Hydrogen not the future, says O’Leary
Ryanair boss rubbishes prospect of electric jets as he hints at another decade at the helm of the carrier
‘I hope Sunak and Hunt recognise that way to get Brexit fixed is reasonable trade deal with the EU’
HYDROGEN planes are “completely unfeasible”, Michael O’Leary has said, as the long-standing Ryanair chief opens the door to remaining at the helm of Europe’s biggest airline for the better part of another decade.
Launching what could be seen as a thinly-veiled attack on rival easyJet, Mr O’Leary said hydrogen-powered aircraft would not be practical because “it’s an unstable gas”.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the 61-year-old also rubbished the prospect of electric-powered jets playing a meaningful role in commercial aviation over the next three decades.
“By 2050, you’re not going to see electric-powered aircraft, certainly not commercial aircraft,” he said.
It came as Mr O’Leary said he was open to signing another extension of his contract once his current deal ends. An extension would likely see the Irishman remain in charge until 2032.
Aviation accounts for between 2pc and 3pc of global carbon emissions and, like other industries, is under pressure to cut its carbon footprint. Some in the industry are concentrating efforts on developing electric or hydrogen technologies to help meet net zero targets.
EasyJet, the Luton-based budget carrier, unveiled the world-first hydrogen-run engine in conjunction with Rolls-Royce in November. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said at the time that “hydrogen offers great possibilities for a range of aircraft, including easyJet-sized aircraft. That will be a huge step forward in meeting the challenge of net zero by 2050”.
Last week an Anglo-American startup backed by the likes of Shell and United Airlines also conducted a test flight of a 19-seater aircraft with a hydrogen-powered engine over the skies of the Cotswolds. The company, ZeroAvia, claimed the successful test was the first in the world of a hydrogenpowered aircraft that large, demonstrating the fuel’s commercial potential.
However, Mr O’Leary dismissed the fuel as being capable of powering commercial services. He said the only realistic solution was so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from waste materials such as used cooking oils.
“The only solution going forward here is going to be more SAF,” he said. “SAF might get to 50pc of aviation fuel, hopefully, by 2050. That’s a reasonable prospect.”
American planemaker Boeing has largely pinned its hopes on a greater rollout of SAF in response to concerns from climate change campaigners.
The Ryanair chief executive’s comments on hydrogen come a little more than a month after he signed a new contract to stay with the airline until 2028.
The new pay deal gives him more time to hit the necessary goals to trigger a €100m (£90m) bonus.
“It wasn’t a long or difficult conversation,” he said. “The board said, ‘What’s the plan? Are you going to stay before 2024?’ I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do a contract that takes us from 2024 to 2028.’”
Arguably Ireland’s best-known businessman, Mr O’Leary has masterminded Ryanair’s success after joining as finance chief in 1988 at the age of 27.
The Irish airline is now Europe’s biggest and is aiming to carry more than 200 million passengers by 2025. Demand for seats has bounced back strongly since the pandemic and the carrier recently recorded the best weekend of bookings in its history.
Mr O’Leary suggested he could yet stay at the helm until 2032.
“I have no desire to do anything else. I wouldn’t be the non-executive type; it’s of no interest to me,” he said. “[In] 2028 I’ll be 67 and have done 40 years. I might do one more term [of four years], I might not – it depends on what the board wants me to do.” However, he added: “[But] there is a much stronger management team underneath me now. There are many more management alternatives under me going forward.”
Ryanair’s success has been based on sticking to a low-cost strategy, which has paid dividends compared with legacy carriers such as British Airways and Lufthansa whose long-haul services have faced growing competition from deep-pocketed Gulf carriers such as Emirates and Qatar Airways.
BA recently unveiled a new uniform that included an option for flight attendants to don a jumpsuit. Virgin Atlantic has also recently reformed its uniform policies by allowing staff to display tattoos and men to wear skirts to “express their true identity”. Mr O’Leary conceded that Ryanair’s uniform policy may have to change too.
“There’s probably some of that stuff coming,” he said. “We added the choice of trousers [for women] if they want to wear trousers. If there is some kind of development like that, there’s no point in holding it back. If I had my own choice, I’d go back to everyone in chinos and T-shirt. But the crews themselves like the more formal uniform.”
Mr O’Leary has historically been a staunch critic of Brexit and campaigned for the ‘yes’ vote during the referendum. His backing, however, is steeped in support for the European single market, rather than a super-state.
“The political project is a load of bulls**t,” he said, citing failed attempts to reform European airspace to allow aircraft to fly more direct routes, saving time and burning less fuel. Mr O’Leary said Brussels had spent €21bn over the past quarter of a century without agreeing any reforms. However, he said he was “still hugely pro-European.”
Mr O’Leary claimed Boris Johnson’s “hard Brexit” had contributed to the economic problems facing the UK and urged the current government to seek a better settlement with the EU.
“I would be hopeful that with [Rishi] Sunak and [Jeremy] Hunt, rational people in charge, will recognise that the way to get this thing fixed is there’s some kind of reasonable trade deal with the EU. And I suspect that’s going to be a Norway or Switzerland-type option.”