Michael O'Leary talking about pilots

[fireflybob]

Michael O'Leary talking about pilots!

Watch from about 26 mins onward:-

RTE Late Late Show - Michael O'Leary (http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1132019)

Like the way he says pilots only work 18 hours per week - I wish!!

[beerdrinker]

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

900 hours per annum (the legal limit) divided by 52 = 17.3

No mention of standby time, reporting time, vacation time etc etc etc

Typical O'Leary twisting the facts for headlines

[Dani]

BT, I don't want to argue about MOL but 900 divided by 52 gives me about 17, not 117...

Have another beer ;)

[eagle21]

what about dividing your duty hours by 48, since most people enjoy about 4 weeks leave, then the result is closer to 40 hours a week than 17.

[AOB9]

MOL hates pilots, staff, aviation authorities, politicians and customers. But he's entertaining.

Peacocks. That's a good one. :oh:

[TDK mk2]

Ryanair pilots; join IALPA and then let the battle lines be drawn.

[dixi188]

A free ticket for everyone in the audience!!!!!!!

A few years ago, at the company annual dinner I won 2 free tickets on Ryanair.

With the cost of phone calls to Dublin to book and airport taxes etc. the total cost was about 70 pounds. I could have bought the tickets for less.

MoL gives nothing away!!!

However he's right that Ryanair have brought the cost of flying down so that almost any body can now afford to fly.
Unfortunately that includes a lot of undesirable and rude people.

I only fly Ryanair if I have no other choice.

[Capetonian]

You have to admit that he's a brilliant orator and self-publicist. There are of course precedents, other people in history of whom one could say the same.

[Lurking_SLF]

Reminds me of the fact that if I (or Mr. O'Leary) screw up in the workplace nobody gets hurt.
However those "lazy" pilots have to have a slightly(!) more attentive to detail work ethic....

[Kernow 101]

Last year I did 800hrs (F/O). Add on the 45mins prior (official, but 1hr 15m in reality) and 30mins after, gives me 1800hrs duty with no allocated breaks or lunch period. I am then forced to take 6 weeks a year hols. Meaning the average working year (due to our roster pattern) means I work 10 months and one week.

We work normally 3 weeks a month (again due to the roster pattern). Meaning my average working week is 58hrs. ..........not counting standby's and extra duty for delays, cancellations, etc.

I normally get €80.5 per hour for my 800hrs. But when you factor in the extra (official) report times then I am actually only earning the equivalent of €35 per hour for my total time at the 'office'. :(

[McBruce]

Hes an idiot. What his staff say about him is much worse. Roll on IALPA.

[Basil]

I guess there's a specially imaginative Blarney Stone which can only be kissed by those who don't mind talking ABSOLUTE :mad:

Nevertheless, I do admire successful entrepreneurs.

[NOT ORANGE]

The worst thing to have happened to aviation was this ....thing.Has made hundreds and hundreds of millions for himself and the Ryans whilst screwing his staff with all his low life scumbag ways.Still the only company in Ireland that isn't bankrupt so must be a genius.A shining example of 80s management theory gone wrong.

[RAT 5]

"Like the way he says pilots only work 18 hours per week - I wish!!"

It is a legal requirement to keep a record of annual duty hours of all pilots. Thus this claim can be easily challenged, and the correct data published, under a freedom of information request to IAA. If IALPA was so minded it might have a good PR moment against RYR. It could then ask the open question of "if they are telling porkies about this, what else might they be telling porkies about?" That's politics.

[Dan Winterland]

His disdain for what should be amonsgt the most valued of his employees is the best advert for IALPA yet. If RYR pilots don't join, they deserve what they get!

[d71146]

MOL has a great way of motivating the pilots by comparing them to glorified taxi drivers.
I can see why a lot of the guys at the pointy end are brassed off.

[fox niner]

Showing such disrespect for your own workforce will turn against you on the long run.
What is MOL trying to achieve?
A massive walkout?
A strike?
Everyone joining IALPA? (they should)

I agree. This is the best free advert that IALPA could have only dreamt about.

[Vulcan607]

The guy clearly has done something right to make Ryanair in to what they are today.

I'd have thought the business be more successful if he had the pilots on their side and not using slating them as glorified taxi drivers on a complex taxi.

The excuse as to why they charge 50 euros for the job application was dreadful and just another ****ty way of getting money out of the would-be's who are going to jump and pay for it.

Got a few mates at Ryanair now who say after the novelty wearing off of the jet flying they regret making the move to go there. Each of them trying to go to the sandpit now because they're fed up with the lifestyle working for MOL.

Did make me laugh tho with the customer comments and reasons for wanting to take out the toilets because "the London underground is safe to stand on":ugh:

[captjns]

Folks, you are pissing and moaning on the wrong forum. MOL has made this claim many a time over the past 5 years. Many a pilot on PPrune are aware that MOL is equivalent to a floating turd in a punch bowl. It's time to fight back... words with words.

Why not petition RTE for equal TV time? The little gnome own RTE? Provide charts indicating flight and duty times. Leave emotions out of the presentation and stick only to the facts and keep it strictly business. Don't sink to that little pissant's level. It's the best way to get the message out to the public. You guys should counter each claim made that that putz in every media available to the FR pilots.

I doubt the FR pilot would come close to being fired. You think FR would want to risk another retribution law suit:=?

Good luck and go get him:ok:.

[Binder]

And when O'leary moves on what then?

I would be surprised if his replacement also thinks more of his horses than he does of his own workforce.

He is a one man band!

[B737NG]

If you have nothing to do then watch the man.... Entertainment with no substance. The Media who gives him too much attention is as well guilty that the BS he is distributing makes alot of waves. So counteract and invite the Media also to a Press Conference held at..... any place you want and you get the same attention as he. IALPA does nót help you, take your destiny in your own hands.

