Ryanair - 7 [Archive] - Page 5

compton3bravo

22nd Mar 2010, 13:47

I must take umbridge with you Ryanair 1 about unions being ol s**t (if you cannot write in a proper way other than using foul language I suggest you go and have a few lessons somewhere to improve your vocabulary.
I was a Union official for my union in the printing industry (we all had to take our turn) and most of the time we all tried to do a decent job for the employees and employers.
I was glad I was in a union because some of the bosses I came in contact would have tried to walk all over you if you had not had the protection from the union and when I was out of work through redundancy they helped me financially until I managed to secure.
I am glad I do not work for your company with that sort of attitude where everybody seems to be tarred with the same brush. The old saying goes a happy ship is a good ship.
As regards the BA strike the only solution is for both sides to get round the table and negotiate an honourable settlement.

JohnnyPharm

22nd Mar 2010, 21:27

WW and MOL play golf every week together, so they probably brokered the deal on the fairways somewhere, and anyway the FR flights are flying into Gatwick Southend airport.

Seljuk22

23rd Mar 2010, 18:26

From June new (seasonal?) routes from AHO to BRE (restart), BTS and GSE and from July OPO-CCF 2 weekly

LBIA

23rd Mar 2010, 21:50

Hey

The 2 new LBA based aircraft have arrived 24 hours early then, As both aircraft have just positioned in from Dublin this evening with-in 20 mins of each other as FR1561P and FR1562P

FR-

24th Mar 2010, 21:38

Removed due to giving out too much information. . . not sure if pprune would give fr my email or details . . . . .

iwak

24th Mar 2010, 21:49

How is LBA to Noc route looking load wise

FR-

24th Mar 2010, 22:04

Im not sure i dont know about any other flight

EI-BUD

24th Mar 2010, 23:36

WELSHGUY40
The link to this livery website is great, and the Ryanair livery looks very smart on an Airbus. Most unlikely that Ryanair would ever get an Airbus, since they fell out of terms when Ryanair went to Boeing with the Airbus 'final offer' and then signed Boeing and effectively gave the 2 fingers to Airbus.

However, you may be interested to know that around 1988 Airbus flew an A320 to Dublin with Ryanair image on the side, which took the form of the Ryanair name on the side of the fuselage (at that time they had moved from the 2 R's to a plain white tail). At that time Ryanair were 'kicking the tyre's' on the idea of getting Airbus but finally decided that they couldnt afford it. I have a picture of it in a book called Aviation in Ireland.

Maybe if Ryanair take over any Airbus operators and rebrand them Ryanair in the absence of being able to get good pricing on another batch of Boeings we may then see a Ryanair branded 320!

EI-BUD

WELSHGUY40

25th Mar 2010, 08:04

thanks for that i guess we never no with fr

Teaboy24

25th Mar 2010, 09:18

Having just flown Stansted-Prestwick-Stansted, the flights were about half full each way. However, the cabin crew did not block off rows at front and rear, only rows 3-4.
Cabin crew used to say it was because of balance, has the policy changed ? Never liked all being squeezed into the centre of cabin. Nice to have whole row to myself each way.

A few passengers in suits which is a rare sight on Ryanair flights, obviously BA passengers trying the alternative. Would have thought loads would be higher with what going on at BA, or is this route dying anyway.

FA10

25th Mar 2010, 11:33

Blocking row 3+4 is MANDATORY below a certain amount of passengers.
The blocking of rows 3-8 and the last 4 is an OPTION to slightly shift the balance limit (usually depending on the amount of luggage / cargo in the holds).
So if the loadsheet shows a nicely balanced aircraft with just a few passengers it is always possible to block just rows 3+4.
There has actually been a change in procedures a few months ago - now it is always possible to sit in the first two rows as it often led to passenger complains when it was not possible to sit there.

FA10

25th Mar 2010, 11:56

From June new (seasonal?) routes from AHO to BRE (restart), BTS and GSE and from July OPO-CCF 2 weekly

Just checked the AHO-BTS times and see this on is gonna be flown ex BTS. Further checking the incoming flights to BTS I find... NOTHING that matches.
Could this be the first route announced for a Bratislava based aircraft or have I just missed something?

Teaboy24

25th Mar 2010, 12:03

Appreciate your explanation. As you are obviously in the know, can you explain to me one thing.

During boarding process at Stansted, rear steps were removed early, so majority boarded at the front, and as we all know, people tend to seat in the first available seats they come to and get in the way of others (never been a fan of free seating).

Result was that most were seated at the front with acres of space at the rear end. How do you do a loadsheet when you don't know were anybody would sit or do you take our seating habits into account.. If rear steps stay in place till boarding complete surely would be better.

I guess this is done in the race to get away on time, but is it correct ?

FA10

25th Mar 2010, 13:57

You are right, Teaboy - it is correct.
The system is made for the "worst case scenario", so it does not do any harm when all the passengers are sitting in the most forward or rearward available position.
The reason for the early removal of the back stairs will remain in the dark - however the situation of boarding with only one entry is quite common. Imagine for example using the airbridge (happens occasionaly) or boarding at the rear during a handicaped passenger is entering in front.
The system was designed by the manufacturer of the aircraft in cooperation with FR - you can be sure, that it works in all cases!
FA10

pee

26th Mar 2010, 12:31

Ryanair will not be among the first carriers to start operating at the new SWIFT low-cost terminal in Copenhagen, writes the Danish press. Only three airlines - easyJet, Germanwings and Transavia - have shown their concrete interest, SAS and Cimber Sterling are not interested. The limited transfer capabilities are discouraging Norwegian, FR probably will wait for the better conditions, Air Berlin is still pondering.

Swift will open in October this year. http://www.boarding.no/images/archive/p201003260813-4847.jpg

Limburg

30th Mar 2010, 06:05

from MST-Aviation.nl
There are rumors going around that Ryanair is planning to base 2 737's at MST. :shock:
Anyone here with info? Correct/incorrect?

allanmack

30th Mar 2010, 06:40

Not sure of the exact loads on PIK-STN but have flown it 3x in the last two months (and again tomorrow) of the six sectors, I would estimate that the lowest was 75% withe highest close to 95%. first put and last back always seem the busiest with flight in between lower. Flying on the early afternoon flight from STN tomorrow so will be interested to see what the load is.

FA10

31st Mar 2010, 21:00

Just checked the AHO-BTS times and see this on is gonna be flown ex BTS. Further checking the incoming flights to BTS I find... NOTHING that matches.
Could this be the first route announced for a Bratislava based aircraft or have I just missed something?

Disregard - route to be flown ex BTS by Girona based aircraft.

kingdee

1st Apr 2010, 09:59

Ryanair to Install Onboard Vending Machines

RYANAIR TO INSTALL VENDING MACHINES ONBOARD
AND REDUCE CABIN CREW TO LOWER COSTS

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, has announced that it will install vending machines onboard its 225 aircraft in a drive to further reduce costs and increase ancillary revenues through increased passenger choice. From June 2010 Ryanair passengers will be able to purchase hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, snacks, ice-cream, condoms and smokeless cigarettes directly from onboard vending machines.

Ryanair said that the phased installation of vending machines will allow it to reduce its cabin crew teams onboard from four to two who will perform safety announcements and ensure passenger seatbelts are securely fastened. The substantial savings which this initiative will generate will then be passed on to the travelling public in the form of lower fares.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;

“Ryanair is delighted to announce the installation of our onboard vending machines which will provide passengers with an extensive choice of in-flight snacks and drinks, allowing Ryanair to reduce crew members, lower costs and pass on lower fares to the travelling public.

ara01jbb

1st Apr 2010, 10:03

The kind of April Fool that puts the fear of god into your cabin crew?

I suppose :hmm:

MUFC_fan

1st Apr 2010, 11:14

I don't think cabin crew will really notice this if they have any wit about them. Ryanair already operate the minimum cabin crew that the authorities allow so there is little chance of them losing out to a 'vending machine.'

The article seems to suggest that a cabin crew's role is focused solely on service and "making sure seatbelts are fastened." This is very much their secondary role and for the airline to go about focusing their role on service is not only incorrect but very insulting to the staff.

Typical Ryanair April fools and I must say, it isn't their best compared to previous years.

Telstar

1st Apr 2010, 13:26

Is there any website or document that shows how many aircraft FR have at a given base and when a new aircraft starts operating? I can see on the FR website when a new route opens but not the aircraft.

10W

1st Apr 2010, 15:14

Items usually get moved because they are in the incorrect forum. The Rumours and News Forum has the following byline:

Reporting Points that may affect our jobs or lives as professional pilots. Also, items that may be of interest to professional pilots.

Does this item affect the jobs or lives of professional pilots ? Nope.

Is it of interest to professional pilots ? Maybe, but we don't think so as headlining news.

It's about an airline (Ryanair), and an airport (Dublin).

paarmo

1st Apr 2010, 15:49

Ryanair are very quick to get the lawyers out when they sniff a comment which does not put them in a good light. Please read this before anyone continues on thei post England’s libel laws don’t just gag me, they blindfold you | Simon Singh - Times Online (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article6879284.ece)

Aloue

1st Apr 2010, 16:00

Well, there is not much point arguing with a moderator.

However, I thought it was "News" - which is supposedly a bit better than Rumour. Hence the "News and Rumour" thread was chosen.

It is indeed important news. I should therefore lay out why I think that this is a backwater for placing such an item and why it is wrong to remove it from a prominent - and, in my opinion, a singularly appropriate - thread.

It is relevant because the serious bit of this is that the Chief Executive of a major European airline has been found to have "mislead [a] Court". This is judicial language for telling a lie, which is what some of the newspaper headlines have called it.

This particular airline now has several executives, not to mention the Chief Executive, who have been similarly criticised. In most companies such executives would receive some attention, including from the Board. In most companies such a Chief Executive would not last and would now be "considering his position".

But I doubt than nobody think that this particular Chief Executive will be doing any such thing, especially as he has tolerated similar findings for those who work for him. The Board will do what the Board of this company always does. All of this makes it important, factual, news.

