Ryanair

[Norman Stanley Fletcher]

Nice Touch - Maybe someone trod on your hamster when you were six and you have never been able to form normal relationships since then - or at least that is what your social worker told the Judge. Next time you want someone to reply to you, try and learn some manners. You'll find it works wonders.

Leo - a pleasure to hear from you. Your posts are always magnificently written and a joy to read. What makes them even more enjoyable is that they are also some of the most consistent posts on PPrune - they are consistently wrong on virtually every issue. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The dismal T&G foolishly announced there was going to be industrial action among our cabin crew but had neglected to ballot them first. I have asked countless cabin crew if they are going to vote against the pay deal and I have not found a single one who will. At a recent SEP day I attended (inside my 5/2/5/4 roster pattern!), with about 20 cabin crew from different bases, every single one said they were hacked off at the T&G's statement and said they would vote 'Yes' when the time comes. The 'Orange Trolley Dollies' are therefore unlikely to provide you with a Summer of discontent. Not least of all, they are now the highest paid cabin crew that I know of in the UK other than BA crew on the 'old' deal.

Regarding profits, easyJet has always made a loss in the Winter and and a profit in the Summer. This year is no exception and nor will the next be or the year after. Every year without fail since easyJet started they have made an overall annual profit and I fully expect that trend to continue. The word is that this year will bring the largest ever profit in our history - boring facts I know but that is the way it is.

Rostering is a tricky one and I think that there is going to be a battle over this at easyJet. Reading the frankly embarrassing article about fatigue reduction in this week's Flight International could have led the uninitiated to believe that easyJet and Ryanair are benevolent philanthropists, who want nothing more than to brighten up their pilots' lives. Nothing could be further from the truth and our 5/2/5/4 pattern should only be considered as a starting point for negotiation. We are in the fortunate position of being increasingly unionised and therefore able to take part in the fight ahead. Alas, nogotiation does not seem to form a significant part of Ryanair management's skill set and being without a collective voice all new Ryanair pilots will just have to lie back and think of Ireland.

Stan Woolley - Is someone's opinion on the situations in Rwanda or Afghanistan invalid because they have never been there? No - the key is to research the situation carefully before reaching a judgement. Similarly, is someone's opinion about Ryanair invalid because they have not worked there? No, because there is the possiblity of gathering information from friends and colleagues who have worked there (and some who still do) plus researching a huge range of written material on the company. I note from some of your previous posts that you are extremely sensitive to any criticism of Ryanair from easyJet pilots - inevitably having left us in the huff only to find you have jumped out of the frying pan into a roasting hot fire must be a disappointment. You have my sympathies.

My honest take on this is that in the past Ryanair was better paid and actually quite a good place to work - if you could cope with 'The O'Leary Factor'. Also, in the past easyJet was non-unionised and full of promises that were never kept. Many people came to hate it and accordingly left. I think it is good for us all to recognise that most companies are pretty fluid and what was true yesterday is not necessarily true today. The easyJet Stan Woolley left is not the one I recognise today, and I work at supposedly the hardest base with the most difficult 'hassle' factors. Is all perfect at easyJet? Absolutely not! The good news, however, is that with the advent of unionisation we can see a way to a brighter future. Our new pay deal does, I believe, put us for the first time slightly ahead of Ryanair. The real issue is rostering and I can see a way to expect significant changes in the future. Without a strong collective-bargaining position we would be nowhere today. Union representation has brought us to a place where the battle can be fought out without fear and intimidation. It seems to me that there is a relentless drive at Ryanair to drive the terms and conditions of new pilots in particular. EasyJet do not have the modern equivalent of the Cadbury family at the helm, desparately trying to improve their eimployees' miserable lives. The difference between us and Ryanair is that for the first time our managers have had to stand up and take notice of the nearly 80% of pilots who have joined BALPA to fight for a better future. The pilots at Ryanair are being consitently stuffed by their employers and are facing a relentless spiral of their terms and conditions. The 5/4 rostering deal is clearly not an improvement and hence the reason all the pilots at Ryanair voted against it. Nonetheless it is coming in anyway among new joiners simply because there is no collective voice to prevent it. Our ludicrous TRSS scheme was brought in after Sep 11 and was unilaterally imposed by our managers on a largely disunited and apathetic workforce - I do not believe such a change could occur now. It is glaringly apparent that the principle difference between us is that we have become organised and Ryanair has not - consequently we are on the up and up in terms of being an employer to work for and you are on a steady decline. That is not to insult you in any way but to recognise the harsh reality of what we are both up against. If you corporately do not act and join together the future can only be negative.

I therefore stand by my previous statements and still wonder why any pilot with a choice would choose to work for such an unscrupulous employer. To the likes of Thin Albert I would say, are all these people on PPrune who work for Ryanair and claim their contracts were just changed at a whim all liars? Reading the excellent posts from people like essex boy must surely cast a doubt in the mind of even the most determined Lemming. Ultimately, if you are absolutely determined to jump over the side of a cliff, then all the wise words in the world will not stop you.....

By the way, please do not think me rude if I do not participate too much further in this debate. The World Cup calls and I have some serious TV watching to do!