EasyJet boss scoops £3m despite third year of losses

EasyJet’s boss saw his pay nearly quadruple despite the airline clocking up a losses for a third year in a row.

Johan Lundgren was paid £3million for the year to the end of September – almost four times the £794,000 he collected in the previous 12 months.

The bonanza came even as EasyJet clocked up annual losses of £208million – though this was a vast improvement on the previous two years when losses topped £1billion.

The smaller losses and higher pay came as the industry bounced back from the Covid-19 pandemic when airlines were grounded.

However, passengers still endured major disruption, particularly over the summer, as airlines and airports struggled to deal with the lifting of lockdown restrictions and reopening of the skies.

Chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis also saw a sharp rise in his pay to £2.1million in 2022 from £363,000 the previous year. 

Most of the increase for Lundgren came from the restoration of his bonus and share awards, which together totalled £2.1million and were not paid out in 2021 or 2020 when the onset of the pandemic saw demand for air travel collapse, leaving airlines such as EasyJet haemorrhaging cash. 

Jarvis, meanwhile, received a bonus of £738,000 alongside share awards of £520,000 and base pay and benefits of £528,000. Lundgren, 56, will now see his base salary rise by 5.4 per cent to £780,000.

Moni Mannings, chairman of EasyJet’s pay committee, said in the firm’s annual report that while it recognised ‘broader considerations for restraint’ on pay rises, the company’s wider employee base received an average salary increase of over 6 per cent.

Lundgren steered EasyJet through a hairy two years since the pandemic began.

But the rise in pay is likely to raise eyebrows among passengers following a year of travel chaos.

Over the summer, EasyJet cancelled thousands of flights, some on the day of departure, amid staff shortages in the wake of the pandemic. 

The industry was criticised for being unprepared for the surge in demand from passengers as restrictions were eased.

The company’s recovery plans were also stymied by passenger caps at airports including London Gatwick, one of its major hubs.

Passengers face further woes in the run up to Christmas, with EasyJet and other carriers forced to cancel flights due to snowfall.

The revelation of Lundgren’s pay rise followed news last week that Ryanair’s outspoken boss Michael O’Leary was given an extra four years to bag an £86million bonus after extending his contract with the airline.

O’Leary, 61, who has been in charge since 1994, will stay until July 2028 – four years beyond his contract – giving him time to hit targets that unlock the jackpot.