12.08.13
Ryanair Releases Channel 4 Dispatches Letters
Ryanair, today (12 Aug) responded to the false claims made in the C4 Dispatches programme by issuing the following statement and publishing the full exchange of letters with C4 Dispatches as follows:
Ryanair rejected the false and defamatory claims made by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme which wrongly impugn and smear Ryanair’s outstanding 29 year safety record based on nothing more than anonymous hearsay claims made by individuals whose identity was concealed, and/or by representatives of pilot unions of Ryanair’s competitor airlines masquerading as a Non Ryanair Pilot Group.
Ryanair has today released on its website the entire exchange of correspondence with Channel 4 Dispatches which highlights the following facts:
1. The evidence provided by Ryanair and the Irish Aviation Authority conclusively disproves these false claims about Ryanair’s fuel policy and/or Ryanair’s outstanding safety record.
2. The programme relies upon hearsay claims by anonymous alleged Ryanair pilots, despite the fact that Ryanair offered legally binding guarantees to these individuals of no sanction if they made these claims on the record, solely so that Ryanair could publish details of their individual flight records, fuel records, sickness records and safety reports which would disprove their false claims. Despite these assurances, C4 Dispatches insisted on maintaining their anonymity because, Ryanair believes, these individuals know that their claims are false and unsupported by evidence.
3. Despite the evidence provided by Ryanair and the IAA disproving these fuel and safety claims, Dispatches have failed to address or report this evidence, preferring instead to publish these false claims in an unfair, unbalanced and inaccurate programme.
4. Channel 4 Dispatches have repeatedly refused Ryanair’s offer of an unedited interview with CEO Michael O’Leary, in which he offered to address any claims raised by Dispatches and rubbish the false claims made by these anonymous contributors. Dispatches would only interview Michael O’Leary if they could edit his answers, which was not fair or acceptable to Ryanair.
5. Ryanair provided Dispatches with a short statement (below) rejecting the false claims made by the programme, however Channel 4 Dispatches have refused to report this short statement in its unedited form.
6. Channel 4 Dispatches cannot be relied upon to fairly or accurately report on matters relating to Ryanair, having previously (in 2006) used actors to pose as sleeping Ryanair cabin crew to promote an earlier and equally inaccurate programme on Ryanair’s safety.
7. The Irish Aviation Authority, which is the independent safety regulator for all Irish airlines has confirmed (attached) that Ryanair fully complies with EU fuel policies, including allowing all its pilots to take as much fuel as they wish to. Over 50% of all Ryanair pilots take extra fuel over and above the already planned Ryanair extra fuel on a daily basis.
8. The self styled Ryanair Pilot Group is a
PR front for the European Cockpit Association which is the club of pilots unions of Ryanair’s EU airline competitors. The Interim Council of this Non Ryanair Pilot Group (NRPG) comprises four pilots/union leaders who work for KLM, Aer Lingus, Air France and Southwest Airlines. These people have no insight, credibility or objectivity in commenting upon Ryanair’s safety. The fifth member is a serving Ryanair Captain who has recently confirmed - in writing - that he has no concerns about Ryanair’s safety. This trade union group has no credibility, it lacks any impartiality, and its fabricated survey which claims to be based upon replies from less than one third of Ryanair’s over 3,000 serving pilots are a crude attempt to use baseless safety “concerns” as a cover for its failed trade union agenda.
Finally, Ryanair’s safety has recently been confirmed by the Irish Aviation Authority as being
“on a par with the safest airlines in Europe”. This is attested to by Ryanair’s outstanding 29 year safety record.
Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said:
“Ryanair rejects these failed attempts by C4 Dispatches and/or European pilot trade unions to denigrate or smear Ryanair’s outstanding 29 year safety record in an attempt to promote their 20 year failed campaign to obtain union recognition in Ryanair. Since the Channel 4 Dispatches programme (which previously used actors to promote equally false claims about Ryanair’s cabin crew) has published these false anonymous hearsay claims, and the bogus results of an unreliable, fabricated survey prepared by the European pilot trade union club, Ryanair has instructed its lawyers to issue legal proceedings against Channel 4 Dispatches for defamation and Ryanair looks forward to this matter being resolved in the Courts and the safety of Ryanair’s operations being thoroughly vindicated since the IAA has independently confirmed “Ryanair is on a par with the safest airlines in Europe” and the C4 Dispatches programme has produced no shred of evidence to undermine this independent verification of Ryanair’s outstanding safety.