Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary is known for seldom holding his tongue or speaking softly—he famously once told an interviewer that “short of committing murder, bad publicity sells more seats.”
In recent interviews he’s kept up the reputation.
Asked about whether Ryanair might implement some sort of frequent flier loyalty scheme as two other European low-cost carriers have done, he told Simon Calder of The Independent (UK) that the answer is no. “Buy a dog if you want some loyalty.”
Questioned by The Telegraph over his impending €100 million bonus, which he is to receive if Ryanair’s stock hits €21 a share and stays there for four weeks, he lashed out at criticism of big bonuses for executives when little is said about huge salaries for Premier League football managers.
O’Leary said: “If I do get it [the €100m payout], all the City types will be railing against excessive executive pay and I’m not putting up with any of that mewling nonsense. “Footballers are getting half a million a week… and nobody says boo. Yet some guy running a serious business employing 20,000-plus people gets paid £5 or £10m and it’s suddenly excessive.”
Oh, and by the way, he also has advice for Boeing management. Since Ryanair flies only Boeing 737s and is one of Boeing’s largest buyers for them, they’re likely to at least consider his advice.
And his advice? “They already design great aircraft—you’ve got to make them, but you’ve got to make them on-time and within budget, and that needs accountants,” who he says make the best CEOs. “It’s like, never put a pilot in charge of an airline,” he said. “They want to buy new shiny toys.”
