POLAND’S tourism authority hit back at Michael O’Leary last night after the chief executive of Ryanair insulted one of the country’s most historic cities.
The outspoken airline boss said there was nothing to recommend Gdansk except a shipyard wall, a reference to the city’s uprising against communism in the 1980s.
He was explaining why he was unlikely to expand Ryanair significantly into Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics.
Their peoples could not afford to fly to expensive cities in the West, while the region had little in the way of value for Western tourists, he said.
“Take Gdansk. Who wants to go to Gdansk? There ain’t a lot there after you’ve seen the shipyard wall,” was Mr O’Leary’s blunt summation.
In the 1980s the people of Gdansk helped to overthrow communism, with the famous shipyard and its workers’ leader Lech Walesa the centre of the protest movement.
Eva Binkin, of the Polish Tourist Board, said: “The people of Gdansk are a proud people. They will be very upset.”
According to Ms Binkin, Mr O’Leary has considered on a couple of occasions starting services to the city of Krakow, but decided the numbers did not add up.
“He must know a little about Poland. But it is really annoying that people say things like this (about Gdansk) without even checking,” she said.
Ms Binkin admitted that the historic shipyard uprising had put Gdansk on the map, but said that it had also been something of a millstone. “Gdansk is more than a shipyard. The city has been inhabited since the tenth century.”
The city of 500,000 people received almost 700,000 tourists last year, the majority from Germany and Scandinavia. “The only reason we do not receive many tourists from the UK is that there are no direct flights,” Ms Binkin said.
Ryanair’s public relations unit was last night trying to quell the fire. “I don’t think Michael was intending to insult the people. It was just an example,” said a spokeswoman.
“A service to these places needs two-way traffic. Even if people want to fly to some of these cities, not everyone there wants or can fly to London.”
GDANSK FOR THE MEMORIES
The city’s “old town” is on the United Nations’ protected list, with Venice and the Egyptian pyramids.
It is the birthplace of Gabriel Fahrenheit (of thermometer fame), philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, and Günter Grass, the Nobel prize-winning writer.
St Mary’s Church is the largest church in Poland and the biggest Gothic structure in Europe.
Much of the city was levelled in the Second World War.
It was a founder of the Hanseatic League, a confederation of merchant states that made the Baltic the most prosperous part of Europe in the Middle Ages.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9077-1082622,00.html
By: Ren Frew - 10th June 2004 at 23:40
Thought we had gotten rid of the trolls who came in and used insulting and bad language here.:(
Flood.™
Still trying to get rid of the CEO’s who use insulting and bad language though !
By: Flood - 10th June 2004 at 23:12
Thought we had gotten rid of the trolls who came in and used insulting and bad language here.:(
Flood.™
By: Bmused55 - 10th June 2004 at 22:41
he’s a dickhead thats what. This isn’t the first time he’s insulted people, or a country and it won’t be the last.
By: Jeanske_SN - 10th June 2004 at 22:16
*******************************!
What kind of man is that! Really makes you mad! What sense does it have to say that in a speech or better a complain list?!!
By: DashQ - 10th June 2004 at 22:11
Hes middleaged so like most middle aged man he probably has problems getting it up…
First hand experience huh?
or even worse second hand…
By: Speedbird744 - 10th June 2004 at 19:37
Has prat-head ever heard of euphenisms?
What he says may be true, but if he re-phrased it in such a way so that it sounded more like;
‘The city of Gdansk is of alternative flavour and with a proud legacy of the Communist uprising. At current we have no plans to fly their, however, it is beyond a doubt that we shall keep the city on our list for future expansion of our network.’
By: SHAMROCK321 - 10th June 2004 at 18:07
Yes I have been to Gdansk.
By: Pablo - 10th June 2004 at 10:19
Lol!
By: Pablo - 9th June 2004 at 22:28
I can see his point, but its a little hypocritical when you look at some of Ryanair’s destinations (e.g. Erfurt (Weimar), Aarhus, Tampere). I’ve nothing against any of these places, just didn’t realise they were massive tourist traps.
Also notice that Ryanair separately advertises flights to Reus (Salou) and Universal Studios (Mediterranea) (i.e. Reus in all cases), and Disneyland Resort and Paris-Beauvais (i.e. Beauvais in all cases).
By: Mark L - 9th June 2004 at 21:57
The silly thing is O’Leary has a point in what he was trying to say, something that was explained in a sensible manner by his spokeswoman. He doesn’t need to make an ass of himself and insult a whole city/country to make his point.
We are not all imbeciles like him :rolleyes:
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th June 2004 at 20:10
I think O’Leary should think before he opens his gob
By: LBARULES - 9th June 2004 at 20:05
100% correct Allen… Get ready for Shamrock to come on and tell us that hes the greatest guy ever with the best airline in the world! 😀
By: Ren Frew - 9th June 2004 at 20:02
Regardless if MOL makes these comments or not, he’s garnering a reputation as something of a d*ck.
By: Grey Area - 9th June 2004 at 19:55
Well, I’ve been to Gdansk and both Mr O’Leary and SHAMROCK321 are talking through their trousers. 😎
By: LBARULES - 9th June 2004 at 19:45
But its true.
Have you been there? Or is it just the usual sticking up for Ryanair.
By: andrewm - 9th June 2004 at 18:58
lol i cant wait to see if when ryanair relocate to Belfast International they call it the new “Dublin”
By: gpb_croppers63 - 9th June 2004 at 18:56
If I were Gdansk city officials, I’d have responded “Who wants to fly to an airport 60 miles from the city you intend to visit”
LMAO! It wouldn’t surprise me if they used some godforsaken airport in Eastern Germany and marketed it as Poland.
By: Pablo - 9th June 2004 at 18:52
If I were Gdansk city officials, I’d have responded “Who wants to fly to an airport 60 miles from the city you intend to visit”
By: SHAMROCK321 - 9th June 2004 at 18:32
But its true.
By: DashQ - 9th June 2004 at 18:29
Probably just mainly trying to get more cheap publicity. :rolleyes:
Recent comments by that **** are defenatly putting me off Ryanair so the publicity isn’t working with me.
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June 9, 2004 at 4:40 pm