Fasten Your Seat Belt, Ryanair

By Kerry Capell

The year is off to a turbulent start for Ryanair, Europe’s top budget airline. After criticism for an ad with a woman done up as a sexy schoolgirl and a suit filed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his bride, Carla Bruni, for using their faces in another ad (photo), the Irish carrier was blamed for a fall in Britain’s tour trade. Addressing British MPs on Jan. 29, officials of hotel chain Travelodge accused budget airlines, led by Ryanair, of “squeezing the life” out of their trade with low international fares. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary says the fares also bring in tourists. He calls the Sarkozy ad, which ran in Le Parisien, a mistake—it “wasn’t funny.” Still, he notes, it “generated gazillions worth of free PR.” On
Feb. 4, Ryanair posted a 27% drop in third-quarter profits, to $52 million. (It expects a 17.5% earnings rise for the fiscal year.) On Feb. 5, a French judge ordered it to pay a symbolic €1 in damages to Sarkozy and $87,711 to Bruni.