EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou has offered a multimillion pound reward for information that could lead to the cancellation of the airline’s contract with Airbus as he upped the stakes in his dispute with the carrier. Sir Stelios, easyJet’s biggest shareholder, announced on Tuesday that he would pay from his own pocket up to GBP5m for “useful information” in his fight to stop a multibillion pound order for 107 Airbus aircraft. The entrepreneur, who founded the budget carrier in 1995, has attempted to remove four easyJet directors, including chairman John Barton and CE Johan Lundgren, over the deal, which he says the group cannot afford. He wants the airline to reduce its fleet from 344 jets to about 250 to increase profitability. Sir Stelios criticised the carrier in a statement announcing the reward, saying the company’s directors wanted to maintain the contract despite “evidence that this obligation to pay Airbus will drive easyJet into insolvency by December 2020”. The reward was issued in an attempt to “establish why easyJet directors still want to pursue” the Airbus contract, he said. EasyJet has consistently disputed Haji-Ioannou’s claims of wrongdoing on the part of its directors, and maintained the Airbus contract is sustainable.<br/>
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Passengers travelling with Ryanair will have to ask permission to use the toilet under new rules laid out by the airline, as it prepares to restart 40% of flights in July in the hope that government restrictions on travel in Europe will be lifted. Europe’s biggest airline intends to run almost 1,000 flights a day from 1 July and to restore 90% of its pre-pandemic route network. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryanair was operating 2,400 flights a day. It will restart flying from most of its 80 bases across the continent. By September, Ryanair expects to be running 60% to 70% of its normal flight schedule, depending on customer demand, said CE Michael O’Leary. “People have been locked up since the middle of March. People are really gagging to get out and I think get abroad for the sunshine.” His comments contrasted with remarks made by Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary, that summer holidays were likely to be cancelled this year. In a return to flying video, Ryanair advised passengers to check their temperature before going to the airport, check in online and download their boarding pass to their smartphone. Travellers will undergo further temperature tests at the airport, must wear face masks or other coverings and wash their hands and use hand sanitiser in terminals. On board the aircraft, they will be able to buy pre-packaged snacks and drinks, using cashless payments only. Queueing for toilets will be prohibited on board, and passengers will have to wait for permission from cabin crew to use the facilities. Physical distancing at airports and onboard will be encouraged where possible.<br/>
The administrators of the stricken airline Virgin Australia have asked a court to approve a scheme to once again start offering flight credits, which they put on ice after taking control of the company a fortnight ago. But the proposal stops short of paying the approximately 340,000 requests for a refund received since the administrators, partners at the big accounting firm Deloitte, took office. The flight credit plan is one of a series of requests the administrators have made of the federal court in an attempt to avoid or reduce personal liability for debts Virgin Australia continues to run up as most of its 140 planes sit idle on the tarmac. In an affidavit filed with the court, the lead administrator, Vaughan Strawbridge, also said 19 interested parties were poring over Virgin’s financial data, and asked for extra time to hold a second meeting of creditors so that they can be presented with a concrete offer to buy the airline. Preliminary bids are due on Friday, and binding offers by 12 June. None have yet been received, Strawbridge said. Strawbridge said Virgin Australia had cancelled 6,400 flights as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the “inability of the Virgin companies to pay refunds or offer credits at present puts them at a competitive disadvantage”. “In this regard, I note that the inability of the administrators to pay refunds to customers who booked their tickets before the Virgin companies entered into administration has been the subject of recent media coverage,” he said. He said offering flight credits was also “necessary to preserve as much goodwill associated with the Virgin brand and business as possible for a buyer”. The proposal would allow customers to book new flights but would not allow them to get cash refunds.<br/>
Australian airline Regional Express Holdings is exploring the feasibility of operating between major cities and is in talks with potential partners for an equity investment estimated at A$200m, it said on Wednesday. The regional turboprop carrier’s interest in big-city operations comes after the second-biggest airline, Virgin Australia Holdings, last month entered voluntary administration and is up for sale. The REX board expects to make a decision in the next eight weeks on whether to proceed, the airline said in a statement, adding that operations would start on March 1, 2021 if it decides to go ahead. REX, which has a market value of A$100m, said it had been approached by several parties interested in providing the equity but did not name them.<br/>