Ryanair - 9
'Polished' ?
All MoL did was to read a script at breakneck speed, and then swat aside ill-informed questions, none of whom seem to have any real understanding of how Ryanair operates. Why did he even bother to make the trip?
I just wish a journo had asked some decent questions about Brookfield and zero hour contracts.
All MoL did was to read a script at breakneck speed, and then swat aside ill-informed questions, none of whom seem to have any real understanding of how Ryanair operates. Why did he even bother to make the trip?
I just wish a journo had asked some decent questions about Brookfield and zero hour contracts.
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That's because jornos are general and not specific. They kept saying they had spoken to pilots, but had they listened; had they delved deeper with the pilot and taken notes? They asked easy general questions that could be swatted and they didn't have the knowledge to follow up. Steve Sacker did the same on Hardtalk. The researchers must have been very wet behind the ears.
MOL challenged the jornos and the pilots to present facts, not anonymous puppets claiming to be RYR pilots. He claimed everything was a lie. He said he would give a guarantee of no recrimination to any pilot wishing to raise issues. Why does RPG not accept the challenge and have a public debate with MOL. I'm sure CH 4 would oblige. They have a very public guarantee that nothing will happen to them. He would be under the spotlight if there were any recriminations.
MOL challenged the jornos and the pilots to present facts, not anonymous puppets claiming to be RYR pilots. He claimed everything was a lie. He said he would give a guarantee of no recrimination to any pilot wishing to raise issues. Why does RPG not accept the challenge and have a public debate with MOL. I'm sure CH 4 would oblige. They have a very public guarantee that nothing will happen to them. He would be under the spotlight if there were any recriminations.
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I also thougt it was typically slick and polished performance by MoL. He is a master of the art. He made a couple of blunders, I thought the main one was the stupid comment about 'flying slow'to save fuel is safer.
He is a slimebag of note, and I despise the way he does business, but it is hard to get the better of him in a debate and he does run one of the world's most successful and (statistically) safest airlines.
He is a slimebag of note, and I despise the way he does business, but it is hard to get the better of him in a debate and he does run one of the world's most successful and (statistically) safest airlines.
Given the context, is that a serious question, a joke, or just a dig?
Why chose personal attack and words like that if you do not know the person ?
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but it is hard to get the better of him in a debate
If one did research properly and thoroughly, with a clear objective in mind, and one didn't let him go into politician's diversion tactics but kept to the point and demanded a clear answer, then one could tie him in knots. He knows about his business model but clouds it in overload of data a la Margret Tatcher. You will be swamped with so called facts and numbers, but they will not tell the whole story. They will sound impressive, but there are hidden holes that need to be exposed. When it comes to T's & C's of his pilots and cabin crew, if one has done correct research he could be tongue tied and twisted and contradicting himself every minute.
The jornos who interview him think they will hit an easy target with dolly drops. Naive. They need to stop him moving and call in Freddie Truman for straight talking fast and fiery bouncers that will have him ducking & weaving.
Either that of forget the whole thing and don't waste energy. These press events could almost be RYR orchestrated. Now there's one for the conspiracy theorists.
If one did research properly and thoroughly, with a clear objective in mind, and one didn't let him go into politician's diversion tactics but kept to the point and demanded a clear answer, then one could tie him in knots. He knows about his business model but clouds it in overload of data a la Margret Tatcher. You will be swamped with so called facts and numbers, but they will not tell the whole story. They will sound impressive, but there are hidden holes that need to be exposed. When it comes to T's & C's of his pilots and cabin crew, if one has done correct research he could be tongue tied and twisted and contradicting himself every minute.
The jornos who interview him think they will hit an easy target with dolly drops. Naive. They need to stop him moving and call in Freddie Truman for straight talking fast and fiery bouncers that will have him ducking & weaving.
Either that of forget the whole thing and don't waste energy. These press events could almost be RYR orchestrated. Now there's one for the conspiracy theorists.
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Here are a few questions I would ask Michael O'leary.
If a flight leaves early or is delayed he states that a pilot is paid the same block hours. Ok so if a flight of a one hour block time is delayed by three hours doe this mean the pilot is still paid for the one hour and not the four?
