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| Michael O’Leary: a gift for controversy and an eye on the bottom line | Michael O’Leary: a gift for controversy and an eye on the bottom line |
| (10 days later) | |
| There’s an old story about Michael O’Leary that sums up the outspoken boss of Ryanair. Former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh, now supremo of British Airways’ parent company IAG, was driving when he heard O’Leary interviewed on the radio, bragging about Ryanair’s low prices compared with those of the Irish flag carrier. | There’s an old story about Michael O’Leary that sums up the outspoken boss of Ryanair. Former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh, now supremo of British Airways’ parent company IAG, was driving when he heard O’Leary interviewed on the radio, bragging about Ryanair’s low prices compared with those of the Irish flag carrier. |
| Walsh, a pugnacious character himself, pulled over, called the radio station and invited himself into the studio to dispute his rival’s claims. What followed was an acrimonious encounter, each man lobbing vicious barbs at one another. | Walsh, a pugnacious character himself, pulled over, called the radio station and invited himself into the studio to dispute his rival’s claims. What followed was an acrimonious encounter, each man lobbing vicious barbs at one another. |
| But as soon as they came off air, a beaming O’Leary strode up to Walsh and shook his hand, saying: “That was brilliant Willie, we must do this again as soon as possible.” | But as soon as they came off air, a beaming O’Leary strode up to Walsh and shook his hand, saying: “That was brilliant Willie, we must do this again as soon as possible.” |
| For most of his 23 years as chief executive, O’Leary has lived by the motto that there is no such thing as bad publicity. His roll-call of insults, outlandish claims and four-letter tirades is too long to rehearse exhaustively, but there are some particular highlights. | For most of his 23 years as chief executive, O’Leary has lived by the motto that there is no such thing as bad publicity. His roll-call of insults, outlandish claims and four-letter tirades is too long to rehearse exhaustively, but there are some particular highlights. |
| He once joked that Ryanair pilots would “engineer a bit of turbulence” in order to boost drinks sales and has also said he would like to charge for use of the toilet. “I would wipe their bums for a fiver,” he quipped. | He once joked that Ryanair pilots would “engineer a bit of turbulence” in order to boost drinks sales and has also said he would like to charge for use of the toilet. “I would wipe their bums for a fiver,” he quipped. |
| Most bosses would never dream of insulting customers, but O’Leary has made a virtue of it, calling passengers forced to pay a €60 fine for forgetting their boarding card “stupid”. | Most bosses would never dream of insulting customers, but O’Leary has made a virtue of it, calling passengers forced to pay a €60 fine for forgetting their boarding card “stupid”. |
| On occasion he has managed to insult diametrically opposed interest groups within a sentence. “The airline business is mostly run by a bunch of spineless nincompoops who actually don’t want to stand up to the environmentalists and call them the lying wankers that they are,” he has said. | On occasion he has managed to insult diametrically opposed interest groups within a sentence. “The airline business is mostly run by a bunch of spineless nincompoops who actually don’t want to stand up to the environmentalists and call them the lying wankers that they are,” he has said. |
| Born into an affluent farming family, he attended Clongowes Wood, the elite private boarding school in County Kildare, and Trinity College Dublin. | Born into an affluent farming family, he attended Clongowes Wood, the elite private boarding school in County Kildare, and Trinity College Dublin. |
| While many airline bosses were once pilots, O’Leary trained as an accountant, advising the airline’s founder Tony Ryan on his personal tax affairs, before enjoying a rapid rise to the top job at Ryanair under Ryan’s wing. | While many airline bosses were once pilots, O’Leary trained as an accountant, advising the airline’s founder Tony Ryan on his personal tax affairs, before enjoying a rapid rise to the top job at Ryanair under Ryan’s wing. |
| Somewhere along the way, he has become better known for bombast and an understanding of how to grab the attention of the media. | Somewhere along the way, he has become better known for bombast and an understanding of how to grab the attention of the media. |
| Possessed of a shrewd financial mind, O’Leary spotted that the future lay in the low-cost model that has turned Ryanair into Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, learning from and building on the business strategy pioneered by US carrier Southwest Airlines. | Possessed of a shrewd financial mind, O’Leary spotted that the future lay in the low-cost model that has turned Ryanair into Europe’s biggest airline by passenger numbers, learning from and building on the business strategy pioneered by US carrier Southwest Airlines. |
| Ryanair’s initial success was built on luring passengers with rock-bottom fares, while charging them for everything from checking in their luggage to inflight food and drink. Costs were also kept to a minimum by measures including making staff pay for their own training, uniforms and meals. | Ryanair’s initial success was built on luring passengers with rock-bottom fares, while charging them for everything from checking in their luggage to inflight food and drink. Costs were also kept to a minimum by measures including making staff pay for their own training, uniforms and meals. |
| However, after Ryanair slipped to a quarterly loss at the end of 2013 O’Leary introduced a radical new corporate philosophy – being nicer – which has helped the airline kick on to further success. | However, after Ryanair slipped to a quarterly loss at the end of 2013 O’Leary introduced a radical new corporate philosophy – being nicer – which has helped the airline kick on to further success. |
| The carrier introduced new features including allocated seating, bottle-warming, changing facilities, free room for children’s car-seats, an extra cabin bag for children and discounts on their checked-in bags. It also allowed passengers to take a second bag without incurring a fine. | The carrier introduced new features including allocated seating, bottle-warming, changing facilities, free room for children’s car-seats, an extra cabin bag for children and discounts on their checked-in bags. It also allowed passengers to take a second bag without incurring a fine. |