Ryanair has confirmed the appointment of its chief financial officer Mr Michael Cawley to the post of chief operating officer and deputy chief executive.
Ryanair said Mr Cawley's former post had been filled by finance director Mr Howard Millar, who had also been appointed deputy chief executive. Both men took up the new roles on January 1st.
Analysts said the moves were a reflection of the growing maturity of Ryanair's business rather than an indication that chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary might be considering stepping down any time soon.
"It's not unexpected. I believe the company needed to have a more formal senior management structure and the logical people for it to centre on were these two guys because they've been doing the business for quite some time," said Mr Joe Gill, head of research at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.
"There was a perception in the market that perhaps the company was a one-man show and I'd say Ryanair was keen, taking a longer term view, to have a structure at the senior level which would ensure it wasn't at any specific risk in the unlikely event of O'Leary ever going."
Gill said that making both men deputy chief executives had introduced a note of competition "as there is with everything Ryanair does". One of the two men would replace O'Leary if and when he stepped down, he said.
Mr Shane Matthews, analyst at NCB Stockbrokers, said the management move was purely formal. "We're seeing more depth to the management team, which is always welcome," he said.
Ryanair shares were down just over one per cent at €7.09 on a moderately negative Dublin market this afternoon.