MICHAEL O’LEARY used the Ryanair AGM yesterday to have a go at Aer Lingus. Among other things, he suggested trimming the board and questioned why fees paid to directors had almost trebled last year.

He might have a point.

Aer Lingus’s 14 board members cost the airline €2.2 million last year.

Chairman-in-waiting Colm Barrington was presumably added to the payroll recently, even though incumbent Colin Sharman doesn’t disembark until October. And recent Ryanair recruit Seán Coyle won’t have come cheaply.

If O’Leary is to be believed, Aer Lingus doubled Coyle’s Ryanair salary.

Ryanair spent €1.5 million on its seven directors last year, while easyJet paid its 10-person board about €1.6 million. Ryanair chairman David Bonderman doesn’t charge the airline a fee for his services.

Trimming the board would be a small saving for Aer Lingus in the context of introducing €100 million in company-wide cost savings, but every little helps.