O’Leary admits buy Aer lingus stake was a mistake
07.03.09
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary conceded that his decision to spend €390m of shareholders' money on an almost 30 percent stake in Irish rival Aer Lingus was ‘stupid’. The admission came at a wide-ranging media briefing, where he once again raised the possibility of charging passengers to use the loo.
Speaking in Dublin, the Ryanair boss's comments on the wisdom of his Aer Lingus investment came after he told journalists that he was ‘very unlikely’ to make another bid for the rival airline and would write his 29 percent stake ‘down to zero’ if accounting rules allowed it. He said: ‘It was a stupid investment. At the time, it was the right strategy to go for one combined airline but it [the investment] has now proven to be a disaster.’
He added that he'd told shareholders he'd ‘f***** up’ but hadn't apologised. He added: ‘I never say sorry, except to my wife who I apologise to all the time.'
Mr O'Leary also insisted he was ‘completely serious’ about charging for onboard toilets and had already instructed plane-maker Boeing to examine installing a credit card swipe machine on toilet doors. He told journalists he'd been in talks with Boeing on charging for toilets for several years but the plane-maker couldn't design a slot to accept coins. ‘We're now looking at credit cards.' Those who won't pay and soil planes will be ‘fined €100’, he said.
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