This particular Chief Executive is controversial, and has been for some time. There have been court cases involving professional pilots as well and issues relating to fatigue, incidents, etc, etc. and suggestions that the hand of this Chief Executive is very much "on the helm".

All of this is, in my humble opinion, highly relevant to Bulletin Board calling itself the "Professional Pilots Rumour Network"

The bonus was that this piece gets both the drama and significance of the court events in one rather amusing article.

That is why I posted it and that is why I consider(ed) it relevant for the thread I originally chose.

Finally, the letter of apology has just appeared elsewhere on the web. Where might one post that? Here for the airport watchers ....? (Not that I am going to. I'm giving up).

That said, I have to admire the sophistry of the justification offered and congratulate our moderator:It's about an airline (Ryanair), and an airport (Dublin).

10W

1st Apr 2010, 16:24

PPRuNe has editorial rights, hence we place threads where we think serve the site best. This one sits nicely in here in the opinion of PPRuNe.

Incidentally Aloue, you did get written permission to post the article under copyright ...... didn't you ?

Sunday Tribune Copyright Notice
All information, content and services on this website and archive, including but not limited to news articles, features, reviews, photographs, illustrations, video, audio and graphics copyright © Tribune Newspapers PLC (unless specified otherwise). Reproduction only with prior written permission. Linking to content is permitted but must be ceased upon request from Tribune Newspapers PLC. Emailed content and printed hard copy versions of this content also copyright © Tribune Newspapers PLC.

If only you'd just posted a link as per the notice, you might not have placed PPRuNe under a potential copyright breach threat :hmm:

Aloue

1st Apr 2010, 17:32

Did I not show some prescience in starting my post above with the following words?

Well, there is not much point arguing with a moderator.

It is normally the case that a recalcitrant poster perpetuates an argument that should be dropped. But we may have a case of role reversal here! When near the end of my post I said

Not that I am going to. I'm giving up.

What I meant was: This is over. I don’t agree with the reasons advanced. I have explained why. I’m going off now. The moderators of this site will (necessarily) win any argument.

Next I see a new post from the moderator. But the argument has changed. Now I could reply to that (and I do have answers) but it will still be the case that he or she will win in the end. However only because those folks up in “PPruNe HQ” make the rules. While that is how it must be, it nonetheless does not necessarily every decision correct.

In any case to chase the copyright rabbit is to head off the subject. The nub of this matter is that, were I to obtain permission to publish this article from the Sunday Tribune – which I think I could probably get in this case – where would the article be posted on PPRuNe?

However, that question has already been answered and I have explained above why I disagreed. That, in my humble opinion, should have ended the matter.

Changing the subject to one of copyright does not change the points I made above and the introduction of a new argument tends in my opinion to support my suspicion that the post was removed for reasons other than provided. But who cares about a suspicion? It amounts to nothing.

I do think it was important to say what I said because of who and what is involved. I equally think it best that we all let this go.

I hope that it is therefore clear that I (1) accept the moderator’s decision, and, (2) I do not agree with it.

PPRuNe has editorial rights, hence we place threads where we think serve the site best. This one sits nicely in here in the opinion of PPRuNe.

paarmo

1st Apr 2010, 20:02

Dear Aloue,
At the moment there is a case going through the English Courts of a Rwandan National who has permission to stay in the UK suing an American newspaper ( Christian Scientist ? ) for comments posted on it's website which were seen by 6 people (hits so it could have been one person six times ) in the UK. I don't know where you reside and I know the server for this site is in USA but MOL and Ryanair have a reputation in the jurisdiction of the English Courts so I understand why the moderators are wary of allowing any comments which could be construed as libellous. Whether they are or not is by the way it is who has the deepest pockets who wins. For information the Rwandan national is I believe being funded on Legal Aid which means that HM Govt are paying for it. Lots of US sites are already deciding whether to block English access because of the crazy libel laws in this country. Please bear with the Mods. ( God how that hurt )

darkskies

3rd Apr 2010, 17:20

Says it all....

Cantillon - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 30, 2010 (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0330/1224267343404.html)

EI-BUD

5th Apr 2010, 15:55

So what are the chances of any new GB bases? Does anyone forsee that any new bases will be created or indeed any new routes ex GB airports?

Does anyone forsee that there will be a new Ryanair airport for London, ie Southend, Cambridge etc? Any future potential?

EI-BUD

davidjohnson6

5th Apr 2010, 17:12

If there is to be a new base at Southend or Cambridge, then FR would have to be careful to ensure it doesn't end up inadvertently cannibalising business from its existing operation at STN while incurring the additional cost of a 3rd base serving the area around London north of the Thames

Having said that, it might be a good way to keep STN management on their toes... in the same way as Easyjet at BFS+BHD

pamann

5th Apr 2010, 17:47

Has it not been said a fair bit on the Southend thread that even with the runway extension FR's 738's would be pay load restricted? EZY's 319's would be fine. I can't see FR at Cambridge that is just pointless with Stansted on it's doorstep and I certainly don't see them at Southend either due to the above. If they wanted another SE base then the likes of Manston (being Infratil) or even Norwich would be their best option.

mickyman

5th Apr 2010, 18:38

Who the hell does MOL think he is.......Gordon Brown!!

Good to see some 'old faithful' enemies of Ryanair taking
up the baton and running with it.Still if the judge is happy
to accept MOL's cringing apology then who are we.

I am reminded of an episode of Father Ted when Father Jack
(the drunkard) has to apologise to a Bishops' aide !!

MM

danielmellor

5th Apr 2010, 22:09

Flew 4 Ryanair Flights Last week :ooh:

BHD - STN - SNN

SNN - LPL - BHD

and I Must say, I was very satisfied ;)

All flights On Time etc..

When flying out of shannon though i was the only passenger going through security and in the departure lounge for around 15-20 Minutes it was realli weird

apaul

6th Apr 2010, 15:16

Ryanair stooping to new depths in exploiting family holidaymakers with increased luggage charges for July and August. News : Ryanair Urges Passengers to Travel Light During Peak Summer Months (http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-urges-passengers-to-travel-light-during-peak-summer-months)

Noxegon

6th Apr 2010, 15:22

You've got to laugh - they're complaining that a €10 departure tax in Ireland will prevent people from flying - what about a €5 increase in luggage charges?

And please, no Ryanair apologists saying to travel with hand luggage only; on a two week holiday it can't be done.

MUFC_fan

6th Apr 2010, 15:31

They aren't 'steeping to new lows' as this has just been set by Spirit airlines in the US:

Spirit Airlines to charge up to $45 for carry-on bags in overhead bin starting Aug. 1 | Markets | Market News | Canadian Business Online (http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9ETKTC01)

However, Ryanair really are trying to push passengers into using simply on board luggage and I can understand perfectly why:

Reduces ground costs
Reduces turnaround times
Reduces fuel use:

69.5m passengers
82% load factor
30% passengers put baggage in the hold
15kg limit

=256,455,000kg maximum carried per year with check baggage (assuming all bags are 15kg). I'm sure if they lost that weight they would be very pleased! Even if it brings in at the moment the same in €s!

You've got to laugh - they're complaining that a €10 departure tax in Ireland will prevent people from flying - what about a €5 increase in luggage charges?

And please, no Ryanair apologists saying to travel with hand luggage only; on a two week holiday it can't be done.

There is a clear difference which is something Ryanair continue to try and get across to the more, how can I put this, 'straight-forward minded' - is that a good way of putting it?

Anyway, the DAA charge is compulsory - you have no choice whatsoever. The Ryanair charge is very much an option - and they very much want you to turn them down! They want you to say no and fly without them! They save, you save!

Your right - two weeks probably cannot be done with 10kg luggage, however lets look at the facts - Ryanair's passenger numbers continue to rise - the DAA...a story for another day...

eu01

6th Apr 2010, 15:58

When flying out of shannon though i was the only passenger going through security and in the departure lounge for around 15-20 Minutes it was realli weird
But you weren't the only pax, were you? FR's recent reductions @SNN seem perfectly understandable. It's only unjust to blame everybody else for this lack of demand there. Probably not Ryanairs fault either, as mostly the demographic objectives are precluding the growth. You simply cannot tell people to fly more.

BFS101

6th Apr 2010, 16:07

The fact that Ryanair are only implementing the additional charges for July and August, the two busiest months for summer sun holidays, combined with my opinion that it's passengers going away for a week or two in the sun that actually require the facility of checked luggage, this just seems to me an additional money making scheme.

If it was a longer term strategy, maybe, but to only apply to the peak summer, looks like extra revenue generation. A city break or couple of days away, most passengers can do with 10kg cabin baggage, but to try and pack for a week or two into cabin baggage, I'd reckon could reduce overall enjoyment of the holiday, and add a heck of a lot more stress travelling.

Ryanair often loudly voiced their opinion on the dinosaur legacy carriers and their rip-off fuel surcharges. I see this as a blatant, hypocritical, luggage surcharge; were the extra cost of checking in baggage with Ryanair, does not accurately reflect the true cost of checking in said baggage. The extra money generated from this, will just subsidise more headlining loss-leading low fares for advertising purposes, and to get bums on seats.

Random Flyer

6th Apr 2010, 16:41

Are Ryanair trying to force holiday makers to use other airlines? Expecting families going away for a week or two to just take carry on luggage is laughable.

flying_shortly

6th Apr 2010, 19:09

Makes sense if you ask me.

Take the average 2 child family. More than likely you might bundle the childrens' clothes in with the parents'... Therefore, that's two seats down without posibility for money generation. On the whole the major costs when going on holiday are accom., food and drink. Do you think the average non-aviation enthusist, lager lout Brit is going to research baggage fees of on average e15 when the hotel costs e1000/week?

Another reason to put on my 'why is Ryanair doing so well' list!

qwertyuiop

6th Apr 2010, 19:15

Question.

