The British low-cost airline Easyjet is rising on the London Stock Exchange after the group's Swedish CEO Johan Lundgren said that bookings for the summer are up 250 percent compared to last year.
”We know that people want to go on vacation as soon as they can,” he tells BBC.
Even though the vaccination against Covid-19 has now begun, many airlines are still struggling against headwinds.
British low-cost carrier Easyjet, with Swede Johan Lundgren as CEO, is looking forward to what is to come with confidence. According to him, the number of bookings for the holiday months has increased by 250 percent compared to the pandemic-hit last year.
He says it gives confidence that the travel market will recover after the corona pandemic.
”"We know that people want to go on vacation as soon as they can," Johan Lundgren tells the BBC.
He adds that the vaccination programs launched in the UK and the rest of Europe are key to getting the market going again. However, the company itself providing Covid-19 tests in connection with flights is not an option – they are simply too expensive, says the Easyjet boss.
Easyjet's shares are trading up 4 percent on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday afternoon. The shares are down 43 percent over the past twelve months. Competitor Ryanair is up nearly 2 percent today on the same trading floor. The Irish company has weathered the crisis relatively well and the shares are unchanged compared to twelve months ago.
Johan Lundgren has been mentioned in speculation about who could take over as CEO of SAS when Rickard Gustafson leaves that job to become the new SKF CEO.
”"He is highly respected by everyone in the travel industry, has all the qualifications and is said to be on a collision course with the owner (Greek Cypriot Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Di's note), but the question is whether he wants the job"”
In May last year, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who also founded Easyjet, tried to oust Johan Lundgren and two other top executives. The controversy reportedly stemmed from a decision to purchase new aircraft. However, the majority at the extraordinary general meeting that was supposed to decide the issue voted in the management's favor.
Source: di.se
