There are laws in the UK to prevent "unreasonable" penalties in a contract. The UK banks know all too well about this when they were pulled up for charging 40+ quid for a letter. So my advice would be to explore this avenue. I am assuming UK law applies, which may not be correct.
I would not be surprised if this WAS a MOL stunt! But, hey, you have to admire the guy for what he has built.. love him or hate him, he has made the traditional boys sit up and pay attention.
I don't fly Ryanair as I have safety concerns. Nothing to do with the flying, it's the getting out that concerns me. Max. capacity with cabin crew that don't seem to have this as their 1st priority. I am sure all the regs are met but there is more to it than just ticking the boxes.