Exasperated committee chairwoman Gwyneth Dunwoody MP said that their invitation had been met with "an extraordinary reply which can be translated as "no way".

The Sunday Tribune has seen a copy of the letter sent by O'Leary to Dunwoody, which begins by confirming that an appearance by a Ryanair executive "is not a worthwhile use of his time".

It goes on to trumpet Ryanair's massive growth in passenger numbers in recent years, pointing out that its 20% growth rate now sees it carry more than 50m passengers, double the number of passengers carried by British Airways. He claims that "the British public is voting with its feet" by choosing to fly with low-cost airlines including Ryanair.

It concludes: "If the Transport Committee hasn't already recognised this reality, then frankly nothing that a Ryanair representative can do or say will add any further weight to your Committee's misguided consultations on this spurious topic. Nevertheless, may I wish you and your Committee continued success with your endeavours."

If anything Ryanair was less polite in a statement it released to UK media.

"Ryanair had far better things to do than waste time at a House of Commons committee which is itself wasting time talking about passengers' attitudes to air travel at a time when Gordon Brown is busy stealing an additional �1 bn [ 1.5bn] from UK passengers and visitors this year."

The cheekiness from the Dublin-based airline was not well-received by competitors, however. An executive from Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic used his time before the committee to call for the EU and national governments to pass legislation specifically aimed at Ryanair.

"It is widely recognised that Ryanair has come in for a great deal of criticism for customer service, " Barry Humphreys of Virgin told the committee.

"It seems unfair that our passengers end up paying for problems caused by another airline."

Other airlines blame Ryanair for a tightening of rules governing airlines by EU regulators. State aid is heavily restricted since Ryanair's dispute with Brussels over its arrangement with Charleroi airport. The industry also was told it had to find better ways to voluntarily accommodate passengers stranded after cancelled flights or face tougher sanctions.