‘Stupid’ French minister

Boeing crisis: ‘Stupid’ French minister talks ‘rubbish’ like Donald Trump, says Ryanair chief

In an exclusive interview, Michael O’Leary lambasted Bruno Le Maire over “silly and ill-advised” remarks about preferring to fly in an Airbus.

BY TOMMASO LECCA

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire’s attack on Boeing’s safety record earned him a scorching response from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who on Wednesday referred to him as a “stupid politician” and called his comments “silly and ill-advised.”

In an interview with POLITICO on the sidelines of an Airlines for Europe summit in Brussels, O’Leary also denounced the way that Boeing has been regulated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), saying the agency was "rubber-stamping" the U.S. plane-maker.

O'Leary was responding to Le Maire saying on Tuesday: “I’d rather fly Airbus than Boeing. My family too: they care about me.” 

Le Maire's comments came following a series of mishaps of Boeing aircraft in recent weeks that prompted the FAA to audit the company's production processes. As well, the bulk of Airbus operations are in France.

To “some stupid politician going: ‘My family don't feel safe on a [Boeing] 737,' I say: 'Well, then try flying on an Airbus with a problem with the engine that hasn't been repaired,'” O'Leary said, referring to a manufacturing defect in Pratt & Whitney engines that has grounded hundreds of Airbus planes for inspections.

Following the latest incidents, Luc Tytgat, the acting executive director of the EU Aviation Safety Agency, told Reuters last week that his agency was prepared to suspend its recognition of U.S. safety approvals “if need be,” although he added he was “reassured” that Boeing is addressing its quality-control issues.

Any worry about Boeing is a key issue for Ryanair Group, whose airlines fly 578 Boeing 737s compared to 27 Airbus airplanes. Booking website Kayak said that use of its tool enabling people to know what brand of airplane they'll be flying has skyrocketed in the wake of the negative publicity around Boeing.

The Ryanair Group CEO said that while Boeing may have problems, he noted that "20 percent of Airbus fleets" are going to be grounded to repair an engine problem.

He said Le Maire’s words were “silly and ill-judged” but “we live in a world where we encourage free speech and Donald Trump is talking rubbish. So is Bruno Le Maire.”

“Ryanair flew a million flights last year on a 737. This summer, millions of French citizens and visitors will fly to and from France on Ryanair 737s. We are based in Marseille, in Toulouse, in Bordeaux, in [Paris] Beauvais, all of which operate the 737s,” the airline chief said.

Ryanair's flamboyant frontman also criticized U.S. regulators for not keeping a close-enough eye on Boeing.

“I think there's been a decade in America where, not that they committed mistakes, but the FAA had been too kind of complacent and would simply accept anything that Boeing sent in.”

“Boeing was allowed to essentially self-regulate,” O’Leary said. “You can't be just rubber-stamping whatever Boeing sends in.”

Ensuring solid safety standards for all plane-makers is key for the industry, he said.

“Every day when Airbus and Boeing produce or deliver a new aircraft, the quality of that has to be second to none. We're paying $100 million for every one of these aircraft. We need to know that the standards of safety and that quality control is top notch in both in Toulouse and in Seattle,” O’Leary said.