RSS
News


Home Page > News > Irish airline chief O'Leary puts foot in mouth for publicity's sake

Blogs


comment on article Make a comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

Irish airline chief O'Leary puts foot in mouth for publicity's sake

'Swine flu will only affect people in slums'

By
CONN CORRIGAN,
IrishCentral.Com Staffwriter

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 12:59 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:39 PM

See more: news  

Bookmark and Share

Ryanair CEO (and Irish oddball) Michael O'Leary
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary
Photo by PA

The many clown faces of Michael O'Leary... Click for gallery

If you’re American, the chances are you haven’t heard of him, but if you are Irish, you certainly have. In fact, in the case of the latter, you’ve probably flown on one of his planes, at a rock bottom price.

Michael O’Leary is one of the best-known businessmen in Ireland, and transformed a loss-making airline called Ryanair into one of Europe’s most successful airlines.

O’Leary’s brash, bullying style would undoubtedly make him an absolute nightmare to work with. But he’s an entertaining character, nonetheless.

People in Ireland and Britain, who have grown used to O’Leary’s stunts, undoubtedly groan at the sight of him, saying to themselves, “There he goes again….”

But for the uninitiated, we at Irish Central have compiled a top five list of outrageous (and let’s face it, occasionally hilarious) Michael O’Leary outbursts.

1. Swine flu is for people “living in slums”

Never far from the headlines, O’Leary recently reported as saying that swine flu was something that would affect only people “living in slums.”

“Are we going to die from swine flu? No. Are we in danger of SARS? No. Foot and mouth disease? No. Will it affect people flying short-haul flights around Europe this summer? Thankfully, no," he told a press conference.

'It is a tragedy only for people living. . . in slums in Asia or Mexico. But will the honeymoon couple from Edinburgh die?

'No. A couple of Strepsils will do the job.'  (In Ireland and Britain, a Strepsil is a mild over-the-counter medication for a sore throat.)

O'Leary added because of his interaction with various airport authorities, he had “been dealing with swine for many years.” 

2. “Beds and blow jobs”

At a press conference in Germany, announcing a new transatlantic service, O’Leary told a stunned audience that there would be an economy class costing €10 and a premium class costing between €4,000 to €5,000 - "beds and blow jobs" included.

His German translator looked unsure of quite what to do next. So O'Leary turned to her, and asked, “What’s the German for blow-jobs?”

1 2 3 Next page >

See more: news, irish news, ryanair, travel, michael o'leary, swine flu, business

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


Be the first to make a comment.

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.


Click to learn more from DiscoverIreland.com.
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password