EasyJet head shakes off cautious label and takes the fight to his rivals

Even as the outlook darkens for the airline industry, Johan Lundgren has decided it is time to be more ambitious. The easyJet boss is switching to a bolder strategy to take on freewheeling rivals Ryanair and Wizz after his notably cautious approach to the pandemic. The UK low-cost carrier is buying up slots at busy airports, including London Gatwick, and predicting a return to close to pre-pandemic levels of flying by next summer in a significant about-turn. Lundgren hopes the change will shore up easyJet’s battered share price and satisfy some “underwhelmed” investors, who have been calling for a more aggressive strategy. It shows that the Swedish executive, who has emphasised being “credible and trustworthy”, is hoping to step up his challenge to Ryanair and Wizz, Europe’s two other big, low-cost carriers. “In times of uncertainty, there will always be a space for big mouths who fill the vacuum with endless expectations of growth in the long term. And that is attractive, perhaps, for some people to listen to,” he told the Financial Times as he took a swipe at Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and Wizz’s József Váradi, who have both been bullish in their predictions for growth. Lundgren’s new approach, bolstered by easyJet’s bigger-than-expected £1.2bn capital raise in September, comes at a key moment for the airline as uncertainty sweeps though the industry after the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant last week. He was speaking before the UK government announced new travel restriction on Saturday evening, in a blow to the aviation industry’s recovery hopes.<br/>