COMMENT

RYANAIR insiders are crediting chief operations officer Peter Bellew, recently returned to the airline after a successful stint in Malaysia, with the company’s surprise move this week to recognise the pilots’ trade union in a bid to avert a planned strike on Wednesday.

It is unthinkable that Michael O’Leary alone would have made that decision and airline staff see the move as a signal that his time at the helm of Ryanair is coming to an end. O’Leary was a maverick and a revolutionary, and we owe him a great debt for breaking the cartel operated by the flag-carrier airlines – but his little airline became the biggest in Europe and the old rules no longer apply. Perhaps it is time for new blood to bring Ryanair to the next stage of its spectacular evolution.