RYANAIR BOSS Michael O'Leary is obsessed with keeping a lid on costs at the airline, and rightly so given the external pressures facing the business.

O'Leary has even agreed to a pay freeze as his contribution towards the belt-tightening agenda.

So there were more than a few raised eyebrows at Cork airport on Wednesday when he arrived on a private jet to attend a press conference to announce the imminent axing of routes from the city to East Midlands and Glasgow Prestwick.

O'Leary had hotfooted it from Italy, where earlier that day he had announced the launch of one million cheap seats for travel in September and October.

In Cork, O'Leary had a cut at Cork Airport Authority for jacking up airport charges by 20 per cent on the East Midlands and Glasgow services, in spite of this being part of a deal agreed by the two sides last year.

He generated the usual lorryload of free publicity and got a number of local politicians into a lather about the effects on tourism in the region.

All good stuff for Ryanair long-term.

Still, using a private jet to attend a press conference seems a peculiar move for a low-cost airline boss hellbent on saving every last cent.