Can RyanAir help your personal brand? Maybe! Did you hear the one about the Prime Minister's budget holiday to Spain? It's no joke. Samantha Cameron is turning 40 this month and this is why David Cameron decided to splash out on a weekend break to Granada in southern Spain. So far, so good.
The trip
Believe it or not, the Prime Minister of The United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland hopped on a regular RyanAir flight from Stansted airport to Granada. This is instead of taking the private jet or hiring out the first class section of a British Airways flight as most folks in his position would do.
RyanAir is a very cost-effective option, if they booked early this could have been a very cheap journey. Food and drinks are provided on-board at extortionate prices and inferior quality so I'm sure they packed a lunch box.
They stayed at a three-star hotel in Granada, which will feel more like two stars as it is in Spain (sorry, just my experience of the Spanish star system!).
The PM and wifey were seen visiting a Moorish palace in the Sierra Nevadas and talking a stroll through El Realejo, an old barrio of Granada. They were even caught by the paparazzi having a coffee at a dingy cafe complete with green plastic chairs – the full experience in other words.
The sacrifice
David Cameron was a millionaire before becoming a Member of Parliament and Prime Minister, Samantha Cameron is the daughter of a baronet and a thrice descendant of King Charles II. In this country, you would never get folks like these even contemplating flying with a budget airline or staying at a shabby Spanish hotel.
Britain's economy is not in great shape and the government has cut spending and upped taxes. We're in the 'age of austerity' as the Chancellor calls it. David Cameron and Samantha Cameron both have a background in PR and this trip was a very clever way of telling the British public that they can feel the squeeze.
By going on a budget holiday they do what commoners do and hopefully experienced all the usuals such as plane delays, bad hotel breakfasts and got back home with a bag full of souvenirs they never even wanted.
My thoughts
I think it was a great gesture of the Prime Minister to do this, I can imagine he had to talk the birthday girl into it. The media have lauded his decision to take an austerity weekend break, his personal brand going up in most peoples' books. Whenever I have discussed this with people they have all been very impressed so mission accomplished I would say.
I'm not sure why they had to go to Spain though, if you want a budget holiday there are plenty of options in the UK – Blackpool, Swansea and Southampton spring to mind…
What do you think of this trip? Was it a bit over the top or would you have done the same in the Prime Minister's situation?
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