the pay packages came as it emerged Mr Lundgren used a meeting with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Wednesday to complain about how difficult it was to recruit staff in the £17,000 to £24,000-a-year salary bracket.