Airline passenger news and views

As an observer of aviation and more particularly human nature, I would like to bang together the heads of the Easyjet board before locking them in a room with founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioanno, until they can sort out their differences.

There are currently two disputes. Both are damaging to the airline and ultimately to us, its fare-paying passengers.

In the first, which has been going on for eighteen months, Sir Stellios grumbles about the company’s heavy investment in new aircraft including a £2.7bn deal with Airbus. This has led to a number of senior management departures including, most recently, CEO Andrew Harrison who is to be replaced by Carolyn McCall from the Guardian Media Group.

As Harrision says, investment strategy in a deep downturn is something of a gamble but failing to make the commitments now can put you at the back of the queue when business picks up.

In typical Stellios style, the arguments got personal with an attack on Harrison's remuneration and bonus package. A source close to the Haji-Ioannou camp said: "Harrison's performance is over-rated. He developed an expensive love affair with Airbus to double the fleet size whilst paying no dividends and damaging the share price. The only thing that went up was his bonus."

Whether Carolyn McCall and her new-look management board will better suit Sir Stellios remains to be seen.

The second dispute is potentially more damaging and may lead to a costly legal battle and an expensive re-branding exercise.  For Sir Stellios, the Easy brand is something of an ego trip. He sees it as comparable to Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin, and having an intrinsic value distinct from the use made of it.

When Easyjet was floated on the stock exchange, it was given a licence to use the Easy brand for aviation and also to make limited use of it for non-aviation services. The licence specified that the non-aviation use must not exceed 25% of the aviation revenue but was extraordinarily imprecise on delineating these categories.

As Easyjet have sought to expand their non-aviation revenues, this dispute has grown and an initial court hearing is now set to clarify the terms of the licence. Hopefully, the two sides can reach an agreement either for a new licence or for appropriate fees for extended use of the brand. Failing that, we could see the unedifying spectacle of Easyjet having to rebrand itself.