London - Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has launched an extraordinary rant against his own customers - branding those who object to paying a penalty for failing to print their own boarding cards as idiots “who should b***** off”.
The outspoken chief executive of the budget airline said passengers who arrive for flights without a pass are stupid “and it is right they are charged £60 a time to have one printed at the check-in desk because it is their **** up”.
His remarks came after passenger Suzy McLeod was forced to pay £236 (about R3 000) to print boarding passes for herself, her parents, and her two children so they could fly home to Britain from Alicante, Spain.
Mr O'Leary said: “Mother pays £200 for being an idiot and failing to comply with her agreement at the time of booking. We think Mrs McLeod should pay 60 euros (£47.40) for being so stupid.”
Mrs McLeod, 35, from Newbury, Berkshire, criticised Ryanair's rule and said she was unable to print her family's passes while they were in Spain for 15 days last month. She was backed by more than 350,000 Facebook users after complaining of her unfair “treatment” by the Irish no-frills airline, which has been frequently criticised for its extra charges.
But Mr O'Leary said she should have printed the passes at an internet cafe or asked a friend to print and fax them to her. Instead, he said, “she then comes home and gets on Twitter, God help us all, and somehow we are going to change our policies. No, we're not”.
He said Mrs McLeod, who was staying at a rural villa without internet access, had written to him last week to ask for “compensation and a gesture of goodwill”. Mr O'Leary, 51, said the airline has replied, “politely but firmly”, saying: “Thank you Mrs McLeod, but it was your**** up.” He admitted she was not alone in complaining about the rule, but said the 0.02 percent of his passengers, which equates to 15,800 of its 79 million, who do not print off passes every year should “b***** off”.
Mrs McLeod said: “His comments say a lot about his airline. They're so rude. Why should anyone have to spend their precious time abroad having to find a cafe or a hotel to print out a boarding pass?” - Daily Mail