travelweekly business lunch
McCall urged caution. She pointed out year-on-year capacity comparisons were complicated by a highly unusual reduction in summer capacity in 2013. “I would say there is more capacity in the market. But last summer was unusual in the extreme because, for the first time in years, capacity actually came out of the market.” McCall conceded any capacity increase
of 4% to 6% for the half year to July 2014 was “a very big swing”. But she said: “You have to look at who is driving that capacity increase – it’s predominantly us.” McCall said taking on Flybe’s slots at Gatwick was “like a mini acquisition”, and that it was a “one-off that won’t recur”. “Broadly, what we see for the next few
years is supply and demand in balance. It’s going to be up plus three or plus four [per cent], but it’s not out of kilter with what the norm was two or three years ago. “You can’t take last year as the norm.” McCall said the UK outbound beach
market was highly competitive this year with capacity up “wherever you looked”. She denied a suggestion that demand
this year had weakened as capacity rose, reversing the trend seen last year when UK outbound numbers went up 4%, according to government data. “Demand has gone up, underlying yield might not have. There is no question that the beach market was very competitive; it’s been great value this year.” McCall was bullish about easyJet’s
prospects. “We are a really good model regardless of the economic climate,” she said. “In tough times people use easyJet because it’s great value; in good times people use easyJet because it’s good value. “What’s changed is everybody in
Europe goes on a summer holiday, even if they’re not working or they’re between jobs or they’re self-employed, they feel entitled to a summer holiday.” ❯ Flybe: Big Interview, page 16
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EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall shared some frank views when she spoke at the first Travel CONTINUED FROM BACK COVER
MCCALL: ALLOCATED SEATING WAS
Carolyn McCall took over at easyJet in mid-2010 amid growing criticism of the carrier’s on-time performance, especially at Gatwick. McCall said: “The airline had grown exponentially and the establishment plan [aircraft and crew] numbers were wrong. “If you get your establishment plan wrong in an airline, you are completely screwed. If you are under-resourced, if you haven’t got your numbers right on crew, you cut supply. “It was a really harsh thing to come into and there was an effect on morale because you are asking your people to do incredibly hard things and work long hours. You are kind of taking advantage. “But strangely, it was very good for me. What I saw was that if you don’t get things absolutely right, you fall over as an airline. “Our pilots were unbelievably unhappy and they are going to be with you longer than anyone. It is their airline. It took a good 18 months to turn that around. “There were two key things I had
to address immediately. One was the operation. I had to get the punctuality and reliability right. If you don’t get the on-time performance of the first wave of flights [between 06.00 and 08.00] you might as well forget the day. “At the same time, I had to get the right people in the right jobs. I had to get my top team sorted because it was not working. Within nine months the team was in place. “The turning point for me was my first
Easter when I received an email from a pilot that said ‘I know you’ll think this is a complaint, but I’d like to say thank you for giving me my first break with my family for four years’. It ended ‘PS: the crew food is still shit’. That was probably the first positive email I got from any crew. “We’ve come a long way. However, my greatest weakness is that I’m never happy.”
Senior-level experience McCall had not run an airline or worked in travel before joining easyJet. She also had not run a listed company, having worked for two decades at Guardian Media Group. She said: “You have to prove yourself in
any new role. I was at The Guardian and Observer for 20 years, five of which I was chief executive. I went on to do a group role. I worked with private equity and I sold and bought businesses. “Although the group wasn’t listed,
those four years were extremely valuable. I wouldn’t have got the easyJet job if I hadn’t had those years at group level. “I didn’t feel I had to over-compensate
[for a lack of aviation experience]. “I had been a chief executive for 10 years.
I felt the skills I’d learnt were strong and I was able to transfer those. “Internally, everybody had signed up to our customer charter to make travel easier and more affordable – we didn’t publish this externally until last year. That was a massive thing.
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