Who would pay over the odds for a Ryanair sandwich anyway?
Gasp! - Are you actually inferring, that a low-cost airline would supply low-cost food!
The most accurate version of the story appears to be in the Irish Times, and it is complete with a lengthy interview with the passenger, one Henrik Ulven.
It appears that an over-zealous stewardess met up with a passenger, who perhaps adopted what she saw, as an aggrieved and righteous attitude of complaint, that fell into the category of CC abuse.
Mr Ulven tried to order 2 options of hot meals, and was informed that both were unavailable. He then ordered the "chicken premium sandwich". Naturally with a name like that, one would be led to believe it was superior to a run-of-the-mill sandwich.
Mr Ulven says his money was in his jacket in the overhead locker, and he would pay for the sandwich next time he was able to get up. However, upon tasting the sandwich, it fell far short of his "superior" expectations and obviously fell into the "inferior" range.
He then called the stewardess and told her he wouldn't be paying for a sandwich that he regarded as inedible. She obviously saw this as a non-payment fraud being perpetrated, and along with what she perceived as aggravating behaviour, decided the passenger was guilty of disruptive behaviour, and this warranted police being called upon landing.
I believe that this was a particularly poor reaction to the unfolding events, and shows a serious lack of judgement and training on behalf of Ryanair CC.
However, given the low-cost mantra of Ryanair, which obviously extends to scrimping on staff training, particularly with regard as to how to address passengers legitimate complaints - then I'd have to say that this particular event shows everyone just what they can expect from this particular airline.
I guess Mr Ulven expected top-class treatment from a bottom-class airline. He's old enough to have known better. I'll wager he doesn't make the same mistake again.
Ryanair denies overreacting in sandwich incident - The Irish Times - Fri, Jul 23, 2010