I think that my original drive as an entrepreneur was precisely that desire to get away from the image of the shipping magnate's son.

Successes are always unique and hard to copy. The fact that easyJet became a success is due to a mixture of talent and luck.

America has its roots in a tradition of risk-taking pioneers. In more conservative Europe, if you fail in business or actually end up going to jail for it, you're finished as a businessman for good.

I didn't want people to say: Stelios does everything on the cheap at work, and in private he lives in the lap of luxury. That's not me. I don't need those status symbols. I don't need a private jet either when I can go everywhere with Easy.

Unfortunately I have no rags-to-riches story to tell. Money never played a big role for me. My parents just had it.

I'm sure there are managers who have had far greater financial success. But my companies such as easyJet have changed the lives of many people. We haven't just made flights affordable for a lot of people.

Passengers don't like changing planes. That means waiting time, stress, running around. There's a joke that the hub principle is supposed to have been invented by cargo firms. The baggage doesn't care where and how it's pushed around.