Will we give you a refund on a nonrefundable ticket because your granny died unexpectedly? No! Go away – NY Times profiles the unapologetic boss of a no-frills airline

August 1, 2009 at 8:31 am

(Source: NY Times )

New York Times’ Sarah Lyall has penned a funny but interesting & intriguing profile of Mr. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the European budget airline Ryanair.  A must read for those in low-cost commercial aviation business.  Here are some interesting excerpts from the article.

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He once dressed as the pope to advertise Ryanair’s new route from Dublin to Rome. He has declared that fat people should pay more for their seats, but that it would take too long to weigh them at the airport. And, at a news conference to discuss the possibility of starting trans-Atlantic flights, he suggested — to the consternation of the young woman gamely translating his remarks into German — that business-class customers would receive oral sex.

At 48, the quick-talking, blue-jean-wearing Mr. Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the European budget airline Ryanair,is one of the most successful businessmen in Ireland, presiding over an airline that is, remarkably, flourishin g in a brutal climate for airlines (and most other businesses). He is known for thick-skinned aggression, outrageous public statements and an implacable belief that short-haul airline passengers will endure nearly every imaginable indignity, as long as the tickets are cheap and the planes are on time.

MR. O’LEARY runs a tight ship in his office, too. Post-it notes and highlighters are banned. Executives bring in their own pens. To illustrate his commitment to that principle, Mr. O’Leary produced two pens from his pocket, both stolen from hotel rooms.

He stays in budget hotels. He always flies Ryanair, startling fellow passengers by taking their tickets at the gate and by boarding the plane last, where he invariably gets a middle seat.

Mr. O’Leary does not sit in an executive lounge, has no BlackBerry and does not use e-mail because, he says, “I couldn’t be bothered with all the crud and the crap and the rubbish that gets sent to you on e-mails.”

“Soon he’ll be charging us for oxygen and number of limbs,” The Sun groused in a columnin June, when he unveiled his latest proposal — getting people to carry their own bags to the plane.

Ryanair’s post-tax profit fell by 78 percent in the year that ended in March, but still amounted to $149 million. While most carriers are hemorrhaging passengers, Ryanair expects its passenger numbers to increase, to 68 million this year from 57 million in 2008.

The mystery is why so many people are willing to put up with an airline that, in the words of The Economist, “has become a byword for appalling customer service, misleading advertising claims and jeering rudeness towards anyone or anything that gets in its way.”

By contrast, Mr. O’Leary continued, Ryanair promises four things: low fares, a good on-time record, few cancellations and few lost bags.

“But if you want anything more — go away! Will we put you in a hotel room if your flight was canceled?” Mr. O’Leary asked rhetorically. “No! Go away.”

“Will we give you a refund on a nonrefundable ticket because your granny died unexpectedly?” he asked. “No! Go away. We’re not interested in your sob stories! What part of ‘no refund’ do you not understand?”

Mr. O’Leary brushes off the criticism about customer service, pointing to Ryanair’s record of responding to complaints within seven days. Most come from people demanding refunds, who are told to go away. Also, the aggrieved have to complain by fax or letter. If they use e-mail, no one will respond.

“People will say” — here Mr. O’Leary adopted a whiny voice — “ ‘As the Founding Fathers wrote down in the American Constitution, we have the inalienable right to bear arms and send in our complaints by e-mail.’

“No, you bloody don’t! So go away.”

Click here to read the entire article.