Ryanair: How The Bad Guy Won
6/15/202650 min
A cheap flight… that ends up feeling expensive.
This episode: how Ryanair and Michael O'Leary perfected drip pricing and made billions doing it.
Removing olives, lukewarm off-brand soft drinks, expensive wheelchair hire… and the hardest two truths and a lie segment yet.
0:00 Intro
5:05 Two Truths & A Lie
7:10 The Industry That Counts Olives
11:00 Enter The Accountant
16:10 The Southwest Effect
21:55 O'Leary Takes The Controls
28:02 Since When Is A Wheelchair A Frill?
35:52 The Charge Sheet - And Why It Works
41:05 The Point
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsChris Kohler· Host0:00
Last episode, I told you to stow your tray table and fasten your seatbelt because we're heading somewhere stupid. Well, [chuckles] here we are, the stupid place. It's the world of super low-cost airfares and drip pricing, and there's a champion, Irish airline Ryanair. That's the business we're gonna start off talking about, but as usual, we're gonna end up talking about why a messed up economic system works on us. Welcome to How We Got Here. I'm Chris Kohler, and I'm joined, as always, by my excellent producer, Rob. Hello.
Rob· Host0:33
Hello, Chris. How are we?
Chris Kohler· Host0:34
We're talk- I'm good. We- we're talking about super low-cost airfares and drip pricing. I mean- Oh ... have you ever been in that zone before?
Rob· Host0:40
I have been in that zone before. [laughs] Um, let me take you back to 2017.
Chris Kohler· Host0:44
Okay.
Rob· Host0:45
[laughs] Uh, the Socceroos, Australia, were playing Honduras to qualify for the World Cup. It's a World Cup year- Here we go ... so poignant story.
Chris Kohler· Host0:50
Yep.
Rob· Host0:51
Traveled up to Sydney to watch the game, um, and certain low-cost budget airline, which I won't name- Feel free to ... Jetstar. [laughs] Uh, we had booked the last plane out that night from Sydney. Now, for our international viewers, the current Sydney Airport has a curfew on it 'cause in the middle of the city, and I think it's, like, 11:00 the last flight can go out- Yeah, yeah ... or 10:00 something ...
Chris Kohler· Host1:13
it's a noise thing, yeah, yeah.
Rob· Host1:14
Anyway, the flight got canceled.
Chris Kohler· Host1:16
Mm.
Rob· Host1:16
So what happens? You're stuck. They wouldn't set us up for a hotel. They wouldn't refund us, and we slept the night in the airport. Um, but the important thing was the Socceroos won.
Chris Kohler· Host1:26
Oh, the Socceroos won. It was worth it, but you had to sleep in the airport.
Rob· Host1:29
Yeah.