Having had a tough PR go of it lately, Ryanair is now looking for a sales and marketing director to take the edge off their hard-nosed corporate image. According to the news from TravelMole, the new position will report directly to Ryanair’s CEO, and will be tasked with promoting the airline’s safety, customer service, and budget air fare stories.
Last month shareholders sharply criticized Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary for what many perceive is an unnecessary cocky or hard nosed face for the world’s most noted budget airline. Accordingly, O’Leary admitted that unnecessarily irking (pissing off) passengers is something Ryanair can do without in light of recent events. Cartoons like the one below depicting O’Leary’s nonchalant attitude versus real passenger opinion have begun to permeate the airspace of the web.
Ryanair Cartoon – courtesy Romuald Bokej
A few weeks back the no-frills airline was voted dead last in a consumer study of UK top brands. Our own editorial has spotlighted some of Ryanair’s more recent PR nightmares, most of which seem to reflect cost cutting infringing not only on passenger comfort, but some point to the edges of safety being infringed upon too.
It goes without saying the passenger fare can only be sliced up so many ways before quality and reason get close to being questioned. Apparently, Ryanair at least sees the dividing line in between good and bad PR.
According to Ryanair’s announcements, the deadline for filling this new position is 5pm on October 25.