Ryanair boss O’Leary brought down to earth

Holidaymakers travelling on Ryanair over this busy period, grumbling about paying extra because their hand luggage is an inch too big, or being charged for water on board, will be glad to hear that the budget airline's owner, Michael O'Leary, is not having a good week.

THE GREAT SCRATCHCARD COCK-UPFirst, a printing error led to three purchasers of scratchcards on a flight from Milan to Madrid all winning a €13,000 car. Selling scratchcards at €2 a pop is one of many "ancillary revenue earners" O'Leary uses to raise profits for the budget airline. There's supposed to be one big winner, somewhere in the Ryanair world, every month. Not three in a day on the same flight.

Ryanair has no choice but to honour the wins. In order to recoup its losses, the company said it would "work something out" with Brandforce, the firm that runs the scratchcard operation. Looking on the bright side, there could be a surge in sales of scratchcards.

VOLCANIC ASH RULING: 'O'LEARY WAS WRONG'Yesterday, a study released by scientists at the University of Iceland backed the air traffic controllers' decision last April to close airspace over Europe because of the threat of the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

O'Leary was one of the most vociferous complainants, saying "there was no ash cloud. It was mythical. It's become evident the airspace closure was completely unnecessary... none of us could see a bloody thing."

Just for good measure, he added: "Some idiot in a basement in the Met Office in London spills coffee over the map of Europe and produces a big black cloud."

Well, he's wrong, according to the University of Iceland's finest. Tests on samples of ash taken from the volcano at the time of its eruption show that it contained minute particles of glass so sharp and abrasive they could have damaged the exposed surfaces of any aircraft, including the engines and cockpit windows.

A SNUB AT THE RACESAlso this week, O'Leary, who spends much of his Ryanair loot on buying racehorses, was rebuffed when he tried to buy the racehorse Simonsig for €100,000 from its Scottish owner Ronnie Bartlett. Asked if he would accept O'Leary's offer, Bartlett joked: "Do you want to put another zero on that?"

SUNSHINE BIKINI AD RULED 'MISLEADING'Finally, O'Leary's airline has been forced to withdraw a misleading advertisement featuring a bikini-clad model and the promise of spring sun. Why? Because most of the destinations on offer had maximum temperatures under 10C.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled: "We considered that the average consumer would infer from the claim 'Book to the sun now' and the image of the woman sunbathing, in a bikini, with a cocktail, that the promotion included fares to destinations warm enough to sunbathe in swimwear during the promotional period. Because we understood this was not the case, we concluded that the ad was misleading." ·