Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has offered a formal, unconditional apology for referring to competing airlines as “high-fare rapists.” The controversial remark was made earlier this month while he was speaking to members of the media ahead of the carrier’s annual shareholder meeting. During that exchange, O’Leary suggested that many travelers prioritize low-cost tickets because they cannot afford the prices set by what he termed the “high-fare rapists” operating across Europe, specifically mentioning carriers like British Airways and Lufthansa.
Following significant backlash, O’Leary released a video statement on Friday acknowledging that his choice of words was “careless.” He stated that over the preceding ten days, he engaged in discussions with friends and family members both inside and outside his company, which led him to realize that his language caused substantial offense and distress to the public, particularly among survivors of sexual violence.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) had previously reached out to the executive regarding the comments. Rachel Morrogh, chief executive of the DRCC, sent a letter to O’Leary noting that their office had received calls from distressed victims and survivors. She suggested that he would not use such terminology flippantly if he truly grasped the impact of sexual assault and offered him training to better understand the issue.
Initially, O’Leary pushed back against the criticism, asserting that his comments were not meant to minimize or “trivialise the heinous crime of rape.” At that time, he refused the offer of training and stated he would not issue an apology. He had also defended the language when questioned by a reporter from the Press Association, maintaining that he would continue to offend high-priced rivals regularly.
In his recent apology, O’Leary expressed deep regret, stating he is “truly sorry” and promised to do better in the future. He described the incident as a learning opportunity and stated he would not repeat such remarks.
O’Leary has a documented history of making provocative comments while discussing business operations. In 2004, he referred to the owners of Stansted Airport as a “bunch of overcharging rapists” during a dispute over fees. His past rhetoric has also included calling his own staff “lazy bastards” and dismissing passenger complaints about refunds by saying he did not want to hear their “sob stories.”
Separately, the airline has faced other regulatory scrutiny, including an incident in June where it agreed to “reluctantly” stop charging parents for sitting next to their children following a watchdog investigation. Throughout that process, the airline maintained its prior policies were in compliance with the law. The report also notes that british Airways, Lufthansa, and everybody else’s high fares, I’ll happily offend them on a regular basis,” he had added. The report also notes that especially to victims and survivors, i have come to realise however that the word that I used so carelessly has caused considerable upset and offence to a wide number of people. The report also notes that and do better in future, i will try to learn from this mistake.
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