A decade of Easy travel

EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou celebrates the 10th anniversary of the airline's
inaugural flight from Luton to Glasgow. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

For once, the budget airline easyJet has broken its no-frills policy by serving free drinks to celebrate its airline's 10th anniversary.

Passengers on the 11am flight from Luton to Glasgow - the route that launched the airline - were greeted at Luton, easyJet's headquarters, by its founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and given free chocolate bars.

Stelios, as he is known, describes himself as a serial entrepreneur. On the back of easyJet's success, he went on to set up easyInternetCafe, easyCar, easyCruise and easyCinema. Of course it helps to have a rich relative. Stelios set up easyJet with a £5m loan from his billionaire shipping-magnate father.

Despite all the proliferation of easy ventures, easyJet remains the jewel in the Stelios empire - a textbook article of ingenious marketing.