Having already booked a flight in Aug with RYR, am I now subject to these NEW extra charges?

compton3bravo

6th Apr 2010, 19:43

WRONG QUERTY - as you have already booked your flight you are not subject to the new charges as it relates to new bookings from midnight on 6th April. Read the blurb on the Ryanair website.

bjones4

6th Apr 2010, 22:34

Ryanair toilet charges to be phased in | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1263905/Ryanair-toilet-charges-phased-in.html?ITO=1490)

"Ryanair confirms it WILL bring in charges for on-board toilets"

Mr McNamara is still determined he can wedge an extra 6 seats in there despite the certificates saying otherwise.

boyzinblue

7th Apr 2010, 12:39

NEW: Kerry to Weeze

ceimanfhiadh

7th Apr 2010, 12:40

I like Ryanair but that €5 increase is an absolute disgrace.

Daffydil

7th Apr 2010, 15:36

Perhaps Ryanir's rivals will now start marketing themselves as "no bag surcharges" ever. What's Ryan going to do next - extend the surcharge to Christmas and Easter then the half term holiday periods and skiing weekends? Then join the dots and increase bag fees all round then announce another bag surcharge for July and August?

Stinks!

WallyWumpus

7th Apr 2010, 15:41

I wish RYR did not charge for bags, in the same way I wish BA did not charge for fuel.

The bottom line is, in my opinion, as long as this charge, and all others, are not "hidden", then they are entitled to charge any amount of money for any service they want to offer. We, the consumer, get to vote with our feet. As long as RYR remain cheapest on any given route, I'll keep paying the money. When there is a cheaper alternative available, I won't.

I'll even go further (any offence coming up is not malicious), if charging families, who absolutely MUST take bags with them, means my 'single person' fares come down a little - brilliant!

Wally.

Suzeman

7th Apr 2010, 18:29

NEW: Kerry to Weeze

Only on the aircraft if she pays her £ or Euro......:ok:

Suzeman

heidelberg

8th Apr 2010, 09:25

The profits continue to rise despite all those people who moan and moan about Ryanair.

The latest financials show they now have lots of cash, virtually no debt, market share gains, a rising share price and buoyant profits.

MOL and Co are very obviously doing a hell of a lot more right than wrong especially when compared to most European based carriers.

I don't agree with everything they do either but Ryanair constantly give excellent value most of the time and the increasing numbers flying with them proves it.

boyzinblue

8th Apr 2010, 11:05

FR state that a potential 5 new routes from Belfast have been lost due to the NI governments decision for a public inquiry to the extension of the runway which could take 12 months.
They also state that the current routes will continue "although passenger and baggage numbers continue to be impacted by the City Airports short runway".
What has the length of the current runway got to do with current passenger and baggage numbers?

FR-

8th Apr 2010, 14:32

Take for example, ema-bhd it can only carry 170 pax, and at christmas time 160 pax due to increased hold baggage. So the airport does require them extre few meters. FR-

eastern wiseguy

8th Apr 2010, 15:25

So the airport does require them extre few meters. FR-

Nope it seems that RYR require the extra few metres...everyone else does fine thanks!

FR-

8th Apr 2010, 15:33

Maybe the airport would like some new european routes

eastern wiseguy

8th Apr 2010, 15:36

Maybe the airport would like some new european routes

Maybe the airport would like to stay within it's negotiated passenger cap (allegedly).:hmm::hmm:

Good call by the government and time for a joined up airports policy. There really is NO need to jump through hoops for one foreign carrier.

BFS101

8th Apr 2010, 16:38

And with a perfectly suitable airport 30 minutes up the road. I'm all for convenience, but its a bit of a joke for FR to say that BFS is out of the way, and then fly you to Beauvais when you actually want a break in Paris, or Girona for Barcelona...

If FR honestly belived that sufficient demand existed in Northern Ireland, that European routes would be sustainable and profitable, without rediculously low airport charges and / or subsidies, then surely they would consider BFS (or LDY for that matter), rather than just focus attention at BHD. The prospect of throwing away potentially profitable routes from NI, because you don't get your way at BHD (presuming thay could operate from BFS at reasonable cost) seems ludicrous.

If they couldn't sustain such routes paying a reasonable charge to the airport operator, the profit / break-even on these routes must surely be on a knife edge. Even if they have excellent initial charges from BHD, what happens when these come to an end, and the route has to stand on its own two feet (so to speak), they do FR play a SNN card and pull routes left, right and centre??

TSR2

8th Apr 2010, 21:12

Ryanair would not exist but for subsidies and ancillary revenues.

Not knocking them, its their business model.

Rinty

8th Apr 2010, 21:42

What a load of nonsense posted on this thread.

Eastern - what you really mean is that its time for a government sponsored monopolies position for BFS! BFS and BHD ARE 2 PRIVATE (internationally owned) COMPANIES competeing against each other in what is supposed to be a free market.

BFS - do you really imagine that BFS management would allow RYR to come in and compete head to head with easy and EI.

Lets at least be honest - BFS numbers are going through the floor at the same time as BHD's are increasing. All you are afraid of is competition on international routes.

eastern wiseguy

8th Apr 2010, 23:46

Rinty

what you really mean is that its time for a government sponsored monopolies position for BFS

Not at all. I just question(as I always have) the wisdom of two competing airports 12 miles apart. Of course there MUST be competition but I always felt that AIRLINES should be the competitors. The fact that we have NO co ordination means that the overall effect is a REDUCTION in services and service quality for NI PLC. If we had the the critical mass of pax channelled properly then we would be in a position to begin to challenge the likes of DUB. However we don't. We have the willy waving that goes on here. If O'Leary was truly ...truly interested in supplying the great unwashed with flights to Europe he would cut a deal with one of the other airports in the north. He doesn't. His deal with BHD (whatever it is) must be sufficient for him to remain there and hurl teddy from the pram whenever the rest of the world fails to roll over for him.

I also have to laugh when he bangs on about the lonely trek to Lough Neagh or some such.....Jeez book a flight to his interpretation of somewhere like Dusseldorf.......theres a long and winding road.

Anyway as this is in danger of hijacking the thread I will wait till EastConsbrook gets back from the cooler and the BHD thread is revived before commenting further.

Buenos

9th Apr 2010, 11:16

I'm not sure why Ryanair don't just adopt the same strategy with hand luggage as Easyjet. No weight restriction! I personally don't think I can go away for two weeks without a checked in luggage, but if I could carry more in a bag of maximum dimensions (recently I've seen boarding staff with the bag measurement stand asking passengers with big bags to put it in there!) then I would reconsider paying the £40. But still, £40 for 15 kilos puts the price on-par with other airlines. I have 3 summer flights with Ryanair, two I need a bag for and I haven't paid for it yet! Damn!

Also, I am sure that there are laws that state if an establishment is offering food or beverages, then a free toilet must be provided? I am not absolutely certain of this, but I'm sure there was something somewhere that restricted them for this. And, can the 737-800 take the extra passengers with the cabin crew and emergency exits on board? I have a feeling this is another PR exercise, as if Ryanair charged for the toilet - I probably wouldn't buy any drinks on-board. I'm sure others would do the same. So by charging £1 for one service - another looses several £'s!

EuroWings

10th Apr 2010, 10:20

I'm not sure why Ryanair don't just adopt the same strategy with hand luggage as Easyjet. No weight restriction!

Not 100% sure but it might be something to do with pilots calculating the load of the aircraft. If they know roughly what the hand baggage in the lockers weighs it will help them get a final figure for the load......
However, knowing Ryanair it's probably for commercial reasons why the 10kg limit is in force. Easyjet's rule is very handy and it saves the worry about whether you will be charged at the gate. :ok:

Infact I think that easyJet have been trying to become more like a legacy carrier recently, 'plus cards', free check-in at the airport or online, more business orientated routes, swap to an earlier flight if you need to, check-in the night before at LGW and no hand luggage weight limit! It goes on.....
Ryanair have gone the other way and gone more restrictive (e.g. very high prices for checked in luggage) with fees making up a sizebale bulk of revenue.

However all this is mostly (and certainly not always) reflected in the prices of the two carriers.

I have a feeling this is another PR exercise, as if Ryanair charged for the toilet - I probably wouldn't buy any drinks on-board. I'm sure others would do the same. So by charging £1 for one service - another looses several £'s!

It is PR and everyone seems to fall for it again. It would be too hard (and expensive) to implement IMO. :rolleyes:

Buenos

10th Apr 2010, 15:11

I geuss we will wait and see which carrier does better in the long run... however I have noticed that on some routes, Easyjet works out cheaper - considering bag charges, credit card charges, AND the cost to get from the secondary airport to the main city. For two flights so far I've booked, it was about £1-10 cheaper with Ryanair. So for extra baggage allowances and main airports - money well spent! I don't think Ryanair will be able to keep up with the charges forever before people just get fed up/realise it isn't that cheap.

I've noticed that the on-board adverts have stopped, I remember a while back they used to be on the tray tables but that stopped. Now the overhead lockers are - they way they should be! - and clear! How come this has happened?

rpmac

10th Apr 2010, 17:16

As with most things you have to do your homework and at times Ryanair are more expensive than other carriers, but I generally find that if you are flexible with dates and even airports Ryanair will tend to come out cheaper. Last week I was keen to book with Jet2 again as I found them to be a good airline to use, especially the baggage allowance however in the end it was Ryanair who were quite a bit cheaper and the flight times a bit better too. Also I have to say that flying with Ryanair the flight will probably be on time.

tro2906

11th Apr 2010, 19:00

In a german forum are rumors that FR will base 4 additional aircraft this autuum at the NRN Base. Who can confirm this ?

Alsacienne

11th Apr 2010, 21:07

And the FKB-DUB service will be no more from this Summer.:sad:

Telstar

12th Apr 2010, 07:01

I heard a rumour from someone who works at Dublin Airport there was/is talk of Dublin going down to 6 aircraft for the winter schedule.

Also in the company there are persistant rumours of a major base opening at BCN, with up to 20 aircraft.

