I have trained hundreds of pilots over the years in everything from gliders to DC-10s.
One of my protégés wrote to me recently to tell me that he had moved on from Ryanair to go longhaul.
What he said was very interesting. He told me that he had left Ryanair, not because of hassle or any other reason, but that he wanted to move on to longhaul and that he had got fed up with Tony Blair's government.
He told me that his time with Ryanair had been good. He had been well trained and that the attitude of the trainers in the sim and the aeroplane had been to educate and not to make it like the seven labours of Hercules.
The job was interesting, the airfields were interesting and his rosters were very stable.
The aircraft were mostly brand new (occasionally they might be 5 years old) and he also got paid on time.
His final comment was that he had enjoyed the experience and that it had been "EXACTLY AS IT SAYS ON THE TIN".
I have no experience of working for Ryanair but it seems to me that there are a whole bunch of people out there who are living in Walter Mitty land and hoping to re-invent BOAC.
Didn't you read what it said on the side of the tin before you bought it?
If it really is so bl**dy awful, why in God's name don't you move on like my friend did?