EasyJet: more turbulence predicted
EasyJet could have done without more bad news, said James Sillars on Sky News. But now the discount airline – “currently mired by the grounding of flights and a leadership tussle led by its founder” – has fallen victim to a cyberattack at the hands of what it describes as a “highly sophisticated” gang of hackers. The data breach exposed the email addresses and travel details of nine million passengers – along with the credit card details of 2,208 customers. The airline “stressed there was no evidence that data had been misused by criminals”. But customers could be forgiven for wondering why it took them so long to come clean about an attack apparently first discovered in late January.
Directors have their hands full dealing with easyJet’s “toddler king” founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, said Oliver Shah in The Sunday Times. Sir Stelios, whose family owns 34% of the airline, had “barely wiped the crumbs of a £60m dividend from his mouth” in March when he ignited a damaging row over a £4.5bn order from Airbus – claiming the deal to buy 107 new planes could sink easyjet. “Like most founders”, he “has an instinctive feel for the market in a way hired hands often don’t” – and the collapse of air travel has left easyJet “badly exposed”. But his tantrums – threatening to sue directors, hinting that Airbus paid bribes – obscure his arguments.
Haji-Ioannou is certainly hopping mad, said The Observer. He has forced a showdown at a shareholder meeting on Friday at which he hopes to oust four members of the “scoundrel” board – including the chairman and CEO. And, to spice things up, he’s offering £5m in cash to any “whistleblower” who comes forward with compromising info to help scupper the Airbus deal. To prevail, he needs 50% of the votes. The saga, as they say, is “developing”.