Italian officials find Ryanair ad insulting

Ryanair, the prominent Irish low cost carrier, has managed to anger many Italians and Italy’s conservative government by posting an ad on its website, in which the airline claimed that Italian officials had an “up yours” attitude, when it comes to the country’s struggling national carrier, Alitalia.
The advertisement includes an image in which a prominent Italian politician is making an obscene gesture with his fingers. Ryanair then used this image-out of its original political context-to make a point about how Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government treats Italian air passengers.

Government officials are furious about the internet ad, calling it “genuinely unpleasant.” In fact, Altero Matteoli, the country’s transport minister, went as far as to suggest that the government could implement some type of punitive measures against Ryanair, if it refuses to pull the infamous ad. Matteoli has already decided to convene a meeting of air travel officials, in order to decide how to proceed.

The fact that Ryanair decided to run these ads should serve as no surprise, considering that the Irish low cost carrier has very openly articulated that it opposes state subsidies to carriers and as such, the airline has spoken out on several occasions against the Italian government’s decision to provide the near bankrupt Alitalia with a €300 million emergency loan. Ryanair argues that by providing these loans, the government is essentially supporting Alitalia’s higher fares and thus placing passengers at a disadvantage. Matteoli, however, described the current Ryanair ad as especially “vulgar and offensive.” The minister now expects Ryanair to apologize for this online content. The low-cost carrier, however, seems unwilling to offer its apologies.

Thank you to John Hooper of the Guardian for the direct quotes.

www.ryanair.com