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Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair (FR) has been dominating the European skies for several years, setting the precedent not just within its continent, but also around the world for how such a model is operated profitably. The ever-growing airline is a favorite amongst budget travelers although its sheer volume and frequency have ensured it is one of the world’s most stable carriers.
Ryanair operates over 3,500 flights at its peak from over 90 bases in Africa, mainland Europe, and the United Kingdom and has a fleet of more than 600 airplanes. Apart from being a name synonymous with ultra-low-cost flying, Ryanair has also created a notorious reputation for itself on social media for bantering with its followers and customers.
Michael Kevin O’Leary is the CEO of the massive carrier. He has been in the role for 31 years, before which he served a short stint with the Ryanair Group as their chief financial officer. For the three decades under O’Leary’s leadership, FR has gone from strength to strength. Here is a look at the chief executive’s profile as well as how much his compensation is.
Photo: RyanairWho is Michael Kevin O’Leary?
Michael Kevin O’Leary was born in 1961 in Cork, Ireland, and graduated with a degree in business and economics from Trinity College Dublin. After graduation, he worked for KPMG and continued to hone his skills regarding Ireland’s financial landscape, particularly its tax system
While at KPMG, O’Leary met Tony Ryan, then the head of Guinness Peat Aviation and presently best known for co-founding Ryanair, an airline O’Leary has worked at since its inception.
At present, O’Leary is one of the world’s longest-serving airline CEOs, having been in his role since 1994. He has overseen Ryanair’s low-cost operational model, such as ensuring uniformity of the airline’s fleet with Boeing 737 aircraft being exclusively operated, while also negotiating deals with secondary airports in various cities to be able to have cheaper landing rights and the ability to build hubs in close quarters to most destinations in the airline’s vast network.
Elsewhere, he is known to be an aggressive personality in the media, who often contradicts his statements while being a humorous individual at the same time. However, his legacy at Ryanair remains almost unparalleled with anywhere else in the world.
The 64-year-old is set to be at the head of the airline’s massive expansion plans for 2025 and beyond as well, which are set to offer even better connectivity, employment, and fares across Europe.
Photo: RyanairRyanair CEO Michael Kevin O’Leary’s salary
In the 2023-24 financial year, Ryanair delivered profits in excess of €1 billion. To be precise, the airline clocked an astounding €1.92 billion in net income, or approximately US$2.06 billion.
The return marked a 46% jump from the previous fiscal cycle, while the revenue solely showed an increase of €13.4 billion, or roughly US$14.4 billion.
For a fantastic year, Ryanair’s CEO Michael Kevin O’Leary pocketed an annual salary of €4.7 million, or close to US$5 million, all-inclusive.
His basic salary component amounted to €1.2 million, a €590,000 bonus, and €2.89 million in what was defined as a ‘non-cash, technical accounting charge’ by the airline’s books of accounting.
O’Leary also committed to a renewed contract with the Ryanair Group until the end of the 2027-28 financial year, which includes a clause that could see him earn a €100 million bonus.
According to the same provision, if Ryanair’s shares remain over €21 for 28 days, he will be entitled to a ground-breaking surplus. Recently, the average value of each unit has been €20.50.
Photo: easyJetO’Leary’s salary compared with easyJet’s CEO
easyJet is the biggest low-cost competitor in Europe as far as Ryanair is concerned. Their CEO, Johan Lundgren, will be replaced by Kenton Jarvis from May 2025.
In his final financial period with the airline, Lundgren took home a total paycheque amounting to £2.88 million, or approximately US$3.74 million.
It included a basic salary of £803,000 and bonuses came to £1.3 million, while the rest were earnings through his stock holdings.
Photo: RyanairRyanair’s plans for 2025
Michael Kevin O’Leary is set to oversee an expansion plan from Ryanair that is estimated to be worth US$3 billion in 2025. The first step the airline plans to take is towards using sustainable fuels, which it hopes can further reduce flying costs by leveraging government rebates and lower taxes in comparison to the tariffs on the presently used aviation fuels.
Secondly, there are plans to increase passenger numbers from 200 million in 2024 to 210 million this year. Ryanair is planning to focus on Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden to utilise this as it also plans on creating 2000 job opportunities to help its ambitious plans. O’Leary has also explicitly stated that no expansions are likely to be made in France, Germany and United Kingdom due to their unfavourable taxation policies for airlines.
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