[crewmeal]

"Pilots are like glorified taxi drivers" "Aer Lingus pilots are like overpaid under worked peacocks" "ideal customers are those with a pulse and a credit card"

That's how much he thinks of his staff and customers!!

It's all in the interview.

[root]

Last year I did 800hrs (F/O). Add on the 45mins prior (official, but 1hr 15m in reality) and 30mins after, gives me 1800hrs duty with no allocated breaks or lunch period. I am then forced to take 6 weeks a year hols. Meaning the average working year (due to our roster pattern) means I work 10 months and one week.
:(

Kernow, I don't believe your calculations are correct. 1800 hours hours of duty is not possible.

[spudgunjon]

FR Pilots...

Did ANYONE ever actually get the £60 application fee back as he seemed to think was standard practice?

All I got was a bill for another £25k odd and a base in the middle of ****sville :rolleyes:

[Dio]

To correct a few of you, he said "pilots fly 18 hours a week" never said anything about work!!

[widered]

At a certain stage of the interview Ryan turbridy asks does he know any pilots?
MOL came back with a comment about the only pilot he knows is the head of IALPA
only to realise he was sued before and could be again so he changed the subject..

FR pilots the trend in our work has been on a slope for 10 to 15 years why would you think it would get any better.
Look at our peers in easy jet they are on envious contracts compared to us ask yourself why?

JOIN IALPA ! THE RYANAIR PILOTS UNION !

[shiver]

I normally get €80.5 per hour for my 800hrs. But when you factor in the extra (official) report times then I am actually only earning the equivalent of €35 per hour for my total time at the 'office'. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/sowee.gif

Kernow, I earn €9 an hour in a supermarket, wanna swap?

[hec7or]

Binder


And when O'leary moves on what then?

I would be surprised if his replacement also thinks more of his horses than he does of his own workforce.

He is a one man band!


Come off it Dave, all airline management hate the aircrew.

Spud

FR Pilots...

Did ANYONE ever actually get the £60 application fee back as he seemed to think was standard practice?

All I got was a bill for another £25k odd and a base in the middle of ****sville :rolleyes:

I love your post, I do, I think you've hit the true state of the industry, spot on mate!:D

Now, where's the thread about what pilots think about Chief Executives?

[captplaystation]

Kernow 101 - as well as 45 bef/30 after, you are forgetting the most stressful part(s) of the day, those 25min "rests" (I guess MOL would call them)

Widered - "enviable" is the word you are looking for :rolleyes:

Shiver - do you really suggest comparing us (you included ?) with shelf stackers? if so, please F.O. to another website, as you will be in for a bit of abuse here :=

[145qrh]

Line 4,position 3 "Gobsh@te"

[waco]

DDee....best post on this thread....take a bow....

[Artie Fufkin]

Its still a mystery to me;

why haven't Ryanair pilots joined IALPA?

Why???

[Kernow 101]

Kernow, I don't believe your calculations are correct. 1800 hours hours of duty is not possible.

You are right. In my haste I added the extra work per hour instead of per day. So it would nearer half that at 987! .....teach me to try and post with a stinking hangover:oh::yuk:

[clonecity1]

I knew it! The hats really bother him:)

[FERetd]

Shiver. You really should have worked harder at school!
I suppose that you think that the consequences of being hit by a rogue supermarket trolley compare with a bad day at the "office" for a pilot?:confused:

[Vulcan607]

I sympathise with my fellow professionals at FR.

I use that term loosely.... Because your all taxi drivers driving a complex taxi! Lol

His terminology of calling pilots that doesn't bother me in the slightest, it's his attitude towards his staff that work within the airline. Can 3000 glorified taxi drivers be more than just 1 ******** in a cheap suit from primark?

I don't work in Ireland, work for another UK carrier and member of balpa. I'd urge you all at FR to stand together for once and say no to his cavalier attitude.

Awra best lads!

And btw....the prospect of flying new shiny 737-800's looks great to me too but I just feel for the guys working for that airline with all the horror stories I hear

[captjns]

Don't expect any support, with the exception of your group, family, and family pet until you guys organize, and get your message out to the public.

You all are so close. How much more abuse and abasing can you take? What's it going to take before you start, yes I say again, start to gain your self respect as pilots?

Organize and organize now!

Take back your airline and good luck!

[Cruise Zombie]

How about this:

The next time MOL is on RTE ask the interviewer to ask the following;

1. If pilots only fly 18 hours a week then perhaps MOL will sign a statement on air and binding to all flight crews, that when they reach 18 hours flight time in any period of seven days they can go home.

2. Ask him to tell all the viewing public if it is true that all Ryanair flights never fly anywhere in cloud without radar cover.

3. Ask him to read out all the checks we have to do during turnarounds, line by line with a watch running.

4. Ask him to read out some of Ryanair safety reports and safety audits where pilots have missed things like checks and other aircraft.

Perhaps some pretty little diagrams illustrating some of the above could be used so that MOL could wave his fingers about all over them, pointing out where black is white and so forth.

[Bengerman]

He may be a little s**t, but you FR guys only have yourselves to blame!

You pay him to type rate you, you even pay him to interview you, you effectively pay him to treat you like dirt, you are in a sh1tp1le of your own making. Your only ways out are to leave or to get organised!

[AROUNDGO]

MOL is really such a nice person: he was looking to be so much involved to raise money for charity. It almost made me cry. No doubt that with such a spirit, RYR staff must really be very well looked after. I would believe that a considerable part of his working day is dedicated to help and try to make RYR a better place to live.

[shiver]

Shiver - do you really suggest comparing us (you included ?) with shelf stackers? if so, please F.O. to another website, as you will be in for a bit of abuse here :=


Who said I was comparing? I would happily take my €9 and fly a big shiny jet every day and someone on here complains that he 'only earns' €35 an hour when loads of people would gladly grab his shoes.

