Irish restaurant spots Ryanair's CEO and turns his billed items into a perfect joke: 'Extra leg space'

The Irish are known for their unique sense of humor, and when Michael O'Leary, the CEO of budget airline Ryanair, arrived at a restaurant in Navan, named Luvida, they decided not to even spare their high-profile guest from a bit of playful pranking. Sharing the check (@luvidarestaurant) after the CEO's meal, the playful "add-on" cost and the reaction from the online users say it all.

Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, had visited the Irish restaurant 'Luvida' for a meal. For the unversed, Ryanair has often been known for offering low base fares and then charging extra for a wide range of add-ons. Frequent travellers are familiar with the routine that includes additional fees for baggage, preferred seating, speedy boarding, or even choosing the seat size. This reputation of an airline company that monetizes every step of the flying experience has become notorious among internet users; hence, when the CEO paid a visit to the restaurant, the staff at Luvida saw an opportunity to play a harmless prank.

After he finished his meal, when it was time to bring the check, the staff presented the bill with a punchline. Under the cost of food, there were numerous funny add-ons and extra charges, including "extra leg space, priority booth seating, and quiet area reservation." The receipt also featured a hilarious title, "Terminal 1," making the bill look like a fake boarding pass. The restaurant's social media team then shared the image of the bill along with a warm photo of O’Leary with the staff and captioned it, "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."

While we are not sure if the CEO paid for the mock charges, the humor seems to have landed smoothly (no pun intended) with the airline owner. A 2001 study by J Lyttle studied the use of humor in persuasive messages for business ethics. The study found that self-effacing humor boosted the credibility of the source. By friendly mocking of the airline CEO, the receipt joke pulled by the restaurant built a sense of amusement rather than hostility towards the CEO's company rules.

Soon after the post went viral, many users couldn't help but find it hilarious. @ferdinandogattuccio_official wrote, "You have avenged us all! As for the random seat assignment, I've always been curious: has anyone really paid not to stay away from their wife for a couple of hours?" @afronemo commented, "You just got a client. If I'll ever come to Ireland, you'll be on my schedule. Great job and great sense of humor :-)" @alanpottage shared, "After selling him the bottle of wine you should have asked him if he’d also like to pay the supplement for some glasses!"

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