You want to take bags? On Ryanair? Think again...(Merged)
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After reading very recent incidents/statements by MOL - such as this and also the debacle he is having with his pilots as detailed on R&N - I am seriously beginning to believe he is on the verge of having a breakdown and/or going insane...I say this in all seriousness his (personal) behavior/actions is becoming very obsessive/irrational/provocational/confrontational and all the more incomprehensable as time goes on!
Time will tell?!
I for one can no longer accept this is just MOL's revolutionary (but apparently unpopular) forward thinking in our industry!?
Time will tell?!
I for one can no longer accept this is just MOL's revolutionary (but apparently unpopular) forward thinking in our industry!?
I honestly think the same Boss Raptor. Reminiscent of initially sucessful politicians who eventually get carried away with their own success and power. MOL is losing the plot rapidly and may well end up driving RYR spectacularly into the ground.
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A friend of mine was at an Institute of Directors conference a month or two ago at which MOL was speaking. Apparently he said that he was planning to do away with all fees for passengers (travel would be free plus taxes) on the basis that the pax didn't take check in luggage. If they wanted luggage they would be charged a price per item (I understand the suggestion was in the region of £5-10).
Apparently he also said that he thought it would be reported as him banning luggage!
The rationale apparently is to make an effort to cut down on turnaround time.
Just reporting what I heard and I'm not in the industry, so not in a position to judge, but I would be interested in what the opinions are.
Apparently he also said that he thought it would be reported as him banning luggage!
The rationale apparently is to make an effort to cut down on turnaround time.
Just reporting what I heard and I'm not in the industry, so not in a position to judge, but I would be interested in what the opinions are.
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You can only cut turn around time down so far - as you can achieve dispatch reliability - before you start to erode safety/efficiency of operation - it is a finite position - and FR have proved before where they turnaround with pax. baggage still onboard (departing with it unloaded) that they are against that limit
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<<I heard MOL was at Lasham the other day taking a particular interest in the gliders. >>
Ok, lateral thinking.
If there's no need for a hold, and TPTB at FR are looking at different machinery, what's the liklihood of 180 or so sets of pedals being fitted under each seat to reduce the operating cost
I've not done a cost benefit of the advantage to be gained by pedal power, but you can bet your sweet life someone will before too long.
Then again, maybe not. Trying to make the thing do 50 kts on the way to the gate would probably double the turnround time, too many passengers wouldn't be able to get out of their seats
Ok, lateral thinking.
If there's no need for a hold, and TPTB at FR are looking at different machinery, what's the liklihood of 180 or so sets of pedals being fitted under each seat to reduce the operating cost
I've not done a cost benefit of the advantage to be gained by pedal power, but you can bet your sweet life someone will before too long.
Then again, maybe not. Trying to make the thing do 50 kts on the way to the gate would probably double the turnround time, too many passengers wouldn't be able to get out of their seats
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For those of you existing and potential passengers of Ryanair who haven't tuned into the thread in Rumours and News I urge you to do so now. This is an insight as to how things are there right now and believe me things are going down the sh!tter.
If MOL thinks he can ride rough shod over his staff THIS time he better think again! All have kept quiet for so long now so as to protect their own interests but the time has come. There are issues there that if become public the company will be in deepest darkest sh!t..... Oh yes there are skeletons in this cupboard.
You think passenger figures and yields are down now Mick? Look into those crystal balls again and look careful this time!
If MOL thinks he can ride rough shod over his staff THIS time he better think again! All have kept quiet for so long now so as to protect their own interests but the time has come. There are issues there that if become public the company will be in deepest darkest sh!t..... Oh yes there are skeletons in this cupboard.
You think passenger figures and yields are down now Mick? Look into those crystal balls again and look careful this time!
PPRuNe Handmaiden
I received an mass emaily thingy from Ryanair stating that you can now change your flight details for a fee of *I think* £35. I deleted it so hence the figure might be wrong.
