Another ryanair bash!

[Bluebaron]

Bit of news for the news section:

Ryanair have banned their employees from charging their mobile phones whilst at work. (scource BBC working lunch+various tabliods)

Well as it costs approx 0.005p to fully charge a mobile and lets say that 100 (overestimate) people do it every working day (mon-fri) then thats 50p a day which equates to £130.00 a year.

What's the big deal there, surely employee moral is worth that?

BB :bored:

[Stu Bigzorst]

I didn't actually believe this. Now FR bashing (a sport in its own right) has gone too far.

But it's here (http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15426742&method=full&siteid=89488&headline=ryanair-ban-staff-chargers-name_page.html)

Financial saving: nil.
Overall cost to the company: has to be lots.

This action really does say something quite significant about FR.

[MOR]

The bottom line:

If it's worth bashing, bash the crap out of it! :E

Works on my car, anyway...

If they are cutting costs to that extent, the FR boys need to start taking spanners to work and check that all the vital bits are tight... MOL is probably telling them not to fit split pins or safety wire to save money...

[Best foot forward]

There'll be a sign in the bogs saying use only one sheet at a time and use both sides:rolleyes:

[VIKING9]

I wonder what the electric company would say about them doing this....... I wonder when someone within the FR walls will be sacked for charging their phone at work. The lawyers would have a field day.

I often thought the future was bright, and the future was orange. I ain't talking about the NOKIA type either !!

[Bokkenrijder]

Just push the TOGA button once on you last flight, before leaving the company! ;)

That way Ryanair will lose the equivalent of a couple thousand telephone charges! :cool:

[Capt.KAOS]

Avoiding costs at all cost....

Mark Tran
Friday April 22, 2005

The budget airline Ryanair today took its no-frills approach to new heights by banning its staff from charging their mobile phones at work.

In justifying a move likely to underline its Scrooge-like image, Europe's largest discount airline said it did not believe using a mobile phone charger at work was acceptable.

"The cost may not be expensive but every penny saved counts and all savings go back towards lowering fares for European consumers," Ryanair said.

The ban on charging mobiles is the latest cost-saving measure at the Dublin-based airline, which is constantly on the lookout to shave costs. The carrier does not have assigned seats, does not provide free food and drink and does not provide refunds for missed connections. Ryanair staff also have to buy their own uniforms.

Last year, Ryanair and Stansted airport lost an appeal against a decision that they must provide free wheelchairs for disabled passengers. The case arose after Ryanair charged a disabled man £18 for the use of a wheelchair. Ryanair argued that Stansted should provide a free wheelchair service as it levied the charge.

Still, the no-frills approach has gone down well with the travelling public. After rapid expansion, Ryanair is now Europe's biggest low-cost carrier and Michael Mr O'Leary, its flamboyant chief executive, has ambitions for Ryanair to become Europe's largest airline in five years.

To achieve this goal, Ryanair - although it is watching the pennies - ordered 70 new Boeing jets with a list price of $4.6bn (£2.4bn) in February. The company is buying the Boeing 737-800s at a knockdown price and has an option of doubling its order to 140 aircraft.

The new aircraft will allow Ryanair to increase its passenger numbers from an expected 34 million this year to 70 million in 2011, creating 2,500 jobs and taking it ahead of British Airways and Air France. Ryanair reported profits of £20m in the last quarter of 2004.

Ryanair said staff at the company's head office had not been upset by the ban on mobile phone charging, which it said did not come from Mr O'Leary.

LINK (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1466454,00.html)

[jettesen]

Actually, easyJet are europe's biggest low cost carrier. They have over 100 aircraft now, and expanding at 25% a year.

[Young Paul]

:rolleyes: If the company can measure the cost, I'll refund double.

[Ozgrade3]

Do they also ban kettles or fan heaters in the offices, do they turn all lights off and computers at night. I can understand them wanting to save pennies, or pence, but for the energy consumption of 1 kettle boiled, or even worse those miniboil hot water units, you could charge 10,000 phones.

[Telstar]

Exactly Ozgrade, its not got anything to do with Saving Money, its to send a message to employees of their perceived worth, simple as.

[gibney85]

@ jetteson

"Actually, easyJet are europe's biggest low cost carrier. They have over 100 aircraft now, and expanding at 25% a year."

Wrong - In 2004, Ryanair carried 24.6 million passengers while easyjet carried 24.3 million. Check the websites

Easyjet have over 100 aircraft. Ryanair have over 100 Brand New 737-800's. Nuff Said

[RAT 5]

As wheelchair costs were mentioned, may I ask a question on this 'charge/cost' issue.

