The whole point of the barcodes is so they can be checked/read via the computer to stop multiple persons on the same boarding pass going airside. I'm not sure whether the airport has access to flight manifestos- or whether the barcode just contains all the information. I'd assume the latter.

Generally, normal boarding passes are not scanned. But A4 ones should be.

As a side interest, anyone that wishes to replace A4 boarding passes with legacy style ones can usually do so if you state the A4 passes wont scan.

barcodes
 

The barcode is used at airports such as DUB and STN, not sure which others do. The main reason is, that the scanning the barcode is far faster at counting boarding cards and showing the TOB and the no shows (also tells you if the no show has a checked in bag), also
And the reson why not all airport use them is the cost fo the computer/barcode scanner.

Well AL we are all entitled to our opinions, doesnt make them right!

Wasnt FR fault the boarding card didnt scan, maybe the printer was dodgey, I had one once which one break the bar code in 2 so it was unreadable.

I suppose the main thing is they didnt charge and no one was left behind!

I always fold mine being careful not to have a crease over a bar code. Fortunately, the current positioning of bar codes make it possible easily to fold the A4 sheet several times. This was not always the case.

With inkjet printers it's obviously a good idea to keep the boarding passes dry!

The only problem I've had was when the pass was accidentally scanned twice by the security person; Ryanair issued a replacement instantly (this was before 100% OCLI, so there was no fee).

Ryanair has silently deployed its forth jet in Bremen. No press conference, no nothing. But given Bremen's notoriety as a FR base this is quite a positive trend.

On 11th May (next week) 12 weekly BRE-SXF will start. Alghero and Zadar will folow in June but you're correct there wasn't any press release or something like that. It's been 3 years ago when FR opened the base at BRE with 3 a/c.

I wrote it here in December 2009:...and here is my report.

I've managed to test this route a few days before the European skies became covered by ashes. While I came by car driving some 200km from the West, most of the passengers travelled roughly the same distance from across the border. Have to say, I was really impressed. Yes, it's true! Some 60% of pax spoke Russian, the rest Finnish, only a few Germans could be spotted there. Just 3 or 4 free seats from Lappeenranta to NRN, 9 or 10 left on the return leg. Well-organized groups of Russian travellers came in dozens of private cars and vans. A few days later back in LPP a big coach waiting for them and anybody else going to St. Petersburg - it works! They tell me the return fare to St. Petersburg would amount to 25 euros.

So it looks like the great success? Yes, like a potential one. But only theoretically. Somewhat typically for FR, they are very slow to react. With two flights weekly this opportunity will not realize without new routes/ frequencies. Not during this season at least. If they count on small community of Lappeenranta as a source of marketing support to achieve the goal of transferring Russian pax to Europe - it will hardly happen. Sometimes it just pays to be quick as the chance arises, the potential is vast, despite lack of advertising. It's clear for me, yet not necessarily for Ryanair.

Charlie MCreevy to join Ryanair
 

Hi
Im wondering does anyone have any idea what role former minister for Finance and former European commisioner Charlie MCreevy may have in a board of Directors in Ryanair?
Certainly would be interested as far as i know he has no previous experience of Aviation.
The story is attached

Commission backs Ryanair role for McCreevy - The Irish Times - Wed, May 05, 2010

Ryanair Holdings are a publicly quoted company. High profile individuals such as ex-ministers and commissioners make for good non-exec directors as they raise the profile of the organisations and, quite often, the financial markets assume these individuals "have the ear" of those in power (regardless of whether they do or not).

Don't worry, "Champagne Charlie" isn't likely to be making any operational decisions regarding the running of the business.

JAS

April stats
 

Ryanair’s booked passenger and load factor statistics for April 2010 are as follows:



Not bad considering all the new routes with low pax numbers.

Could be helpful for FR's "Charleroi North" relations.

Passenger figures are particularly good considering the volcanic ash disruption, although that may have aided the load factor figures as full flights would have taken off carrying passengers from the cancelled flights.

Or do Ryanair even take into account whether a flight left in calculating the load factor?

Looks like their negotiating line with Budapest was to the tune of "Low charges and a Budapest base with 25 new routes including Barcelona, Malaga, Gothenburg and Trapani - or we're out of here".

Wizz must be breathing a sigh of relief! Or it was all one big charade to dispell the idea that Wizz and Ryanair or purposely not competing with each other, and to allow Ryanair to pull out of Wizz's markets...


