Joining Ryanair

[jayc004]

I worked at Ryanair as a contractor for many years.
There are lots of good and bad things.

Almost everything in this tread is correct, good and bad.

In regards to discipline for not answering the phone - FACT! Totally true and has happened on many many occasions. I know from personal experience.
Also, if you answer your phone (from a withheld number) on a 'working day' and it is crewing, they are notifying you of a duty change. Even if they are moving your start time forward by 3 hours, you can not reject it or disciplinary. It is a fact and has happened to one of my ex-colleagues on his day one (he commuted weekly by car to his base so was not able to make the new brought forward report time on day 1).
Want to sleep a whole night through, then don't give Ryanair your primary phone number. Get a burner phone because they do and will call you on your days off at 4am, or even on working days. According to a Chief Pilot memo, if you don't want to be disturbed, pilots should turn their phones off, and contacting a pilot via telephone does not constitute interrupting rest. This is FACT and I believe this memo is still circulating various forums.

However, get a permanent contract in a base close to home, learn the tricks and be informed BEFORE you sign the contract, it can be an OK place to work.

One piece of advice I would give anyone looking for information on Ryanair.......go to an airport that Ryanair operate from. Sit on a bench inside the terminal and wait. At some point you'll find a pilot come along with his wheelie suitcase, pull out his jumper, and make a little nest to sleep on for a few hours whilst waiting for his 'privilege travel' flight back to his home on the other side of Europe.
Ask him directly, speak to the pilots face to face about it. You will be surprised at what a different story you get from Cadet, 2 stripe, 3 stripe and 4 stripe. Everyone has a different experience.

I left Ryanair after a long time. I didn't want to, but I was left with no alternative due to terrible contract terms and conditions. I went to another airline which is a lot nicer and more respectful, however I work more disruptive patterns and shifts here then I did at Ryanair.
The roster is good at FR, and the 'home' (read back at base) every night is really something I miss. No through the night flying and all flights on deck by 23:59 is something that you take for granted until you're doing night flights arriving at 03:00. Those extra hours are a killer.

Would I go back to Ryanair - most likely not.
However,
if I was offered the same pay and conditions as where I am now, to fly from my local airport - I would go back in a flash.
Stansted is not a normal base, and neither is Dublin. It's like comparing Gold to Tin. They not comparable to the regional 3-5 aircraft bases where you fly with the same people and have very little schedule disruption.

As everyone says, Ryanair could be the best employer in Europe. Get rid of mafia that's been at the top for an eternity, and it could be amazing.
Look at what CEO easyJet achieved in her 7 years. Ryanair management have been there since day one, and it shows how much of a cash cow that airline is for the boys at the top. I'm not sure if anyone has noticed how dictators and tyrants never give up power. Maybe there is a connection..............?
Speaking of which, If anyone gets a chance to read a book this summer, give George Orwell's Animal Farm a try. It seemed a very familiar tail, but I can't quite place my finger on it.......

Big thing, the general consensus of the employees is that management rule by fear, and the pilots BELIEVE they have no rights or the ability to stand up for themselves. After flying from Stansted and Dublin, and seeing how the Cabin Crew are treated, I can understand this mentality, but once I was shot of those big nightmare bases, it was a lot better.

All I would suggest is the following:
- Know the Ops manual inside and out
- Know the regulations inside and out
- Have a 'Ryanair phone'
- Always have a date in mind that you want to have off. If you are called to see if you can help, then 'negotiate'. (I always helped them if they helped me, and I always got what I asked for). If the don't keep their end of the bargain, tell them so next time and that is why you are refusing to help them.
- Never worry about carrying extra fuel. I always took what I wanted and never had to explain myself - EVER (but I wasn't a doosh like some of the people that take a ton for the sake of it in CAVOK).
- Always keep all memos and correspondence. Memos appear and then are 'removed' without notice
- Always keep a copy of your training records

Actually, whilst I am on this and I read somewhere earlier about Cabin Crew being grilled on SEP before each flight.
Some years ago, the management removed the CM1 ability to offload crew that the CM1 deemed unable to conduct the flight safely. The reason this was implemented (apparently) was due to the number of crew being bullied or offloaded by vindictive cabin managers who would find obscure SEP questions that no one knew the answer to, to try and catch out people they didn't like.
If a CC member is unable to give answers to procedures that must be known form memory, then why are they allowed operate.
That is like saying If on a line check I do not know my EFATO drills, I can carry on operations anyway as "everyday is a learning day".

Also, under the old IAA system of 'hours reset in April' it was possible to fly 1200 hours in a 12 month period. It's no longer possible. To be honest, I was always surprised at what was approved in the Ops manuals by the IAA.


I've had a bit of a rant, and contradicted myself a number of times, but this is the thing about Ryanair. There are good and bad things about it, and after so many years I am still unsure as to if it is a good or bad place to work. Maybe I have a bit of Stockholm Syndrome, but one thing is for sure, Ryanair is one of the safest places to be employed right now. And by employed, I don't mean on a tax beneficial agency contract! - STAY AWAY FROM THE AGENCIES!