From his appearances on the Airline television programme to the big PR stunts taking jabs at British Airways, Stelios Haji-Ioannou was the driving force behind making the budget carrier a success.
But what was he like to work for?
“Like most entrepreneurs, he could be a fairly difficult character,” admits Anderson. “I still do some work for easyGroup so I speak to Stelios from time to time and he hasn’t fundamentally changed over the years, perhaps he’s mellowed slightly.”
He says the businessman acknowledges that he was born into a wealthy family which gave him a platform to start an airline that would have otherwise been almost impossible.
“It’s not like starting with one burger van and ending up with a vast food business,” the former easyJet marketing director explains. “There’s entry capital required in aviation and he had that through his family, but he always acknowledged that.”
He says that Stelios had a “very strong work ethic” and was “very demanding” of senior staff.
Despite his wealthy background, the airline boss’ low-cost mentality stretched far beyond the direct airline operations. In the early days of easyJet…
