Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary made a comparison between other airlines and "rapists" at his company's headquarters. He called major European airlines such as Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, and British Airways "high-fare rapists", stating that passengers would switch to Ryanair due to its low fares. Mr. O'Leary doubled down on the comparison, saying it was not offensive or trivializing when asked by reporters. He claimed he would "happily offend" these airlines.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, made a shocking comparison in an interview, calling other airlines "high-fare rapists". He specifically mentioned Lufthansa, BA (British Airways), and Aer Lingus as examples. When asked about the appropriateness of this language, O'Leary stated that he was happy to offend these airlines. The CEO claimed that passengers are switching to Ryanair due to its low fares and that other airlines' prices are too high for many customers. He repeated his "high-fare rapists" comment multiple times during the interview.
Written for “Ryanair Fare Price Row” on 2026-09-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.85 for article 7507 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-10
The billionaire businessman claimed rising air travel prices at other airlines would see passengers switch to Ryanair.
asserted
passengers → claim → Ryanair
He told reporters at the company’s headquarters: “You might find some people will choose not to fly with Ryanair – but you know they’ll be overrun with the people abandoning Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, BA, and others desperate to get to Ryanair’s low fares because they can’t afford to fly with the high-fare rapists around Europe.”
He later repeated the “high-fare rapists” comments.
Asked whether this was appropriate language, Mr O’Leary told reporters: “Absolutely.”
uncertain
O’Leary → tell → reporters
Challenged on whether it was offensive to victims of rape and sexual assault, he said he would “happily offend” the airlines mentioned.
asserted
he → challenge → airlines
Further pressed on whether the language was trivialising rape, he said: “That’s what I call high-fare airlines like Lufthansa, BA, and others.”
asserted
I → press → Lufthansa