It was said that RYR had to pay 18.00 for a wheel chair, tried to charger the pax etc.etc. and it was ruled that RYR & BAA should share the charge. RYR said they would add a levy to their tickets. Scare tactics, perhaps.

Recently I bolught a RYR return ticket and it included 6.36euros for insurance & wheelchair levy. (I had already opted out of the other insurance scam on the RYR booking site, whereby it is included unless you cancel it.) I do not want or need any of there insurance, but there it was anyway, and wrapped up with the wheelchair levy.

Now, RYR have a policy of a max 4 wheelchair pax per sector. If the charge is 18.00 GBP's x 4 = 72.00 = 105 euros. 189x85%(load factor) = 160 pax at 6.36 = 1017euros.

This smells of a complete scam and how the matter has been turned into a profit maker for RYR via very stealthy means. AND there is no choice, other than another carrier.

In any case, this levy is only valid for a pax who does not have a personal wheelchair. The use of airport wheelchairs is very very rare, but the charge is levied on every single ticket, wheelchairs or not.

Scandlous!! Any comments on this from within?

[asheng]

Blimey,

You read some interesting bits on this site and you read some right old c**p.

I don't know where this one came from (and Yes I have read the link) but as one who works for the company it is highly worthy of filing in the "B" for bin catogory.

If they banned mobile phone chargers the place would stop as the batteries died. The company uses mobiles as much as anyone else for daily business and as such people can be contacted for a wide variety of reasons.

Its just another bit of bashing Ryanair I'm afraid which after a while gets tiresome.

No its not a perfect company and no things that go on are not ideal. The end result is you are paid to do a job, you come in do the job and go home..........................................thats the deal.

They pay well for this service and the professional people who perform this service work very hard and get on with it.

If you dont like it you are free to go..................................It's your choice.

Still anything for a bit of "News". Mind you if you want to see what life is like on the other side, ask a few of the guys who have just crossed the fence from our orange cousins and listen to the horror stories and nightmares they can recall. However it not fashionable to knock the orange machine off because which grey suit do you pick on first....................................There are plenty if anyone knows there names.

Still must go and empty the Bin! - can't wait for the next newsworthy item

Seeya

[DistantRumble]

Unison reports this [ Independent News and Media ]

Irish airline Ryanair has banned its staff from charging their mobile phones at work as part of its relenting campaign to cut costs.

A spokesman for the company said: "The cost may not be expensive, but every penny saved counts and all savings go back towards lowering fares for European consumers."

Ryanair staff already have to buy their own uniforms, while the airline offers no free food on its flights and refuses to provide refunds for missed connections.

The airline also came under fire last year when it charged a disabled British man £18 to bring his wheelchair onto a flight at Stanstead Airport.

[airborne_artist]

Chargers draw about 10 watts - and take about an hour to re-charge a phone.

UK electricity is about 6 pence for a kilowatt hour, so you could re-charge 100 mobiles for 6p.

Ryanair employs 2,600 people, and if they each re-charge their mobile at work once a week, it would cost about £15 per week, a total of £750 a year :{ :{

[tocamak]

But surely the point was that Ryanair get mentioned in the media again with no charge (sorry) whilst the public couldn't give a hoot about the employees mobile phones just the lowest fares they can get.

[Dylsexlic]

RAT 5 said that he paid a compulsory fee for insurance and the wheelchair levy. The answer to not be able to opt out of the amount is simple - every passenger must ask for a wheelchair!



I may be dylsexlic but I've learned to spell "cocktip". er cockpit.

[sky9]

I wonder if they have ever thought of charging pilots for their fuel; after all they don't pay for their seats. :D

[atse]

asheng, do I get you right.... are you saying that you are an employee of Ryanair and that you deny that this story is true?

[asheng]

atse.

I don't deny its a true story, it obviously is. However it is pretty miniscule in the grand scheme of things and is in all honesty just another piece of journolistic crap revolves around this company.

As I see it Ryanair has far greater issues that could be published but that would involve a bit of backgound investigation and maybe if it was done in a constructive way could even be classed as objective.

Do people really give a monkies whether you can charge a mobile phone on the companies lecky bill.......................No, not really and after about 24 hours it will be yesterdays news. Come Monday people will still be charging their mobiles etc because we've all seen it before and most people couldn't give one for these stupid edicts.

Alas it gives people something else to shout about. However there are some very professional people who strive to work for this outfit and yes there are also some people who have been shafted well and truly. That is something of a concern and they deserve respect for standing up and being counted.

Do either of these groups of people get the coverage they deserve, that is questionable?

