p6 news feb26 24/2/10 20:16 Page 6
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ttglive.com
Interview Andy Harrison
Ryanair rivalry
The tension with easyJet is nothing compared
with agents’ feelings about Ryanair, and on that
EasyJet: No end
subject Harrison is at one with the trade.
The latest spat between the two rivals has
seen Michael O’Leary challenge easyJet founder
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou to a sumo wrestling
match to settle the dispute over Ryanair’s impli-
cation that Sir Stelios lied over easyJet punctual-
to trade tension
ity statistics when it depicted him as Pinocchio.
EasyJet responded by starting High Court pro-
ceedings for defamation, and Harrison is
scathing about Ryanair.
He denies both sides will benefit from the pub-
Fresh from a row over his £1.2 million bonus, easyJet chief executive
licity, saying: “We don’t need the publicity. We
certainly don’t need to be dragged in to it by
Andy Harrison tells Chris Gray about tensions with the trade,
their cheap puerile comments.”
“puerile” Ryanair, and a “challenging” Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou Harrison also disagrees with O’Leary’s assess-
ment that Ryanair and easyJet will be the only
F
or an airline that kickstarted the and to see if it provided useful extra sales vol- short-haul no-frills carriers to survive the reces-
no-frills airline model of online sales ume. Since then it has threatened to stop the sion. They would remain the two big players but
direct to the public, easyJet is getting supply to leisure agents, but never acted on it. there would be “loads” of other carriers, citing
very close to the trade. Within a few Harrison says a decision will be made in the Wizz Air as an example of a small but well run
weeks, the carrier is set to put its flights on a next six months. no-frills operator.
third GDS, it continues to supply them to leisure “We haven’t worked out precisely how we are “We will continue to grow but at a slower pace.
agents through API feeds and it even offers going to do that but everybody knows the reason Our market share in the UK is 16-17%. In mainland
agent training through TTG’s Knowledge College for going on was to get business passengers Europe it is 3%. But we will keep growing at
(see p27). But does that mean lasting peace where the yields are better and we felt that Gatwick. We will have 43 aircraft at Gatwick this
has broken out between agents and one of the leisure passengers should go on to
easyjet.com. summer, that’s an awful lot of kit.”
airlines that led the no-frills revolution? Harrison himself will leave easyJet at the end
Far from it, says easyJet chief executive Andy Sabre decision of June, one of a string of senior executives to
Harrison (pictured), who believes the friction He is also vague about the move to put easyJet’s depart amid a disagreement over the direction
between the trade and his carrier is not going to flights on the Sabre GDS. It is already on of the company between the board and Sir
disappear anytime soon. Amadeus and Travelport and the decision to go Stelios, the airline’s biggest shareholder.
on a third was announced in February last year He was persuaded to stay to June partly by a
Trade tensions but has still not happened. £1.2 million bonus offered last year if he agreed
“There’s still a lot of tension in that our preferred Harrison says there are no plans to go on any not to move on for 12 months.
route to market is direct through
easyjet.com more GDS feeds, and that The bonus sparked a shareholder revolt the
and that will not change,” he says. talks with Sabre did not day before the Bristol flight, when the bonus
“Our philosophy is not to have any unneces- reach agreement. went through with the support of only 31% of the
sary middlemen so there is always going to be a Sabre, however, shareholders. Most abstained, including Sir Stelios.
certain amount of wariness on both sides.” insists the deal is Harrison refuses to say if the dispute with
Harrison was speaking to TTG during a brief going ahead and Sir Stelios was behind his departure, but hints
flight around south-west England to mark 100 details of the that problems with the trade may be minor
years of aviation history at Bristol, where the UK launch will be sent compared with tensions involved in working with
aviation industry was started by Sir George White to agents “within the man who founded easyJet.
at an airfield in Filton, just outside the city. weeks”. Whether “Stelios is a major shareholder and my job is to
He was travelling in an easyJet Airbus 319 that the Sabre supply look after the interests of all shareholders, in-
was named after Sir George, and Harrison happens or not, Harri- cluding him. So… he’s a challenging character but
believes the airline embodies Sir George’s son rules out any possi- I would be too if I owned 38% of the company.”
pioneering spirit – seen in its growth in 15 years bility of reducing or
from just two aircraft to being “Europe’s number scrapping the booking fee
Andy Harrison CV
one air transport network”. charged to agents using the
December 2005-present
Agents who have seen the short-haul package other GDS firms, saying
Chief executive, easyJet
market all but disappear during that time are the level is “about
2000-2008
less thrilled by its growth. right”.
Non-executive director, Emap
Harrison doesn’t reassure them about future
intentions. EasyJet initially started supplying
1996-2005
business and leisure agents with flights through
Chief executive, Lex Services.
Led Lex’s purchase of the RAC in 1999
API feeds in spring 2008 to stop screen-scraping
06 26.02.2010
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