Jun 20th, 2011 at 8:00AM: I am jealous of Michael O'Leary. Very. The CEO of super-low-rent European discounter Ryanair, O'Leary has developed a reputation. He's loud. He says what's on his mind. He really doesn't care what you think about him. He's probably broken every rule of public relations and investor relations. I've been with Gadling since December 2008, and O'Leary has been a great source of posts every step of the ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
ryanair posts
Five reasons I'm insanely jealous of Michael O'Leary
Jun 20th, 2011 at 8:00AM: I am jealous of Michael O'Leary. Very. The CEO of super-low-rent European discounter Ryanair, O'Leary has developed a reputation. He's loud. He says what's on his mind. He really doesn't care what you think about him. He's probably broken every rule of public relations and investor relations. I've been with Gadling since December 2008, and O'Leary has been a great source of posts every step of the ...Ryanair CEO wants someone else to pay taxes
Jun 7th, 2011 at 2:30PM: Michael O'Leary – loved, presumably, by his mother and probably not many else – truly wants passengers to pay less to fly. Of course, that's the point of a low-cost carrier like Ryanair, right? Well, O'Leary, the airline's CEO, loves his passengers so much that he doesn't want them to pay taxes. At least, not the UK's Air Passenger Duty.
Someone has to get slammed, though. If one ...Naughty Flight Attendants: Playboy, calendars and sex scandals
Mar 1st, 2011 at 1:30PM: The flight attendant may be there "primarily for your safety", but that hasn't stopped them being included in a variety of sources to satisfy male fetishes. As early as the 30's, the stewardess was used to market airline tickets.
Back when women's rights were non-existent, the stewardess was not allowed to be married, had to undergo regular grooming inspections and underwear checks.
Back ...Ryanair's Micheal O'Leary delivers earnings report as only he can pull off
Jan 31st, 2011 at 1:30PM: Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary is probably the most insane airline CEO in the world - but at the same time, he's probably one of the most brilliant. Even when global airlines went into a panic during the recent economic meltdown, his airline stayed profitable, and his numbers usually outshine those of many legacy carriers.
So, when Mr. O'Leary held a conference call with members of the press to ...Don't piss off Ryanair: Disgruntled pilot transferred to Lithuania
Dec 8th, 2010 at 3:00PM: Thanks to OnlineTravelReview for this gem: A Ryanair pilot has quit after being transferred to Lithuania, allegedly in response to his remarks against CEO Michael O'Leary in the Financial Times newspaper.
Captain Morgan Fischer, a five year RyanAir pilot with more than 20 years of experience, is the first senior staff member to comment publicly against his employer. He wrote a letter in ...Ryanair insanity: Captain Morgan suggests mutiny, ordered to Lithuania
Dec 7th, 2010 at 1:30PM: If I could make this stuff up, I'd become a novelist. Seriously.
Captain Morgan Fischer, a pilot with Ryanair, decided to try out the type of stunt for which his boss, Michael O'Leary, is famous. And, he learned what happens when you tangle with a master media whore.
Apparently implying that O'Leary is a moron, Fischer took public issue with the company CEO's notion that a co-pilot could be ...Ryanair passengers stage sit-down strike
Nov 17th, 2010 at 2:30PM: What would travel bloggers do without Ryanair? From trying to get rid of co-pilots to arresting passengers for complaining about the sandwiches, the budget airline provides endless grist for our mill.
Yesterday more than a hundred passengers refused to leave their plane after their Ryanair flight from Fez, Morocco, to Beauvais, France, was diverted to Belgium. It was one of four Ryanair flights ...Ryanair cuts 1000 jobs and 150 flights over German air tax increase
Oct 27th, 2010 at 2:00PM:
When the German government recently announced a new tourist tax designed to offset their budget woes, many airlines announced they'd be forced to cut flights and jobs. So far, Irish low cost carrier Ryanair has been the only one to actually deliver on that threat.
Because of the upcoming tax, the airline is reducing its presence at Frankfurt Hahn airport. At the moment, Ryanair operates ...Ryanair and Easyjet passengers told "you can fly home, but not with your bags"
Oct 3rd, 2010 at 12:00PM: Earlier this week, 10 million Spanish workers went on strike to protest changes to workers rights and pensions. As usual, the strike shut down airports, forcing most European air carriers to cancel their flights. Once the strike was over, it took several days for things to get back to normal.
As airlines struggled to get enough planes back to Spain to pick up passengers, both Ryanair and ...Passengers on fully loaded Russian flight told "standing room only"
Sep 30th, 2010 at 11:00AM: Looks like the Russians managed to beat Ryanair to claiming the dubious honor of being the first airline with standing room only.
