Ryanair 'r' scum

Bluehair

Originally posted by jd
I'd fly Ryanair direct point to point - no connections.
O'Leary did say that Ryanair would get into trouble "if we start believing our own bull****" -whatever that exactly means
One thing though, I do worry about how far ryanair and other low cost operators can go in cutting costs- there comes a point where I would have reservations about about 1) safety and 2) (unfashionable though it is too say it these days) labour exploitation etc

1.)Safety. OLeary himself has stated that the one thing that could rerail the Ryanair steamroller would be an accident of any kind that could be attributed back to them. Bear in mind also part of the Ryanair system is maximum usage of the aircraft. This doesn't happen if they are not effectively maintained. Ignore bollox about pressure on cockpit crew to go with serious problems.. simply untrue. I would never have any safety concerns flying on Ryanair.

2.)Labour exploitation. Funnily enough while they work you hard in every dept (I have friends in different areas in the company) they pay damn well too and have developed an almost 'American' style working culture. Not something I'd neccessarily enjoy myself but neither is it something I'd be concerned about.

jd

Originally posted by Bluehair
1.)Safety. OLeary himself has stated that the one thing that could rerail the Ryanair steamroller would be an accident of any kind that could be attributed back to them. Bear in mind also part of the Ryanair system is maximum usage of the aircraft. This doesn't happen if they are not effectively maintained. Ignore bollox about pressure on cockpit crew to go with serious problems.. simply untrue. I would never have any safety concerns flying on Ryanair.

2.)Labour exploitation. Funnily enough while they work you hard in every dept (I have friends in different areas in the company) they pay damn well too and have developed an almost 'American' style working culture. Not something I'd neccessarily enjoy myself but neither is it something I'd be concerned about.

I get your points-what concerns me though is how far they can pursue cost cutting in the future.

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by Muck

Originally posted by Hairy Homer
The tube is a nightmare if you've got any meaningful luggage, which one tends to have on plane journeys. The only train service goes to Paddington in West London, </quote>

The tube IS a train. Numbnut!

M

A different sort of train though. Smaller carriages. Less space. Runs on different tracks. Stops (mostly) at different stations.

Semantic arguments are a waste of time, muck for brains.

BuffyBot

Originally posted by jd
I get your points-what concerns me though is how far they can pursue cost cutting in the future.

Most of the cost-cutting will come trying from negotiating better deals from aiports on landing charges, suppiers of materials etc

Specky

A different sort of train though. Smaller carriages. Less space. Runs on different tracks. Stops (mostly) at different stations.

...but what would you suggest instead?

Perhaps, if Heathrow is SO bad, you'd prefer what we have at Dublin airport....or maybe even what we have at Shannon??

Hairy Homer

Originally posted by Specky
Is this one of those "I have nothing to contribute to the argument so I'll just whine about something instead" posts?

What's the matter diddums? Don't like a differing point of view?

Originally posted by Specky

How in the name of Holy Bejesus can you keep a straight face and complain about either Heathrow or the public transport in London??? Or do you just complain about everything????

A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. London's public transport is a mess. I know what I'm talking about. I lived there for years. I don't any more.

You want to see a good public transport system: visit just about any central or Northern European city. Maybe I'd better narrow that down. I can only speak for Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Arhus, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Prague, Vienna.......to name but the only cities I can remember off the top of my head in which I enthusiastically took public transport without any fear of getting lost or being kept late. Sorry. Add Budapest in Iron Curtain days to that list.

Furthermore, German is the only language native to any of the above cities of which I have a smattering. Anyone used to the basic system in operation in most European countries—integrated ticketing, all train, bus, tram, underground or whatever stops clearly marked and mapped, information about connecting services clearly displayed in the vehicles themselves, only requirement needed to absorb this information is ability to read in local alphabet, not language—could use any of these services with confidence.

Compare this to Ireland and Dublin in particular with its 'Ah sure Jaysus, everyone knows where the pillar is' attitude and it's clear we're in another century as regards the Information Society.

Why is this important? Why am I ranting? We're about to overhaul our public transport systems by privatising 'bits' of them. This could be an utter disaster. Integrated ticketing may or may not happen. Only popular routes would be properly serviced. Worse, if Ryanair with its point-to-point methodology (I'm sticking this in as a desperate attempt to remain pertinent to the overall theme of the thread) is lionised as the model to follow, the city will become virtually uninhabitable. The flood of people and businesses to the M50 corridor, which exists only because people have the temporary illusion that they can park there, will accelerate.

If you live on a popular bus or train route, you'll be OK. I for one live on the Airport Express Route and I think it's a great service but it's not the best answer for the best number of people. Similarly, the Heathrow Express - the mainline express train - different from the Tube Muck you poor simple soul- is great if you live anywhere near Paddington. Or maybe on a direct train route serviced by Paddington. But if you've got to pay over the odds just to get to another tube stop, it's a pain.

