Ryanair, which never passes up an opportunity for publicity or new market segments, is taking a shot at both by inviting Pope Francis to make his 2018 visit to Ireland on a Ryanair plane.
The Pope has previously been known to favor Alitalia, Italy’s flag carrier, but Ryanair is big in the market, too, and is undergoing a $1 billion expansion of its Italian operations this year, with 44 new routes added, including 21 in Milan and Rome, and 2250 new jobs.
Ryanair, as a no-frills discount carrier, hopes to appeal to the frugal Pope who has passed up palatial quarters in the Vatican for a simpler boarding house and carries his own bags. Of course, on Ryanair, he might have to pay extra for them…