[Flyit Pointit Sortit]

Well shiver, why not do it???

It really is that simple according to the tone of your post.

Let me know how you find it....

[truckflyer]

Shiver - Well the problem are people like you, willing to work for nothing!

I also challenge you to spend £60.000 - £100.000 on your training, and be happy to make 9 Euro an hour!

Please tells how that really works out for you! :p

[maxthepilot]

if you don't like it, just QUIT !

[eagerbeaver1]

Shiver is a nobody just trying to wind you up - dont take the bait.

Maxthepilot - I can assure you that many would "just quit" however unless you are a total retard your mind will stop you unless you have made adequate preparations, as I did.

[widered]

Very true vexed. Its a bit ironic that the type of people that do not support their colleagues and a union are the type that will wish to go to an Airline where pilots before them risked there jobs for the conditions that they will enjoy..... Its the way a spoilt brat behaves..

The reality is we have a choice in Ryanair now more than ever to organise our labour and achieve collective bargaining, It is our right to organise our labour rather than be divided into individual bargaining that doesn't exist...

[doniedarko]

To be fair to MOL he plays a very good game of being "the big bad CEO" ...the enemy. In fairness the pilots of Ryanair who do nothing, fail to join a union, fail to support each other and will be responsible for further degradation of T and C's in Ryanair are a far greater issue. :E:E MOL he is only a distraction until the 'fence sitters' of the Ryanair pilots get their/our respective acts together...He can call me what he wants when he pays me what I want !!!

[Desk-pilot]

Thanks for posting this - it's very interesting and I was genuinely surprised by how charismatic and intelligent he is. If you didn't know how he abuses his employees and what a cold arsed bastard he really is you could be forgiven for thinking he's a good guy.

I actually think the fact he is a smiling assassin makes him even more deadly. You guys in Ryanair had seriously better get your act together and get union representation, not just for the sake of yourselves but for the sake of the whole industry in Europe. The truth is that many of you thought that by keeping your head down, accepting being treated like sh*t for a couple of years you could then leave and move onto something better. The trouble is that those airlines that once offered richer pastures are either shrinking because of the competition from Ryanair or they are changing their employment terms to resemble those at Ryanair. If you let this guy railroad terms and conditions for another 10 years there will simply be nowhere left worth going that is still hiring.

I don't believe making pilots pay for application screening, sim ride, selection, type ratings, uniforms, water, food, hotels, or required business travel is ethical. I don't believe upsetting people's family life by forcing them to move base every so often or making all your employees contractors in order to avoid the costs of holiday, sick pay and pensions is ethical either. Make no mistake these things are normally offered to those who are employed by reputable and decent organisations and all of them can be yours if you join together collectively in a union.

The only person with anything to fear from unionisation should be Michael O'Leary. You can shaft one pilot but you cannot shaft 2000 joined by collective agreement.

[captplaystation]

Even less 3000 . . . . the problem comes when 78% of them are contractors, with a high percentage only interested in looking out for #1, that is what always has, and sad to say always will, hamper any progress.
Standing by to be proved wrong. . . . . . . . . . . . (for 10 years now & counting)

[170to5]

Can anybody answer me this - I was told by one of the RYR F/O's the other day that the new Storm McGinley contract incorporates a clause that makes pilots financially responsible for any downroute fines, for example extended use of APU's...if so, I'm astonished...if anyone takes up such a contract, then I've also met the pilot that I WOULDN'T support. Any truth in it?

[leeds 65]

Apathy is the main problem hampering progress. People are scared for their lives. The 'I don't want to be the guinea pig shouting for change' brigade. This group is large - most pilots in the company.

Ryanair have very cleverly over the years instilled the 'policy' of immediate base closures should union recognition be voted in. They have convinced grown men of this policy via propaganda in pigeon holes and management base visits.This creates division. Enough division so unity is almost impossible.

What if all the bases had a ballot? If 4 vote yes and everyone else votes no,then what? People fear Ryanair will shut up shop and move elsewhere to 'punish' the 4 yes bases.

I know its mind boggling that people are so intimidated. Almost hard to believe but this is the reality.

[HighLow]

after watching the whole interview on Irish Television, at the start he commended the pilots, (of course - a gesture made due to the reported on-going pilot shortage within the company), but back to his usual rant and showed his contempt towards these safety critical employees.

Inferring pilots are simply just Glorified Taxi Drivers? what an insult !!

if anyone is a glorified taxi driver, it is the person who purchases a taxi plate in order to beats Dublin traffic on his way to work>,Smart maybe, but Michael, if anyone is a Taxi driver, it is you !, oh of course not, Michael O'Leary CEO of Ryanair, simply bought the taxi plate and gets someone else to drive him....

Michael O Learys claim that Pilots work 18 hours a week ? ....RYR pilots working busy summer months, if this were true, 2 days into their 5 day rostered week, pilots would be simply walk off the job, and leave aircraft stranded at out stations....


going on Irish Public Television and making such an inaccurate statement, will only increase workforce contempt towards the company and management, a company who are at this time, desperately trying to solve upcoming staff shortage issues for the summer. These off the cuff remarks made by their CEO on public television certainly does not help the situation....

[leeds 65]

Its all very frustrating - constant inaccuracies bounded around.

Most of the viewers do not know the slightest thing about aviation.Unfortunately in Ireland MOL is lauded as a saviour and held in high esteem amongst the public because he slags off our incompetent politicians constantly. His ryanair propaganda photo shoots are 'gas' and a 'great laugh'. People honestly believe every word he says.Thats why he gets away with being such a fool.By in large only people with aviation knowledge know he is a liar and bull****ter.