I can't even be bothered to start explaining all the reasons why you're wrong.

London HAS a public transport system so it's better than Dublin's cash-starved, badly organised apology for one. But if we're looking for a model to follow to improve it we should look further east. If the Czechs can do it properly, why can't we?

PS

I'm never wrong you myopic muppet. Get used to the idea :-)

rcunning03

Eight smokers banned from Ryanair


Ryanair said smoking on board threatened safety
Low-cost airline Ryanair has banned eight passengers for life for compromising passenger and crew safety by smoking on board.
The people were on different flights, and all cases have been referred to police.

They could face charges relating to plane, crew and passenger safety.

The airline said there was "a tiny minority of passengers who stupidly and recklessly persist in endangering the safety of others by smoking on board".

The airline made the announcement on Wednesday - No Smoking Day.

Smoking on board was "strictly prohibited", and passengers who continue to smoke will be handed to police for prosecution, spokesman Paul Fitzsimmons said.

Victor

Are returning to the scummy employment practices .... if only they had the cop on to realise that employee welfare measures are tax free - hard cash is taxed. :rolleyes:

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/3154205?view=Eircomnet

Ryanair flight staff told to bring own tea and coffee to work in future
From:ireland.com
Saturday, 8th May, 2004

Ryanair cabin crews and flight staff will no longer receive free tea or coffee on board, and will be encouraged to bring their own refreshments to work as part of a fresh cost-cutting exercise by its chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary.

In a circular to staff informing them that they would be receiving a backdated 3 per cent pay rise, Mr O'Leary said it was necessary to continue to reduce costs to finance the pay increase.

"The proposed pay increase on April 1st was deferred whilst uncertainty hung over our fares, profitability and business," he states.

"Our shareholders would question our commitment to lowest costs if we were awarding ourselves pay increases at a time when our profits and share price had fallen. We are taking a big risk by increasing pay at a time of very difficult market conditions and intense competition," he writes. "But we believe now is the time to risk the pay increase."

With effect from May 1st, he says, there would be a number of other changes to the conditions of airline staff. These include:

The removal of a subsidised staff canteen, with employees offered the choice of paying for their own tea and coffee or bringing them to work.

All medicals, licences and professional fees would no longer be paid for by the company, but by the individuals concerned.

Pilots would no longer be allowed undertake medicals during working hours, but instead would have to book these on their days off.

All new staff will only be entitled to a stakeholder pension on joining. Existing staff with either a defined benefit or defined contribution pensions would continue to retain this "for at least another year".

Uniforms would be "made available" at cost to all staff who required them.

One former pilot, who did not wish to be named, said Ryanair was in effect simply reinstating a 3 per cent pay increase which it had already promised. This was in exchange for a "fundamental attack" on the terms and conditions of staff at Ryanair.

However, a spokeswoman for Ryanair said that even in difficult times, it remained Ryanair's priority to reward its staff first with better pay and conditions than its competitors. This pay increase at this time was a demonstration of the company's confidence in its people, she said.

FinoBlad

Thanks for the link;
I couldnt support any company that treats their staff as badly as Ryanair. I wouldnt take a thousand euro to fly with them.

isolde

That's all very well and good if you can afford to pay the extortionate prices some carriers charge. Aer Lingus may be advertising itself as a low-cost airline with all the frills now but you'd still be pushed to find a really decent priced flight. I'm a student living abroad and Ryanair are a godsend for me.
I don't know how I'd afford to get home were it not for Ryanair. I've flown with them countless times over the last 2 years.. mostly to Charleroi, Stansted and Frankfurt Hahn. Also flown with Easyjet from Prague to London.. an equally pleasant experience. There are numerous low-cost airlines throughout Europe and you can get such a cheap flight if you spend the time looking for it. (For instance, GermanWings are now flying from Dublin to Cologne and HLX recently started flying Dublin to Hamburg and Stuttgart and you can fly with BasiqAir from Dublin to Rotterdam.. great competition there for Aer Lingus who have dominated the Dublin to Holland (albeit Amsterdam) route for years.)

I can't say I've ever felt worried about the safety of the aircrafts, not anymore than I would when flying with Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, etc. While I don't think it's really fair that the staff have to pay for their uniforms, the only thing that would make me stop flying with Ryanair is if I felt they didn't take safety seriously. And, in my experience, they do.

Michael O'Leary has contributed hugely to the reform of the air travel market in Europe. If people are prepared to pay €200+ for a flight to Frankfurt with Aer Lingus or Lufthansa then all well and good. I can get to Hahn for well under €50 and while it's not Frankfurt Main, there are great bus services running from it, as there are from Brussels Charleroi. You can get to Brussels Midi from Charleroi for a tenner and it takes about 45 minutes. It's taken me that long - and longer - to get from Dublin Airport to the city centre sometimes.

I'm flying from Brussels Charleroi to Dublin this weekend for less than €40 return. I'll say a few extra prayers before take-off maybe

~isolde