Ryanair Boss Mocks Spanish “Clown” Minister In Price Promotion
Ryanair´s boss Michae O’Leary, whose eye for uncoventional marketing opportunities has been a mainstay of the Irish no frills airline promotion is back at it – this time depicting Spanish consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy as a clown.
Bustinduy’s unlikely role as Ryanair poster boy comes in the wake of his ministry´s decision at the end of last year to impose large fines on five low-cost airlines – including Ryanair – amounting to some €179 million for ‘abusive practices’, such as charging passengers for hand luggage or printing boarding passes at terminals when they did not have them.
Ryanair’s share of the fine was over half totalling €107.8 million.
‘Ryanair demands that the minister cancels his illegal fines,’ the company wrote in a press release accompanied by a photo of Ryanair’s outspoken group CEO Michael O’Leary posing next to a life-size photo of Bustinduy sporting a red nose and a multicoloured wig (see main image).
The same image of the minister appears on Rynanair’s social networks as part of a promotional campaign encouraging customers to ‘book at a crazy price (before a clown raises prices)’.
Ryanair said in a post on X that the ‘illegal’ fines are contrary to both European Union law and previous rulings from the European Court of Justice, warning they will lead to increases in fares in Spain.
O’Leary had also lashed out at Bustinduy at the end of last month, referring to him as ‘a crazy communist minister’ who fined airlines that ‘have no choice but to restrict carry-on bags’.
Bustinduy, who has a PhD in philosophy from the New School for Social Research in New York which is known for promoting strong state involvement in the economy, told reporters his ministry had applied the law ‘rigorously’ based on a 2014 ruling from the European Court of Justice.
‘My obligation is to defend the rights of Spanish consumers. That is what I have done and that is what I will continue to do,’ he said, adding ‘no pressure campaign or insult’ would make him back down.
