It is hard to think of anyone in aviation history who has done more to degrade the passenger experience of air travel than the man who has run Ryanair for the last 30 years. So forgive me if I’m not rushing to listen to Michael O’Leary’s thoughts on how to improve it.
Being allowed a drink before and during a Ryanair flight is about the only thing that makes the experience bearable in the first place
But his claim yesterday that we should significantly restrict passenger alcohol consumption has sparked apparently serious consideration. Suggesting that the remedy to the supposed problem may lie in a two-drink-per-passenger limit, O’Leary told the Daily Telegraph: ‘We don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet.’
Putting aside the fact that the way O’Leary phrased his comparison makes it sound as if his more inebriated passengers might be asked to actually fly the plane rather than just sit on it – which would require a significantly greater degree of mental competency – it’s still a terrible idea.
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