Seat62K - I'd agree with you that it’s the passengers partly to blame. Which makes it even sadder? I fly 6 times a year and pretty much 80% of the time I have 2 choice. FR or EZY same airport just different times. Ryanair may be on time and cheap but on destinations they compete with EZY on they are actually quite expensive. And to me I’d rather spend an extra £10 to fly with airline who in my mind are much more professional. The crew on both are great don't get me wrong and both airlines get you form A to B safely. But I always feel much more valued on EZY than I do on FR. And I cant stand the delightful adverts in their yellow cabin. EasyJet is just much more sophisticated to me. Even if it is a LCC they still have some standards. And as for punctuality EZY have improved a lot lately. I'm guessing most people now don’t look at EZY as much and just go with FR expecting them to be cheapest.
I think if easyJet committed a bit more they could really create a nice medium sized operation at London Stansted (STN) to add some variety and competition at FR’s beloved hub.