Hollymead

12th Apr 2010, 12:28

This one could generate more publicity than paying for the khazi . :ok:

News : Ryanair to Seek Journalist?s ?Flat and Contents? (http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-to-seek-journalist-s-flat-and-contents)

EuroWings

12th Apr 2010, 12:34

If O'Leary was truly ...truly interested in supplying the great unwashed with flights to Europe he would cut a deal with one of the other airports in the north. He doesn't. His deal with BHD (whatever it is) must be sufficient for him to remain there and hurl teddy from the pram whenever the rest of the world fails to roll over for him.

I've always thought that FR being at BHD was quite a curious operation. I mean a city airport doesn't really fit their business model. No doubt IMO they wanted to serve further afield destinations from BHD, but instead they've ended up with some strategic UK destinations. LPL, EMA, BRS, PIK, STN are all worthwhile destinations for BHD and tie in well with the airport's current operation.

Are FRs UK routes profitable, despite limitations in the load they are able to carry?
____________________________________________________________ _____

RYANAIR TO SEEK JOURNALIST’S ‘FLAT AND CONTENTS’

Well, it's better than the ongoing toilet saga I guess! :ok:

In her article Bryony said, ‘you never hear anybody casually mention that they have just flown with Ryanair, and that they really enjoyed it. I am willing to bet my flat and its contents that nobody has ever said the words “Ryanair”, “marvellous” and “service” in the same sentence’.

Actually, I have heard good things said about FR. I have enjoyed flights with them, you just have to lower your expectations in line with what you have paid. They are no SQ, but they don't try to be in any way whatsoever. The experience can be OK if you follow the rules, infact I always find the ground experience far worse than the actual flight with Ryanair. The flight can go pretty smoothly and some of the staff make the experience pleasant.

ALL papers love having a go at FR, and some of it is deserved but some is not! :cool:

apaul

12th Apr 2010, 14:30

I like the line in the Telegraph column 'It’s rather masochistic, like Stockholm Syndrome. Or in this case, 20 miles outside Stockholm Syndrome.' although Ryanair lands a lot further away from the Swedish capital than that. I think it is only reasonable that the journalist gives the flat to Ryanair for free. She would, of course, use the Ryanair definition of 'free'. So there would be a £200,000 clothes in the wardrodes fee, £300,000 for the key to the toilet etc., but no evil fuel surcharge.

Charlie Roy

13th Apr 2010, 13:23

13th aircraft for Charleroi from June, it'll be used to increase frequencies on 13 existing routes (no new routes apparently which is a bit strange...)

Euroland - Ryanair Holdings PLC - Press releases (http://europeaninvestor.com/SiteFiles/company/company.asp?GUID=B4FB9D520E48DE439FF57612881B8989&PressID=34663&Customer=1&CompanyCode=ie-rya&MenuItem=91&wtLang=English)

FR195W

13th Apr 2010, 15:25

The same procedure at NRN. 9th aircraft for the summer timetable. Like CRL it´ll be used to increase frequencies on existing routes...

Jippie

13th Apr 2010, 15:39

The NRN based plane will also be used to increase frequencies:ok:

doo

14th Apr 2010, 13:43

So he was serious about charging for onboard toilet useage.
EUobserver / Ryanair confident Brussels won't object to toilet charges (http://euobserver.com/9/29856/?rk=1)

apaul

14th Apr 2010, 14:03

"Whatever money we make on the toilets, we'll happily give it away to some charity for incontinent air-travellers," added the Irishman.

How serious does that sound?

eu01

14th Apr 2010, 15:37

we'll happily give it away to some charity for incontinent air-travellersAs said by male, aged 49. Well, wait some 15 years and travel thereafter*. :8
_____________________________
* first consult your urologist, though

al446

14th Apr 2010, 20:09

Anyone for setting up a charity then? We could call it Continence Relieved Air Passengers, or CRAP for short, with very swish offices built with the treasurers rolling in from RYR. Patron MOL?

I sense jobs all round (or is that jobbies?).

Exasperated

14th Apr 2010, 20:29

eu01

14th Apr 2010, 20:31

Back to business. On Thursday Ryanair is supposed to announce the inclusion of a new French destination into its network. The airport Vatry is located 22 km southeast of Châlons-en-Champagne, near Vatry, in the Marne department. They call it Paris-Vatry, exaggerating a bit, as the distance to the capital city therefrom is just... 160km.

First flights will arrive at the end of June, probably from Scandinavia (Stockholm/Oslo).

davidjohnson6

14th Apr 2010, 22:02

eu01 - is this the same Vatry that was the main base for Air Turquoise until 2005 ?
Seems rather closer to somewhere like Reims, Epernay and champagne land than Paris...

Charlie Roy

14th Apr 2010, 23:03

First flights will arrive at the end of June, probably from Scandinavia (Stockholm/Oslo).

This article (in French) also says Oslo and Stockholm:
Exclusivité /Ryanair arrive à Vatry | L'Union (http://www.lunion.presse.fr/article/region/exclusivite-ryanair-arrive-a-vatry)

Can see some potential for this airport, especially for routes to Spain, UK and Italy. Eastern France is so underserved.
It's also 120km from Disneyland Paris, but unfortunately it's not motorway the whole way, don't know if to plan to change that...

Charlie Roy

14th Apr 2010, 23:08

The winter timetables will start getting loaded into the booking system over the next week :ok:

Charlie Roy

15th Apr 2010, 09:13

This applies to other airlines too, as well as airports, but it's looking like the passenger statistics for April 2010 will be boosted by Easter and deflated by the Iceland volcanic eruption :ouch:

ChalfontFlyer

15th Apr 2010, 11:12

Totally agree with you CharlieRoy, Eastern France i.e. the Lorranine region is underserved by airlines. Have had to go via LUX in the past to get to cities such as Nancy which seems odd given that the Metz & Nancy areas have a considerably larger population (c.2m. I believe) than the little Grand Duchy! Also seems to have a perfectly good airport at ETZ, so surely Ryanair & others must have it on their radar for future expansion?

tangarizie

15th Apr 2010, 11:43

Charlie Roy,

Do you know which bases (or routes) will be loaded first? When will the schedule be fully loaded?

Thx!

MUFC_fan

15th Apr 2010, 12:36

Mirror calls for Ryanair boycott : Stansted Airport News Stories (http://uk-airport-news.info/stansted-airport-news-130410.html)

tin pot airline

Really? I would hardly call one of the leanest, most efficient and technologically advanced airline in the world to be called 'tin pot'...

apaul

15th Apr 2010, 13:20

What is particularly technologically advanced about Ryanair? The website is far from the best and its aircraft are done to a price.

Wellington Bomber

15th Apr 2010, 13:26

Huge runway at Chalon, so even Ryanair will be able to stop in time, Was there last month and it is like a jumbo Jet graveyard.

I must have counted at least 14 747's in all white colour scheme, some with engines missing and also a selection of DC10 / MD10 / MD11

bjones4

15th Apr 2010, 16:34

On the Ryanair Twitter page,

Boeing is resisting Ryanair's pay for toilet plan due to possible safety concerns. Doesn't rule out Airbus though...

Charlie Roy

15th Apr 2010, 20:02

Vatry (Paris) is now in the booking engine and on the route map (routes to Oslo Rygge and Stockholm Skavsta), but schedules not loaded yet...

Charlie Roy

15th Apr 2010, 21:00

Do you know which bases (or routes) will be loaded first? When will the schedule be fully loaded?

No I don't, sorry. And I tend not to get my hopes up initially because they often just load schedules which are a carbon copy of last winter's schedules in the very beginning... But indeed, I am also very interested to see the schedules for certain routes...

racedo

15th Apr 2010, 21:04

Interesting aerial photos of the Airport and the dispersal areas from its history as a Air Base.

eggc

16th Apr 2010, 16:31

All flights to/from UK cancelled until 1pm on Monday :eek:

alm1

16th Apr 2010, 17:30

But Ryanair are still selling those flights on Monday morning. Wtf?

daz211

16th Apr 2010, 17:34

At lease this will give them time to get A/C and Crew to the best places operationaly and dont forget if the ash cloud is still over London it still has to clear northen Europe remember alot of A/C and Crew will still be south of northen Europe so it still could be some days before it passes.

west lakes

16th Apr 2010, 17:44

As I understand it, for example, non of the EMA based aircraft are actually at EMA.

FR-

16th Apr 2010, 18:10

No only 5 of the based a/c at ema are stuck, like rix and krk untill monday afternoon.

Charlie Roy

16th Apr 2010, 18:19

No only 5 of the based a/c at ema are stuck, like rix and krk untill monday afternoon.

I imagine Ryanair are aiming to fly stranded aircraft back to base before Monday afternoon.

FR-

16th Apr 2010, 21:56

Well for example rix crew have been told at least monday afternoon. it depends where each a/c is.

daz211

17th Apr 2010, 06:46

It looks like Ryanair made the right choice on canx all flights till monday
at least the passengers know where they stand.

Mr A Tis

17th Apr 2010, 09:09

I ain't a Ryanair fan, nor do I fly with them, but full marks to their web site updates, advanced cancellations & links to volcano met charts etc
On this occassion, RYR have put the others to shame.

alm1

17th Apr 2010, 09:53

Wonder if this continue and many airlines will go bust, how many new planes will Ryanair order? 200-300? :)

daz211

17th Apr 2010, 11:41

Ryanair crew will feel like long haul crew, with a four day stopover they wont know what to do with themselfs, I can just see them now trundeling around saying MOL is going to go mad we are only ment to being on the ground for 20min...:}...

Enjoy it boys and girls...:ok:.

racedo

17th Apr 2010, 11:51

I ain't a Ryanair fan, nor do I fly with them, but full marks to their web site updates, advanced cancellations & links to volcano met charts etc
On this occassion, RYR have put the others to shame.

Couple of sets of friends away in different placers and spoke to them and they ended up going to airport, 1 a base and 1 non base to amend flights as already checked in. They were concerned about whether they get charged etc despite what website stating.

