14th November Sexy Ryanair awards?

[TightSlot]

Occasionally, I get irritated enough to emerge snarling from my cave and spread death and destruction to the outside world, before creeping back inside to gnaw on some childrens' bones: Usually this is because of some breach of the rules by a newbie that hasn't bothered to read the FAQ - this time, it's actually about the issue...

Aaah Ryanair - the airline that does for Cabin Crew what Myxomatosis did for Rabbits. For the past decade we've had to watch as they destroyed everything that I valued about this career: Everything that made flying if not pleasant, at least tolerable has been cheapened, demeaned or removed. There are plenty of other low-cost airlines in the world (Southwest, Jet Blue or maybe even EZ) that manage to do the job, and make profits, without treating their staff and customers in the unique manner pioneered by MOL.

Ryanair gambled that there would be people in the world that were so desperate to be Cabin Crew that they would actually pay a prospective employer for the privilege of working for them - and boy, were they ever right! Even better, the crew get worked to the max and leave within 5 years or less, exhausted but most importantly, not staying long enough to drive wages up: How many high time crew are there at Ryanair? I'd be fascinated to know - maybe I'm wrong?

A lot of people over many years have worked hard to try and enhance the image of cabin crew. Females as airhead sluts and males as trivial fags is a stereotype that still exists, but to a lesser degree. Let's ask ourselves how this calendar contributes to this situation? No doubt there'll be a stream of people telling me to loosen up and enjoy some harmless fun - well, here's my answer. I have to put up with Ryanair employing foreign crew that are so desperate to undercut UK wages that they are willing to pay to work here because that is the law, and that is also capitalism in action. I have to put up with the constant redundancies, cut-backs and penny-pinching in my company because Ryanair are currently setting the aviation agenda in Europe and that is how it goes. I have to put up with this, but I don't have to like it, or like those involved in it - and I especially don't have to in any way admire those whose contribution to the industry is 5 years on minimum rest on a 737-800 and a bikini photo-shoot sucking on the inflation pipe of a lifejacket.

Make no mistake, this is Ryanair publicity, this time dressed up as a charitable exercise. It's appealing to the lowest common denominator (sex) without even a pretense of originality, subtlety or wit - "fly us and she might shag you" is pretty much where this is at: Well here's the news folks - she probably won't, assuming she could understand English well enough in the first place, and anyway she never has enough time off for that sort of thing!

Right! that's it - back in the cave now - I'll probably be in trouble in the morning for writing this. If this is the future of our chosen career, then we might as well cut all the profiling and clever stuff out at interview and just save time by turning up in a bikini and baby oil.