SENIOR Airtours executives have pocketed bonuses worth
£2 million – despite claiming the operator must tighten its belt in difficult
trading conditions.
The staggering end-of-year payouts are sure to anger
staff who bore the brunt of the post-September 11 cost cuts. More than 200 were
made redundant in the UK as departments were merged last year.
The biggest earner was the company’s
founder and chairman David Crossland, who paid himself over £1 million last
year, with chief executive Tim Byrne doubling his earnings to £900,000. The pay
bonanza helped inflate the wage bill for the operator’s executive board to
£5.85 million in the year ending September 30.
The operator’s annual report shows finance director
David Jardine increased his earnings from £237,000 in 2000 to £688,000 last
year, while UK Leisure Group chief executive Richard Carrick picked up £667,000
in his first year on the executive board. The bonuses relate to performance
before September 11 and follows a year of recovery for the group after a tough
2000 in which Byrne issued two profits warnings. Last year pre-tax profits hit
a record £145 million, before deductions.
Board members are entitled to
75% of their basic salary in bonuses if targets are hit. Crossland picked up
£402,000 to go with his £570,000 salary with Byrne receiving £325,000 (salary
£450,000) and Jardine, Carrick and aviation division chairman Mike Lee all paid
a bonus of £252,000 on top of their basic £350,000 wage. Each director’s salary
is boosted by benefits and payments to their pension funds.