Ryanair teases passenger who proposed to girlfriend on budget flight
A Ryanair passenger was reportedly teased by the airline after he proposed to his girlfriend on a flight to Spain.
On 6 August, Lee Parsons, 29, was flying with his girlfriend Leah Louise King, 29, and decided to pop the question mid-flight. The Irish couple are known jet-setters, documenting their many travels on a joint YouTube account, Borders and Beyond.
Speaking with the MailOnline, Parsons confessed he had wanted to propose to King ever since they got back from a 2021 trip to South America. To him, the perfect time would be when they were sky-high, in this case, on the way to Spain.
Parsons devised a plan to hide the ring in his soon-to-be mother-in-law’s carry-on bag. “It was all carefully planned. I even paid attention when she was going to the toilet during the flight,” he said.
The Ryanair flight attendants offered them two free bottles of Prosseco after King accepted the proposal, while other passengers on the aircraft cheered and congratulated them.
“A few people even came up to congratulate us after having their passports checked,” Parsons noted.
However, once the wheels touched down at their destination, the niceties were no longer existent. Instead, the airline supposedly took to X, formerly known as Twitter, teasing the newly engaged couple with a picture of them and the caption: “Leah, blink twice for random seat allocation.”
Congratulations to you both, your going viral pic.twitter.com/4Fj0XkxLcv
— Spuddy (@SpuddyIRL) August 16, 2023
The tweet, which now has over 2.3m views, attracted social media users looking to poke fun at Parsons’ proposal. Many people joked about the risk Parsons took in assuming King would say yes, and how uncomfortable it would have been if she rejected him.
One individual asked: “Did they charge you extra?”
Ryanair sarcastically wrote back: “Proposal fee.”
Proposed to Leah on a @Ryanair flight with her family there. Luckily she said Yes 💍 pic.twitter.com/4nHNBEAbPt
— Lee (Elpy) 🇮🇪 (@ItsJustLeeHere) August 14, 2023
“Get her to a location she cannot say no, smart man,” another person commented, while a third added: “Proposing on a flight... that’s ballsy to say the least.”
Under Parsons’ original post – a picture of the two of them moments after he proposed - people insinuated that the airline had compensated him for asking on their aircraft. “Ryanair paid you to do this,” one person speculated.
Parsons responded: “I wish. Wouldn’t say no to free flights to be fair though.”
The Independent has reached out to Parsons, King, and Ryanair for comment.
