Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou last night launched an aggressive attempt to regain control of easyJet in a fresh clash with the management of the no-frills airline that he founded 13 years ago.

Sir Stelios has threatened to oust Sir Colin Chandler, the chairman, and appoint himself to the role if the board does not accept two new directors appointed by him. Yesterday he disclosed that he had raised his direct stake in easyJet to nearly 27 per cent.

Sir Stelios said last night: “I am merely applying my rights under the articles of incorporation of the company to protect my investment in easyJet.”

Sir Colin said in a statement: “In all the circumstances, I would like to make it clear up front that the other nonexecutive directors and I fully support the executive management of the company.”

EasyJet is part of the Virgin Airlines consortium assembling a £2.5 billion offer to buy Gatwick airport.

According to easyJet, Sir Stelios wants the airline to pursue a more cautious strategy as the eurozone enters recession, by restricting aircraft orders. He also wants the company to pay dividends for the first time in its eight years as a public company.

The Luton-based airline has ordered 315 aircraft from Airbus, and has received 120 of them already. It has 165 aircraft flying on its mainly European routes, and plans to increase this to 200 by 2011. It has the option of deferring delivery and full payment for the aircraft under its contract with Airbus.

EasyJet’s shares fell 13½p to 266p yesterday, valuing the carrier at just under £1.2 billion. Twenty months ago the shares were 700p. They hit a low of 244½p in summer as oil prices leapt.

Sir Stelios raised his stake after a combative board meeting on Thursday, after which other members of the board claimed that they thought the differences with the founder were close to being resolved.

It is not the first time Sir Stelios has clashed with the airline he started. He is involved in legal wrangling over easyJet’s nonflying activities, such as hotels and car hire, because they could clash with his other “easy” ventures, held in easyGroup. EasyJet is bound under its flotation terms not to get more than 25 per cent of its income from “noncore” activities. Sir Stelios and the rest of the board disagree over whether extra luggage fees and hotels are “core” activities for the airline.

Douglas McNeill, a Blue Oar analyst, said: “This looks like a spectacular vote of no confidence in Easyjet’s strategy of expanding into the recession. The trouble is, the aircraft orders on which that strategy rests have already been placed, and it isn’t clear what Sir Stelios can do to alter that fact.”

The dispute will overshadow easyJet’s annual results on Tuesday. Analysts were already expecting a gloomy report, with results hit by extra costs of £185 million from record oil prices this year. Full-year pretax profits are tipped to fall to £115 million, barely half last year’s £202 million, and Deutsche Bank analysts believe that the airline will not make a profit next year.

Sir Stelios, a nonexecutive director of easyJet, raised his stake by a transfer of the holding owned by his sister Clelia Haji-Ioannou. It took his holding from 15.6 per cent to 26.9 per cent. His brother Polys owns 11.33 per cent.

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