Irish budget carrier Ryanair, known for its brash CEO who always speaks his mind, has waded into the U.S. presidential election with a barrage of tweets which troll several members of the Trump family as well as Kanye West.
Ryanair Tweets Troll Trump, West, and U.S. Politics
Usually when we write about controversy at Ryanair it is due to a statement by CEO Michael O’Leary, often incendiary but calculated to gain maximum media attention. This week, however, the budget carrier turned its focus to the bitterly-contested U.S. presidential election.
After President Trump preemptively declared victory early Wednesday morning, Ryanair noted:
Trump declaring victory this early is like disembarking before the plane has landed
we don’t recommend#Election2020 https://t.co/xSi1TD59lS
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 4, 2020
Following up, Ryanair added:
We have claimed, for Airline Award purposes, the title of Most Luxurious Airline in the World, the best First Class lounge – each BIG glass of champagne has free caviar with it. Additionally, we hereby claim the title of most tremendous airline, if, in fact,……#Election2020
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 5, 2020
Ryanair also skewered Kayne West, whose last-minute campaign never gained traction:
Kanye is the type of President that would clap every time Air Force One lands#Election2020 https://t.co/2K4Pjp5Zee
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 4, 2020
Both tweets came the day after Twitter mocked Donald Trump, Jr. on Twitter for his very curious electoral map:
if any penguins need to be flown to Antarctica to vote, please let us know
we can open up a new route and we’re aware you can’t fly #ElectionDay #Election2020 https://t.co/9jTAFzZgAU
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 3, 2020
and then the President for his ubiquitous tan:
what Trump buys on board a Ryanair flight vs what Biden buys on board a Ryanair flight #ElectionDay #Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/twORA4GOed
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 3, 2020
Moments ago, Ryanair offered another tweet, this time poking fun at Eric Trump:
the look of a man who might not have access to Air Force One in the future and will have to fly commercial
don’t worry Eric, we have €9.99 fares next time you’re in Europe#Election2020 pic.twitter.com/4acb5ZiJt4
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 5, 2020
CONCLUSION
Apparently Ryanair is known for this sort of humor. Seems a bit unprofessional, but Ryanair prides itself on pushing the envelope and Europe is hardly in the Trump camp. I will be watching Ryanair’s Twitter feed closely!
when the person beside you opens their big duty free Milka bar on the flight#Election2020 #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/lir5ckyjz1
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) November 3, 2020
when the person next to you claps after landing #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/2ftjnv7cqR
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 23, 2020
@ Matthew — I am now a Ryanair Fan!
Hardly aviation related. Please keep the theme and don’t shift to politics, There’s enough of this crap elsewhere.
Thank you.
The odds of someone who would be offended by this flying Ryanaor aren’t high, so it’s a low risk proposition for them. However, it’s still juvenile and tasteless (like most of their stunts).
Juvenile and tasteless also describes their targets.
Nice. love it.
Screw trump. That pos.
Looks like Mr. Trump owns real estate in Ireland too! Imagine Spirit repeatedly tweeting infantile content about the leader of a country *they don’t even conduct business in*… it’s like the insecure fat kid trying to compensate by bullying the nerd.
To delete your Ryanair account: Login > Settings > Dashboard > Deactivate Account
I don’t know when these companies will understand that people are paying for a transportation service. Not political commentary.
“…it’s like the insecure fat kid trying to compensate by bullying the nerd.” Do you not see the irony in your statement?
@JMM
I guess the question is, will these tweets lose them business or gain it through news coverage. Now given the people most likely to be offended by it are American, and, as you say, Ryanair does not fly there, the downsides seem to be pretty low as it will play to a European dislike of Trump I suspect. Further unlike most leaders worldwide, what happens in the US election effects the entire worldwide geopolitical landscape so more people in other countries have, at least, a passing interest in it.
A good question which I was wondering about as well… I just hope they had a team of marketing consultants run some projections before spewing those tweets. If they’re expecting net new business, all the best to ’em. They’ve now lost a few (low-volume) fliers I know.
The funny thing is one tweet won’t blacklist you in my personal book – the first one about disembarking before landing is hilarious and quite well deserved. But a whole series… well, guess you forgot you were an airline, not CNN.
Ironically of all the areas to make fun of they chose Antarctica, which probably had more than a few actual mail-in ballots come out of Amundsen-Scott, McMurdo and Palmer Research Stations. Joke’s on you I guess…
You seem to be on a one man crusade to self ban yourself from every airline out there, due to you being a bit triggered by anti-Trump content/marketing/stances. Good luck!
Hell these tweets might even earn them some new potential American customers.
Triggered snowflakes het triggered, seems.
Get, not het.
Don’t forget Trump has 6 bank rupicies under his belt, he’s a born loser and rewarded for his failures. He has exposed himself big time by running for election as we now know he has paid a few hundred dollars in over 20 years in taxes
He will end up in an orange suit to match his orange hair
Though I am not a MAGA hat wearer or a Kanye West fan, Ryanair is being an obnoxious foreigner criticizing America. They should stop. They are just a bunch of IRA loving terrorists that like to blow off peoples’ legs, like those of Lord Mountbatten’s, and are not even a member of NATO. Instead they refuel Russian and Cuban planes. Does Ryanair like being called that?
@Derek
I think that’s an interesting argument as you seem to have conflated Ireland as a whole and Ryanair. The difference is also Ryanair didn’t actually make a factually incorrect statement about President Trump declaring himself the winner before the end of the count whereas I believe yours could be considered slander, though I am not a lawyer. I for one would love to see Ryanair join Delta as a member of NATO though, new airline alliance anyone?
Huh???? NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a multi-national military alliance whose members include the United States, UK, Germany, Norway, etc. It was meant to counter the Moscow led Warsaw Pact. It is not an airline alliance. Delta is not a member of NATO. Confusion like this only adds to the reputation of Americans being dumb, loud, and fat. NOOOO!
That was kind of the point I was making when you said “They are not part of NATO”, you must be referring to Ireland as a whole, not Ryanair the airline…
You then finished “Does Ryanair like being called that?”
As I said you seem to have conflated Ryanair and Ireland as being one and the same or in some way representative of each other but they are not.
And to put your mind at ease, I am well aware of what NATO is…
If you’re a CEO who decides to be a prick on Twitter, at least poke fun of all three. Yet somehow Leary managed to not find anything humorous about Biden, not his girl sniffing, gaffe talking, nor hairy legged kid stories about the famous “Corn Pop” (who was a bad dude). Come on man!
Why does he have to pick on all 3? Funny how you, JMM and derek are all super-triggered by this lol
Trump is an idiot with the IQ of frozen yogurt, he doesn’t need glasses as he can’t even read, he’s as dumb as a box of rock’s
It’s not just Ryanair that’s making fun of this orange hair clown, but all of hollywood, SNL, all the american comedians are so busy writing material on this big ass world class clown Trump
That Eric Trump one is so good lol
They’re all corrupt, but he is likely also the dumbest one in the whole Trump grifter clan
Once you lose your sense of humor, you’re dead.
OMG, can we please talk about someone or something else other than the topic at hand?!
I for one am sick to death of the name, actions and pathetic place we’ve found ourselves due to this suicidal circus act.
I don’t like foreign corporations behaving like this; it’s inappropriate and unnecessary. In any case they should stick to their core business and leave politics alone. Trump is ludicrous and loathsome, but that’s a matter for Americans (…and they have spoken…). I’m not sure that O’Leary is any less loathsome…