Then following this is their next sectors are cancelled due to any reason do they therefore not get paid. So in adverse weather conditions is it not tempting to fly and be paid rather than cancel a flight and not be paid?
We know the annual limit is 900 hours but On a zero hour contract do the pilots with better fuel performance get preference over other pilots in rosters, hours, especially in the slack winter months?
Why are so many pilots of a successful airline employed by agencies such as Brookfield and not on the payroll of Ryanair as they are unable to work for other airlines so in the UK don't IR35 rules apply?
If a flight leaves early or is delayed he states that a pilot is paid the same block hours. Ok so if a flight of a one hour block time is delayed by three hours doe this mean the pilot is still paid for the one hour and not the four?
Then following this is their next sectors are cancelled due to any reason do they therefore not get paid. So in adverse weather conditions is it not tempting to fly and be paid rather than cancel a flight and not be paid?
We know the annual limit is 900 hours but On a zero hour contract do the pilots with better fuel performance get preference over other pilots in rosters, hours, especially in the slack winter months?
Why are so many pilots of a successful airline employed by agencies such as Brookfield and not on the payroll of Ryanair as they are unable to work for other airlines so in the UK don't IR35 rules apply?
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The Swedish press (Svenska Dagbladet among else) commented on O'Leary's "monkey tricks" today. Attracting the attention by all means is not necessarily good in a final conclusion, they say. Richard Wahlund, professor at the Stockholm School of Economics, argues that O'Leary's provocative style could be detrimental to his company. Too much arrogance creates the strongly negative image that could have consequences in the longer term. MOL's provocative jargon is harmful, because it sets up a risk to Ryanair's brand. Most businesses could eventually run into trouble if they do not cultivate trust. As long as everything works fine, the so-called risk of reputation could be easily deferred. However, the insufficient confidence could have very disastrous consequences for the future of the company e.g. in case of a sudden event (like a major accident). According to prof. Wahlund, having a CEO who heckles everything from the authorities and the media to customers and staff could easily backfire anytime in the future.
Read in Swedish: svd.se
Read in Swedish: svd.se
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I have unfortunately had several days in RYR that have been cancelled and I've not been paid a penny. For example the snow in the UK a few years ago. We would goto airport in the morning. Do preflights. Board passengers. Deice aircraft (worst one took 2 hours! due to conditions being outside deice fluids operating window).... I have spent many days at the airport for flights to be cancelled and not get paid a penny and those days have went up and beyond 12 hours. My most extreme delay not counting overnights a 15 hour day with discretion and got paid for 4 hours. Scheduled day was 2 x 2 hour sectors. Those additional 11 hours aren't a walk in the park.
If you ask me they should have additional pay in the contracts for unexpected events so you don't have an example of the majority of crew working for free.... But then again this is RYR. It's common practise in the summer to have ATC slots so its not unusual to do 1-4 hour delays going to popular summer destinations.
Following on from one of the posts above I would also ask MOL a few performance based questions. How is EZY, a unionised airline that pays its staff well, has a lot less aircraft than RYR, manage to financially outshine RYR. RYR may have made slightly more but with a fleet that's more than 50% larger...shows the lack of potential performance.
If you ask me they should have additional pay in the contracts for unexpected events so you don't have an example of the majority of crew working for free.... But then again this is RYR. It's common practise in the summer to have ATC slots so its not unusual to do 1-4 hour delays going to popular summer destinations.
Following on from one of the posts above I would also ask MOL a few performance based questions. How is EZY, a unionised airline that pays its staff well, has a lot less aircraft than RYR, manage to financially outshine RYR. RYR may have made slightly more but with a fleet that's more than 50% larger...shows the lack of potential performance.
Last edited by McBruce; 3rd Sep 2013 at 10:12.
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A very polished performance by Mr O'Leary, as usual.
He had it easy there batting away a few foreign jouros with no real knowledge of what they were asking or how to follow up on their questions.
According to another site where these matters are freely discussed, MO'L is going to be given another chance to answer these same questions but this time under oath and at the hands of a highly skilled and capable defence barrister who knows exactly what to ask. From what it says on there the witnesses are lining up around the block to give evidence that could prove very damaging to RYR and by default the IAA.
