Words matter

Airline safety starts at the top

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is no stranger to controversy. The CEO of the Irish low-cost carrier has always been a willing quote-magnet for the media and he has never been reticent when it comes to taking a shot at pilots either. Last year he described them as “glorified taxi drivers”, which bordered on plagiarism from Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke’s “glorified bus drivers” comment during the ‘1989 Pilot’s Dispute’.

Meanwhile, the Irish airline is currently in the midst of a major crisis. Due to poor scheduling of the pilots’ annual leave, it appears that the budget carrier is now unable to crew their flights. Initially the number was 2,000 flights before an additional 18,000 cancellations were subsequently announced. To add to their woes, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has apparently contacted the airline regarding a related issue that could cost the airline millions. Even with all of this taking place, Mr. O’Leary found time to make some less than charming comments about pilots.