Now ill get constant questions from people regarding my amazing roster and lack of work each week. Ill be labeled a dosser on an 'easy number' getting 'amazing' pay ( but sadly 30% behind competitors. The net money is very weak after accountants,bank transfer fees and all the things that should be provided like STBY pay,holiday pay,sick pay,medicals,uniform,LOL,hotel and accommodation at the sim twice a year,even the 2 sims are at least 3500 euro a year taken from your pay,significant petrol costs when you are rostered on a ground transport day in order to position to a base or sim centre and unpaid SEP days,winter ops days,changes to procedures days etc etc etc !)

The amount of times people say (seriously without a hint of irony or joking) :

'So when are the toilets being removed?'
'When can I stand for a fiver?'
'When are you becoming the pilot?' (people presume co pilots are not pilots ,do nothing at all of value and they are similar to cabin crew,who can easily assist the pilot instead because O'leary says so)

Its all getting very tiresome,embarrassing and expensive ( the longer you stay under the Brookfield spell the worse your career becomes versus similar colleagues building seniority elsewhere in proper jobs). Cant wait to leave.

[Cherrypickers]

Now ill get constant questions from people regarding my amazing roster and lack of work each week. Ill be labeled a dosser on an 'easy number' getting 'amazing' pay ( but sadly 30% behind competitors. The net money is very weak after accountants,bank transfer fees and all the things that should be provided like STBY pay,holiday pay,sick pay,medicals,uniform,LOL,hotel and accommodation at the sim twice a year,even the 2 sims are at least 3500 euro a year taken from your pay,significant petrol costs when you are rostered on a ground transport day in order to position to a base or sim centre and unpaid SEP days,winter ops days,changes to procedures days etc etc etc !)


Correct me if Im wrong, but is cutting these costs not what has made Ryanair so profitable?

[leeds 65]

From a business and shareholder point of view Ryanair are a huge success story. MOL is a shrewd businessman who capitalises on opportunities in order to cut costs and expand the airline ( hiring redundant pilots,going to distressed airports and the now famous cheap boeing deal )

There are 2 ways of doing business. Ethically - following specific codes of ethics and unethically. Ryanair are morally bankrupt and unethical. They treat passengers disgracefully,staff with impunity(cabin crew destitute on unpaid leave around xmas for between 1 and 3 months - in contrast easyjet get champagne and a 2 week bonus ) and airports aggressively. I'm all for cutting operational costs(hedging,fx,bag charges,bulk buying etc ) but their is a limit on the staff side of things. If you go too far - people will vote with their feet and you create a whole new set of problems. 75% of Ryanair pilots are now contractors. This is to cut the cost base but also to bust the unions.Very dangerous having such an disloyal workforce who will walk out instantly and not think twice about it.

Ryanair is a fantastic BUSINESS but an awful AIRLINE. In the most recent annual report it specifies that the average length of service of a pilot in the organisation is only 5 years and average age of early thirties. Says it all really. The attrition rate is definitely near or above 10% now. What goes around comes around

[NOT ORANGE]

Ryr will run out of pilots very soon.Staying in Europe is just not the place to be aviation wise.Chinese are paying double what that Irish :mad: is and feeds,gives uniforms,paid sim,well treated and above all respected pilots.I moved here 8 years ago and have never looked back.We have a few ex Ryr pilots and the hatred they have towards MOL is very real.I know be professes not to care but how sad to see what Herb did and completely .... it up.Hundreds of pilots resigning every year as opposed to a handful at Southwest.

[Tommy Tilt]

Not in my opinion, N.Orange. Your worst day at Ryanair would be far better than your best day at most airlines in China. Before any Ryanair pilots pack their bags, search this website re Chinese airlines and the agencies that represent them. You may be jumping out of the pot into the wok!

[smith]

Comparing FR pilots to taxi drivers is an absolute insult ............. to taxi drivers!

[antonov09]

And what would you really know? You'r not a pilot. Last time I checked they did the same job as me. I just work for a different carrier.

Clown.

[speedrestriction]

Frankly MO'L's comments regarding his pilot employees are never worth the "column inches" they propagate on Pprune. Clearly pilots are a commodity,the cost of which he intends to suppress to the greatest degree possible for as long as possible by any means available including underselling their abilities, work ethic and importance to a safe industry. Don't take it personally, he certainly doesn't. Bottom line is that he is a good businessman but a very bad boss. Shame.

[Sciolistes]

Michael O Learys claim that Pilots work 18 hours a week ?
To be fair, he said that pilots fly 900 hours a year. He then explained this as a weekly average. He added that however that Ryanair pilots actually are very hard working.

However, the comment on taxi driving was unfortunate as was the complaint pilots are the least productive of all the employees because they are restricted. However, the host looked a bit puzzled and also pulled MOL up on some of inconsistencies, so kudos to him.

[Bokkenrijder]

Spot on Built4Speed!

Pathetic, a thread 4 pages long with people crying like little children about something 'bad' MOL said!

MOL must be very pleased with himself and the psychological tests the recruitment team uses: employees that are just smart enough to push the correct buttons, but obviously way too dumb and selfish to get organized! :D

p.s. how is that big exodus (i.e. RYR pilots selling their @ss to some Middle Eastern slave driver in return for a bigger and shinier jet) going? :p

[smith]

And what would you really know? You'r not a pilot. Last time I checked they did the same job as me. I just work for a different carrier.

Clown.

Yeah, FR pilots do the same job as you but THEY accepted the conditions they work under. There is enough info on this site regarding the conditions at FR so, fair enough, accept the job offer but don't then start bitching about it. They went in with their eyes open ............. I hope?

[falconeasydriver]

p.s. how is that big exodus (i.e. RYR pilots selling their @ss to some Middle Eastern slave driver in return for a bigger and shinier jet) going?

