Simon Ove Christian Oglivie Spies (1 September 1921 – 16 April 1984) was a famous Danish tycoon, best known for starting the charter airline Spies Rejser, which is owned by MyTravel today.
Spies Rejser was opened in 1956 and would soon become a huge success along with the competitor Tjæreborg. In the beginning they arranged cheap bus/boattrips to Majorca, but later (in the early 1960s) Spies bought the bankrupt Danish charter operator Flying Enterprise and formed his own airline, Conair of Scandinavia.
Simon Spies was known for his provocative views and flamboyant lifestyle. He was famous for employing at his private residence so-called morgenbolledamer, or morning fuck ladies.
When going to the theatre he would usually buy three tickets, leaving one seat for his cane and one for his dog Archibald.
Famous quotes containing the words simon and/or spies:
“Food=joy ... guilt ... anger ... pain ... nurturing ... friendship ... hatred ... the way you look and feel.... Food=everything you can imagine.”
—Susan Powter, U.S. talk-show host. Food, p. 15, Simon & Schuster (1995)
“What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives.”
—John le Carré (b. 1931)