Interesting times ahead.
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Yup - His lies are blatant and pure ignorance. Doing the calculations on how many hours pilot work per week. He used the annual flight time limitations which doesn't include any turnaround time, delays, pre-flight duty time and post flight duty time, average out over the year or 11 months, forgot, but we do very little flying in 4 of those months and a jam packed schedule for the others through summer that hits limits.... but then that would make his answer more unfavourable but more truthful. The press don't understand the issues to be grilling him or attack any of his responses but as the above poster said, he doesn't have the best track record infront of a judge! 
Last edited by McBruce; 3rd Sep 2013 at 14:48.
I stand by my comment that MOL made a very polished performance.
- He refuted the allegations put to him (by professional journalists who should have prepared in advance if they wanted to raise difficult questions).
- He put his/the company's point of view clearly and repeatedly.
- He didn't look embarrassed or uneasy when asked searching questions.
- He reiterated the company's commitment to legal and safety standards.
JM737's observation of his body language is correct, but misinterpreted. Successful senior business people are generally dynamic, impatient and busy. It goes with the territory.
I am fully aware that certain employees and former employees of Ryanair take issue with the corporate culture that MOL personifies. As he says, if they don't like it, they can always move elsewhere. Harsh, but true.
- He refuted the allegations put to him (by professional journalists who should have prepared in advance if they wanted to raise difficult questions).
- He put his/the company's point of view clearly and repeatedly.
- He didn't look embarrassed or uneasy when asked searching questions.
- He reiterated the company's commitment to legal and safety standards.
JM737's observation of his body language is correct, but misinterpreted. Successful senior business people are generally dynamic, impatient and busy. It goes with the territory.
I am fully aware that certain employees and former employees of Ryanair take issue with the corporate culture that MOL personifies. As he says, if they don't like it, they can always move elsewhere. Harsh, but true.
I stand by my comment that MOL made a very polished performance.
- He refuted the allegations put to him (by professional journalists who should have prepared in advance if they wanted to raise difficult questions).
- He put his/the company's point of view clearly and repeatedly.
- He didn't look embarrassed or uneasy when asked searching questions.
- He reiterated the company's commitment to legal and safety standards.
JM737's observation of his body language is correct, but misinterpreted. Successful senior business people are generally dynamic, impatient and busy. It goes with the territory.
I am fully aware that certain employees and former employees of Ryanair take issue with the corporate culture that MOL personifies. As he says, if they don't like it, they can always move elsewhere. Harsh, but true.
- He refuted the allegations put to him (by professional journalists who should have prepared in advance if they wanted to raise difficult questions).
- He put his/the company's point of view clearly and repeatedly.
- He didn't look embarrassed or uneasy when asked searching questions.
- He reiterated the company's commitment to legal and safety standards.
JM737's observation of his body language is correct, but misinterpreted. Successful senior business people are generally dynamic, impatient and busy. It goes with the territory.
I am fully aware that certain employees and former employees of Ryanair take issue with the corporate culture that MOL personifies. As he says, if they don't like it, they can always move elsewhere. Harsh, but true.
I am mere SLF and don't fully understand the arguments about pilots' hours etc. However, I would rather work for a company whose CEO had a clear business agenda and model.
The responsibility is on disenchanted employees to find a way to engage Ryanair in a mutually beneficial way and not rely on the press whose motivation is merely ratings.
The proof of the pudding will be if Ryanair proceeds against Channel 4 and wins the case
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I have no ax to grind with Ryanair, and in fact they have allowed me to visit some great destinations for next to nothing.
Yet I wonder if their business plan has a shelf life?
Is their market a perpetual pool of passengers who will fly cheap fares and buy ancilliaries? Or is the market maturing, and people actually want to a bit of TLC when travelling?
Yet I wonder if their business plan has a shelf life?
Is their market a perpetual pool of passengers who will fly cheap fares and buy ancilliaries? Or is the market maturing, and people actually want to a bit of TLC when travelling?
Last edited by SealinkBF; 4th Sep 2013 at 10:05.