Micheal O'Leary

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:04PM

my theory is people dont like him because hes not a yes man. Look at politicians in Ireland, all yes men, afraid to disagree. Look at all the people who are liked, all yes men. If this guy wasnt here could you imagine how our tourism would fare. Because of him, other airlines, not just Irish ones have reduced prices.

Hes a legend, I hope he runs for cowens job

BoardsRanger · 20-08-2008 01:04PM

i dont think he really cares what people think about him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfIY24BErBE

John Mason · 20-08-2008 01:04PM

spurious wrote: »

With Ryanair, sometimes you still are, by the time you add on all the extras and the sterling price of getting where you really want to go.

well, you are an idiot to pay the money. i have never paid more then €100.00 for a flight to england or anywhere actually including all the charges.

Actuallly, no you keep paying the high fares, sure you are keeping Ryanair going

meditraitor · 20-08-2008 01:04PM

I quite like him, generally he comes across sound enough. He takes not ****

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:05PM

spurious wrote: »

With Ryanair, sometimes you still are, by the time you add on all the extras and the sterling price of getting where you really want to go.

when you select the airport you can see exactly where yer paying for. Ill use the bus again. If you wanted to go to cork from dublin. Would ye hop on the galway bus?

javaboy · 20-08-2008 01:06PM

Michael O'Leary's a legend. He's so mischievous with his ads and PR work. Remember his infamous "beds and blowjob" thing a while back?

It really irritates me when I hear someone say "Every time I fly with Ryanair the stewardess is rude.... or the tea was cold/non-existant"

If it keeps happening and it bothers you, why do you keep flying with them? What part of budget airline isn't clear?

If your elderly, infirm or really sensitive, don't fly Ryanair. But if you want a knockdown price and are prepared to accept the bare minimum service, go for it.

The glamour has long gone out of air travel anyway. It's more like a bus journey now. If I'm on a bus for 1 hour, I don't expect it to be luxurious. I want to get from A to B. Ryanair has never let me down in that aspect.

spurious · 20-08-2008 01:06PM

irishbird wrote: »

well, you are an idiot to pay the money. i have never paid more then €100.00 for a flight to england or anywhere actually including all the charges.

Actuallly, no you keep paying the high fares, sure you are keeping Ryanair going

I do not fly Ryanair thank you. I fly with proper airlines.

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:07PM

like!!!!

meditraitor · 20-08-2008 01:08PM

spurious wrote: »

With Ryanair, sometimes you still are, by the time you add on all the extras and the sterling price of getting where you really want to go.

I never paid more than 100 euros for any ryanair flight to the UK. I can honestly say Ive been over at least 20 times in the past 5 years.

If there is anyone out there who has paid 400 euro to fly to england with ryanair I would like to meet them ( I need to move some money from Nigeria to a safe account in ireland)

Fad · 20-08-2008 01:09PM

I think he's a clever man, and I have no problem with Ryanair, flying to Birmingham with them on Friday.

Ive been delayed flying with Aer Lingus more that i ever have with Ryanair.

Buying food inflight? FOOK that's expensive :eek:

DublinWriter · 20-08-2008 01:10PM

I love the way people think Michael O'Leary 'invented' Ryanair and low-cost flying.

For starters, O'Leary only owns a tiny fraction of Ryanair, around about 5% I think.

Ryanair's founder, Tony Ryan held something like an 80% share of the company.

O'Leary originally wanted to close Ryanair down in the late 80's, but Tony Ryan told him to go out to the states to check out SouthWest Airlines, the original model for low cost, and model Ryanair along similar lines.

Time and time again, O'Leary has made some fundamental flaws. For starters, he blocked spending any money on an Web site to allow booking - the original Ryanair website was developed 'under the radar' by expensing the development costs in the management accounts so that O'Leary wouldn't be aware of what was going on.

Secondly, he's completely put the blinkers on regarding spiralling fuel costs and refused to buy fuel futures when every other airline was.

He's a short-term strategist at best and only survives because he controls expenditure well in the relatively simple-business model that is Ryanair.

For me, the real legend of the Irish Aviation business is Willie Walsh. He didn't start from a greenfield situation and he had to turn around a massively unionised semi-state airline that was burdened with debt from day one.

suckslikeafox · 20-08-2008 01:13PM

spurious wrote: »

With Ryanair, sometimes you still are, by the time you add on all the extras and the sterling price of getting where you really want to go.