Got calls afterwards that at base airport it was a 10 minute queue and even though flights fully booked for a week they were asked would they fly out of airport 100km away from base to home airport if it were possible, they said yes but worried about extra car hire drop off fees so a hold put on tickets and lady walked with them to Hertz desk where car extended for extra days and Hertz persuaded not to charge the drop off charge. They impressed.

At non base it took 10 minutes in total and friends ended up asking "Is that it" as it was so easy.

daz211

17th Apr 2010, 12:09

I have friends x 4 in LPA the hotel is letting them stay free of charge until the room is needed they had booked room only but the hotel is giving them breakfast and evening meal they are loving it.
As for flights they have been told by Ryanair EXTRA flights will be layed on to get people home or to an Airport BASE where flights can get them home.

Its good Ryanair have extra A/C, as to how many I just dont know ?

Well done Ryanair you are handling this well and showing flag carriers how it is done
keep up the good work.

leisurelad

18th Apr 2010, 15:49

Hello,

Breaking news on the BBC website that Ryanair has cancelled all flights to and from the UK until Wednesday 1300.

Thanks

daz211

18th Apr 2010, 16:21

At least MOL is taking action, there is no point in keeping people hanging on
in the hope that is no hope.
If the Airspace opens before it will leave a full fleet of A/C to collect stranded passengers and also make some money from outher Airlines who need afew B738's
Its a shame more Airlines dont follow his lead.

I think this could have been posted in the Ryanair thread and may well be moved.

Hial Flyer

18th Apr 2010, 18:04

Good old RYR. Where would we be without them!!

Egerton Flyer

18th Apr 2010, 18:18

Palma:{:mad:

E.F.

FR-

18th Apr 2010, 19:53

been advised to remove

Knife-Edge

19th Apr 2010, 23:29

Have been and remain stuck in Spain since Friday waiting to return from Girona. Have tied up with some stranded Ezy passengers and and agree with others that the thought process that has been applied by Rya and the web site info has been way better than the replication of NATS info posted by Ezy and others.
Credit where credits due - now where's my Sangria?:)

apaul

20th Apr 2010, 13:34

Random Flyer

20th Apr 2010, 14:04

Are going to give them credit for their latest move. We'll fly you from the Canaries to Madrid, but you are on your own from there. And if you've been unwise enough to accept a refund because we have not been clear about our duty of care we'll sting you for 100 euros for taking you half way home.

What's wrong with this? Ryanair can only take them as far north as Madrid. Its not like they will be on their own, the British Foreign Office has set up information points at Madrid Airport.

As for charging others £100, why shouldn't they? These people took a refund, they have their money back and are no longer a Ryanair passenger, therefor Ryanair don't have to do anything for them.

apaul

21st Apr 2010, 08:39

Although Ryanair initially did well in making clear decisions and not stamping its feet over what is a safety issue, it is not coping well in this phase of the volcano ash event. The charter airlines got their planes out to the holiday destinations ASAP and, together with chartering a luxury liner, are confident they can get all their stranded passengers back to Britain within two days. Jet2 also seem to be doing well getting people home as soon as possible. Easyjet is now running a pretty full programme. Ryanair passengers will have to wait, and its website has not kept people up-to-date with the opening up of airspace.

Hollymead

21st Apr 2010, 09:28

and its website has not kept people up-to-date with the opening up of airspace.

Says they are reviewing the proposed cancellations and an update will be announced by midday . Maybe some flights could be reinstated before 1PM tomorrow .

Runway 31

21st Apr 2010, 10:17

May be the reason for the delay in starting could be similar to the announcement made on the BBC that Easyjet stated they were flying but that passengers were not turning up as they were unaware. I am assuming they are wanting the passengers to know to turn up for their flights instead of rushing to get in the air.

apaul

21st Apr 2010, 10:28

What the CEO of EasyJet said was that the flights that went out early in the morning were not full, but they will be full of formerly stranded passengers on the way back. They are also putting on extra rescue flights. He also said the cost of the crisis to EasyJet was £50 million and he was after the government and EU to hand out money. At least Ryanair hasn't got the begging bowl out yet. One of the issues with Ryanair might be its reliance on online check-in. BA and EasyJet have suspended this to get things moving as fast as possible.

Hollymead

21st Apr 2010, 10:35

One of the issues with Ryanair might be its reliance on online check-in. BA and EasyJet have suspended this to get things moving as fast as possible

Yes not an option for Ryanair , at least at Stansted , as a large percentage of check in-staff were made redundant when 100% online check-in was introduced .

FA10

21st Apr 2010, 10:41

theAirDB is reporting, that RYR would open a route between Albacete (ABC) and Dezful (DEF) in Iran.
Did I mess up my calendar? Is it the 1st of April?

pee

21st Apr 2010, 10:55

Ryanair has just revised its stand on flight cancellations tomorrow morning. One can still read: (D)Flights cancellations in Northern Europe extended from 1300hrs Wed 21st April to 1300hrs Thur 22nd April.

And look now! Hundreds of flights already announced as cancelled are bookable again. For God's sake! I was about to fly on one of these. Last night I've spent hours invalidating the hotel bookings in three cities, destroying all plans and now there is no more reason to go, yet I bet I'll get no chance to get my money back. No, really. It's not fair, disappointed once again!

Hollymead

21st Apr 2010, 11:22

All flights in Northern Europe (except flights between Ireland and the UK) to operate as scheduled from 05.00hrs Thurs 22nd April.

pee

21st Apr 2010, 12:19

It's not fair
Okay, I've managed to rebook for Saturday free of charge. Unsure if the refund was possible if I choose to apply.

dwlpl

21st Apr 2010, 13:10

theAirDB is reporting, that RYR would open a route between Albacete (ABC) and Dezful (DEF) in Iran.

AirDB has a habit of keying in airport codes they think are correct which come out as some strange route.

Leave it a day or two and the proper route will appear.

lblignaut

21st Apr 2010, 14:33

Yesterday my flight was cancelled and I applied for refund and cancelled all my plans. Today my flight is reinstated.

My problem is that when i look at my booking, it is still showing as being active and that I can do online checkin. No mention is made that I cancelled the booking.

Phoned ryanair and got through after about an hour of trying. Seems my booking was still open but they cancelled it for me on the phone and I'll be getting all my money back.

lexoncd

21st Apr 2010, 16:24

Ryanair have announced they will defy EU compensation policies and not re imburse passengers and monies above the cost of their air fare.

Can't wait to see this one in court........ Think again boys...Thems' the rules so pay up and claim of the EU yourselves...

Charlie Roy

21st Apr 2010, 17:43

theAirDB is reporting, that RYR would open a route between Albacete (ABC) and Dezful (DEF) in Iran.

Check out the airport codes:
ABC DEF - the first 6 letters of the alphabet. Definitely a phantom route :}

EuroChallenger

21st Apr 2010, 19:30

Interesting interview just taken place on SKY News with RyanAir.....

...but are Jet2 doing the same thing?

UK Airport Disruption Update (http://www.jet2.com/News.aspx?id=714)

It states "....these expenses will not be reimbursed by Jet2.com"

Sober Lark

21st Apr 2010, 19:40

Why were there no procedures put in place in advance of this event that would have minimised the loss.

Instead we appear to have had a knee jerk reaction which treated most of Europe as equally contaminated and closed down the whole system so that now what we are seeing is post-loss control (e.g. no compensation) when we should have had some form of pre-loss control.

Perhaps the volcanic risk was unidentified or not considered likely here but lessons will be learnt and the airline industry in Europe now has an interest in reducing the severity of losses from a repeat of this kind of event.

Remember, fundamental risks arising out of some physical cause are the responsibility of society as a whole and not simply those who chose to insure if indeed it is insurable against. In this situation I believe it would be unrealistic to expect the airline to pay unreasonable claims from their passengers.

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 19:42

Ryanair and Jet2, indeed any airline can state that they will ignore EU regulations but they cant the clues in the title its REGULATIONS, not some guideline MOL can ignore.

daz211

21st Apr 2010, 19:44

Its simple if you have booked a package holiday then you should be looked after by your holiday company but if you have just booked flight only why should an airline who has got you to your destination and is willing to get you back have to pay for food and hotels when they are not at fault / responsable for the delay in any way now if the airline (seat only) went tech then yes pay up as it was the airline at fault...
The European rule on compensation was not set up for situations like this it was simply to help look after passenger during dealys and cancelations...hours not weeks.
From what I can see there was no way possable for ryanair to avoid the cancelations they were forced to stop flying plane and simple.

If / when this gets to court i would think ryanair and outher airlines would win.

EuroChallenger

21st Apr 2010, 19:49

I agree with what you are saying Daz, but article EU261 is law at the present time.

racedo

21st Apr 2010, 19:50

Ryanair and Jet2, indeed any airline can state that they will ignore EU regulations but they cant the clues in the title its REGULATIONS, not some guideline MOL can ignore.

Think you may find that Governments can't on one hand use regulations to their hearts content and then demand the Airlines are responsible for recompensing someone else because said Governments refused the Airlines the opportunity to put it right in flying passengers home.

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 19:55

daz211 - whether your on a package or not the legislation is quite clear your airline has a duty of care. If the Ryanair business model is simply to drive costs to the bone and does have built in contingency plans to cover emergencies then thats the airlines problems I am afraid and not the fare paying public.

As for the matter of going to court then I am afraid MOL does not have a leg to stand on. Its not a case of asking a judge to interpret the law as its set out in black and white I am afraid.

One final point, is it not too much to ask Europes most profitable airline (MOLs own words not mine) to look after its passengers?

Rhayader

21st Apr 2010, 19:55

But was it the governments that denied travel or NATS and their respective counterparts in Europe?

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 20:01

recedo - your incorrect and rhayader - your spot on this was a safety decision made by NATS and eurocontrol and nothing to do with government(s).

racedo

21st Apr 2010, 20:01

But was it the governments that denied travel or NATS and their respective counterparts in Europe?

