Ryanair’s leading light, Michael O’Leary, has said he will remove himself from public view but will carry on as the chief executive.
Mr O’Leary, 52, has fronted the budget carrier for nearly 20 years during which steady growth reached record profits of €602 million last year.
This was, however, followed this year by two profit warnings in just two months as more passengers failed to book seats on Ryanair.
He now believes that he is “getting in the way of the brand stuff”, perhaps realising that the stream of invective given out to Ryanair’s paying passengers has inspired some people to pay more elsewhere.
He has said that he will avoid doing press conferences, interviews and other publicity events in the hope of forging a new image.
However, he added that he will retain his position of chief executive while new succession plans are put in place.
Presently, Ryanair is advertising for a marketing director who will be the one to present a fresh image, emphasizing the no-frills carrier’s “safety, customer service and low fares”.
Recently, Which? voters said Ryanair was the worst of 100 big brands.
This month, Ryanair has announced it will begin to allocate seats from next year - but it will still cost almost £5 if you want to choose it yourself.
The airline has begun some re-branding changes, such as assigned seating from February, lowering the penalties for baggage and lost boarding cards, a less stressful website booking procedure and permitting customers to carry a small second bag on board.