The most dysfunctional business relationship in aviation took another bizarre turn yesterday, writes The Independent's Simon Calder.
The most dysfunctional business relationship in aviation took another bizarre turn yesterday when it emerged that Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the billionaire founder of easyJet, is proposing to set up another airline, called Fastjet.
The news broke when easyJet issued an angry statement insisting that its agreement with Sir Stelios restricted his options for establishing potential competition for the low-cost airline, saying that it would "take necessary action" to protect the brand.
The rift between the UK's biggest carrier by passenger numbers and its largest shareholder has dogged the airline for years.
Recently it has centred on the rate of expansion of the airline and the terms by which Sir Stelios's easyGroup licences the name to easyJet. But at the root appears to be the self-styled entrepreneur's unhappiness at ceding control of the airline that transformed European aviation.