Low-cost airline guru heads Downunder

Ray Webster, former Air New Zealand executive and European low-cost airline guru, has stepped down as head of easyJet to spend more time here.

It is not yet clear what role Webster will have on his return to these shores. He has recently helped Air NZ adopt some of the business methods of low-cost carriers.

Webster left easyJet on a high note, unveiling better-than-expected pre-tax profits - a 9 per cent rise to 68 million ($170 million) - and an improved outlook for the Luton-based airline, Europe's second largest low-cost carrier. EasyJet expects a similar improvement for this year.

Webster said he had been proud to lead the company. "We've been responsible for thousands of life-enhancing experiences and journeys, made millions of introductions and forged countless friendships. We've launched long-distance love affairs, mended broken hearts and helped people realise their dreams," he said in a lyrical farewell statement.

When he announced his retirement in May, Webster said he would "devote himself to his family in his native New Zealand while also building a portfolio of non-executive roles".

Webster worked for Air NZ for 28 years before joining easyJet in 1996. He was widely regarded as the brains behind the airline, having designed its "yield management system" which sits at the heart of the low-cost model.

In 2003, he appeared as a witness via video link to help his former colleagues at Air NZ bolster their case before competition regulators for an alliance with rival Qantas.

Webster, 58, said his time at easyJet had been the highlight of his career but that it had come at a heavy personal cost. He decided to step down so he could spend more time with his family after the death of his parents.

He and his Parisian wife will continue to be based in London, where he hopes to build up a portfolio of consultancy jobs. But he said easyJet was his last fulltime executive role. He wants to spend more time in New Zealand and Australia.

In August 2003, Webster caused a stir when he told a conference hosted by the Commerce Commission that Air NZ should try to work out an "exit strategy" for its domestic and Tasman air services.

He said the days of big, full-service network airlines such as Qantas and Air NZ were numbered.

The commission was holding its conference as part of its inquiry into whether Qantas could buy up to 22.5 per cent of Air NZ's shares, and the airlines together set up a joint venture which would control all their flights to, from and within New Zealand. The alliance plan was eventually rejected as anti-competitive.

Webster told the hearing that low-cost airlines such as easyJet would soon dominate the short- and medium-haul air routes. The best an airline such as Air NZ could hope for was to find a way to succeed in the long-haul "point-to-point" business.

Instead of trying to compete on a domestic service with such airlines, it should focus on a "slow retreat in about 10 years" and work out how to make money in long-haul aviation.

The big airlines could, by heavily discounting fares, delay the full expansion of a value-based airline, but stood no chance in the long term against a well-funded, value-based airline, he told the commission.

- additional reporting: INDEPENDANT