EasyJet CEO Lundgren to leave next year, CFO to take helm

EasyJet Plc said Chief Executive Officer Johan Lundgren will step down and leave the low-cost airline in early 2025 after running the company for seven years.

Kenton Jarvis, EasyJet’s chief financial officer and a board member, will succeed Lundgren, the company said on Thursday as it announced fiscal half-year results. The search for a new CFO will begin shortly, the company said.

Shares fell 7.1% at 8:47 a.m. in London. The stock has declined 3.6% so far this year.

The low-cost airline’s succession plan was announced alongside first half earnings, where it reported a pretax loss £350 million ($444 million) in the six months through March. EasyJet ended the first half with £146 million in net cash.

While the carrier expects demand in summer to be strong, Lundgren said it is still too early to determine whether fares will rise in the crucial season. EasyJet’s peak summer quarter seating is only 39% sold so far, Lundgren said in a Bloomberg TV interview. 

“There’s still too much capacity left on the market,” Lundgren said. While there are more deals on tickets, Lundgren said that the carrier still expects revenue per seat to be “slightly up.” 

Lundgren’s comments come after Ryanair Holdings Plc’s CEO Michael O’Leary said he expected summer ticket prices to be lower than he had previously estimated.

EasyJet’s earnings report follows TUI AG and IAG SA, both of which reported a robust outlook for the peak summer travel season. Rival Ryanair reports its numbers early next week. 

Lundgren steered EasyJet through the pandemic, when airlines around the world were forced to ground operations because air travel was heavily restricted. He also oversaw the takeover of parts of Air Berlin, the German airline that went bankrupt, placed a $20 billion aircraft order with Airbus SE to renew the fleet, and launched EasyJet Holidays, which has become an important earnings contributor.

Before joining EasyJet in 2017, Lundgren was at TUI, the package holiday specialist where Jarvis also worked as CEO of the airline division. Jarvis has previously held positions including at Adidas AG and Airtours Holidays before joining EasyJet in early 2021.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing after I leave as the CEO,” Lundgren said in the interview. Lundgren said before he departs, he’s focused on delivering another bumper summer.