When those frustrations are just too much for me, I bite the bullet and buy an overpriced First Plus ticket. I take a similar approach with my flights. You should try it.

On the question of what would happen to Aer Lingus if a tax attack burst Ryanair’s bubble, I can only assume that Aer Lingus and its shareholders (if they reject this offer) would be fecked. At Aer Lingus, they currently have twice the costs per customer of Ryanair – if Ryanair go, it’ll be the last of the Irish airlines.

His attitude – that airline travel is a basic transport service and should be affordable to everyone has revolutionised the industry in Europe, has opened Ireland to the world, has opened the world to everyone in Ireland and built a vastly successful business (with a CASH war chest of 2 Billion euro).

Floundering? Mmm.

Have I listened to his interviews? Every chance I get. Do I find them ‘deeply worrying’? No. I find them hugely entertaining and I find his attitude towards the dinosaurs of Irish and British business invigorating.

Your comparison to Ratner bears no scrutiny – I’m glad you choose not to try to explain it further.

As an example Ryanair don’t allow you to book specific seats. They argue, I think, that embarkation is more efficient if people pile on and mill about trying to find seats next to their travelling companions. Actually Ryanair’s boarding pass has a number on it, it’s just not a seat number! Many don’t realise this and spend time looking for the seat corresponding to their pass number – not very efficient. They also call you in two groups, depending on your boarding pass number e.g. 1-90 board first. But many people can’t hear the staff say this, or arrive after it has been announced, so join the queue anyway. And everyone stands up and queues very early because they want to get a seat next to their companion(s). Chaos. BMIbaby allow you to choose your seat while buying a ticket on the web. Very simple, with a plan of the aircraft allowing you to select outward and return seats, seats already chosen are indicated. No panic at the departure lounge, no scramble on board.

If you really want to make boarding more efficient (turnaround times for Ryanair are tight!) allow selection of seats on the web. Board those in the middle seats first, some by the back door some by the front, and fill up from the middle out. Big signs to explain all this and instructions with your booking confirmation.

Why do Ryanair stick to their no seat number policy? Seems mad to me, my only explanation “You’re flying cheap, and this way you’ll realise it – we treat you cheap!!”

Having got that rant of my chest – I have benefited a lot from Ryanair, especially when BMIbaby dropped their flights to France from Nottingham.

On a more important point. How much longer will we have cheap air travel? I am convinced of the scientific evidence for global warming brought about by human activity – and air travel is an important contributor. Seems to me governments are going to have to do something about increasing air travel (amongst other things) – or we fry. A technical fix would be great (bio-aviation fuel?) but seems a long way off (despite Branson’s millions). Taxing aviation fuel would seem an obvious way to go, in which case the Ryanair bubble could burst. Where would that leave Aer Lingus (to return to the thread!).

The similarity is an underlying attitude to customers. Have you listened to O’Leary in interviews, deeply worrying? All I can say is if I adopted the same attitudes I wouldn’t last 6 months hence I wouldn’t invest.

To his strength he is cheap, but often by the time you add on charges etc to all his headline prices there isn’t that much difference. I have to go to Wien shortly and the difference in cost between Ryan Air from Dublin or Air Berlin from Belfast on the dates I require I believe is about £40 return but one leaves from Belfast and the other Dublin and one lands in Austria and the other Slovakia. I do think some of the Biggles type airfields he uses have a quaint charm, and he does fly to some strange out of the way places but as the sector fills out given the choice I think he will need to change attitude or flounder.

Basically what he is doing is not rocket science, is easy to copy and there are now better in that sector. Time will tell.

Good man: http://finance.google.com/finance?q=ryanair

I’m not sure that remembering ratner offers any great lessons. Ratner’s business collapsed because he didn’t believe in his own product and made the mistake of telling people that. I’m not sure that even the most die-hard Union O’Leary haters could accuse him of not believing in his product.

Ciaran: “analysts advise shareholders on whether they should buy or sell. That’s why publicly listed companies spend a lot of money on keeping them happy…”.

You’re 100% right. It’s one of the reasons why I was delighted to see O’Leary calling them properly.

I think there are better words to describe his attitude and style. I deal with people with the same personality characteristics on a daily basis, he is by no means unique just more visible. They are people to avoid in business as they tend to have one loyalty. I have never found that particular style of management beneficial in the long term. They create enemies needlessly and in the end they tend to fall. He would do well to remember Ratner.

Trust and personal standing are extremely important in business. I would not invest a farthing in anything related to Mr. O’Leary.

Perhaps. But analysts advise shareholders on whether they should buy or sell. That’s why publicly listed companies spend a lot of money on keeping them happy and/or informed. If analysts think you’re making bad decisions your share value will fall.

‘Analysts don’t really understand the industry. If they did, they wouldn’t be analysts’

A lean and hungry Tiger or has it got rabies?

Bertie Ahern must be wishing he’d let Willy Air happen now.

On short haul flights -2 hours or less I’ll always fly the least expensive taking all destination to destination costs into account There’s no point in giving anybody any more of your money than you have to.

Of course if you’re a spoilt pussy and not a hungry tiger you may prefer the more expensive option .

I’d expect that long haul Ryanair would ‘adjust’ to market requirements .

However an Irish National Airline run by Mr O’Leary is probably an appropriate image. Who better as an ambassador for the Tiger?

“When we’re the biggest airline in Europe it will be inappropriate to have somebody here shouting, swearing, abusing the competition. You need more professional management than me’

Is this chutzpah or what ?