Comments on The Devil's Kitchen: Michael O'Leary on innovation

O'Leary has the self-awareness of a dishcloth:...

2011-12-29T01:28:12.067Z

O'Leary has the self-awareness of a dishcloth: whether you hate his business, grudgingly admire his role in bringing down fares, or alternate between the two, it's unequivocally true that it exists *solely* because of the EU.

Ryanair makes a tiny proportion of its money by flights that start or end in Ireland. All of its other flights - between the UK and Germany, between Sweden and Italy, and so on, are legally allowed only because of EU legislation that overrides previous rules of national protectionism, and which don't apply anywhere else in the world.

(there are occasional bilateral deals that allow foreign carriers, like Emirates' flights between Australia and New Zealand, but they're the result of specific inter-government negotiations, are granted on a one-off basis generally in exchange for something specific, and hence are unsurprisingly rare...)

yeah. But in his defence, he does trash the E.U.

2011-12-28T22:20:18.517Z

yeah. But in his defence, he does trash the E.U.

What Ivan D and anonymous said with bells on. Add...

2011-12-28T19:57:51.275Z

What Ivan D and anonymous said with bells on.

Add to that that he dumped several hundred thousand Euros on the Irish YES vote, his business relies on subsidy (from Boeing), blackmail of small airports (paying RyanAir to fly in) and it's truly rich that he bites the EU hand that feeds him - a quick read of the history of RyanAir on Wikipedia will show.....

bullshittin arse

No this is more than mere bollocks. It is utter, u...

2011-12-28T19:38:46.706Z

No this is more than mere bollocks. It is utter, utter bollocks.
This is the man who spend a million of his own to persuade people in Ireland to do the right thing and vote in favour of the Lisbon treaty.
Thrice bollocks.
Oh and don't forget he called global warming believers idiots and later launched green flights or somesuch eco-wash nonsense.
Nah, he's an idiot and this video is mere grandstanding.

It costs 6 times more to fly BA or Air France and ...

2011-12-28T17:18:47.159Z

It costs 6 times more to fly BA or Air France and 10 times more to get to Brussels using Aer Lingus? BA loses 50% of passenger’s bags?

Utter bollocks from a man who runs an airline that is popular with people who don’t fly very often, don’t mind being treated like dirt or who don’t change their clothes much.

Those of us who do fly a lot and need to carry more that 10 kg use almost any other carrier by choice.

I have a problem liking this man or his “innovative” airline. He is even less capable of telling the truth than the average public health “expert” and this video induces a worrying sensation of Europhilia.