Ryanair CEO: 'Stupid' Passengers Deserve Fees

by VM44 25 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  VM44

  Ryanair CEO: 'Stupid' Passengers Deserve Fees

  Published: Friday, 7 Sep 2012 | 4:55 PM ET Do you print your boarding pass at home before arriving at the airport? If you don't, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary thinks you're "stupid." The Ryanair chief executive recently admonished passengers, who fail to print boarding passes before arriving at the airport.

  The issue came to a head after a mother of two — Suzy McLeod — paid about $380 at the airport in August so her family could get the paperwork to fly home to Britain from Spain. Upset about the fee, she vented on Facebook [ FB 18.98 0.02 ( +0.11% ) ] and received hundreds of thousands of "likes," according to an NBCNEWS.com report.

  O'Leary responded. "We think Mrs. McLeod should pay 60 euros for being so stupid," he told The Telegraph. (McLeod was charged 60 euros each for five boarding passes, or about 300 euros total.)

  But O'Leary kept talking. And the CEO is known for talking, shocking headlines and publicity. "It is his schtick and he's known for it," said CNBC reporter Phil LeBeau on CNBC's "Street Signs."

  Even with a day or so to reflect, O'Leary argued his comments weren't aimed at the mom, specifically — but at his customers generally. "I was not calling her stupid, but all those passengers are stupid who think we will change our policies or our fees," he told the Irish Independent.

  Passengers flying Ryanair, the budget Irish carrier, are expected to check-in online and print boarding passes in advance, and come to the airport with paperwork in hand. Those who are empty-handed are charged the fee.

  'Bu**er Off'

  O'Leary stands by his airline's policy that requires passengers to print their boarding passes in advance.

  He said anyone who didn't like the policy could quite politely "bu**er off," according to The Telegraph. Passenger McLeod “wrote to me last week asking for compensation and a gesture of goodwill. To which we have replied, politely but firmly, thank you Mrs McLeod but it was your ****-up,” according to The Telegraph. O'Leary says 99.98 percent of Ryanair passengers print their boarding passes in advance.

  CEO O'Leary added: The mother pays "for being an idiot and failing to comply with her agreement at the time of booking. We think Mrs McLeod should pay 60 euros for being so stupid," the Mirror reported.

  An email request for more information from Ryanair was not immediately returned to CNBC.com on Friday afternoon.

  

  The Face of Stupidity
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  VM44

  O'Leary has a reputation for loose talk in the airline industry and among its regulators. Many press articles have often described him as arrogant, and prone to making comments which he later contradicts He has been extravagantly outspoken in his public statements, sometimes resorting to personal attacks and foul language. His abrasive management style, ruthless pursuit of cost-cutting and his explicitly hostile attitude towards corporate competitors, airport authorities, governments, unions and customers has become a hallmark. He was reported to have been aggressive and hostile in dealings with a woman who was awarded free flights for life in 1988. In 2007, he was forced to retract a claim that Ryanair had cut emissions of carbon dioxide by half over the previous five years; the claim should have been that emissions 'per passenger' had been cut by half. O'Leary has been reported to have impersonated a journalist in an attempt to find information passed on to a newspaper following a safety incident on a Ryanair flight. On occasion he has apologised for personal attacks under threat of legal action He has been criticized by a judge for lying, who said he was lucky not to be found guilty of contempt of court.

  In a press conference discussing Ryanair's planned intercontinental service RyanAtlantic, O'Leary jokingly described the airline's planned business class travel experience as featuring "whores and rum". In 2002 he said that his company is against any long-haul transatlantic services., stating that:

  The low-cost model only really works for short-haul flights [...] If we started flying farther afield, we'd have to do something stupid like introducing what I call a 'rich class' to make it pay.

  Reacting to the decision to close European airspace in April 2010 over worries about the ash plume from an erupting Icelandic volcano he said "there was no ash cloud. It was mythical. It's become evident the airspace closure was completely unnecessary." Scientists later concluded that serious structural damage to aircraft could have occurred if passenger planes had continued to fly.

  HORRIBLE MAN
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  Leolaia

  Contited is just as bad. In two years, they managed to gut almost every service that benefited passengers.
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  MrFreeze

  Hey running an airline ain't cheap!
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  JWdaughter

  Bummer, but glad I was warned. I don't have a home printer, so I have always gotten my boarding passes,gratis, from the airport kiosk or the check in clerk. They are always courteous. I would have thought RyanAir would be-Irish people are stereotyped as being nice! Ok, nice drunks, but still-I guess its just a half right stereotype.
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  J. Hofer

  ryanair sucks. easyjet is a little better but sucks too. i won't ever put foot into one of those again.
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  NOLAW

  Neither will I put any of my four feet!

  
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  botchtowersociety

  Ryanair CEO: 'Stupid' Passengers Deserve Fees

  I loves me some of that Irish asshole. He is a marvel, because he tells it like he sees it, and reactions be damned. There are precious few honest men in the world, and he is 100% correct. If he is so wrong, why is his airline the fastest grower in the short haul European market???? Hmmmm?
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  botchtowersociety

  This video from last year is classic O'Leary. Browbeating the EU bureautards. It is fantastic. Well worth the time.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4HYSsrlcq8
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  botchtowersociety

  If he is so wrong, why is his airline the fastest grower in the short haul European market???? Hmmmm?

  I'll answer my own question. O'Leary, that asshole, is a fucking business genius. He has cut through the crap and figured out what a great many people want the most, and has given it to them cheaper than anyone else. O'Leary's airline gives the most people the greatest value. That is why his airline has been a runaway success. It is eating everyone else's lunch. Watch the video.