O'Leary flying high at Ryanair

The aviation chief confirmed that he has signed up to stay at the re-invented Ryanair until he's 58.

However, he insisted that he couldn't imagine himself still being there by the time he becomes eligible to draw the state pension.

"I'd go nuts if I thought I was going to be here for another 15 years," he said at the company's headquarters near Dublin Airport, where he was helping to launch Ryanair's new booking app.

"What I've said all the time is that when it stops being interesting then I'll stop being here, because frankly, I wouldn't want to be around if it isn't going to be interesting," added Mr O'Leary, who commutes to work from his home outside Mullingar.

"The whole digital platform, the way mobile technology is changing the business, has created a whole new opportunity here that's very exciting and I'm very interested in it."