Michael O’Leary questions Britain’s 5am airport drinking culture as Ryanair boss continues battle with pubs



Michael O’Leary questions Britain’s 5am airport drinking culture as Ryanair boss continues battle with pubs

https://fortune.com/europe/2024/10/04/michael-oleary-britain-airport-drinking-culture-ryanair-battle-pubs/

by WaitForItLegenDairy

32 comments
  1. Maybe if there was not the fear of sudden extra charges such as if you mislay your boarding pass you printed at home, Ryanair passengers would feel less stressed about flying and less likely to want a drink.

  2. Open airport gyms, cinema style TV rooms, gaming area and reading zones or something.

    Everything about air pots is about secur… EXTRACTING MONEY

  3. The only reason he cares is because it’s eating into his margins,

    He’s right but let’s be clear what his motivation here,

    If he owned the bars serving as it was uplifting his EBITDA overall he’d be lobbying against anyone who’d want to stop it

  4. That first holiday beer is an important milestone. You’ve had to get up at an awful ungodly hour, drag yourself to the airport. Check in your baggage and go through security.

    All you need to do now is wait for your gate to be called. Time for your first holiday beer. You deserve this.

  5. Man tries to make possibly one of the worst experiences ever, going to the airport, worse

  6. Reddit is such a merry go round of culture bashing. Britains alcohol culture is today’s soup of the day!
    Pipe down you virgins, a lot of people like a drink to mark the start of their well earnt holidays.

  7. There are so many places and things you cannot do being drunk but this is one thing which seems fine in the UK. let’s put a bunch of drunks on a plane and no one else will enjoy their flight.
    And the flight crew are not topless waiters in a sleezy bar somewhere.
    I’m not against drinking but guys who get onto flights drunk are selfish.

  8. Unless you’re turning up to the airport 3-4 hours in advance, it’s hard to get hammered at the airport. With security, queues, going to the gate, you’re lucky if you have a couple of pints most of the time.

    If people are getting onto a flight tanked up, most of the time they will have be boozing pre-airport.

  9. He doesn’t like it because people buy food and drinks in the airport and not on the plane

  10. The problem isn’t with the selling of Alcohol, but instead with the people who can’t handle it.

  11. I don’t think this is a British thing so much as a travelling thing. I’ve seen Americans in JFK going to town on cocktails at 3AM.

  12. Another attack on british culture. There’s a big push against alcohol at the moment from many different sides. These puritanical, subversive nutjobs can get fucked.

  13. Some of us just want to calm the nerves before hurtling through the sky at 700mph

  14. Youve brought us nothing but misery OLeary

    Do one, leave our 5am £10 pints of Guinness alone

  15. Easyjet: “Now that you can’t by a drink because of the Irish cunt, with the savings, fly EasyJet 👍”

  16. Please stop giving this gobshite money.

    Staying at home is a better experience that Ryanair.

  17. Drinking before a flight is usually a bad idea, especially a long one, used to do it a bit in my younger days but now more about going to Pret A Manger. I’m getting old. I will get a plane beer at a more reasonable hour mind you, I’m not a saint.

  18. I remember years ago an interview with O’Leary when he said Ryanair might charge to use a toilet on the plane. He admitted they had no intention to do that, it was all a publicity stunt to get him/Ryanair in the news

    Seems this is same thing

  19. There’s a huge difference between getting shit faced and having a couple of glasses of bubbly/pint/espresso martini. I get that some take it too far, but the majority don’t. Regardless of being a regular flyer there are thousands of flights daily and you don’t have multiple people getting blindo on every flight. I personally couldn’t think of anything worse than a fry up and 3 pints before a flight as that’s a recipe for stomach bloating and feeling crap for X hours. Banning people from flying with them if they act up should be more prevalent I think especially as it’s a safety hazard

  20. Isn’t it funny that in these sorts of threads people pile in to use language like “shit faced”, “tanked up”, “bladdered” as if it’s a daily occurrence where the vast majority of passengers do this.

    In reality people like a drink to mark the start of their holidays and the vast majority of people will behave sensibly. If you still disagree with this may I suggest you investigate the concept of nuance.

  21. Britain’s binge drinking culture is something to be proud of. We like to party and other nations are jealous, it’s as simple as that.

  22. Limit the drinks to two? I totally understand. Stop the pub opening to serve early passengers? No.

  23. He just wants folk thirsty when they get on board his planes so that they spend more on the even more pricey drinks that he sells.

  24. I would have a complete flight ban on anyone who created issues on a flight that caused a disruption to the service

  25. A 2 drink limit is fair in my opinion, both at airport pubs and onboard flights.

    I like that airport beer, no matter what time it is. I’ve worked hard all year and I’m finally on holiday! However 2 is fine, I usually just have 1

  26. Honestly, I don’t think we should have intoxicated passengers on an aircraft, even if they’re just merry and not violent. This is purely because in an emergency situation, everyone needs to be able to follow instructions and act rationally.

    The people saying that airport drinking should be banned because they themselves don’t enjoy it or because it shows a ‘lack of self control’ can honestly get in the bin.

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