‘SO you can charge what you like then?” I asked the little monopolist. “That’s the way it is,” he responded smugly. “And you can open when you like?” I queried. “That’s the way it is too,” he riposted triumphantly. Every businessman’s dream.
Category Archive
for: ‘Aer Lingus and Aviation’
Mary: Muddled or Muzzled?
AER Lingus still rules OK? Last Wednesday a basement in the bowels of Leinster House resembled a padded cell for the insane. Michael O’Leary has turned the lunatics in the aviation asylum on their heads. A man who was shedding no less than 1,100 jobs at the airport descended to the dungeon to confront a …
Mary and the Little Tramp
MICHAEL O’LEARY is offering Mary Coughlan a simple deal. Give me Hangar 6 and I’ll give you 300 jobs. More chillingly put: no hangar no jobs. That is the way he does business. Three arms of the State have joined forces to block him. While Michael is parading himself on the airwaves, they have despatched …
O’Leary’s Sixty Grand Bruni Bargain
Michael O’Leary has had a wonderful week. He lost €30m personally; Ryanair bombed by half a billion in value; profits tanked by 27 per cent; earnings per share dropped by 24 per cent. Even better, O’Leary issued a shock profit warning: the worst was yet to come. Best of all, the President of France defeated …
None Of Your Business, Prime Minister.
Omerta everywhere. Omerta between the feisty blonde bombshell, the Lady Appleby of Ireland‘s civil servants, Julie O’Neill and Transport Minister Noel Dempsey. Omerta between Sir Humphrey Appleby himself, Dermot McCarthy and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Omerta between the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and its downtown Shannon office. In every instance, one party knew that Aer Lingus …
Civil Servants Should Not Filter Information To Protect Ministers
The Aer Lingus affair was debated in the Seanad again yesterday. I argued that what Aer Lingus does is not the business of politicians; it is out in the private sector. However, the Byzantine manoeuvres of civil servants, supposedly to protect their Ministers, does concern us. When the Seanad debated the issue in the past …
Government Reaping Whirlwind Of Its Own Fudge Over Aer Lingus Decision
On Wednesday, statements were made in the Seanad on the Aer Lingus controversy. I told the House that the government was in difficulty over the issue because of its decision to fudge the privatisation of Aer Lingus by keeping a large stake in the company. Thus, it would, we were told, still be under effective …
25% Aer Lingus Share Puts Government On A Spit
Many politicians seem to think we can interfere with every operational decision made by Aer Lingus. Whether we like it or not Aer Lingus was privatised some time ago. We cannot allow ourselves to be used by lobby groups left, right and centre for every decision it makes. Will we regard it as a semi-State …
O’Leary seeks his ‘Mini Me’
Michael O’Leary needs help. A small ad in Friday’s newspapers reveals that his current assistant, Niall O’Connor, is moving on. It does not explain why Niall is off to quieter pastures. Rumours that he is seeking the advice of lawyers who specialised in compensation for army deafness are being denied. Michael wants an accountant for …