'Easy' pioneer's 15-hour day
EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is both the pioneer of budget air travel and an entrepreneur with a ceaseless desire to launch new ventures.
In 1995, the Greek son of a multi-millionaire shipping tycoon took a £5 million loan from his father to set up easyJet.
He decided Britons did not all want to pay through the nose for airline food and heated face towels.
The entrepreneur leased two Boeing 737s and started offering flights from Luton to Scotland for £29.
By November 2000, easyJet had a 25% flotation making the company worth £860 million and giving Stelios a personal £280 million fortune.
EasyJet's distinctive orange aeroplanes are a familiar sight flying out of London's Luton airport, Liverpool and Geneva to a host of European destinations, including Amsterdam, Nice, Malaga and Madrid.
The easyJet culture is very much a casual, no suits or ties approach, based out at its Luton "easyLand" head office.
The 35-year-old often travels on his planes, introducing himself to customers and making sure they are having a good time.
His mechanics at Luton Airport have previously told of his surprise visits in the middle of the night to check on their progress.
A bear-like figure, tall and broad, with a marked Greek accent, he owns one of the best-positioned apartments in
Monaco, with two huge balconies overlooking the bay.But the bachelor is far from the playboy he could easily afford to be.
Usually found in a loose, open-necked shirt and slacks, he is constantly on the move between London, Luton, Monaco and Athens, working 15-hour days to try to improve his businesses.
Stelios also invested around £10 million in a chain of vast cybercafes called easyEverything which are dotted across London.
Never one to shun the limelight, two years ago he fought a bitter public battle with Barclays Bank over its plans to triple airport charges at Luton airport.
When British Airways launched Go, Stelios booked himself and some employees, all dressed in their orange uniforms, on to the inaugural flight.
In July 2000, Stelios was handed an honorary fellowship by Liverpool John Moores University after being described as a "fine role model".
Even though Stelios is stepping down as easyJet chairman, the "serial entrepreneur" will almost certainly return to the limelight with more new projects.