Judging by how any ex RYR guys I'm running into, both ex skippers and F/O's, I'd say that EK is doing a nice job of attracting ex O'leering employees. Now that we are doing the initial interviews and sims back up in the UK and Europe, then even a max of 3 days off in a row is enough:E

On the flipside, I continue to have ZERO sympathy with the whingers and moaners on here who sold their souls and then decided it was all a bit unfair, what utter hipocrisy and self-centered bilge.
You all signed on the dotted line and took your chances, just like us here in the ME, moaning and wailing now just proves what a bunch of selfish and foolish twits a large majority of you are:hmm:
At least the REPA and Ialpa boys have got a pair and are trying to do something about it.

[ilesmark]

O'Leery on youtube, although more from the SLF point of view than as an employer - The Ryanair Song- Only Fools And Horses - YouTube

[Pablo_Diablo]

Unbelievable really, who would write and spend the time to do a song like that?

[jester42]

Terry and Jim?

[SD.]

"no income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee" was the original lyric.

Sums up life for 'employees' and SLF

[Cruise Zombie]

The only happy people I know personally, run their own businesses and have control over their lives.

Yes they've had ups and downs but they are now all looking forward to early retirement twenty years earlier than most employees. Some of them were financially self sufficient in their 30's. And retirement for these guys doesn't mean sitting in the local library in their slippers waiting for God. One guy I know is busy skiing, traveling ( proper traveling where you can enjoy where you go ), mentoring young entrepreneurs, attending top name concerts etc, etc. And all this when he wants to do it, not when screw-control let him.

It's not difficult or a mystery how to screw money out of people, just a mystery why so many people are happy to have money screwed out of them. MOL has simply stumbled on a good way to do it.

They don't teach how not to be gullible in schools I gather. What a pity.

Signing up to work for Ryanair is like joining the army. Nobody really cares if you get your legs blown off ( metaphorically speaking ). You wear a uniform, you do as you are told. I wish I had realised that twenty years ago, but now it is too late !

[Bokkenrijder]

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” - Upton Sinclair
Instead of reading a stupid interview with MOL, people would be better off reading this: Paychecks, Perception, Propaganda & Power. (http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=26210)

I know it's a lot of reading, especially for today's generation who want instant gratification and an immediate upgrade when they have 3-4000 hours, but it's an eye opener of how the system, i.e. FTL's, data monitoring & propaganda ("pilots only work 20 hours per week") is used against us pilots.

Download it for your iPads, laptops and what have ya's, and read it on a long(er) flight! :ok:

Humans are a flawed species. Our minds are easily manipulated. We don’t like pain. We prefer instant gratification. We are susceptible to mass delusion. We will often choose hope over critical thought. Those with higher IQs will regularly attempt to take advantage of those with lower IQs. Fear and greed are the two motivations used by the minority in power to control and manipulate the majority.

[CAT3C AUTOLAND]

Its great he knows the facts about CAT2/3 operations. Approach speed of 500 miles per hour in Ryanair, impressive.

[Flyit Pointit Sortit]

Maybe that's why they have such an impressive on-time performance record.:}:}

[smith]

Its great he knows the facts about CAT2/3 operations. Approach speed of 500 miles per hour in Ryanair, impressive.

I think he was talking about the taxi speed

[antonov09]

You'r probably best off not thinking.

[3bars]

O to be a fly on the wall when one of his cabin crew ( that he plans to train to fly his planes ) lands on his office in Dublin Airport in a strong crosswind:}

Maybe his pilots should all go on strike, simultaneously and see if that changes his opinion on the matter:E

[GGR]

RYR do plan to approach at 500kts cos everyone will be bursting for a P**s

[beernice]

We know Ryanair management don't care about pilots or cabin crew and engineers for that matter. However that's in their nature. Who allowed them get away with this- we the pilots did! 10 years ago the basic salary was over 80 grand. Now it's less than 60. Contractors new contracts get rid of the concept of home base. Now your home base is anywhere you are sent for three weeks or more. Reliable Information has it that now if you want leave in summer you got to "buy" it with another leave day - 5 days in summer will cost you 10 days. 4/3 rosters are on the horizen. Cabin crew in certain bases are been told only 9 month contracts available in your base now, if you want 12 months pay you have to move to another part of the world. They don't need us for 12 months, just think about that and where it will lead.

And things are going to keep getting worse. They are looking for the " floor". And if you are thinking- things are not too bad, at least I am OK - they will get around to you. That's what they guys 10 years ago said, how many of them are left on a proper contract? Probably 1%. Each contract is worse than the last. We now have a management team that tell us they don't care if we leave, they don't really care what we do. Our lack of resistance has meant that a management team that once was quite innovative and market leading have become lazy and arrogant. Instead of innovative solutions they now have only two solutions to every problem- cut wages and charge passengers more hidden charges. Time to wake them up or ship them out. They are they ones pocketing easy money from our complacency and laziness.

I am not a fan of IALPA or unions. When i hear union i keep thinking of Bob Crow!
That said I believe we must organize ourselves. This is last chance saloon. Next year expansion stops, they will be able to cover the roster. They will continue to attack us unless we stand up and fight. Don't expect this journey to be easy or pain free, it won't. MOL will fight tooth and nail and make no mistake he is good. Don't expect IALPA to fight for us, they union is only a framework, the fight must come from Us.
MOL will never like us, we can live with that. He doesn't respect us and we deserve that but we can change it. We have previously folded at the first obstacle management put in front of us and sold out our colleagues. See where it got us!!
You want change , you want respect? Earn it, stand up and be counted. Join your union and fight for our career.

[doniedarko]

Great post Beernice :D

[Dan Winterland]

The best so far. Anyone doubting that collective representation is necessary in RYR - or any airline for that matter needs to read it.

[overun]

l believe l`m right in saying this - l can`t find the newspaper reports - but

MOL bought a 6k euro cab licence for his limo so that he could use the

bus lanes in Dublin to avoid the plebs in rush hour traffic.