Govt as while NATS has some power the ultimate decision is a Political i.e. Government one as it should be.

daz211

21st Apr 2010, 20:04

We will see I stand by what I said at the end of the day the law is there to be challanged and there is no way on this earth Any Airline is fault full stop.
Ryanair has done everthing possable to keep passengers informed and will get passengers back home infact they have done all they could do.

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 20:07

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 20:13

daz211 - As usual with those that worship in the church of Ryanair and think they can do no wrong you not letting the facts get in the way of the truth.

How on earth are Ryanair doing everything they can to get passengers home they are the last airline to get flying in Northern Europe!! While easyjet, jet2, ba the list goes on have been flying all day Ryanair arnt commencing ops in Northern Europe until tomorrow. Come on wake up to the reality that this airline provides poor customer service and provides zero duty of care.

davidjohnson6

21st Apr 2010, 20:17

Reading the text in English of regulation 261/2004, paragraph 12 states:

The trouble and inconvenience to passengers caused by cancellation of flights should also be reduced. This should be achieved by inducing carrier to inform passengers of cancellations before the scheduled time of departure and in addition to offer them reasonable re-routing, so that the passengers can make other arrangements. Air carriers should compensate passengers if they fail to do this, except when the cancellation occurs in extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken..

Article 5, paragraph 3 on the subject of cancellation states
An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can probve that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

Getting Ryanair to pay compensation beyond the cost of the ticket is likely to involve a court - perhaps small claims or magistrate. In a court, I suspect that an airline would claim the eruption of a volcano for the first time in 200 years causing the closure of much of European airspace to be an extraordinary circumstance. It would be difficult to show to a court that this is not an extraordinary circumstance.

daz211

21st Apr 2010, 20:20

Right im not saying all airlines should pay except Ryanair Im saying no airline should so you can stop getting personal with the "worship in the church of Ryanair" thing
Ryanair needed more time to sort things out re crew and A/C remember they have more A/C than most and its not always the best thing to jump back in with both feet first Easyjet have been giving passenger one hours notice of some flights from what I have seen on the news where Ryanair passengers can see when flights will restart.

THE REGULATION !

when the cancellation occurs in extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken..
is there anything more EXTRAORDINARY than closing Airspace for almost a week due to a volcano and the direction of the wind ?

racedo

21st Apr 2010, 20:25

racedo - see my previous post, your talking complete rubish. If you take time to check the CAA's own regulations. The ultimate decision to close airspace in instances such as this lies with NATS. Remember the whole of Northern Europes airspace was closed. Was this a conspiracy of every government in Northern Europe? To achieve what?

Youve been watching far too much of the X files

Its a Political decision where CAA have to inform Govt in advance of what it wants to do.

Assumming that they can do what they want without reference to the Govt is a nice idea but far from reality.

Afterall why would Lord Adonis make the initial announcement if it was only CAA and nothing to do with Government whether it reopened.

apaul

21st Apr 2010, 21:48

Some people on this thread seem incapable of reading the regulations. The duty of care laid out in article 9 applies regardless of extraordinary circumstances, and even Ryanair does not have the brass neck to deny this. If it really does try to limit this duty of care to the price of the ticket it will be laughed out of court.

ncleflights

21st Apr 2010, 21:56

daz211 - i take you would therefore wish to see no airline have a duty of care towards the folks that keep them flying - the passenger. With regard to Ryanair and there slow resumption of flying and your comparison to easyjet. I can only speak from our experience here at Newcastle but it was certainly the case that no flights operated 'giving a only an hours notice'. All ezy based aircraft operated near full ops, thats getting people home quicker by the way, to timetable. I can not normally draw a compaison to Ryanair ops and the quality airlines that have bases at NCL as we dont have the experiance of a Ryanair base in the NE - thankfully.

racedo - sorry to repeat my earlier post but CAA guidelines are clear decisions on whether to close airspace due to weather etc lie solely with NATS I suggest you check with the CAA tomorrow if you still wish to go along with this ridiculous assumption that this was a political decision - why would the collective governments of the UK, France, Austria,
Germany, Denmark etc wish to close down their airspace!!

apaul - agree 100%

lexoncd

21st Apr 2010, 22:38

I think we all agree the regulations didn't envisage compensation on this scale but then again MOL can't have it both ways... High price carriers have been paying the bills already hence their larger costs for the downtime...

Make no mistake this issue is so large and the EU have already flagged this issue up they won't get away with their stance no matter how much I tend to agree with part of their arguement.....

I hope genuime claims are honoured where costs have been kept to a reasonable figure and those that think sod it and exagerate their claim receive nothing....

Sober Lark

22nd Apr 2010, 06:57

The airline should have had some form of pre-loss control in place. Ryanair's present stance appears to show they didn't.

befree

22nd Apr 2010, 08:48

lots of people away over the school break will have been messed up and will talk for months about how they were treated. it seems ryanair have been the least helpful and slowest to restart flights. I am sure when people compare notes they will rate ryanair very poor compared to others. Come next easter break we will see who gets the best load factors.

qwertyuiop

22nd Apr 2010, 09:00

Come next Easter, nobody will remember. MOL knows that.

Cant stand the bloke or his airline but agree with him this time.

However the law is the law. I can't see how he can avoid these payments.

Just heard on the BBC that MOL has backed down and agrees he will pay.

lexoncd

22nd Apr 2010, 09:44

MOL is the first to use EU laws on competition issues etc when it suits but then attacks EU rules when it doesn't suit him.... Of course he has backed down as all airlines will now pass the bill to the EU...in other words you and I as tax payers.

The rules are an ass we agree but its the same for all carriers..... Its good to see HSBC and some others taking adverts to say in these exceptional circumstances they will cover reasonable claims... we'll see.

Runway 31

22nd Apr 2010, 09:57

At the end of the day the airlines will claim these extra costs back from their respective governments as compensations therefore us tax payers will pay through the nose again, just like the banks.

Charlie Roy

22nd Apr 2010, 10:27

Ryanair say they will now refund expenses, source: RTÉ News: LIVE - Travel Updates (http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0422/travelupdates.html)

Ryanair spokesperson Stephen McNamara has said Michael O'Leary 'got it wrong' when he said the airline would limit its refunds to stranded passengers.

The airline today said it was happy to work within the EU regulations which allow passengers to claim reasonable expenses.

Extra staff have been drafted in to deal with the expenses claims.

Passengers are asked to send in copies of their receipts when they return home.

It is hoped that they will be refunded within a number of weeks.

MUFC_fan

22nd Apr 2010, 12:14

It's all about pulling rank with people like O'Leary.

He may be in charge of a mult-billion pound airline, but all the Guinness in Dublin isn't going to affect a judge...

Sober Lark

22nd Apr 2010, 13:23

We will now see disputes occurring about the liability to meet a claim about what is deemed reasonable or unreasonable. The amount that should be paid and the speed at which the claim is handled.

Under the circumstances you can't pay out that type of money without a government bail out.

On another point, airlines shouldn't sell insurance policies at point of sale with airline tickets least it be interpreted as being appropriate to the travelers needs and having adequacy of cover.

dublin_eire

22nd Apr 2010, 16:37

Why don't the EU set up a fund for 'act of God' events?! The airline cover passenger costs and the EU refund the airline at a later date.... Tax every person that travels commercially say 10cents and it all mounts up... Just an idea... I don't think it's fair on airlines but don't think passengers should be left stranded either. It will have to be considered for future!

toledoashley

22nd Apr 2010, 18:07

dublin eire, excellent idea - I dont think people will mind paying an 'insurance' on a fare.

Coquelet

22nd Apr 2010, 18:21

When I book a flight on Ryanair, I am sure everything will be OK for 99% of them. The one remaining %, I assume the cost (hotel, meals, etc) is for myself. Honestly, you can't buy a flight for 3 euros and then claim 150 euros or more of compensation for a delay. Doing so will only raise the price of flights for everyone.

daz211

22nd Apr 2010, 19:10

People dont care about Ryanair and the low fares at this time but they will when they cant find their £6 rtn flights to PMI people on this sight have been asking for a few month now if we have seen the end of £1/1euro flights well I think the answer is yes
I also dont understand why any airline other than a tour operator (package Flight and hotel ) would need to pay a penny your contract with an airline is to get you to your destination and back, when I fly with Ryanair I book transfers and hotel with other companies so why should Ryanair have to pay up for extra nights/meals when they did nothing wrong This is just wrong on to many levels and if people thought about it everyone would agree that this is not any airlines fault and no airline should pay out.

Sober Lark

23rd Apr 2010, 15:02

Is Michael O'Leary slowly repositioning one of his humps? The Stephen says Michael told me to tell you he got it wrong bit sounds like one of the sketches from 'the presidents brain is missing'.

Other than that I thought Ryanair handled the whole volcano situation in an exemplary manner.

TSR2

23rd Apr 2010, 21:30

Posted by daz211
so why should Ryanair have to pay up for extra nights/meals when they did nothing wrong

As much as I personally sympathise with your sentiments, the fact is, that is the law as it stands and to airlines it is simply a 'Cost of doing Business' however harsh that sounds.
If airlines don't like it either get the law changed or get out of the business.

tictack67

24th Apr 2010, 08:13

Ref all the talk that it is unfair to expect Ryanair to cough up for accomm or refreshments for flights they have cancelled (even after European airspace is open ryanair sill suspended flights for 36 hours, 60 hours in case of flights UK to Ireland)
Consider this, If I break the “contract” for example I buy a 9.99 euro flight, I lose my boarding card – Wham 40 euro surcharge 4 x what I already pay. I buy something in the airport, I am 1 Kg over my LOWEST checked luggage allowance, I am charged £20 a killo ! so Ryanair has huge penalties if I break the contract, It is a two way street MOL.
I had a FR flight booked 6 months in advance, from Edinburgh To Bourmouth – yes the fare was only £10. 3 weeks before the flight was cancelled, one week after departure date I get my £10 back. No offer of assistance to rebook – PIK-BOH, no interest, no compensation – nothing. Consider FR “opening a new route 6 months time XXX to YYY, 3 million seats at £10, these are taken up, putting 30 million into Ryanairs coffers, they then decide to “cancel” and refund everyone their £10. That’s alot of money to hold onto.
Also, once and for all please stop calling such airlines “ LOW COST” it is LOW COST TO THEM not to us, and certainly not all FARES are LOW COST.

cesare.caldi

24th Apr 2010, 10:38

After Vulcano crisis, now it's time to announce new winter routes and base...

tictack67

24th Apr 2010, 16:57

daz211

24th Apr 2010, 17:14

I never pay more than £10 rtn All in the best fare was £0.02p All in
And the most common fare I pay is £6.00 rtn, These fares inc
PMI, IBZ, MAD, GRO, TSF, CIA, REU and many many more.