Source (in French): Après Prague, Ryanair devrait quitter Budapest | Air Journal

Plus they get a nice bit of pocket money to top up their pension.:yuk:

I would say that, if that's truth he shouldn't be allowed to play a role in such an important company. Politicians should wait at least for 5 years before being allowed to enter companies like Ryanair (who have had a direct interest in the decisions that the financial commissioner has made regarding subventions and financial aids cleared by the European Commission). There is a "conflict of interests" in this, and in many cases, where a clear promiscuous relationship between politicians and companies is more than obvious.
As is attributed to Julius Caeser: "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion" meaning that, the wife of Caesar had to take greater care, not only to the way she behaved but also, to the image she gave about herself [to the Roman community] that should be (and was) irreproachable.
It is not the case in-our-days. Unfortunately, greed is much stronger than modesty and shame. Despite of being tired of all of this promiscuity, the civil society doesn't pay attention to values like "honor" and "correctness", anymore. This are things of the past...

Exactly as Biggles said, anyone with political influence can get a job on the Board of any Company if it's in their interests to have them on board.
£40 -60K per year for a couple of days work a month is nothing if it gets the company the deals it wants.

Twas ever thus and ever will be.

from the Irish Independent website for info:

McCreevy gets green light for top Ryanair job
Wednesday May 05 2010

FORMER EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy can take up a key post in Ryanair after the European Commission cleared the way for him.

It said it would allow the former finance minister to accept the job as a non-executive director on the board of the airline.

The Commission said Mr McCreevy could take the post so long as he does not offer the company "advice on any case involving Ryanair handled by the Commission when he was a commissioner".

The EU executive has the power to probe any job prospects for former top brass if they come up in the year after a commissioner leaves office.

Mr McCreevy retired from his post as internal market chief in February.

While he was not responsible for cases involving Ryanair during his five years in Brussels, he could have been privy to information passed on by his colleagues during staff meetings.

Commissioners are obliged to take an oath that during and after they leave office they will behave with "integrity and discretion". The spokesman said he had "every confidence" Mr McCreevy would do so.

If Mr McCreevy takes up the post he could be docked part of his three-year transitional allowance from the Commission, equivalent to 55pc of his former salary, or around €133,000 per year. This will only happen if he earns above the €243,338 he was paid as a commissioner.

As a non-executive director with Ryanair, Charlie McCreevy won't make a fortune.

Ryanair's current slate of seven non-executive directors, including its US-based chairman, billionaire David Bonderman, are entitled to receive €32,000 per annum, but they also receive expenses -- typically those associated with performing their duties, including travelling to attend board meetings.

They also receive additional payments for being members of internal committees -- the audit and remuneration committees are common examples, where members review executive pay and validate accounts.

Influence

Ryanair considers all of its non-executive directors to be independent, in that "no one individual or grouping exerts an undue influence on others".

While non-executive directors also receive share options, the net amount realisable from an eventual exercising of those options often isn't significant.

For example, one Ryanair non-executive director, Klaus Kirchberger, exercised options on 50,000 of the airline's shares on June 18 last year.

To exercise the option on each of those shares cost Mr Kirchberger €141,500, while he would have sold them for about €163,000 for a net pre-tax gain of just €21,500.

- Sarah Collins and John Mulligan

Mr. McCreevy's arrival on the board of Ryanair has been predicted for some time. The long awaited third attempt at a takeover of Aer Lingus has been delayed until he could be put in place. Of course, he won't give any advice on this case since he was a commissioner when it last came before the commission and he is precluded from giving any such advice. That is one of the conditions for the approval of the appointment. And, naturally, he will continue to display the "integrity and discretion" which has always marked him out from other men and which has indeed for many years been the hallmark of the wonderful party to which he belongs. We are indeed blessed that such selfless men continue to offer themselves to serve us when lesser mortals would be content to retire and enjoy their pensions.

Ash leads to 17 increase in ryanair pax!
 

ryanair know how to rig numbers.


1. RYANAIR’S APRIL TRAFFIC GROWS 17%
according to they web site news and releases to stock markets.
They had 6.2 million booked passengers up from 5.3 million in April a year before.

later they say
So they flew 5 million booked seat some of which will be rebookings from when air space was closed. I always knew they cheated a bit but did expect them to take off booked seats when the sector was not flown

befree

So they stated in the figures that it included ash canx bookings as well then...........

MM