Normal protest about anything is unlikely to work with this man, and

don`t forget, he introduced the £50 c.v. levy, £150 interview levy, etc.,

within 3 weeks of 9/11, to milk the hundreds of qualified and current pilots

out of work and on their ars*s.

That is the reality.

[overun]

After a few snorts, not relevent at all, something has struck me.

ln the early days of easyjet The Head Waiter kept a board upon

which he pinned the left over ties of job applicants after he`d used

scissors to cut them off.

Emasculation ? He started it. MOL just picked it up and ran.

[B767PL]

Ryanair is a cockroach.

[smith]

" At no point have I voted or agreed to anything with an Employee Representative Committee. All I have done is signed the contract I have been presented with when forced to change base for upgrades etc."

Oh come on, did you really expect the kid glove treatment. Joining FR is like signing a contract written on toilet paper, at least there is use for toilet paper if the contract turns out to be fresh air.

If you read my post I said you should join FR with your eyes open as it is obvious what is going to happen. Obviously you went in blinkered by shiny jet syndrome. You made an informed choice, deal with it, just stop whining please. Tin helmet and flack jacket on :-D

[Johnny Tightlips]

I doubt he would be fully configured by the 500 landing gate doing 500 MPH:rolleyes:

[captplaystation]

1000' shirley ? as MOL said "in fog", or we just pretend it is 500' because OFDM can't detect cloud :hmm:

[beernice]

From the Irish Times

Where do we even start! Talk about people living in Ivory Towers and not seeing reality. Every employee and passenger who reads this can see the disconnect between Ryanair management and reality. No wonder Easy are posting record profits, the competition isn't up to much!!!! Get them out!

Society » News Features »


INSIDE STORY:*Between the bad coffee, anti-trade union stance and not so much as a mobile phone charger on offer, life at Ryanair HQ may not seem like a barrel of laughs but, as staff member after staff member tells CONOR POPE*, 75 million passengers can’t be wrong – unless, that is, they’re calling customer service

RYANAIR’S HEADQUARTERS in the shadow of Dublin Airport’s still sparkling Terminal Two is like a well run cult, and there’s no doubting who the leader is. Although Michael O’Leary is nowhere to be seen on this visit to his grey, unimposing and decidedly surprisingly small base, he is everywhere. He is there in the words and mannerisms of his senior staff, who dress down and drop casual insults about rivals into their conversations, and his stamp is evident on the large stapled-together poster in the staff room that exhorts employees to “SELL SELL SELL!!!”

The cabin crews’ target this week is to get passengers to spend €2 but, with the average spend currently just €1.54, they are under pressure. As the afternoon shift starts and blue-clad crews quietly file in to download and print their flight details from the company’s intranet, senior staff push them to sell more. Hampers, provided by suppliers at no cost to Ryanair, are promised to the month’s best performers.

The staff room doubles as a canteen. It is a miserable place. A wall-mounted TV blasts out spirit-crushing scenes from various Ryanair staff parties – again, paid for by suppliers – with nothing more nourishing than vending machine coffee and bars of chocolate available for the pilots, cabin crew, engineers and administrative staff who work at the heart of one of the biggest and most successful airlines in the world.

Bad coffee aside, Ryanair’s story is remarkable. Set up in 1985 by Tony Ryan, the airline’s first route ferried very small numbers from Waterford to London Gatwick. A year later, it started flying from Dublin to London with its Ir£99 return less than half the lowest ticket price offered by British Airways and Aer Lingus, which had monopolised the route.

Passenger numbers grew, as did the airline, but before Ryanair’s third birthday, it had accumulated losses of Ir£20 million. Then a junior executive named Michael O’Leary visited Southwest Airlines, the US low-fares carrier, and the game changed forever. Having witnessed first-hand the airline revolution sweeping across the American Bible Belt, O’Leary came home and, with evangelical zeal, set about resurrecting Ryanair.

For more than 15 years, the airline has relentlessly driven down fares across Europe as it fought countless battles for passengers and control of airports. And the war is nearly won. Ryanair employs more than 8,000 people and operates more than 1,600 flights a day from 47 bases across 27 countries, with a fleet of 250 Boeing 737-800s. Based on passenger numbers, it is the biggest international airline in the world.

Despite the part it has played in opening up our skies, Ryanair remains the airline everyone loves to hate. It is also the airline that seems to hate everyone. There are few spared the wrath of O’Leary. Governments (“numpties”), airport authorities (“overcharging rapists”), other airlines (“expensive bastards”), air traffic controllers (“poxy”) the European Commission (“morons”), Brussels (“the evil empire”) environmentalists (“lemmings”), travel agents (“f***ers”) have all been damned. Even this writer has incurred Ryanair’s considerable ire more than once for having the temerity to suggest its customer service may, at times, be less than brilliant.

That’s all water under the bridge now, however, and while O’Leary may not exactly be greeting us with open arms – or indeed at all – at least he’s not calling security.

FIRST UP IS the 9am conference call involving HQ and every airport Ryanair flies from. Today, there are 44 people on the call and each one has to detail how their staff got on handling this morning’s first wave of flights. It’s like a less glitzy version of Eurovision voting: “Good morning from Bergamo . . . This is Malaga calling . . . Calgari, you are online . . . Hello Dublin.” Every senior executive, including O’Leary, is rostered to host these calls regularly, so there is nowhere to hide for those who make mistakes.

Like sullen teenagers producing their homework for a scary teacher, airport staff must say how many planes departed; how many, if any, left late, how late and why; how many bags did not make it on to the planes, how many passengers were charged after failing to check in online, and how many bags were deemed too big for the cabin and checked in at a penal cost to passengers.