On a Tatarstan airlines flight from Antalya (Turkey) to Ekaterinburg (Russia), passengers were told that the flight was full, and that they'd need to stand if they wanted to get to their destination.
In total, six adults did not get a seat - which means they were ...Ryanair CEO questions the need for the co-pilot - wants to replace them with flight attendants
Sep 6th, 2010 at 5:00PM:
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary is making the news again. And as usual, the news is controversial and absurd. O'Leary is apparently fed up with paying for two people to fly his planes, and wants to convince safety regulators that one pilot would be more than enough. In a magazine interview, O'Leary had the following to say:
Why does every plane have two pilots? Really, you only need one pilot. ...Flying Ryanair no cup of tea: Poland flight diverted to Germany
Sep 2nd, 2010 at 11:00AM: When wackiness hits the European skies, it's usually safe to guess that Ryanair is somehow involved. A British plane from this discount carrier had to land in Germany – rather than in Poland, its intended destination – because a passenger couldn't keep her tea in her cup.
The 56-year-old British woman spilled hot tea on herself, according to German police, forcing the flight from ...Ryanair passenger arrested over "rubber sandwich" complaint
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 12:00PM: When 52 year old Henrik Ulven ordered a "fresh made premium sandwich" on his Ryanair flight, he fully expected to receive just that. Instead, he described the food as inedible and "tasting like rubber" - so asked a flight attendant for something different.
According to Ulven, his request did not go down too well, and the flight attendant told him that if he didn't stop complaining, she'd report ...Australian flight attendants object to airline ad of flight crew sponging down airplane
Jul 11th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
Using sexy flight attendants to advertise an airline is nothing new, but the Flight Attendants Association of Australia says it has had enough of them. According to the FAAA, the ads are demeaning, and increase the risk of sexual harassment. One of the clips that triggered their outrage can be seen above.
The clip, made for Russian low cost airline AviaNova, shows the flight crew stripping ...
Ryanair pushing ahead with $6 standing room only seats and paid bathrooms
Jul 1st, 2010 at 10:00AM: Last year, Ryanair first mentioned their concept for several rows of standing only seats. The idea back then was to install special standing seats and offer them for a reduced fee.
The new seating innovation has not been implemented yet, but Michael O'Leary wants everyone to know that he is still very serious about it, and hopes to pay for the new seats with proceeds from the paid bathrooms he ...Scottish police called to calm and feed rioting Ryanair passengers
Jun 25th, 2010 at 11:00AM:
Once again, Irish low cost carrier Ryanair is in the news with a story involving passenger mistreatment. Yesterday, police were called to assist in calming 168 passengers on a Ryanair plane at Prestwick airport in the UK. The plane was bound for Girona, Spain, but had been stuck on the ground for six hours.
With a wait of that length, the passengers were naturally becoming quite annoyed, ...Ryanair to open base in Valencia, Spain
Jun 23rd, 2010 at 3:00PM: Budget airline Ryanair has announced that it will open a base in Valencia, Spain, Inside Ireland reports. Service will start in November with a total of 260 flights a week to 20 destinations, including popular spots such as Madrid, Barcelona, London-Stansted, Dublin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan, and Rome.
Valencia is a port in eastern Spain that combines beautifully preserved medieval and ...Irish Minister's fury over Ryanair $120 baggage fee
Jun 2nd, 2010 at 10:30AM: Ryanair has yet again managed to make the news with their outrageous fees - though this time, they may have annoyed the wrong person.
For the busy summer season, Ryanair passengers will have to pay £5 more for their checked luggage - making the first checked bag £20 ($29) , and second bag £40 ($58). The real kicker comes when you are unable to check in online - which will ...Ryanair announces profits despite tough year
Jun 1st, 2010 at 11:00AM: Budget carrier Ryanair announced 341 million euros ($419 million) in profits for the first quarter of this year, despite the economic downturn and a loss during this time last year.
These profits will be whittled away thanks to taxes, an estimated 50 million euro ($61.5 million) loss from the Icelandic volcano, and a 3 million euro ($3.75 million) fine the Italy slapped them with for stranding ...Germany bans Ryanair from charging credit card fees
May 21st, 2010 at 10:00AM: Ryanair has been handed a nasty blow to its business model in Germany when their federal court banned the budget airline from charging credit card fees on flight reservations.
The case was brought against Ryanair by the German consumer protection agency who complained about the fee. Every ticket booked for Ryanair flights comes with an additional fee, varying between $2 and $5, and there is no ...
