Ancient Observer has got it spot on. I'm just SLF but I have very good SLF credentials. I hold gold status with BA, gold with *A, gold with Skyteam and status (but not yet gold) with Emirates. If RYR had a loyalty programme, I would be gold with them too. I will board over 100 different planes this year, just like I did last year. And the year before.
I don't like O'Leary, but he offers a service to an airport I need to go. The planes are new, they're clean, and they are invariably on time. The crew are unfailingly polite (even when pushed to distraction by some of my fellow passengers).
I make my point about MOL by not paying for the extras - I carry my baggage, I don't pay for priority boarding or reserved seats, and I never buy anything on board. And I won't approve the expenses for any of my team who do so either
But I don't spite my face by flying to a different destination further away just to use a different carrier. That would be bizarre.
Ryanair offer value and service. I've flown some airlines with a more interesting safety record and approach to maintenance, and Ryanair stand head and shoulders above. Yes, I don't see what goes on in the cockpit, but you can see more than enough to get a good or a bad feeling when you board your flight. The airports sometimes leave a little to be desired (I'm looking at you, Stansted) but that's not the airline's fault. I've flown about 40 times with them this year and I think I have been late twice. And each time, the problem has been promptly and politely explained by the Captain. If only the more mainstream airlines could boast such a record.
Most of those who criticise them go on to say they have never flown with them. How they can form a view on the product offered when they have never used it confuses me?