It sounds like O’Leary micro-management gone mad but, like so much Ryanair does, this call has monetary value. “The data about the short-shipped bags is effectively useless, but we want to make the point to the airports every day that we care about the bags,” says director of ground operations David O’Brien. Ryanair cares so much because losing bags costs money. And Ryanair hates losing money. It has a very good record when it comes to lost baggage (I once said it had “quite a good record”, which prompted the airline to send a furious letter objecting to the use of the word “quite”).

Ryanair misplaces 0.25 bags per 1,000 passengers. “The most recent British Airways figure was 16. If we underperformed at that level we would need to ship one million extra bags by taxi each year,” says O’Brien. He has been a Ryanair employee since 1992 and is a mini-Michael. While discussing Ryanair’s training centre at East Midlands airport, which has four flight simulators worth €10 million each, he says, almost without thinking, that they “are probably worth more that the whole Aer Arann fleet”.

This needless aggression aimed at rivals percolates through Ryanair like bitter coffee and is at least partially responsible for the low regard many have for it. Former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh once characterised Ryanair as “cranky, basic, unapologetic and tolerable” and claimed that while Aer Lingus was “cheap and cheerful”, Ryanair was “cheap and nasty”.

When asked why Ryanair has such a bad reputation, O’Brien points to its 75 million passengers as evidence to the contrary. “It is very easy to indulge a late-arriving passenger at a gate but, if you do that, you are delaying 180 other people and we will not do that,” he says. “Of course, people get pissed off but only when they are surprised. We want to be clear to people, that is not the same as being rude.”

Next door to O’Brien’s office is the operations room, which has space for 10 people. Everyone’s staring at computer screens filled with incomprehensible data. A red tab flickers on one screen, indicating a Polish-bound flight can’t land because of snow. The woman responsible for diversions makes contact with the man responsible for organising coaches who, luckily, is sitting two feet away, while the person who will have to make alternative rostering arrangements sits beside him. It is very cosy.

Hangar Two, where Ryanair’s planes are serviced, is not cosy. It is massive. Christy Duffy, who has been promoted through the ranks to aircraft maintenance manager, has an easy manner but is fiercely loyal to his employer. And very conscientious.

“There are certain things you can cut back on, but you can’t cut back on maintenance,” he says. Planes are rigorously checked after 700 hours flying time and crews work night and day running through various checklists.

Fearing the worst does not keep O’Brien awake at night. “I have confidence in our systems, but that is not complacency,” he says. He knows that Ryanair, given its reputation, has more to lose than most airlines if something goes wrong. “If there is an accident, then people will say, ‘I told you so’, despite our safety record over many years.”

The (entirely wrong) idea that Ryanair cuts corners when it comes to safety is fed by misleading media reports. Late last year, a picture of crew applying tape to a window in a 737 cockpit appeared in newspapers and made it look as if the airline was holding planes together with sticky tape. The truth is that, when a window is bolted into place, a sealant is applied and covered in tape as it dries – a fact that got lost in the blizzard of headlines.

O’Leary is always apoplectic when he reads such stories, but he sometimes has only himself to blame for negative press. Last week on The Late Late Show, he won himself few friends by saying the “customer is nearly always wrong”.

Despite O’Leary’s showboating and endless rudeness towards those who choose to spend money with his company, Ryanair invests considerably in customer care.

THE CENTRE OF operations is located a short drive away from HQ and is headed by Caroline Green. These are good days for her. In December, only 23 Ryanair flights were cancelled – compared with 2,500 in December of 2010. During the ash crisis, Green’s office handled 60,000 calls, emails, faxes and letters every day. Today, there will be fewer than 1,000.

Saying you’re the head of Ryanair’s customer service must be a conversation starter? “I try not to say where I work,” she says, ruefully – she can do without the grief. When asked why people hate Ryanair, she denies it, although not very convincingly. “They don’t hate us. They love us. We are great,” she says, although she accepts that O’Leary “antagonises people”.

She says his bullish media persona can make her life harder. “He has his own agenda . . . What can I say? I think we could do better because people’s perception of us is less than it should be. There is so much that is good about this airline. My main objective is to keep Ryanair out of the papers and keep people from going to the press. Michael is Michael and he has a lot more positives than negatives.”

The ash crisis taught Ryanair a lot, says Green, and it is now better equipped to deal with a crisis. “We are automating things. Letters for insurance claims, for instance, can be done online now. There are areas when airlines get it wrong, but we have done a lot to make things better.”

The calls coming in suggest that O’Leary’s claim that the customer is nearly always wrong is right. Staff are on their best behaviour, possibly because we are listening, but the callers are not. They are cross and grumpy.

One irate man complains that he never got his confirmation email for a flight due to depart days from now. This Vilnius caller is building up a head of outraged steam until it emerges that no confirmation mail was sent because his credit card was declined – a fact that would have been relayed to him via a pop-up window. As a result, the booking was never completed. Sheepishly, he hangs up. Another caller, from Scotland, also complains that he never got his details. Again, it’s not the airline’s fault. The wrong email address was submitted. The problem is resolved efficiently and quickly.

Eddie Wilson is an unusual human resources director, not least because he is responsible for the on-time jingles on every on-time flight – after pleas from staff he recently agreed to drop the wild applause that used to follow the jingle.

Like O’Leary and O’Brien, Wilson is loathe to accept Ryanair does anything wrong, ever. “We court publicity and are always going to get some reaction to that, but based on some of the headlines you’d swear you worked for the Taliban,” he says. He agrees that Ryanair is tough, but says it has to be to survive. “Most companies that are soft and spend their time explaining can’t deliver. This idea that people don’t like us is not borne out by the facts.”

The “75 million passengers” line comes up again. Everyone is on-message at Ryanair HQ.

Wilson says staff are treated well and paid fairly. “Our wages have to be high enough to attract people. There are no salary scales that you see in legacy airlines, so we don’t automatically pay someone who has been here for 25 years more than someone who has been here for two years – and we make no apologies for that.”