If your're paying that much then you have one person to blame and its not O'Leary

The Ryanair business model is beautifully simple:

-The basic item, the flight is cheap as dirt. You pay to bring yourself to the airport and nothing else
-You want to bring bags? Pay for them
-Want a cup of tea? Pay for it
-Want to choose your seat? Pay for it

Brilliant

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:16PM

Cant understand why people give out about him

briantwin · 20-08-2008 01:17PM

I think the man is a genius. There is no doubting that, if his methods are abrasive or at times under handed i think you'll find most of the time they are the tactics that get results.

He's turned Europe into a far more accessible place for everyone and has done amazing things for the irish economy in allowing a foreign work force to come and go to ireland at a more than reasonable price.

Flights get delayed, other flights get cancelled. I am fairly sure he has better things to be doing then sitting there deleting Ryanair flights off runway rotas for the craic. The other thing about a plane leaving without 15 people, how did everyone else know where to go? Come on use your head. Also if they delayed the plane for the last 15 people whats to say they would get a window for the plane on the runway for the next hour/ 5 hours.

javaboy · 20-08-2008 01:18PM

DublinWriter wrote: »

He's a short-term strategist at best and only survives because he controls expenditure well in the relatively simple-business model that is Ryanair.

Em are we talking about the same man who bought a whole load of planes immediately after 11/9 at rock-bottom prices because he knew long-term that things would pick up? At the time nobody was buying planes and that deal saved Ryanair an absolute fortune.

Of course he doesn't get every decision right and as regards the website, I'm sure there are heaps of otherwise shrew businesspeople out there who failed to realise the potential of the internet.

suckslikeafox · 20-08-2008 01:20PM

DublinWriter wrote: »

I love the way people think Michael O'Leary 'invented' Ryanair and low-cost flying.

For starters, O'Leary only owns a tiny fraction of Ryanair, around about 5% I think.

Ryanair's founder, Tony Ryan held something like an 80% share of the company.

O'Leary originally wanted to close Ryanair down in the late 80's, but Tony Ryan told him to go out to the states to check out SouthWest Airlines, the original model for low cost, and model Ryanair along similar lines.

Time and time again, O'Leary has made some fundamental flaws. For starters, he blocked spending any money on an Web site to allow booking - the original Ryanair website was developed 'under the radar' by expensing the development costs in the management accounts so that O'Leary wouldn't be aware of what was going on.

Secondly, he's completely put the blinkers on regarding spiralling fuel costs and refused to buy fuel futures when every other airline was.

He's a short-term strategist at best and only survives because he controls expenditure well in the relatively simple-business model that is Ryanair.

For me, the real legend of the Irish Aviation business is Willie Walsh. He didn't start from a greenfield situation and he had to turn around a massively unionised semi-state airline that was burdened with debt from day one.

Ryan was never originally a shareholder, it was a family trust. Ryan wasnt allowed to own shares in an airline due to the leasing company he ran, thats general knowledge. And yes, he did do very well to identify the gap in the market, but he proved himself unable to run the business and thats where O'Leary stepped in.

O'Leary did want to shut it down, on more than one occassion, but he was told to stick at it and he eventually saw the potential. He saw so much potential that he asked not to be paid a salary but a percentage of future profits.

No doubting that hes made a few mistakes along the way but the airline wouldnt be in the position today (if it were even still in business) without him. They are by far in the best position in Europe to survive sustained high oil prices and possible falling demand.

Also +1 for praising Walsh, he did an incredible job and BA is definitely in safe hands

inforfun · 20-08-2008 01:21PM

meditraitor wrote: »

I never paid more than 100 euros for any ryanair flight to the UK. I can honestly say Ive been over at least 20 times in the past 5 years.

If there is anyone out there who has paid 400 euro to fly to england with ryanair I would like to meet them ( I need to move some money from Nigeria to a safe account in ireland)

I guess you could end up paying 400 if you book today in order to fly tomorrow. But you cant blame O'Leary/Ryanair for that.
Also the extra's you pay for, bags and such. AFAIK most airlines do this nowadays.
If it wasnt for Ryanair i would have had a hard and expensive time more than a month ago to find a ticket get to some obscure place in France on a book today, fly tomorrow base.
And the price was even quite reasonable.

Another reason i really like Ryanair for: The seats are fixed, so i dont have to worry about peopel in front of me that try to split my kneecaps in 2 because they need to relax on their 1 hour flight.

John Mason · 20-08-2008 01:24PM

DublinWriter wrote: »

Secondly, he's completely put the blinkers on regarding spiralling fuel costs and refused to buy fuel futures when every other airline was.

He's a short-term strategist at best and only survives because he controls expenditure well in the relatively simple-business model that is Ryanair.

Ryanair have hedged their fuel costs at much higher level then any other airline in Europe. Which means they are still in control of their fuel costs at the moment. he agreed that within a year, they may have problems.

