Michael O'Leary, the combative chief executive who turned Ryanair from a tiny regional carrier into Europe's largest low-cost airline, has agreed to stay on for another six years – a contract extension that could hand him more than £130m in shares.
The deal, announced on Monday, ties O'Leary to the Ryanair group until April 2032. If he remains until that date, he will be granted options to buy 10 million shares at €26.70 each – but only if the airline hits one of two punishing targets: annual profit of €4bn, or a share price above €42 for 28 consecutive trading days.
“Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary extends contract to 2032, with bonus scheme potentially worth over £130m.”
“Achievement of these very ambitious targets would create substantial additional value for all Ryanair shareholders,” the airline said in a statement.
The extension caps months of talks. Stan McCarthy, the Ryanair group chairman, said the board had “commenced discussions” with O’Leary in the spring. “I am pleased to report that this process, which included extensive engagement with Ryanair’s largest shareholders, has successfully concluded with Michael agreeing to extend his leadership of the Ryanair Group for the next six years to April 2032, for the benefit of all shareholders,” McCarthy added.
O’Leary has run Ryanair since 1994, overseeing its transformation into Europe’s dominant budget airline. The new bonus structure is far from a sure thing; the share price would need to nearly double from current levels to trigger the share options. But O’Leary has already demonstrated his ability to hit performance-linked targets. Last year it was reported that he was on track to pocket bonuses worth more than €100m, after Ryanair shares closed above €21 for a 28th consecutive day in May 2025, meeting a key performance target.
If the new targets are met, O’Leary’s total potential payout from the extension could exceed €150m (£130m), making it one of the largest executive compensation packages in European corporate history.