Ryanair’s strangest expansion: Europe’s smallest cab company

Clever strokes

Michael O’Leary, the colorful Irish top executive of Ryanair, is known for his unorthodox ideas. In the early 2000s, the Irishman came up with a very original way to save time in Dublin. Not a new airline deal or price stunt, but a cab company with just one vehicle: his own Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

A cab that never saw customers

The luxury sedan received an official license and a driver with the proper papers. This made the O’Leary Cabs company a reality, with only one vehicle as a cab fleet. The cab registration allowed the Mercedes to use Dublin’s bus lanes. While commuters were stuck in traffic jams, O’Leary glided toward the airport without delay.

Fuss

The trick did not go unnoticed. Ireland’s transport minister spoke outrage at this creative interpretation of the rules. O’Leary waved away the criticism. Everything was according to the law, he stressed. Indeed, he joked that he would feel free to take passengers – and at a lower price than the competition.

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