Didn't easyJet start doing this a while ago?
Didn't easyJet start doing this a while ago?
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Lighten up everyone
MOL is doing what he does best, getting acres of publicity for Ryanair by saying something that some people find outrageous. Over the past couple of days they have had pages of newsprint re-enforcing the message that they are the airline constantly trying to cut costs and offer the cheapest product.
And is charging passengers for hold luggage such a barmy idea? If I don’t travel with hold luggage, why should I subsidise those that do? Doesn’t Ryan already charge for carrying golf clubs and surf boards? OK it may put of some people, but they are probably more the natural client group of full-service carriers in anycase.
MOL is doing what he does best, getting acres of publicity for Ryanair by saying something that some people find outrageous. Over the past couple of days they have had pages of newsprint re-enforcing the message that they are the airline constantly trying to cut costs and offer the cheapest product.
And is charging passengers for hold luggage such a barmy idea? If I don’t travel with hold luggage, why should I subsidise those that do? Doesn’t Ryan already charge for carrying golf clubs and surf boards? OK it may put of some people, but they are probably more the natural client group of full-service carriers in anycase.
Last edited by lightbluetouchpaper; 10th Jul 2004 at 19:21.
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Lighten up everyone
In a few short years, he has successfully screwed up the industry, destroying AerLingus in the process, and forcing other carriers to scrimp and save. By his own scant regard for safety standards (his pilots have been accused frequently of attempting to jump ATC queues by crying "short of fuel" (Apparently this was MOL's suggestion to use bullying and harassing tactics when dealing with ATC)), he has tried to ensure that the reputable carriers compromise safety too!
Michael O'Liary has constantly flouted the Advertising Standards Agencies rules on "Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful" and has gained lucrative business traffic through deceit and lies (He had to be told not to advertise airports miles and miles away from the destinations they served!) If this country of ours had any balls, the fines he rceived for deceitful marketing would have seen him bankrupt years ago!!!
........The only Chief Executive in the world who treats staff, customers and suppliers with total contempt!!!
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PeoplExpress (or however they spelt it) used to charge for checked in luggage I believe, but only $5 per bag or some such charge. Perhaps not too bad an idea, but FR's great mantra about allowing "the average European" to fly by providing such low fares begins to wear a little thin when one considers most people do take luggage with them.
I don't really think this will happen, probably just a tactic to prove to shareholders he is looking at cutting costs. After all, the non-reclining seat furore seemed to die away pretty quickly, and actually heard many pax prefer the extra room this provides!
I don't really think this will happen, probably just a tactic to prove to shareholders he is looking at cutting costs. After all, the non-reclining seat furore seemed to die away pretty quickly, and actually heard many pax prefer the extra room this provides!
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Lightblue touchpaper - even your pseudonym infers you are a wind up merchant!
So you rely on a wheelchair to get about do you....? Bet you're great to go out for dinner with! "I only had the chicken so there's my £4.28p".
And is charging passengers for hold luggage such a barmy idea? If I don’t travel with hold luggage, why should I subsidise those that do?
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The reason MOL has sprouted that he intends to phase all hold luggage out over the next few years is that the savings, hence lower fares, derived from his policies of flying to out of the way airports & internet booking have been fully exploited. Therefore he has to find other ways to drive down costs in what he sees as an escalating bloodbath between the airlines for market share. The talk of doing away with check in desks no doubt resulting in massive layoffs is without question another ploy to save money.
Up to now personally speaking I've found travelling with FR okay & bearable, not too much of a change from the flying experience of old & I often wonder what all the furore is about. I'm not disabled, couldn't care less whether I get free sustenance during a short-haul flight or not, love the convenience of internet booking, have never missed a connecting flight though have been delayed through fog & have usually arrived punctually. I couldn't care less about window blinds, head rests, seat pockets to be honest either. Though I wouldn't work for MOL in a month of Sundays & feel sorry for anyone who has to I've understood his rationale up to now but now to be honest I'm stumped.
