EasyJet founder and major shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou has failed to secure enough votes to oust the airline's chairman, Sir Michael Rake.
Sir Stelios, who stepped down from easyJet's board in 2010 but remains chairman of the easyGroup and controls 37.5 per cent of easyJet with his family, voiced his unease over Sir Michael's continuing chairmanship to shareholders at an emergency general meeting at Luton Airport on Monday.
Sir Michael was among the names in the frame to take over Barclays as chairman after Marcus Agius stepped down in the aftermath of the rate-fixing scandal.
The role was ultimately accepted by Sir David Walker last week, but Sir Michael had ruled already himself out of the running prior to Sir David's appointment. However, this was not enough to dissuade Sir Stelios from calling for his removal.
When the vote result was announced, which went against Sir Stelios by just 3 per cent, he remained unbowed by the experience.
In a strongly worded statement he said: “Contrary to how the spin doctors hired by Rake will portray today’s EGM result, I still feel that as the largest shareholder of easyJet, I still benefited from this process.
"This vote does not change the simple fact Rake was asleep at the Barclays switch when the Libor scandal broke. As senior independent director, chairman of the audit committee or member of the risk management and corporate governance committees of Barclays he cannot shuffle away from his responsibilities."
Sir Stelios also lamented the ongoing practice of board members spreading themselves too thin by taking on directorships at other companies.
"Too many shareholders have been let down too often because their non-executive directors are just too busy to hold managements to account in an increasingly complex corporate landscape," he added.
Signs of Stelios' potential defeat became apparent last month when the airline released a statement that said seven of the company's largest shareholders, which accounted for 26.5% of the company's shares, had already expressed their commitment to vote against the resolution to oust Sir Michael.
Speaking to Huffington Post, Lauren Charnley, stockbroker for Redmayne-Bentley, said she believed Sir Stelios was unlikely to sell up from his easyJet investment any time soon.
“Despite quitting the board of EasyJet in 2010, founder Sir Stelios continues to be vocal about his views on the airline's strategy," she said.
“This is not the first time he has faced disappointment in terms of shareholder votes; earlier this year Sir Stelios was outvoted in his crusade to review executive pay, citing that the calculations involved were manipulated.
"It is clear that whilst he is no longer on the board, Sir Stelios has a lot to say about the running of easyJet and this seems likely to continue as long as he is a majority shareholder.”
EasyJet reported some positive headlines in its last report, saying it had been helped by lower fuel prices. It forecast full-year pretax profit of between £280m to £300m.
Analyst Gerald Khoo at Espirito Santo told Reuters the company's new projection could lift consensus earnings expectations by some eight per cent.
"We continue to view easyJet as a long-term winner in the European airline industry, and despite the tough trading environment current trading appears encouraging," he told the news site.
And Henry Dixon, fund manager at Matterley, told Huffington Post it was time for Sir Stelios to leave Sir Michael to get on with the job.
"At times like this a chairman needs to let his management team do what it does," he said. " He (Sir Stelios) seems determined to have a voice, but the financials and share price's performance have heavily outperformed Ryanair and British Airways."