Maybe I did sound a bit confrontational in my previous post.I don't mean to be but I find comments such as 'I don't dislike anyone enough to send them on a RYR flight,the paint might be shiny but I wonder what's underneath' extremely irritating and I take it almost as a personal insult!
The point I was [am] trying to make is that we operate to exactly the same standards and regulations as any other airline operating in this country,a point I think some overlook.There are continual slurs and although no-one has openly come out and said it,hints that Ryanair somehow cut corner's in the maintenance.This couldn't be further from the truth.I can honestly say that in my opinion we have one of the best maintained fleets of any airline I have had dealings with.
It goes without saying that I realise that having the same qualified personnell,MEL etc is no guarantee to keeping a perfect safety record.That can only be achieved with hard work and avoiding the one thing I was accused of having...complacency.
I agree that of course there is a market for full service air travel,if that's what the individual wants then pay for it.A lot of the anti-Ryan comments seem to come from people complaining that having travelled Ryanair,they haven't received the same treatment they would expect on the national carriers.My question to them would be Why did you book Ryanair? I suspect their answer would be along the lines of 'it was the cheapest.You can't have it all ways.
I personally would rather save a few quid than be pampered and given food/drink I don't particularly need.Bear in mind the longest sector we fly is in the region of 2 and a bit hours and speaking for myself,can do without anything to eat or drink for this short time.
The world of air travel has changed forever and I think it's long overdue.Just a question but why do people feel the need to be pampered on a flight when nobody would expect to receive such treatment if travelling on a train or a bus?Just because in years gone by it has been this way?Remember,at the start of commercial air travel,the experience was mainly for the wealthy.The introduction of package tour holiday companies in the 70's began to change that and companies like Ryanair are taking it a step further and I think we should all be pleased about that.
I hate to make a post without being at least a bit controvertial,so here is my controvertial bit.On the programme there was the disabled fella who complained about the cost of the wheelchair.As was stated in the programme that cost will be absorbed by the company in the case of a genuine need.I must admit that his case did seem genuine but it was his quote of 'I don't understand why other airlines absorb the cost while RYR will not' that stuck in my mind.I honestly have every sympathy for anyone that is disabled but the simple answer is that low cost means low cost.The only way to be low cost is trimming all possible overheads.There has to be a cut-off somewhere and as was stated,if the passenger walks into the terminal then surely it shouldn't be down to the airline to pay for a wheelchair to the gate.Otherwise we could all be getting wheelchairs at the airline's expense.It sure was a long walk from my Delta aircraft I recently arrived from the states in,to the terminal exit at Gatwick.I would just ask the guy why he booked FR in the first place.I bet his answer was cost again,but the only way of keeping those costs that low is by trimming overheads..like wheelchair's for those that walk into the terminal.Catch 22.
Last edited by eng123; 9th Jun 2003 at 06:08.