He has also said that every 15 years (i think) something happens in the airline industry and he has warned that in the next 5 years there will only 4/5 airline flying Europe.

So he didnt invent no frills airline but for ireland he didnt. he went away, saw how southwest worked and thought, we can do that in Ireland.

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:24PM

wahey people agree with me for once

20-08-2008 01:25PM

Don't like the guy or airline but sure do like his horses!

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:30PM

take it you backed war of attrition aswell :pac:

20-08-2008 01:33PM

Indeed

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:36PM

nice

Dudess · 20-08-2008 01:37PM

irishbird wrote: »

i think the man is a genius

it the usual old irish story of begrudery

so the man bought a taxi plate so he could skip traffic - class, if i could afford it, i would do it to

It's the usual trotting out the "begrudgery" line. Maybe it's not begrudgery. It certainly isn't in my case - I have no qualms in saying he's a brilliant businessmen.

ssmith6287 wrote: »

Awh does he, well lets lock him up so.

You asked several times why people don't like him - you got your answer. Your "let's lock him up so" comment was not necessary. I kinda think you know he comes across as obnoxious anyway, you're just being disingenuous for the sake of it.

How does he come across as abully??

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/jun/24/theairlineindustry.travelnews
Although the end of it made me lol:

The relentless aggression is similarly irrepressible and was on show again at a press conference this week. Ryanair's marketing manager, Sinead Finn, noted that she was the only woman addressing a roomful of male journalists.

"I wouldn't be too sure," interrupted O'Leary. "There's someone here from the Guardian and you can never tell with them."

irishbird wrote: »

so tell me how exactly do you get to the top without being forceful?
What about Alan Sugar?

Yep, another bully. Sure it got them where they are today - I'm not denying that. But if they're pricks, they're pricks. /shrugs
I'm not saying they HAVE to be likeable.

You dont know the man

Exactly. I said he comes across as a bully.

so whist the lot of your with eye green monster

I can't see how it's jealousy - certainly not on my part anyway.

Just because I agree he's a brilliant businessman doesn't mean I can't express my view that he comes across as a prick.

godtabh · 20-08-2008 01:46PM

Captain Ginger wrote: »

Guy can go **** himself, missed my mates wedding due to a late Ryan Air flght.

How long was the flight delayed?

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:46PM

but how does he come across as a prick. ye gave a link to a newspaper website. thats not a personal opinion. Hes not obnoxious, he just doesnt say yes to evryone. Hes sly but funny. Look at the people he has offended. Aer Arann they didn want him flyin internal flights, they claim hes a bully. How. Are aldi and lidl bullies for building cheaper supermarkets all over the country? 1 of d lads here in work is after saying to me, what about charging extra for disabled people?? why not, dont builders charge extra to make a house for disabled. When a disabled person flies ryanair, he removes seats and brings an extra air hostess. Surely this is more then aer lingus or any other rivals would do!

ssmith6287 · 20-08-2008 01:48PM

kearnsr wrote: »

How long was the flight delayed?

I was 6 hrs delayed with futura, 4 hrs delayed coming from amsterdam with aer lingus. 20 mins early coming home from nottingham with ryanair

jimmycrackcorm · 20-08-2008 01:53PM

MOL could have said about the web site scraping cancellations that they would cancel any bookings from that point forward but instead he didn't give a bollox about people who had already booked except to take extra money from them when they have to rebook again on their own site.

Between that and buying a taxi plate for the bus lanes, he basically just sticks his middle finger up to everyone when he gets a chance. Would anyone bet that he wouldn't have put prices up extortionly had he been able to buy Aer Lingus out and operate a near monopoly in and out of Dublin?

TomTom · 20-08-2008 01:54PM

I dislike him and his airline, he was given a golden opportunity and by copying southwest it was a no brainer to be honest.

He is brash and ignorant. I go out of my way to not fly with them if possible. Earlier this year they left my wedding luggage behind in Italy on purpose. I asked why and they said the belt broke so rather than take the remaining 6 bags on the belt and put them on they reversed away the conveyer belt and took off. When I asked when they would arrive they said tomorrow at the earliest but they would not courier them down to me until they could get someone going that way to drop them off.

I got so mad I had to be asked to leave. Solid ignorance from their staff and only when my wife broke down crying did they show any remorse for what they did. Still too late for us who were heading off the next day on a honeymoon minus a lot of personal belongings and clothes.

javaboy · 20-08-2008 01:55PM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Would anyone bet that he wouldn't have put prices up extortionly had he been able to buy Aer Lingus out and operate a near monopoly in and out of Dublin?

I imagine he would. If I was a shareholder and he failed to capitalise on a monopoly, I'd be pretty pissed off with him.

Micheal O'Leary

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