Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary has slammed a French Minister as "stupid" after he said that he would not travel on a Boeing jet.
According to the website POLITICO French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire’s attack on Boeing’s safety record earned him a scorching response from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who on Wednesday referred to him as a “stupid politician” and called his comments “silly and ill-advised.”
In an interview with POLITICO on the sidelines of an Airlines for Europe summit in Brussels, O’Leary also denounced the way that Boeing has been regulated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), saying the agency was "rubber-stamping" the U.S. plane-maker.
O'Leary was responding to Le Maire saying on Tuesday: “I’d rather fly Airbus than Boeing. My family too: they care about me.”
To “some stupid politician going: ‘My family don't feel safe on a [Boeing] 737,' I say: 'Well, then try flying on an Airbus with a problem with the engine that hasn't been repaired,'” O'Leary said, referring to the defects in the Pratt & Whitney engines that have grounded hundreds of Airbus planes for inspections.
The Ryanair Group operates 578 Boeing 737s of different models.
Mr O'Leary also noted that about "20% of the Airbus fleet" is going to be grounded to repair an engine problem.
However, Mr O'Leary added in the POLITICO interview that airlines expect perfection in new aircraft they buy. “Every day when Airbus and Boeing produce or deliver a new aircraft, the quality of that has to be second to none. We're paying $100 million for every one of these aircraft. We need to know that the standards of safety and that quality control is top notch in both in Toulouse and in Seattle,” O’Leary said.
JOIN: AirlineRatings.com YouTube Channel
GET: Accurate MH370 Information From AirlineRatings.com Newsletter
Airlineratings.com is packed with information about air travel and answers questions that many of us may have thought of, but didn’t know who to ask. Well, now you do!
Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world with a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world.
Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations as well as the airline’s own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate.
Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline.
Have questions or want to share your thoughts?
