Easyjet founder, and its biggest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has stepped up his war of words with the carrier’s board in a further attack on its expansion policy.

He has fiercely criticised the airline’s decision to buy new Airbus aircraft  and expand its fleet at a time of economic austerity, and claims the strategy is damaging shareholder value in the business.

Sir Stelios and his family own 38% of Easyjet, which is the biggest carrier by passenger numbers at Liverpool John Lennon airport.

Earlier this week he called for the removal of Rigas Doganis from the Easyjet board.

But in a statement released by his Easygroup Holdings business he focused on the  most recent financial data published on Easyjet which he claims shows the flaw in its plans.

Sir Stelios said: “Yesterday, Easyjet’s house broker, Credit Suisse, published its latest earnings  per share forecasts for the company for the year to September 2012.

“In round numbers, the latest forecast is 33p per share, down some 18% from about 40p per  share expected for the year to this September.

“This is proof that the additional aircraft purchased by the board and supported by the vote of  Rigas Doganis are actually destroying shareholder value. More aircraft in the Easyjet fleet now means lower profits, not higher. Each  additional aircraft makes losses, not profits.”

Sir Stelios also pointed out that brokers at Deutsche Bank last November forecast a value of 60p  per share for Easyjet stock, by 2012.

He said: “So, we have a situation of a board over-inflating expectations to justify them spending more  money with Airbus – and then when it comes to actually delivering those profits, they fail by  half.”

Easyjet declined to comment on the claims.