I know that RYR has an excellent safety record regarding pax fatalaties. But their safety record regarding incidents is not that impressive. Taxying at high speed, flapless landings, clipping wingtips and APUs from other airplanes, fuel starvation maydays.. these are small but important things that all is not well. Having an insecure workplace with a fierce opposition towards any kind of union is also one of those things that raises my eyebrows.
I know, we all have stressful days at work, blabla, but almost none of us have such an important task of keeping calm cool and collected if things goes tits up, as pilots do. Airplanes operate in such hostile environments, many thousand metres higher than Mount Everest, and I for one want to KNOW that my Capt and FO has job security, good training, proper medical supervision and a nice pension plan so ALL they need to worry about is getting their asses down on the ground to live another day. Which means I get to live another day.
When things happen on the ground, I'm not that concerned. This is, after all solid and steady and stuff goes wrong all the time but since we can breathe and move unhindered it gives a (sometimes faulty) sense of security.
While in the air I know for SURE that I just can't jump out the window/run down the escape stairs or call the fire dept. I need those pilots to be well rested, well gathered and quick thinking. Just as I would like my heart surgeon to be well rested, well gathered and quick thinking.
I try to avoid locos as much as possible. I know, they do have great safety records, (unlike, say AF..) but the company policy of mandatory get-there-itis that many locos have is not reassuring to me. Personally I'd rather wait for the weather to clear than rushing a take off and getting into serious trouble including all kinds of damage.
I also believe that I as a customer should be treated with at least some respect. It is unexplainable to me that people crowd outside locos to get their luggage measured and the cabin crew wanting them to pay for paper towels. No change accepted. Nah, to me it all screams flip-flops and sweatpants.
SAS (I'm Swedish) and its cooperators in Star Alliance has excellent prices to many destinations. Sure, I don't get to go to Malaga for £4 but I'd rather pay some extra money and look at it as the insurance fee that my pilots are treated well while we are at altitudes high above the Himalayas.