Is Easyjet facing an uncertain future?

[Norman Stanley Fletcher]

Leo Hairy-Camel

This is a pathetic attempt to make something out of nothing. Judging by your previous posts, your loyalty to Ryanair under any and all circumstances is touchingly reminiscent of Joseph Goebbell's support of Hitler until the bitter end. You may recall that both those gentlemen, despite a promising start from their perspective, ran into a spot of bother towards the end of their tenure.

As a Ryanair manager (in your mind or in reality - who knows?), your job is to ensure that having alienated your own staff to the maximum possible extent, you slag off every company who stands in your way. I am delighted you find it necessary to question the state of easyJet - it is a sign we are causing you hassle. You simply do not know the profits or otherwise that we are making. What I know is that we will produce a profit this year (as we have every other year) and that every airline in the world is being seriously affected by the fuel price. If you are so foolish as to think that Ryanair is not being hurt by fuel prices you are even more blinkered than your other posts could lead us to believe.

I have recently flown on Ryanair - out and back in 2 half-filled 189 seater 737-800's. Nothing to base a master plan on but enough to say that you are facing the same issues as the rest of the industry. We bought our 319's a whole lot cheaper than you bought your 800's and someone has to pay for it. Despite you offering two pence trips to some place in the middle of nowhere that you call somewhere else, your load factors are virtually identical to ours (I think ours are actually slightly higher but there is nothing in it). You can sit there pouring cold water on everyone else but right now no one has a divine right to make money. EasyJet is doing great - and is a million times better employer to work for than Ryanair. As one of your own pilots has said - every single Irish-based pilot would leave for easyJet if we opened a base there. Your loyalty to MOL is like having a cobra for a tie - it looks pretty but one day you will wish you had placed your trust elsewhere!

I am one of those who believe that there will be a 'shaking' in the coming months and that both easyJet and Ryanair are among the few who will survive intact. With the forthcoming round of pay negotiations coming up - you could almost be a manager at easyJet!