However some ejit decides to make a nonsensicle issue about charging mobiles and the press feed themselves and the rest of the Ryanair bashers see it as a golden opportunity. Lets be honest it is only a small minority that people associate with Ryanair, the rest of us are just paid to do a job and we don't even get a mention.

As I said before............................................you come, you work (hard), you get paid. If you don't like it you move on. Its a choice we all have to make.

I'm just saying that after a while the bashing gets a bit tiresome, especially when the majority of the people doing the bashing don't know whats really going on here, and this is the best they can feed off for another round.

[atse]

asheng, thanks for the reply. Fair points. I don't entirely agree with your perspective, but I take on board what you have to say.

[jettesen]

But why should employees charge their mobiles at work??? can they not charge it at home? Any who carries their charger around with them??????? WIERD!

More likely to save more money by banning employees using the land phone at work

[Agaricus bisporus]

I read this thread yeaterday and thought it so odd, even for FRA, that there had to be more to it than meets the eye, and sure enough an hour later read this article in the Times. I reckon they just want to reduce the amount of personal mobile calls and texting that goes on in work time and this is a way of starting the campaign. I must say from what I've seen of my younger colleagues profligate use of these damn things at work I'm not surprised.




April 22, 2005

Why texting harms your IQ
By Michael Horsnell
Txts n emails mk ppl stupid coz they R worse than smking pot & lead 2 a st8 of 'infomania'

THE regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking marijuana.

That is the claim of psychologists who have found that tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking them for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to ten points off the user’s IQ.

This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavourably with the four-point drop in IQ associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have labelled the fleeting phenomenon of enhanced stupidity as “infomania”.

Research on sleep deprivation suggests that the IQ drop caused by electronic obsession is also equivalent to a wakeful night.

Infomania is mainly a problem for adult workers, especially men, the study commissioned by Hewlett Packard, the technology company, has concluded.

The noticeable drop in IQ is attributed to the constant distraction of “always on” technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the task in hand.

Workers lose productivity by interrupting a business meeting and disrupt social gatherings because of their infirmity, the report said.

The brain also finds it hard to cope with juggling lots of tasks at once, reducing its overall effectiveness, it added. And while modern technology can have huge benefits, excessive use can be damaging not only to a person’s mind, but to their social life.

Eighty volunteers took part in clinical trials on IQ deterioration and 1,100 adults were interviewed.

More than six in ten (62 per cent) of people polled admit that they were addicted to checking their e-mail and text messages so assiduously that they scrutinised work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately to an email and one in five (21 per cent) will interrupt a meeting to do so.

Furthermore, infomania is having a negative effect on work colleagues, increasing stress and dissenting feelings. Nine out of ten polled thought that colleagues who answered e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude. Yet one in three Britons believes that it is not only acceptable, but actually diligent and efficient to do so.

The effects on IQ were studied by Dr Glenn Wilson, a University of London psychologist, as part of the research project.

“This is a very real and widespread phenomenon,” he said. “We have found that infomania, if unchecked, will damage a worker’s performance by reducing their mental sharpness.

“Companies should encourage a more balanced and appropriate way of working.”

The report suggests that firms who give employees gadgets and devices to help them keep in touch from wherever they might be should also produce guidelines on use.

These “best practice tips” including using “dead time”, such as travelling time, to read messages and check e-mails and turning devices off in meetings. David Smith, commercial manager of Hewlett Packard, said: “The research suggests that we are in danger of being caught up in a 24-hour ‘always on’ society.

“This is more worrying when you consider the potential impairment on performance and concentration for workers, and the consequent impact on businesses.”

He said that although the company produced such technology, it was similar to a motor manufacturer making a 150mph sports car and telling drivers to stick within speed limits.

He added: “Similarly, ‘always on’ technology has proven productivity benefits but people need to use it responsibly. We know that technology makes us more effective, but we also know that misuse of technology can be counter-productive.”

GETTING THE MESSAGE



More than 50 billion e-mails are despatched every day wordwide; in 2001 the traffic was less than 12 billion

Of these 88 per cent are junk e-mails including around 1 per cent which are virus-infected

The average number of e-mail messages received per person per day is 32. This is rising by 84 per cent each year

There are 440 million electronic mailboxes including 170 million corporate ones in use, growing by 32 per cent per year

A total of 1,035 million mobile phone text messages are despatched each month in Britain.

The average amount of texts per month is 37 per user compared to 21 in 2001

A million children aged under 10 in the UK — one in three — now have their own phones

The average age at which a child gets his or her first mobile phone in this country is eight

Eighty two per cent of children and young people from 5 to 24 — a total of 12.6 million — own a mobile phone; this is predicted to rise to 87 per cent by 2007