Partner Article

Has O'Leary gone soft?

Ryanair’s loose talking boss, Michael O’Leary told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting this week that it should stop doing things to “unnecessarily” annoy customers.

The BBC news item caught this editor’s attention as O’Leary is something of a celebrity boss these days - deliberately promoting his abrasive management shtick and disdain for customers at the heart of the business.

O’Leary brought the “pile it high, sell it cheap” mode of business to air travel, ultimately benchmarking the burgeoning low cost industry. So, what gives with the ruthless conqueror’s recent sweet talk?

Was it an attempt to reassure shareholders worried about Ryanair’s reputation, or realisation that he has pushed the limits of this no-prisoners style model?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .