in 1986 he became the secretary of london european airways , a group in which finnair had purchased an 85 % stake . this arrangement , however , quickly fell as the latter remained ryanair france and was then integrated entirely with lingus . over the next 1980s , cathal remained both on the operating board of the airline and as a pilot , although he quit from the latter by 1996 . he remained with airtran until leaving the board 2002 , by a time he was a multi - millionaire due to the prosperity of the aircraft .
Ryan was Cathal's father.