Sorry I tell a lie, I did pay £40 rtn to LPA but when you concider
I go to LPA at least twice a year and that I am used to paying £150-£200
with charter airlines I would still call Ryanair a very low fare Airline indeed.

I have never had a cancled flight with Ryanair nor a delay more than an hour
once and once only.

mickyman

24th Apr 2010, 20:15

tictack67

I would suggest that YOU do not understand the
concept of Ryanair Low-cost.

MM

EXS258

24th Apr 2010, 21:12

I am sure this has been posted countless times on this forum about Ryanair and their ways. everybody knows how they operate. if you don't like it then don't fly with them, there is plenty of choice out there its pretty simple. I could probably guarantee 90% of the "Ryanair bashers" on here continue to fly with them despite constantly complaining about them. Im in no way in favour of some of their ways but a cheap flight is a cheap flight end of the day. you get exactley what you pay for.

daz211

25th Apr 2010, 10:52

I dont agree you get alot MORE than what you pay for, there is no other company
that gives you new a/c with a very good ontime record for the price of a Mc Donalds value meal from a motorway service station.

tictack67

25th Apr 2010, 11:09

EDI-LPA-EDI out 10 oct, rerurn 17oct more than 6 months away, return fare £291.20 before bags or credit card fees.

Please explain Low cost to me, obviously I am not grasping

Yes some of the flight are cheap, John Lewis sells some cheap items, that does not make them a "low Cost department store" that is what I was getting at.

Oh Incidentally, £291.20 is the same fare offered by Iberia/BA so obviously no price fixing

Coquelet

25th Apr 2010, 11:18

@tictack67 : you don't get the good deals six month in advance. At the moment, the best prices (3 euros/GBP per flight) are available for flights in may/june.

daz211

25th Apr 2010, 11:25

I helps if you read the instructions then play the game :ok:.

davidjohnson6

25th Apr 2010, 11:32

ticktack - assuming you haven't paid for your flight yet, past experience indicates you may well find the price with Ryanair is rather lower if you try to book about 3 months in advance rather than 6

daz211

25th Apr 2010, 11:41

Agree ... and you might find you wont have to pay any TAX and maybe even no check-in fee, Ryanair alway have an offer on they normaly cover 2-3 months this is
when you should book. I always check the Ryanair website at least twice a week
because you just never know what is on offer but one thing is for sure you will always find and offer and it will be an unbeatable one you just have to play by the rules.
As I have said I got STN-LPA in March for £40 rtn.

daz211

25th Apr 2010, 12:13

You wrote - Oh Incidentally, £291.20 is the same fare offered by Iberia/BA so obviously no price fixing (EDI-LPA)...

I think you will find Ryanair offers a direct none stop service from EDI-LPA
and Iberia/BA offer EDI-LHR-MAD-LPA and is roughly 10hrs

CONGRATULATIONS you have just become a valued member of the Ryanair bashers club ... see you onboard a Ryanair flights real soon just like all the other bashers.

scotsunflyer

25th Apr 2010, 12:16

ticktack67 - ticket price around 10 October will be higher because of demand of Scottish school mid term holiday

commit aviation

25th Apr 2010, 13:38

Ryanair & all the other LCCs are exactly that: Low COST Airlines.
That means they keep their costs low.
They are not necessarily Low FARE airlines.
A subtle difference but an important one!

LPFR

25th Apr 2010, 14:45

^ Wise observation.

Will be travelling with Ryanair next month to France to visit some friends. 20€ booked a few days ago. 6 months ago it would have costed around 70€. It's really clear when you visit their website that their promotional fares are always for the next couple of months.

EXS258

26th Apr 2010, 10:50

To get the best fares you have to flexible with your dates, the times you fly ect. Clearly your not going to get the best fares available if you need to fly Friday, Saturday, Sunday as well as school holidays because this is where they make their money. Mid-week fares are significantly cheaper and that's where you tend to get the special offers. from what someone said about the EDI-LPA prices, id much rather fly direct with Ryanair and pay a bit more than connect in LHR (a complete nightmare at times) and MAD. A great quote from the recently aired BBC panorama programme about Ryanair "you want cheap fares, you have to fly on their terms" something along those lines. quite an accurate statement!

Noxegon

27th Apr 2010, 18:09

Flew with FR from AGP-DUB on Sunday night.

Discovered on approaching security that my online boarding pass was not valid and that I had to queue up for it to be replaced with an airport issued one. Given that I paid a mandatory €5 for online checkin surely I should be entitled to this money refunded? :)

Not going to bother, just some food for thought...

EC-ILS

27th Apr 2010, 19:07

No! If anything you owe FR money for issueing you a proper boarding card haha!

Ringwayman

27th Apr 2010, 19:46

They're quitting Prague as they can't make a deal with the Prague authorities.

LPFR

27th Apr 2010, 20:29

That sucks if it happens..I was seriously wanting to go to Prague soon via Hahn..Oh well :(

Seat62K

28th Apr 2010, 07:29

Noxegon,

Why exactly was your online boarding pass not valid? I'm intrigued!

Noxegon

28th Apr 2010, 07:41

Apparently they decided not to accept ANY online boarding passes this past weekend. I'm guessing it was to do with the volcanic ash and using empty seats to repatriate passengers. Be that as it may, it would have been nice to find that out *before* turning up at the airport...

BigMac2

28th Apr 2010, 08:16

lba wasn't accepting them on thursday. After that any on line boarding pass that said airport check in on the top had to be sent to the check in desk. I belive it was something to do with overbooking the flights

TBSC

29th Apr 2010, 17:29

BUD operation of Ryanair will be ceased from the end of summer due to... quess what: a dispute over charges.

james170969

29th Apr 2010, 17:38

Again? They've done that before at Budapest haven't they? I was hoping to go back over there for a holiday in the autumn (from Prestwick). I wish another airline would operate the route.

Random Flyer

29th Apr 2010, 17:51

Again? They've done that before at Budapest haven't they? I was hoping to go back over there for a holiday in the autumn (from Prestwick). I wish another airline would operate the route.

Wizz Air? .

al446

29th Apr 2010, 18:20

If anything you owe FR money for issueing you a proper boarding card haha!

I would hope that you do not continue to post like this when you grow up.

EC-ILS

30th Apr 2010, 01:03

It was hardly a childish comment! Im actually surprised they didnt charge you for giving you a boarding card from the desk! Im sure many others would agree!

firstchoice7e7

30th Apr 2010, 01:21

yes its a £40 penalty IIRC (if you check in online and your boarding pass doesnt scan, or if you lose it)

FR-

30th Apr 2010, 08:07

1) You are not charged if you print out your boarding card and it does not scan.

2) Im sorry that you had to queue again, its was a last minute thing to make everyone check-in so we could try and fill every spare seat. Often the flights were over booked some upto 260, but we had very high numbers of no shows. I guess you could try looking on the bright side of life, and think you got something for free out of MOL, it wont happen often trust me.

EC-ILS

30th Apr 2010, 19:48

On a recent trip to MLA with FR I noted that they dont scan your boarding card anywhere, its just checked visually, is there many airports on the network like this?

al446

30th Apr 2010, 20:57

It was the " haha!" that made it childish, also the circumstances referred to, not he fault of pax so entitled to have free BP. By the way the correct spelling is 'issuing'. I still think it was childish.

bravoromeosierra

30th Apr 2010, 21:01

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.

FR-

1st May 2010, 07:21

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.

EC-ILS

1st May 2010, 13:57

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!

Seat62K

2nd May 2010, 08:12

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).

OneOfTheKraut

2nd May 2010, 08:30

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.

Seljuk22

2nd May 2010, 08:52

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.

pee

3rd May 2010, 13:56

I wrote it here in December 2009:Ryanair are extremely prudent starting just twice-weekly flights on the NRN-LPP route. Well, the airline underestimates the potential coming from across the Russian border, presumably. Never mind, let's wait and see. I live pretty far from Lappeenranta, but intend to fly therefrom to be able to estimate the percentage of Russians aboard.
...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.

mason

6th May 2010, 12:04

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 (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0505/1224269733389.html)

Just a spotter

6th May 2010, 12:27

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

FR-

6th May 2010, 13:53

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

Apr 09
Apr 10*
Increase
12 mth to Apr 10*
Passengers (m) 1
5.3M
6.2M
+17%
67.4M
Load Factor 2
82%
83%
+1%
82%

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

Less Hair

6th May 2010, 14:18

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

840

6th May 2010, 14:19

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?

Charlie Roy

6th May 2010, 14:30

BUD operation of Ryanair will be ceased from the end of summer due to... guess what: a dispute over charges.

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 (http://www.air-journal.fr/2010-05-05-apres-prague-ryanair-devrait-quitter-budapest-54231.html)

Biggles78

6th May 2010, 15:07

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

aguadalte

6th May 2010, 15:11

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?

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...

niknak

6th May 2010, 15:13

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.

bear11

6th May 2010, 18:59

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

Tooloose

6th May 2010, 20:45

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.

befree

7th May 2010, 17:54

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

includes up to 1.2M passengers who were booked to fly between the 15th to 22nd of April but whose flights were cancelled due to the closure of much of European airspace following the volcano eruptions in Iceland.