This lastest debacle sounds like a move too far (or a shrewd ploy for cheap publicity), & if he's serious, guaranteed to alienate a huge portion of his customers. Mostly not always I travel with hold luggage when travelling with FR & from the queues & the amount of pax in baggage reclaim at the conveyor belts it appears that most other FR pax do too. Remember MOL doesn't just intend to charge for hold luggage but to phase it out totally, he obviously only intends to aim at a market who prefer to travel only for a day or two or three at the most which to me doesn't make business sense & I feel is very limiting & will alienate alot of pax.
MOL's comments about buying the things you need at the destination is pure irrational tripe, does he think his pax are so loaded that they can then disgard their new purchases before they board their return flight & that most pax have the time or inclination for shopping at their destination, I certainly wouldn't.
What even concerns me more is finding out that Stansted, FR's main hub & one that many pax use for connecting flights is prone to fog which obviously results in flights delays & missed connections, funny how MOL omitted filling in his pax about that, is it from these suckers that he's making his money when they miss their connections & have to pay through their nose for a last minute flight.
The more I read & learn about FR the more the idea of flying with them is becoming a turnoff, I'm beginning to feel like I'm playing a game of Russian roulette. MOL intends to turn the flying experience for pax on its head, almost totally unrecognisable from what it is at present & do away with what he deems as any unnessary flab that will cost the airline money. In doing so I fear he may end up shooting himself in the foot but atleast pax don't have to work for the one track minded (i.e. lower fares at the expense of everything & everyone) megalomaniac TG.
If rival airlines can offer me & others a product where I'm not charged for carrying luggage, do not have to undergo the danger of missed connections at fog prone airports with no chance of support & instead fly me direct at a competitive price without having to pay for transport from an out of the way airport to the city centre (has anyone else noticed the prohibited cost of the Stansted express & how FR conveniently ommitted it from the little book it produced for pax while printing most of the other prices for transport connections) then I will choose them.
When it all adds up against our favour I & many others will switch our allegiance. Pax can be as fickle, smart & devious as MOL, guess he hasn't copped that yet.
Up to now personally speaking I've found travelling with FR okay & bearable, not too much of a change from the flying experience of old & I often wonder what all the furore is about. I'm not disabled, couldn't care less whether I get free sustenance during a short-haul flight or not, love the convenience of internet booking, have never missed a connecting flight though have been delayed through fog & have usually arrived punctually. I couldn't care less about window blinds, head rests, seat pockets to be honest either. Though I wouldn't work for MOL in a month of Sundays & feel sorry for anyone who has to I've understood his rationale up to now but now to be honest I'm stumped.
This lastest debacle sounds like a move too far (or a shrewd ploy for cheap publicity), & if he's serious, guaranteed to alienate a huge portion of his customers. Mostly not always I travel with hold luggage when travelling with FR & from the queues & the amount of pax in baggage reclaim at the conveyor belts it appears that most other FR pax do too. Remember MOL doesn't just intend to charge for hold luggage but to phase it out totally, he obviously only intends to aim at a market who prefer to travel only for a day or two or three at the most which to me doesn't make business sense & I feel is very limiting & will alienate alot of pax.
MOL's comments about buying the things you need at the destination is pure irrational tripe, does he think his pax are so loaded that they can then disgard their new purchases before they board their return flight & that most pax have the time or inclination for shopping at their destination, I certainly wouldn't.
What even concerns me more is finding out that Stansted, FR's main hub & one that many pax use for connecting flights is prone to fog which obviously results in flights delays & missed connections, funny how MOL omitted filling in his pax about that, is it from these suckers that he's making his money when they miss their connections & have to pay through their nose for a last minute flight.
