Is it just me?

Is it just me, or is Michael O'Leary of Ryan Air a mad genius? While legacy carriers acquiesce and stumble over each other to passenger requests for better service, high quality engagement and seats Neil Armstrong would have loved in space, Ryan Air continue to gouge passengers for every conceivable service fee and get away with it. From discussions on fat tax, toilet tax, in flight porn, charging exorbitant fees, calling his clients "idiots and consideration for standing room only air carriage, Ryan Air has managed to stay in the news, in the social media and in people's minds, for all the wrong reasons. So you would think senior management concerns would look to rectify the above, but 20 million online searches per month ( compare 1.5 million for Virgin Atlantic ), have Ryan Air laughing all the way to the marketing department. Which in a million years could not replicate such a profile by mere campaigns for on board entertainment or food services.

Is it just me, or do brand experts not always know what they are talking about when they discuss Ryan Air's reputation suicide? The negativity encountered in blogs, chat rooms, reviews and website scrutiny, has people in a search frenzy and though experts would say this is all blood in the water, attracting nothing but sharks, the telling indicator for Ryan Air has always been about top of mind advertising. Top of mind advertising done for free by passengers and pundits with opinions that would turn your Grandma's hair white. Yet this brand awareness, free of charge, certainly qualifies Michael O'Leary as a marketing genius who has engaged and enraged the flying public in a deliberate campaign of hostility, looking to the airline you love to hate to be the first one you think of when you want to fly.

Is it just me, or is the head of PR for Ryan Air the worst job in the airline industry? Ten people are now on the short list for the vacant position of Stephen McNamarra, who for four years, took a beating and was bludgeoned about the head for the deliberate negativity used by the airline to increase profile along with sales. Mr McNamarra will be heading up the PR for the Irish Rugby Football Union, where no doubt sticking your head into a scrum is an eminent advance to sticking your head out for Ryan Air. The successful candidate will no doubt have the personality of traits of Gengis Khan, the Grand Wizard of the KKK, along with the guillotine mentality of the people who didn't want to eat cake, while always keying an eye out for the next best negative campaign to keep Ryan Air in the media.

Is it just me, or is Ryan Air the most interesting airline in the world to talk about? Seems no matter what the experts say, cheap shots and bad publicity combined with O'Leary's cynical approach to paying customers seems to be paying off at the bank. Instead of trying to emulate Richard Branson, maybe the local boys should take a more feisty approach to running an airline, as O'Leary points out, "the customer is not always right".