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Brexit to have no long-term impact on Ryanair: O'Leary

October 01, 2019 at 05:12 am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's decision to leave the European Union will have no long-term impact on Ryanair, Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday, adding that the UK would need an EU trade deal and it was unrealistic to think otherwise.

"If you look out long enough, I don't think Brexit has any affect on our business," O'Leary said at a Reuters Newsmaker event in London, adding that he thought Britain and the EU would reach a trade deal and retain the Open Skies aviation agreement.

"The UK's national interest is best served, I think, by staying in the European Union. It's nuts to leave it, but if you are going to leave, the first thing you've got to do on the day after you leave is renegotiate a trade deal with the European Union."

(Reporting by Conor Humphries and Tim Hepher; writing by Alistair Smout; editing by Laurence Frost and Jason Neely)

Stocks mentioned in the article

	Add to a list Add to a list 0 selected To use this feature you must be a member Log in Sign up	Price	Change	5d. change	Capi.
	EURO / BRITISH POUND	0.8578 GBX	+0.02%	+0.23%	-
	RYANAIR HOLDINGS PLC	20.16 EUR	-1.66%	-1.90%	24.97B

Mike O'Leary

Michael O’Leary began his studies in a Catholic school, the Clongowes Wood College, and then at Trinity College in Dublin. He will come out without a diploma.

From 1984 to 1986 he was taw consultant at KPMG. In 1988 he became Tony Ryan’s financial advisor, co-founder with Christy Ryan and Liam Lonergan of Ryanair in 1985. At first time, it operates flights between Waterford, a town in south-eastern of Ireland, and London. The company expands quickly its offer with many flights intra Europe.

In the 1990s, Tony Ryan quitted the company’s direction and Michael O’Leary became deputy CEO in 1991 and CEO in 1994. He was responsible for restructuring the company in order to increase its earnings. He focused on a unique aircraft model, giving up the idea of business class and proposing very low prices.

In 1992, he went to Dallas to study the operation of Southwest Airlines. O’Leary transforms Ryanair from a small company in a first low cost’s group and third largest airline company in Europe (after Air France / KLM and Lufthansa). Ryanair’s headquarter is situated in Dublin.

The company had grown very quickly thanks to its business model of “low cost” and airline industry’s deregulation in Europe in 1997.

In 2001, Michael O’Leary was awarded as "European businessman of the Year" by Fortune magazine. Tony Ryan, founder of Ryanair, died in 2007 of pancreatic cancer.

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