The more I read & learn about FR the more the idea of flying with them is becoming a turnoff, I'm beginning to feel like I'm playing a game of Russian roulette. MOL intends to turn the flying experience for pax on its head, almost totally unrecognisable from what it is at present & do away with what he deems as any unnessary flab that will cost the airline money. In doing so I fear he may end up shooting himself in the foot but atleast pax don't have to work for the one track minded (i.e. lower fares at the expense of everything & everyone) megalomaniac TG.
If rival airlines can offer me & others a product where I'm not charged for carrying luggage, do not have to undergo the danger of missed connections at fog prone airports with no chance of support & instead fly me direct at a competitive price without having to pay for transport from an out of the way airport to the city centre (has anyone else noticed the prohibited cost of the Stansted express & how FR conveniently ommitted it from the little book it produced for pax while printing most of the other prices for transport connections) then I will choose them.
When it all adds up against our favour I & many others will switch our allegiance. Pax can be as fickle, smart & devious as MOL, guess he hasn't copped that yet.
I sometimes wonder if MOL's policies will one day turn pax back to the full-service carriers? That's if there are any left of course! 
I personally believe that those carriers who provide good basic service (comfortable and assigned seating, realistic hand and checked baggage allowance, provision of free assistance/alternatives following missed connections or flight cancellations), but simply charge for the frills (drink & food), will survive in the long run. The more recent and future Ryanair innovations (I use the term innovation guardedly) will, in the long term, drive the punters away.
I personally believe that those carriers who provide good basic service (comfortable and assigned seating, realistic hand and checked baggage allowance, provision of free assistance/alternatives following missed connections or flight cancellations), but simply charge for the frills (drink & food), will survive in the long run. The more recent and future Ryanair innovations (I use the term innovation guardedly) will, in the long term, drive the punters away.
Avman ..... it's here already and they don't even charge for the food and drinks . I can fly DUS-MAN return , fully booked on a scheduled flight three or four times a day for between e120 and e300 depending on the flights and when I book but on average e150 return . The words Airways and British are operative here!!!
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'Ban bags' plan to cut costs at Ryanair
It gets better.............................. NOT!! Sorry if you've seen this suicide note before.
Ryanair is aiming to drive down costs by banning passengers from stowing baggage in the hold next year - forcing them to carry only hand luggage, reported The Guardian.
In a move the budget airline claims will eliminate the need for check-in desks, chief executive, Michael O'Leary, said he hoped to introduce charges of up to £50 a bag.
"The purpose is not to make money from checked-in luggage - the purpose is to get rid of it altogether," Mr O'Leary said.
In future, he said he wanted passengers to print out boarding passes when they booked tickets on the Internet, allowing them to go directly to their departure gate on arrival at the airport.
Ryanair believes the change could cut €50m (£33m) from its €150m annual airport costs. It wants to work towards reducing its costs per passenger by £5.
Mr O'Leary said the need for luggage was simply a "state of mind" for many passengers.
"Will it piss off people who are going on a two-week holiday to Ibiza? Yes, it probably will. But we don't fly to those charter holiday destinations anyway."
The flamboyant millionaire revealed his intentions as he donned a snowman outfit in London to launch a "winter sale" of a million tickets, which will be available from today at 99p for flights between September and January.
In preparation for scrapping checked-in bags, Ryanair recently doubled its charge for excess baggage to €7 per kilogramme and increased the permitted weight of bags in aircraft cabins from seven to 10kgs.
The airline said less than half its 27 million passengers a year checked in luggage. Most were going on trips with a stay of less than two days.
Consumer representatives criticised Ryanair's plans.
James Freemantle of the Air Transport Users Council said: "It's disappointing that an airline would want to introduce a policy restricting who could fly on its planes.
"This reduces passengers' choice - especially for families with children and lots of bags who wouldn't be able to travel without checking in their luggage."
In a separate initiative, Ryanair intends to introduce in-flight entertainment next summer.
But the airline's strained relationship with trade unions looks set to take a turn for the worse after reports of a letter to pilots from a senior executive.
Warwick Brady, one of Ryanair's managers at Stansted airport, is alleged to have told cockpit crew that they "might just as well join the Taliban" than sign up to the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa).
