Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet, has claimed that the no-frills airline market is saturated, and that as many as 50 carriers established over the last two years may go bust.
According to the online news provider IC Birmingham, Stelios would not name any airlines but said that the market was saturated, adding: “EasyJet and Ryanair are the biggest companies around and there’s a lot of blue sky between us and the rest.
“The market doesn’t need 55 airlines and it’s the survival of the fittest. It’s Darwinism; it’s a jungle out there and only the fittest make it.”
Speaking in Birmingham, the entrepreneur reportedly invited Birmingham and Coventry airports to “make an offer I can’t refuse” to bring easyJet to the West Midlands.
He is quoted as saying: “easyJet is a publicly-owned company now and I’m a major shareholder so I don’t really take the location decisions any more but, as I seem to remember, Birmingham was an expensive airport to fly from.”
Stelios was expected to cause a stir when speaking at a CIMTIG debate on the future of cruising. He was due to discuss his easyCruise venture launching next year, as well as issues surrounding capacity in the market and marketing strategies.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
