MOL to leave Ryanair

[sky9]

MOL is reported in todays Daily Telegraph as saying "I don't see myself at Ryanair in five years time" MOL was in Seattle taking delivery of his 60th Boeing aircraft.

[ATC Watcher]

Clever move.. leave before the mess he helped creating hit the fans while the shares price is still reasonable.... respect...

[ZQA297/30]

Of course there are those, no doubt a mere few, , who might wish to put a different spin on that. They might venture to suggest that another scenario is that there is no Ryanair in 5 years.

[Avman]

Ryanair's long term survival prospects rely entirely on MOL being long gone. There's no doubt he made the company what it is today, but if he overstays his time at the helm, he'll bring it crashing down too - rapidly!

[jmc-man]

There is another distinct reason for MOL to have left sooner rather than later. Ryanairs growth plans are distinctly flawed and their performance can only go one way. With the advent of increased competition, RYR's profit levels will struggle to stay at the heady numbers we have seen over the last 6 or 7 years. The master of the Low Cost Airline market is Southwest and some parallels are worth review:-

SWA - Organic and thoughtful growth into recognised markets
RYR - Wild expansion into any market where there are free or subsidised landing fees

SWA - Care and respect of passengers
RYR - Treat passengers with contempt and lie about the fares

SWA - Care and respect for staff
RYR - Treat staff with contempt, fire anyone who says " NO"

SWA - encourage managers to manage
RYR - Micro-manage departments until managers resign

I cannot have anything but respect for what MOL has done in terms of business profitability and in terms of introducing Europe to the Low Cost concept.....but it is a castle built on sand. And he will be gone before the cracks start to widen.

A humble opinion...as always

[NWSRG]

Tony Blair: "I won't run for a fourth term."

MOL: "I won't be at Ryanair in five years time."

...anybody starting to panic?

[Piltdown Man]

Last week I saw an interview by Journalist from a Belgian newspaper and MOL in his head office on RTL. A superb interview in my opinion. Interesting to see around his office - just as cheap as you might imagine. He really believes in what he is doing (but you don't have to agree with nor work for him either) but he was asked about what his personal plans were. "I'm 43 now" he said "and I don't see myself working beyond 50". He then went on to say that maybe he'll move to a farm and have some kids. Apparently he's just got married. Must be a pretty tough skinned woman.

Anyway, that give the world a maximum of six years of him...

There's hope for us yet!

[sky9]

In the same article MOL proposes to install a digebox to allow in-flight gambling; but only in international airspace. I wonder if he has asked the question "How many Ryanair flights operate in international airspace and for how long?" If he had he would have realised either that it was a non starter or that he would have to ignore international law. But then he ignores inconvenient laws doesn't he - or so he says.
If the proposal doesn’t go ahead it will show that he reads PPRuNe

[longstay]

'low cost' ??

well, i post here beacuse if in my opinion we here in the uk keep on this 'low cost' route then it will be news since everyone will be out of a job.

What the heck is 'low cost' ??

This years accountancy practice seems to call for everyone to jump on the 'low cost' band wagon and then try and sort 'low costs' out within the airline by cutting wages.
Just where the said accountants think this will end seems a mystery, £10 to fly anywhere is nonsense. Monarch the 'low cost with all the frills' recently cut all the 'frills', jet 2 are starting at EGCC with 6 a/c flying the same routes !! why are the accountants chasing the same scraps ?
Surely we should be upping the price's back to reality before it all goes full circle ? - and it will.

[ATC Watcher]

I think he reads PPRuNe when one talks about him...
Or maybe he thinks about crossing the pond...ala ATA...
An ETOPS 737 that is a novel idea.....

[scraglad]

MOL quitting his post............... This is old news in DUB. If he does go in the near future,good luck to him. When he does retire,he should pass his wisdom on to other wanna be's. He has done a fantastic job with Ryanair despite all his enimies and critics. Hail MOL.

[jabird]

ATC, isn't this already done on MUC to EWR by Privatair - not sure if it would work with a full load of Y pax though?

Another interview has him talking of setting a target of 75% of all passengers getting free seats. The ecologist in me questions whether he could not save tank loads of fuel just by leaving the jets on the ground.

But the economist in me sees this as a brilliant interpretation of the 80/20 rule - since 80% of revenue is going to come from 20% of passengers, why bother charging the unproductive 80% at all? Result - planes always full, ancillary revenues with virtually no supply costs continue to rise. Forget about charging E1.50 for a tiny can of Coke, that still has to be bought and carried through the aisle. Ryanair's real long-term revenue comes from all the car hire, insurance, rip-off credit cards, and related affiliations, which will continue to grow and grow.

A very clever man Mr O'Leary, still not sure if I like the guy, but I have to admire him. Parallels between MO'L and Maggie - they both did a job which needed to be done, but then massively outstayed their welcome. I'm sure MO'L would be chuffed by that comparison - NOT!

[Dani]

The problem of the industry is neighter the "low cost" nor the low costs but the over capacity. As long as we have too many seats or not enough passengers, there will be a price war. There are too many airlines, and as soon as those are out who cannot compete, the fares will rise again.

I am as sorry as you are, but I guess that most of the "classic" airlines will not survive, because their structures and business plans are not as competitive as the others. At a certain level, low cost carriers will tie together, forming huge networks, starting long haul routes and will make the big carriers obsolete.

[clohessy the claw]

in his own words

as the great man may put it himself,"good riddance."

[PPRuNe Pop]

I would have thought that MOL is nestbuilding - very very successfully. When he walks away from FR he will be an exceedingly rich man.

[FRying]

MOL's already an exceedingly rich man. Which makes his cheap behavior even more pathetic, i.e. keeping crushing skulls with his boots with tougher/Lower T&Cs while making more and more money.

I FIND IT INSULTING AND SICKENING !

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but low cost airlines simply cannot reach the long haul market as those famous cost drivers on which they build margins (landing fees, handling, etc...) hold a much lesser share in the total cost spread. Therefore, you can only reduce total costs marginally as fuel and hull are not negotiable and they remain the operator's main cost lines.

[brabazon]

Don't forget Charter airlines, the original Low Cost Carriers who manage to operate long-haul at lower cost levels than network carriers. Maybe they should do more seat only sales!