EZ Air: Easyjet founder forces small airline to change its name

The latest victim is British indie pop band Easylife, which has to find a new name after a lawsuit filed by Easy Group. Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s group is said to have caused financial damages to the company as well as naming rights violations because they drunkenly cheated on Easyjet accessories.

But the British musicians are not the first to have to rename themselves following Easy Group’s legal action. The group targets companies around the world. It costs the owner of the Easy brand about £1 million a year to maintain the name. In July, Colombian airline Easyfly was forced to change its name to Clic.

Five planes

Now the airline EZ Air from the Lesser Antilles has been hit. The two letters in English are pronounced like “easy”. EZ Air was founded in 2000 and owns five aircraft. The airline operates scheduled flights to Curacao, Aruba and Colombia with three Saab 340 aircraft. Two Learjets are medically equipped as casualty transport aircraft.

Easy Group accuses the small airline of violating the group’s intellectual property rights. It also demands that EZ Air stop selling tickets to European and American citizens traveling to and from Colombia.

He’s still in good shape

Rene Winkle, Managing Director of EZ-Air, told the portal Aruba: “We are a relatively small regional airline and cannot afford to be involved in a protracted legal dispute with a very wealthy company, the outcome of which is uncertain.” Winkel wants to change the name of the airline as quickly as possible with a corresponding rebranding.

However, Winkel is confident about the future: “Over the years, we have built a strong position on our routes with a good product and comfortable aircraft.” Easy Group has indicated its approval of Ez Air’s procedures to operate its flights under a new name in a relatively short time.