Glasgow Business . 19
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Michael O’Leary speaks to a joint breakfast meeting of Glasgow and Renfrewshire Chambers of Commerce members
GLASGOW MUST BOOST TOURISM
» Ryanair Chief Executive calls on city to capitalise on recent events
Glasgow needs to capitalise on its position in the international spotlight in 2014 by driving forward efforts to boost tourism, according to Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary. Speaking to a joint breakfast
meeting of Glasgow and Renfrewshire Chambers of Commerce in October, Michael said that Scotland has “put itself on the map” with the events of 2014. “It’s been an incredible
summer and it’s not just the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup,” but also the Independence Referendum, he said. “You saw coverage of it all
over Europe,” Michael said. “I think the coverage,
particularly that Glasgow has received, has helped people see a whole new image of Glasgow.” He said: “All of a sudden you
saw a new Glasgow during the Games – new architecture, new facilities and a confidence there that’s puting Glasgow on the map.” And he argued that the best
way to build on this increased interest would be for Air Passenger Duty to be scrapped. He said this would lead to an
“enormous surge in traffic, tourism and visitor numbers”. Ryanair has recently
announced services from Glasgow Airport for the first time. It will operate 55 return flights from the airport each week. Michael said that Glasgow was
now “the fastest growing airport we have in terms of the speed of our forward bookings”. Colourfully outspoken as
always, the chief executive told the audience that he wanted to “bury” his competition. He said that Ryanair would
continue to compete on price and that the carrier was the lowest cost airline in Europe with an average fare of €46 compared to its nearest rival of €83. But he admited to the
Glasgow Chamber audience that too oſten Ryanair’s zeal to keep costs down had created points of conflict with its customers. He cited the airline’s aggressiveness in handling luggage and its refusal to offer refunds as examples of this. He outlined the service that
passengers can expect from its services from Glasgow Airport. He said there would be a service tailored to business people with flexible ticketing, free airport
check-in, fast-track security and priority boarding. Michael also said that booking
on the upgraded Ryanair website would be an easier process with fewer ‘clicks’ in a booking transaction and a much easier search for the cheapest tickets available. He said that the airline was
continuing to expand with the purchase of 200 new planes that, he said, would have the seating
configured to allow more legroom for passengers. Te new planes will allow
Ryanair to keep costs down, as they will cost 18 per cent less to fuel, he said. Michael said that he believes
that Ryanair can add two million passengers to Glasgow Airport over the next few years. It is an ambition that Glasgow Chamber members will hope he achieves.
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