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

mickyman

7th May 2010, 20:07

befree

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

MM

Random Flyer

8th May 2010, 08:20

Can someone tell me why Ryanair have today cancelled a number of flights to Spain (including mine), apparently due to ash clouds, while easyJet are flying a normal schedule on the same routes? :confused:

FR-

8th May 2010, 08:25

Ryanair is not easyJet, WW have also cancelled some flights aswell.

davidjohnson6

8th May 2010, 08:28

There's a big load of ash across the north coast of Spain and the Pyrenees. Really cannot fault Ryanair on this one.

FR-

8th May 2010, 08:30

Thank you david, but im sure the ryanair bashers will be out in force on this one again.

Random Flyer

8th May 2010, 08:33

There's a big load of ash across the north coast of Spain and the Pyrenees. Really cannot fault Ryanair on this one.

Excuse my ignorance, but how can other airlines operate flights on the same route, within 35 minutes of my cancelled Ryanair flight, on time?

0930 Easyjet Alicante Gate Closed
1005 Ryanair Alicante Cancelled

Random Flyer

8th May 2010, 08:35

Thank you david, but im sure the ryanair bashers will be out in force on this one again.

Excuse me! I am not a "Ryanair basher". I have used the airline hundreds of times and defended them just as many.

However alarm bells start going off when I arrive at an airport to be told "your flight is cancelled due to ash clouds" yet an earlier flight on the same route, with another airline went out on time and a flight 30 minutes later, also with another airline is going out on time.

classic-hunter-

8th May 2010, 08:38

Can understand any Portugal cancellations, the re-routes even for a 738 would cost a fortune in fuel!

As for the PMI/ALC etc, the ash cloud chart is close to them, but no cigar!

befree

8th May 2010, 09:47

EI-BUD

8th May 2010, 10:12

What is the story with Ireland / UK area? Is there an expectation that there will be volanic ash restrictions over us in the next 24hours?

I am planning to book a flight for later today and might not if there is a real propect that there will be problems?
Thanks
EI-BUD

Runway 31

8th May 2010, 11:31

Have a look at this it may go some way to explaining or it may not depending on your view point.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/data/VAG_1273316351.png

Runway 31

8th May 2010, 13:57

From the Ryanair website:

DISRUPTED AIRPORTS

BERGERAC closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

BEZIERS closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

BIARRITZ closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

BORDEAUX closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

CARCASSONNE closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

GIRONA closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

GRENOBLE closed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

LA ROCHELLE closed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

MARSEILLEclosed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

MONTPELLIER closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

NIMES closed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

PAU closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

PERPIGNAN closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

PORTO closed from 0600hrs to 2400hrs

REUS closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

RODEZ closed from 1300hrs to 2400hrs

SANTANDER closed from 0600hrs to 2400hrs

SANTIAGO closed from 0600hrs to 2400hrs

ST ETIENNE (LYON) closed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

TOULON closed from 1600hrs to 2400hrs

VALLADOLID closed from 0600hrs to 2400hrs

ZARAGOZA closed from 0600hrs to 2400hrs

EISNN

8th May 2010, 17:25

Up at 5:15 this morning to bring my parents to Faranfore, Kerry International Airport (KIR) so that they could fly to Faro (FAO) with Ryanair. No information on their website at 5.45 that the flight was cancelled. So we drove to KIR only to be told that it was in fact cancelled. Not impressed cos I'm not a morning person and I'm disappointed for my elderly parents!! Anyway, they're re-booked for Wednesday evening's flight free of charge. Let's hope that the ash plume from Eyaf abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz moves somewhere else or better still just washes down with a good dose of rain. .................... well I can hope, eh?

mickyman

8th May 2010, 17:46

befree

Again you seem to leave-out certain important facts just to support
your tiresome Ryanair bashing.....

rebooking is free and ash cloud canx passengers numbers included...

MM

racedo

8th May 2010, 19:59

Easyjet will spend extra money on fuel to make sure as many pax are happy as possible. Ryanair will make you rebook and then count it as 2 seat bookings and claim a massive load factor as ther merge flights. Easyjet will want you to use them again even though they are sometimes not as cheap. Ryanair will take you money and do everything they can to keep it while trying to avoid spending money on getting you there.A RANT as per usual.

Seats booked and paid for are counted once and once only.

Your slur on "They will take your money and do everything they can to keep it" is yet another knuckle dragging attempt at your own agenda without a single piece of fact behind it.

Had a number of friends coming for a visit who were disrupted by cancellations they were sent a number of emails indicating how they could apply for refunds without a problem.

wawkrk

8th May 2010, 21:11

I flew from Krakow to Leeds this morning. Later, when I checked my emails, there was an email from Ryanair advising me the flight was cancelled because of problems in Spanish and French airspace.....What?
A later email informed me that a text message had been sent telling me to ignore the previous email. I did not receive this.
I cannot imagine why the first email was sent given the reasons for this.
Does somebody in Ryan have problems with geography?

Noxegon

8th May 2010, 21:25

Me too - I had two e-mails advising me of cancellations, DUB-EMA (this morning) and BHX-DUB this evening. Both arrived midday, roughly four hours after the DUB-EMA had taken place but leaving me slightly worried about my return journey. I wonder if I should apply for the recommended refunds...

EuroChallenger

9th May 2010, 06:51

It is very easy to sit here and criticise any airline, but this volcano activity is a new problem for the industry. As peak season approaches, it will be even harder to get out of trouble than a few weeks ago.

One example would be to leave a spare aircraft at (example Tenerife) with crew to use for shuttles to (which ever airport is open) etc, but in the summer, heading for the peak, how many spare aircraft would there be?

Airlines are good at dealing with a couple of cancelled flights caused by tech issues, crew sickness etc, but to cancel hundreds at a time is a whole new ball game.

I know it is heartbreaking when your holiday is cancelled etc, but a reminder to all that the ruler of the planet is indeed Mother Nature!

TartinTon

9th May 2010, 07:08

fivejuliet

9th May 2010, 09:37

NAT' have nothing to do with Portugese or Spanish airspace so they are pretty irrelevant. There were already huge delays in portugal and nothern spain, due to the NAT tracks being so southerly, something they are not used to, and hence different airways may have been unavailable, and as a result any other rerouting would have added such a significant distance that it may not have been worth their while. Flying above it does not work as you'd have to descend through it at some stage

Better safe than sorry I suppose.

Random Flyer

9th May 2010, 13:20

I think the question that is being raised is why Ryanair and Easy were cancelling flights into southern Spanish/Portuguese airports when every other operator wasn't? It was only the Northern Spanish airports that were shut and the instructions from NATS in avoiding the ash are quite clear. Treat it like a mountain and either fly over it or around it and you'll be fine as other carriers are doing.

That was indeed my question, although Easyjet had a flight 35 minutes later on the same route which departed on time. Ryanair were the only one cancelleing flights yesterday, from what I seen on the departure boards anyway.

Whats worse is Ryanair offered me, what they said was "the next avalable flight" tomorrow evening (Monday 10 May), despite the fact the Ryanair website is showing a flight tonight going ontime with seats on sale from £200 one-way. :ugh:

TartinTon

9th May 2010, 13:32

fivejuliet, you wouldn't have to pass through it if you've flown over it (unless you were flying to one of the ash affected airports). Southern Spain and Portugal were ash-free so you could fly over the ash and land safely. Ryan and Easy decided not to do that but I'm not sure why?

Random Flyer

9th May 2010, 14:32

Ryan and Easy decided not to do that but I'm not sure why?

From what I seen Easyjet were doing that. Only Ryanair decided to cancel flights.

daz211

9th May 2010, 17:10

Well from what I have seen EZY is also canceling flights to/from Spain, Italy, Germany
France, Portugal, N.Ireland and Scotland.

You dont have to look hard it's all on the Easyjet website.

BFS101

9th May 2010, 17:31

From my source at BHD, Ryanair, Easyjet and bmi on arrival all had engine inspections and all found traces of ash. Ryanair contacted ops, and their STN X2, BRS,and EMA were all cancelled. EZY managed to operate the return to LTN and BD managed out to LHR.

The FR 18.30 BRS is next info 19.00, and the 20.10 STN is check-in as usual. Apparently FR have 3 aircraft sitting on the groud at BHD awaiting instruction. All other airlines pretty much operating on schedule, some with minor delays, as is the EZY BFS to STN.

Are FR playing this very safe??

FR-

9th May 2010, 17:33

Look FR found ash, one of the a/c had an inspection which took just little of 3 hours. It was found to not be safe to fly.

racedo

9th May 2010, 17:49

The usual suspects would be on here screaming that FR is endangering passengers if they flew and others had cancelled flights.

BFS101

9th May 2010, 18:43

The BBC contacted BHD regarding the cancelled Ryanair flights just now, and wanted a statement in relation to the ash issue. The airport then contacted Ryanair to get a statement. The weird thing is, rather than stating that the ash is obviously a hazard and the decision was taken not to operate flights on the grounds of safety, Ryanair have told the airport to state that ash is not a problem, to retract that information; that ash levels found on the aircraft are safe, and that the three aircraft parked at BHD are tech.

Why would FR tell the airport to put this new information in the public domain? Surely flights grounded due to safety fears looks better and customers happier, than telling everyone the aircraft all went tech? What is the logic behind this? Currenly one aircraft on stand, and two parked over beside Shorts.

eastern wiseguy

9th May 2010, 19:39

WAWKRK Does somebody in Ryan have problems with geography?

bwahahahahahah

BFS101

10th May 2010, 08:42

Regarding the situation at BHD yesterday...

BBC News - Ryanair denies ash causing delays (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8671372.stm)

Ryanair has said there is no truth in a claim that volcanic ash had been found in the engines of its planes at Belfast City Airport.

This seems so strange, when initially checks were carried out at BHD yesterday, and confirmation at the airport, that ash was present in the engines. Contacted FR op's with this reasoning, and told to wait for further instruction. After a number of cancelled flights, Ryanair now state the aircraft went tech and had nothing to do with the ash? How come all this contradictng information?