Harrowgate I just picked up the following headline (from Bloomberg) that I might easily have used here:
European Stocks Decline, Paced by HSBC, L'Oreal and Ryanair
- commas and all. Rather than get into a senseless debate with you about the fact that generally speaking headlines do not contain commas (since I agree with you), can I just make the point that what was really at issue was the implication that what was cited was in some way misleading? You have, in effect, endorsed the counter claims being made here about flight cancellations (clearly not your intention).
This is the typical one-sided way in which one has to deal with Ryanair pronouncements. WE, that is everybody else have to have firm facts, be honest, not manipulate the facts, not manipulate the English language, be concerned about balance, etc, etc. Meanwhile Ryanair continue to do and say just what suits their purposes.
So let's get this latest diversionary debate out of the way, once and for all. There is abundant and overwhelmning evidence that flights are being cancelled by Ryanair. They have tried to hide and obscure the scale of these cancellations and, in particular, the reasons for the cancellations.
That is a FACT. It is the scale of the cancellations that is open to debate. In fact, I suspect that it is an even wider phenomena that has been hinted at here. We will not learn the truth from Ryanair, unless a very well informed journalist knows enough to really get to work on them. In practice it is not worth the time to do that level of research on a "non-story", so that is unlikely - as Ryanair knows only too well.
What
has changed is the way that Ryanair got away with these things in the past. The odd dissenting voice, here or elsewhere, would have been quickly pounced on and overwhelmned by those who would challenge, deny and ridicule the "anti-Ryanair claims" and - of course - always add that such people wanted to undermine the airline that was "dedicated to providing low fares for the ordinary man", not to mention "the best rosters, pay and conditions in the universe for pilots", etc. Quite.
The continuing change in Ryanair's fortunes are marked by the first investment house to make at least an effort to say something about the cancellations and the editorial in this week's
Flight. Ryanair's denials, the attempt to denigrate the investment house claims and general media management techniques are no longer sufficient to hold back an increasing tide of scepticism about their claims. It is about time.