Restaurant staff spotted the Ryanair CEO dining and decided to charge him for something hilariously petty

Restaurant workers at Luvida Restaurant in Navan gave Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary a taste of his own medicine. They added extra fees to his dining bill as a joke. The staff recognized who they were serving and decided to pull off a prank that copied O’Leary’s business style.

According to Express, the budget airline boss got a receipt with extra charges that matched his company’s famous upselling methods. Ryanair is known for joking about its own extra fees on social media. The restaurant staff thought O’Leary would find the joke funny.

The workers added several playful charges to the receipt, which they called “Terminal 1.” The fees included “extra leg space,” “priority booth seating,” and a “quiet area reservation.” O’Leary seemed to enjoy the prank and took photos with the staff before leaving.

The airline’s fee model became dinner table comedy

Luvida shared the story on Instagram later. The restaurant wrote, “Thank you to Michael O’Leary for choosing to dine with us tonight! It was a pleasure to host you. Hope you don’t mind us adding some additional charges to your bill for extra leg space, priority booth seating, and quiet area reservation.”

The joke works so well because Ryanair charges extra fees for almost everything beyond the basic ticket price. The airline adds fees for baggage, seat selection, and extra legroom. One of the most talked about policies is the airport check-in fee. Unlike how other CEOs handle their companies, O’Leary has built his brand around these controversial charges.

Passengers who don’t check in online or through the app before reaching the airport have to pay a steep charge. The current fee for airport check-in ranges between £30 and £55 per passenger. For a family of four, this could mean paying up to £220 just for not checking in digitally.

Only Flexi Plus passengers who booked directly through Ryanair’s website or app can skip the airport check-in fee. If you paid for an assigned seat, online check-in opens 60 days before your flight. If you chose free random seating, check-in only opens 24 hours before departure. Business leaders across industries, including what auto executives recently said about policy changes, face similar decisions about pricing strategies.

The most important detail is that online check-in closes two hours before your flight leaves. You must finish the process within that time to avoid paying up to £55 per person. Missing this deadline means paying extra at the airport.