European Airline CEOs Witness Salary Surge amid Industry Recovery

The recovery of European airline companies has ushered in significant hikes in CEO compensation. Financial documents and stock exchange information reveal a 50% average increase in CEO earnings among thirteen European airline groups.

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According to Leonard Berberi for the Corriere della Sera, Michael O’Leary of Ryanair remains the wealthiest among his counterparts, holding approximately 700 million euros in Ryanair shares, in addition to his regular salary.

CEO remuneration in the aviation industry encompasses both fixed and variable components. Interestingly, environmental sustainability measures are also beginning to influence CEO earnings.

Highest Paid Airline CEOs in Europe

In 2022, the highest paid CEO of an airline in Europe was Shai Weiss of Virgin Atlantic, with a remuneration of 4.3 million euros. CEOs Carsten Spohr (Lufthansa) and Ben Smith (Air France-KLM) closely followed with an earnings of 4.2 million euros each.

Significant Salary Hikes

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, saw his salary leap from 920 thousand to 3.5 million euros within a year, while IAG’s Luis Gallego received an additional 192,000 euros for reducing the group’s CO2 emissions. The salary of Dimitrios Gerogiannis, CEO of Aegean Airlines, rose from 400 thousand euros to 2.41 million euros.

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CEO Earnings in Ultra-Low-Cost Airlines

Sean Doyle of British Airways and Anko Van der Werff of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) are really close, with 1.78 and 1.66 million euros respectively. Among the ultra-low-cost airlines, József Váradi of Wizz Air made the list with an earning of 1.26 million euros.

Ryanair CEO’s Wealth in Shares

Although Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary’s salary was «only» 975,000 euros in 2022, his wealth primarily lies in his 44.1 million shares in Ryanair, currently valued at 700 million euros.