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easyJet plc narrowly avoided a significant no vote on executive remuneration at its on 9 February 2023. 19.41% of shareholders voted against approval of the Directors’ Remuneration Report. In addition, 19.92% of shareholders voted against the disapplication of pre-emption rights.

easyJet CEO John Lundgren’s salary increased by 5.4% in 2022. Lundgren was £3m in 2022, despite the budget airline making a £208m loss due to flow on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. CFO, Kenton Jarvis enjoyed a similar pay rise with his remuneration growing by 5.7% in 2022.

In its , easyJet stated the decision reflected that ‘no increases were awarded over the last few years in the context of the significant cost control needed in light of the impact Covid-19 on the business.’  easyJet’s bonus strategy for 2022 and 2023 is based ‘30% on EBITDAR performance, 50% on a balanced score of Group performance targets including from free cash flow, cost control, customer feedback, operational performance and revenue, and 20% on individual performance including measures linked to sustainability, strategy and employee engagement.’

easyJet has experienced shareholder discontent for the past few years. Its last on 10 February 2022 saw 26.62% of shareholders voting against the remuneration report, 21.07% against the authorisation of directors to allot shares, and 25.07% against the easyJet restricted share plan. Similarly, in its on 23 December 2020 (for the financial year ended 30 September 2020), easyJet saw a monumental rebellion against every single vote to re-appoint its directors. This came after a volatile year for the company, with a loss of over during the pandemic. Shareholder revolt has been a relatively new challenge for easyJet, prompted by the flatlining aviation industry. Its AGM results from early (for the financial year ended 30 September 2019) and  (for the financial year ended 30 September 2018) show no comparable levels of dissent. Despite the problems of the pandemic – and its most recent AGM – easyJet bookings back to pre-pandemic levels, perhaps signalling a respite from the turbulence.

Market Tracker’s research indicates that executive remuneration continued to be a significant trend throughout 2022, accounting for 35.3% of all significant no votes. Market Tracker expects remuneration to continue to be a hot topic during the 2023 season, as demonstrated by the easyJet AGM on 9 February 2023. Our trend report, which looks at the 2023 AGM season voting in review and explores the hot topics for the upcoming year, will be published in the next few weeks.