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To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (150127)	11/16/2002 2:19:48 PM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

It's nice to see a feisty Irish guy buying American made 737's <<Michael O'Leary, the feisty Irishman who runs Ryanair, Europe's most profitable low-fare airline, did some lighthearted trash talking about Airbus yesterday and said his airline could buy 50 to 100 more Boeing 737s over the next few years. Earlier this year, fast-growing Ryanair ordered 100 737-800s and took options on 50 more. It was the largest single order ever for Boeing's 737. Paul Joseph Brown / P-I Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, stands on the stairway to a Boeing 737-800 due for delivery to the airline next week. Ryanair ordered 100 of the jets this year. "Our message to Boeing today is, you keep building 'em, we'll keep flying 'em and together we will beat the crap out of Airbus in Europe the next couple of years," O'Leary told reporters at the 737 delivery center at Boeing Field. He was there to take Ryanair's 24th 737-800. But he already had spent a couple days with Boeing factory workers in Renton where the 737 is assembled and talking with company sales executives about possibly buying more planes and options from the earlier order. Many Boeing customers have asked Boeing to defer delivery of their planes, including 737s, as a result of the industry's worst-ever slump. But O'Leary said Dublin-based Ryanair can help Boeing with its production woes. Ryanair could either buy more planes -- if the price is right -- or move forward some delivery positions, he said. "It depends on Boeing's needs. Where you have gaps in production or delivery delays the next year or two . . . let's see if we can help you fill those gaps." Until the recent acquisition of Go by United Kingdom-based easyJet, Ryanair was the largest low-fare carrier in Europe. It is now No. 2, although O'Leary maintained that Ryanair is the only true low-fare carrier in Europe, with ticket prices significantly less than those offered by easyJet. O'Leary lived up to his reputation for being both direct and flamboyant during his 30 minutes with reporters. The jeans-and-rugby-shirt airline executive loves to throw around colorful language, especially when talking about Airbus. "Together we are going to dominate air travel in Europe," O'Leary said of Ryanair's relationship with Boeing. "It is the home of Airbus. It's where most of Airbus customers are. And Ryanair is going to be very much at the forefront, working with Boeing on a special mission in Europe. That's going to be kicking the ass of Airbus (airline) customers and kicking the ass of Airbus all over Europe for the next 10 years." Ryanair has modeled itself after Southwest, the most successful low-fare operator ever. Southwest has relentlessly stayed focused on keeping cost down. It has stayed with one airplane type -- Boeing's 737. This reduces maintenance and pilot-training costs. Begun in 1985, Ryanair lost tons of money early on. In 1991, founder Tony Ryan brought in O'Leary, a cattle farmer near Dublin and a graduate of Trinity College. O'Leary's job was to restructure the airline. He visited Southwest. O'Leary would later say, "We went to look at Southwest. It was the road to Damascus. This was the way to make Ryanair work." Today, Ryanair has the highest profit margins in the European airline industry -- about 20 percent of revenue. Earlier this month, Ryanair reported a 73 percent increase in second-quarter earnings. It has lured passengers by offering one-way flights for as little as 9 pounds ($14), while adding more than 20 routes within the past year. Last month, easyJet, which had been an all-Boeing 737 customer, said it would buy 120 Airbus jets and take options for that many more. Boeing was beaten on price. O'Leary said yesterday it was "insane" for easyJet to split its fleet by ordering Airbus planes, thus breaking with the proven Southwest model. That won't happened with Ryanair, he said. "We are and will always be a Boeing customer," he said. He said the 737-800, which Ryanair has configured to seat 189 passengers in an all-economy class, gives it a big advantage over the 149-seat A319 ordered by easyJet. Airbus has sold the A320 family, which includes the A319, as the more comfortable plane for passengers, since the fuselage is slightly wider than the 737 and the seats have a little more room. O'Leary scoffed at the Airbus pitch. "I've heard a lot of horse**** about their fuselage. I've yet, in 15 years in this industry, to meet one passenger who picked his ticket based on the fact that their (Airbus) fuselage is a wider fuselage." Ryanair has so far ordered 131 of the next-generation 737-800 models. As he stood next to the newest one yesterday, O'Leary noted that the registration number on the tail was "EI-DAC." He kidded that it stood for "Drive Airbus Crazy." "Airbus believes that Europe is Airbus country," O'Leary said. "Ryanair believes it's Boeing country, and my money is on Ryanair and the outstanding people here at Boeing." Hamming it up for photographers, O'Leary then picked up Boeing 737 Vice President Carolyn Corvi and carried her over to the left-wing engine of his new plane, gently placing her inside the cowling. seattlepi.nwsource.com finance.yahoo.com