Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary kept his feet firmly on the ground today, launching a new car hire service for his customers.
The budget airline revealed it is partnering with CarTrawler – which will allow Ryanair Car Hire customers to access 1500 car rental agents across 174 countries.
The new service, which begins next month, replaces a longstanding deal between the airline and car rental giant Hertz.
Ryanair is launching legal proceedings against Hertz after the US firm ended the partnership following a dispute over Ryanair's indirect ticket sales.
The CarTrawler tie up is Michael O’Leary’s latest strategic move. Earlier this month, he said a new website will allow its 103 million passengers to compare prices on flights, hotels and restaurants in an attempt to quell the sway of comparison sites.
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O’Leary has led its Always Getting Better strategy – which has helped boost sales by being friendly to its passengers through a string of customer service measures. The initiative helped drive profits up 66% to €867m (£614 million) in the year to the end of March.
The Irishman unveiled the car hire tie-up at the Goring hotel in London today dressed as Robin from the Batman series.
He said: “Ryanair customers already enjoy the lowest fares in Europe and our partnership with CarTrawler will guarantee them the lowest car hire prices as well, every time they fly with us.”
