Ryanair is as brazen in its approach to PR as it is to everything else. It is the master at using any public criticism of its actions (and there is plenty) as yet another opportunity to plug its services. So when the airline is attacked this week by John Fingleton, the OFT boss, for its controversial policy switch, charging customers a £5-per-person-per-flight booking fee for any card except the obscure prepaid MasterCard, what is its response? ‘Ryanair is not for the overpaid John Fingletons of this world but for the everyday Joe Bloggs who opt for Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares’. This, or some variant of it, was reported by most newspapers. A masterpiece in not dealing with the issue in any way, but gratuitously attacking Ryanair’s critics – and getting some free PR instead. I don’t think the papers would allow many companies to get away with this sort of thing so easily – so why do they with Michael O’Leary?
