Ryanair’s combative boss Michael O’Leary has stated that he wants the carrier to be the “world’s favourite airline” within a year.

O’Leary, who reportedly introduced himself to his audience at the Institute of Directors as “the half-time entertainment after the men in suits”, said Ryanair will carry 28 million passengers this year (more than British Airways) and is planning to outstrip Lufthansa in 2005.

According to The Guardian, the Ryanair boss was particularly critical of British Airways in his speech, stating that the flag-carrier carries 600 passengers per employee compared to Ryanair’s 10,000 and that BA would be out of the European short-haul market in five or 10 years.

He is quoted as saying: “They’ll be flying as few as 10 short-haul flights into Gatwick, or maybe Heathrow. If I were chief executive of BA or Lufthansa, I’d give up.”

O’Leary also spelled out Ryanair’s intentions to lower it fares in the coming years: “We are determined to drive prices even lower, by a half within five years, and last year we carried 20% for free