But what is a fair wage? According to the Ryanair website, new crew earn between €1,100 and €1,400 a month after tax – not much more than minimum wage – have “great promotional opportunities” and could earn more than €30,000 gross after the first year. Hardly a king’s ransom, but given the company’s virulently anti-trade union stance, there is little room for negotiation.

Unions have described Ryanair as “extremely hostile to the workforce” and said it is “a very, very oppressive regime”. While they are undoubtedly working to their own agenda, it is hard to imagine a wonderful working atmosphere where an employer forbids its staff to go online onsite or even to charge their mobiles on the premises, and thinks it is acceptable to bill new recruits for their own uniforms.

Wilson is having none of it. The way he looks at it, everything is fine. Better than fine. It’s a great place to work. He makes no apologies for the airline’s position on union recognition. “Unions tried to close down this airline – don’t forget that. We are in western Europe, not deepest USSR, so you have to treat people right.”

[HighLow]

Its going to be a bitter pill to swallow MOL, and from July onwards.....
your "ex glorified bus drivers" as you call them, are back much sooner than you think !!, buzzing Ryanair Headquarters daily with a brand new shinny B777-300ER.

Emirates to roll out larger aircraft on Dublin-Dubai route · Business ETC (http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/emirates-to-roll-out-larger-aircraft-on-dublin-dubai-route-341038-Jan2012/)

Interesting times Ahead:)
B737-NG to B777, daily flights to Dublin... hmm interesting,
Typing CV as we speak :)

[KingChango]

personally, i think all of you that are blaming this guy for being an a.hole are a bunch of ungrateful sons.
this guy has a great concept. he doesnt tolerate fancy stuff, he wants you to work. in return you get some kind of security. it's not like most of you pilots working for ryr have any other choice. especially not in europe. be grateful. respect the concept. work hard save some money, build your hours. when you're ready, say thank you and leave.
joining the unions are just gonna ruin your airline. and thats a fact.
and at the end of the day, you loose your job, the customer loose it's cheap-ticketed airline and you're working in the supermarkt.

this guy gave all of you an opportunity to "work", an opportunity to fly the worlds best (selling) airliner. an opportunity to realize your dream. you make a decent salary.
work hard and leave your complaining to some school kid crying about homework.

i wish you all good luck in hard times there at ryr, for what it's worth.. life is hard in every other industry sector. be nice to ur wives and kids and please don't accidentally slip and fall in the life rafts.:ok:

[Kernow 101]

Nice bait there KingChango.........I'm sure you will have a few bites on that chunk of wisdom :ouch::}

[widered]

KingChango
I had to fight the urge to respond to your breath takingly ignorant post, however ultimately as you can see I gave in because I think you views are actually seriously held ones.

Firstly your comment "he doesnt tolerate fancy stuff, he wants you to work. in return you get some kind of security"There is no Job security in Ryanair the majority of pilots in Ryanair are contracters firstly because Ryanair don't have to pay PRSI and secondly because they can terminate contracts on a whim.
Ask the 15 contracters who where sacked last September because the company thought that we should be shown who is the boss! god forbid we as professionals should have a say in our working enviroment.

There has been countless numbers of permanent pilots who have been sacked by Ryanair as well Cpt M D, Cpt J G, Cpt A, the list is endless.

People who don't know what the working enviroment is like in Ryanair are shocked when they realise the atmosphere of Fear in which its employees work. I have never seen anything like it and I have in worked in plenty's a place to judge.

joining the unions are just gonna ruin your airline. and thats a fact.Bolderdash, BA, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet, Air France, Jet 2, the list is endless.
There is no other profession where union's or collective representation is more needed. Evidence of this can been seen in Ryanair's example of the Brookfield pilots working for Ryanair being called for meetings as they have had less than 4 days of sickness in a year. This is a serious safety issue as we have seen more than a few Captains in Ryanair becoming incapacitated on difficult approaches or flights due to sickness or stress! Ask yourself why these pilots felt the pressure to fly?

All we are looking for is collectively someone to represent us! to organise our labour.
This is not only our civil rights but our human rights, without these rights working people would end up being slaves and MOL would be the first one to do away with wages if he could.

[FREDAI]

Haha just after the 31 minute mark, Ryan Turbidy thinks aircraft fly at 500,000ft hahaha

[737 Jockey]

Guys,

Lets just close or ignore this thread. O'Leary and his cronies are thieving, bullying, b#@!?@#s . Whatever crap passes his lips is either to agitate his staff, competitors or business 'partners'. Nothing positive can come of discussing this any further. Instead, join REPA and an appropriate ECA member. If you're not in FR, then just support us all in our endevours, as otherwise, all the crap will filter down and affect you all somewhere down the line.

MOL and his cronies will get their come uppance at some point, of that I have absolutely NO DOUBT.

For now....safe & happy flying!

:ok:

[Toast30]

I agree this thread is a pointless discussion that will only massage this idiots ego. Join Ialpa/Balpa, sign the commitment to unity letter and let's make this year one that makes a difference to t&c's of all airline pilots in Europe not just FR.

[AOB9]

Slightly off topic..........There are a lot of people in Ireland ( where I live) believe we would do well to have MOL negotiate in Europe at a political level for the Irish people. The mind boggles at the thought of that scenario playing out in reality.

[widered]

Thank god for democracy!

[LIMA OR ALPHA JUNK]

I don't know why anyone would want to work for a company with such a to**er in charge who possesses such a flagrant disregard for one of the most important elements of the work force.

If pilots are glorified bus drivers then get the pr at to put one of his 737s down on a contaminated runway with a max crosswind and see how he gets on.

I've thought for years that Ryanair have a hull loss coming at some point. All credit to the pilots for keeping the show on the road. Hell will freeze over first and I'd rather flip burgers in McDonalds than work for a such a jerk....