Low cost airline CEO gets taste of his own medicine when restaurant adds extra charge

Some say life moves like a boomerang – what you give eventually comes back to you. True or not, Michael O’Leary, the longtime CEO of Ryanair, found himself face-to-face with that idea when he received an unusually familiar restaurant bill.

Restaurant prank on low-cost CEO

On March 21, O’Leary had a quiet dinner at Luvida, a restaurant in Navan, County Meath. He ordered a bottle of wine, battered prawns, mushroom toasts, and sea bass. But when the bill arrived, the €142.30 total (around $154) likely raised an eyebrow. The reason? The restaurant had added some rather custom surcharges.

The owners – clearly well aware of O’Leary’s reputation and Ryanair’s often-criticised add-on fees – played a light-hearted prank, later revealed in a Facebook post: “Thanks to Michael O’Leary for dining with us tonight! It was a pleasure. We hope he didn’t mind a few extra charges for added legroom, priority seating, and a reservation in the quiet zone.”

The printed receipt told the story in detail. To the original food and drink bill of €104.45 (approx. $113), the staff added:

• “Extra legroom” – €7.95 ($8.60)
• “Priority seat” – €9.95 ($10.75)
• “Quiet zone reservation” – €19.95 ($21.55)

They even wrote “Terminal 1” as the location – a final nod to the aviation theme.

All in all, the fake surcharges added €37.85 ($40.90) to the bill, nudging it up to €142.30. Not exactly a scandalous increase – but enough to mirror that familiar Ryanair experience: the total isn’t quite what you thought it would be.

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