Ryanair news: Airline invites the POPE on no-frills flight to Ireland - will he accept?
RYANAIR boss has invited the Pope to visit Ireland next year on a no-frills holiday - but will he accept the invitation?
Ryanair news: Budget airline invites Pope Francis to Ireland
The budget airline’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, revealed today he has written to the Vatican offering to reserve a flight to Ireland for the pontiff in 2018.
And he is quite confident that the Pope will answer his prayers.
Michael said: “He is a Jesuit and he is very clever when it come to PR so we look forward too flying the Holy Father in 2018.”
The invitation to the Pope comes as Ryanair launches 44 new routes to and from Italy.
Ryanair news: Ryanair's Michael O'Leary is confident the pope will say yes
Pope Francis is well-known for refusing the traditional trappings of the papacy.
Instead, the Argentinian chose to live in a seemingly modest Vatican boarding house rather then the luxurious suites where his predecessors resided.
He is also famed for using public transport to get around whilst he was Bishop of Aires.
So it may take some persuasion to get this Pope on board a Ryanair flight.
Ryanair news: Pope Francis is known for refusing traditional trappings of the papacy
Unfortunately for the low-cost carrier, it looks like the Pope has turned down the invitation.
A spokesperson for the Vatican explained that Alitalia - Italy’s flagship airline - is an “essential part” of Pope’s travel plans out of Rome.
And the return flight is then usually booked with the host country’s national carrier, which in this case would be Aer Lingus, not Ryanair.
The last time a papal visited Ireland was back in 1979.
Pope John Paul II visited the country before being flown to the US by Aer Lingus in a specially adapted jumbo jet.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary talks about customer relations and prices
Ryanair news: The invitation comes as the airline launches 44 new routes to and from Italy
It would be good for the Pope to undertake his pilgrimage with the strongest airline in Italy and Ireland
In response to the Vatican, Michael said: “We wrote to the Pope to fly with us instead of Alitalia or Aer Lingus.
“It would be good for the Pope to undertake his pilgrimage with the strongest airline in Italy and Ireland.”
The story comes are Ryanair claimed customers were taking advantage of their relaxed luggage allowance.
The Ireland-based carrier made some changes to their baggage policy back in 2013.