If south coast can't see that there is undue pressure being applied to discourage pilots from taking additional fuel then he is either being deliberately obtuse or has another agenda
I read the memo and see a company that chooses to operate to the absolute minimum as laid out by EASA.
What I have not seen, are facts or evidence of someone being disciplined for carrying extra fuel while offering a reasonable reason for that decision.
All companies try to encourage PICs from taking unnecessary fuel and increasing costs without any real need to.
You could say the way they ask their crew to comply with this is done in an aggressive way, but I think whether it is dressed up in a 'nice and gentle' format or is as blunt as Ryanair, the message is the same, "avoid unnecessary costs".
But show me the paragraph in that memo that says you will be disciplined or your career affected if you take extra fuel.
I have no agenda in defending Ryanair, I don't like the way they operate, but I try to have an opinion based on facts and I am not convinced the airline is unsafe, as that is the claim against them.
I agree, they treat their crew and passengers in an unpleasant way, but is it unsafe or illegal, I think not.
It's like the pax who complain about having to pay €60 or whatever it is if they show at the airport without having checked in on line, it's the same people who book with Ryanair on the basis they want a no frills, cheap flight, but then when do not comply with the legal methods which allow Ryanair to be able to offer cheap tickets, they feel aggrieved.
Reality check please, it's not that Ryanair has embarked upon this management style or operation method recently, all those who have joined knew how they operate and that they will be expected to work to the minimum limits of what is laid out in EU-Ops, if they weren't happy to work to those minimum limits, I question their decision to work for an operator who chooses to operate that way, which is not unsafe or illegal.
Surely the first question one asks them self before joining an operator is, "Are they safe and legal", before the T&Cs are considered, or did that question slip through the net of all Ryanair's employees?
I have every sympathy for the crew, we all like an extra margin of safety, and I think in essence that's what this debate is really about, margins of safety.
Commercial pressure and safety are a see-saw and each company chooses where that see-saw sits with those two factors at each end, too much one way and you are unsafe and will have an accident, too much the other and you will never fly and go bust.
I believe Ryanair are at the limit of that analogy in favour of commercial factors, so while there is no fat for manoeuvre with that scenario, I genuinely do not believe it to be unsafe or illegal.
Finally, JPJP, you seemed pretty quick to belittle my opinion, while I am happy to listen to yours and I respect it, I get the impression you don't like one contrary to your own as you showed little to no respect for mine.