First it was other airlines looking for inspiration from Ryanair's low-cost structure, now it appears one UK local council sees the Irish no-frills carrier as a model for its attempts to cut its spending. Staffordshire County Council's Alan White is quoted as saying it needs to be more like Ryanair to meet a target of cutting its spending by 30% within the next three years.
"We need to go from British Airways to Ryanair, who still fly you to your destination, but they do it a whole lot cheaper because their organisational structure has been put together in a completely different way," he says.
The good people at Staffordshire County Council are presumably hoping this does not extend to paying for the toilet, standing room-only meeting rooms and an annoying bugle jingle every time they bring a project in on time.
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Ryanair's O'Leary - never one to shy away from headlines on potential cost-saving ideas - has been in the news again, questioning the need for co-pilots and suggesting cabin crew could be trained to help land the aircraft in case of an emergency.
"Really, you only need one pilot. Let's take out the second pilot. Let the bloody computer fly it," air head Michael O'Leary said in an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek "If the pilot has an emergency, he rings the bell, he calls her in. She could take over," the outspoken 49-year-old continued.
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