Ryanair has always refused to negotiate with unions and has no obligation to do so in its native Ireland.
A recognition vote by Balpa among British-based pilots failed three years ago, but the union is canvassing for support for a second attempt once a statutory time limit expires this autumn.
Ryanair is aiming to drive down costs by banning passengers from stowing baggage in the hold next year - forcing them to carry only hand luggage, reported The Guardian.
In a move the budget airline claims will eliminate the need for check-in desks, chief executive, Michael O'Leary, said he hoped to introduce charges of up to £50 a bag.
"The purpose is not to make money from checked-in luggage - the purpose is to get rid of it altogether," Mr O'Leary said.
In future, he said he wanted passengers to print out boarding passes when they booked tickets on the Internet, allowing them to go directly to their departure gate on arrival at the airport.
Ryanair believes the change could cut €50m (£33m) from its €150m annual airport costs. It wants to work towards reducing its costs per passenger by £5.
Mr O'Leary said the need for luggage was simply a "state of mind" for many passengers.
"Will it piss off people who are going on a two-week holiday to Ibiza? Yes, it probably will. But we don't fly to those charter holiday destinations anyway."
The flamboyant millionaire revealed his intentions as he donned a snowman outfit in London to launch a "winter sale" of a million tickets, which will be available from today at 99p for flights between September and January.
In preparation for scrapping checked-in bags, Ryanair recently doubled its charge for excess baggage to €7 per kilogramme and increased the permitted weight of bags in aircraft cabins from seven to 10kgs.
The airline said less than half its 27 million passengers a year checked in luggage. Most were going on trips with a stay of less than two days.
Consumer representatives criticised Ryanair's plans.
James Freemantle of the Air Transport Users Council said: "It's disappointing that an airline would want to introduce a policy restricting who could fly on its planes.
"This reduces passengers' choice - especially for families with children and lots of bags who wouldn't be able to travel without checking in their luggage."
In a separate initiative, Ryanair intends to introduce in-flight entertainment next summer.
But the airline's strained relationship with trade unions looks set to take a turn for the worse after reports of a letter to pilots from a senior executive.
Warwick Brady, one of Ryanair's managers at Stansted airport, is alleged to have told cockpit crew that they "might just as well join the Taliban" than sign up to the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa).
Ryanair has always refused to negotiate with unions and has no obligation to do so in its native Ireland.
A recognition vote by Balpa among British-based pilots failed three years ago, but the union is canvassing for support for a second attempt once a statutory time limit expires this autumn.
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At 7 euros/kg for excess baggage, it would be cheaper to buy an extra seat and have double the baggage allowance. However, does anyone know if a no-show pax can have baggage? I suppose you could claim you wanted to sit on a wide (i.e. double) seat.
The whole excess baggage matter seems just a money printing exercise. I wonder if the check-in staff get a %? Charter airlines are much more generous. Baggage allowance is one of the areas where ej has a massive advantage. When looking at the total cost of the trip, when carrying sports equipment, ej is often the cheapest overall. It would seem RYR might lose pax on this one.
Sadly, and this is not a RYR bash, but once this attitude of "cut costs in every area, no matter what" becomes ingrained in the culture, it can often lead to such nonsense that the opposite is achieved. Not enough in depth thought is given to the long-term.
Cutting costs in one area can easily lead to consequential rises in others which have not been considerd. It would be like having a squiggy jelly ball; you push it in in one place and it bugles out in another. You then push in the bulges, and guess what, it bulges out somewhere else.
The whole excess baggage matter seems just a money printing exercise. I wonder if the check-in staff get a %? Charter airlines are much more generous. Baggage allowance is one of the areas where ej has a massive advantage. When looking at the total cost of the trip, when carrying sports equipment, ej is often the cheapest overall. It would seem RYR might lose pax on this one.
Sadly, and this is not a RYR bash, but once this attitude of "cut costs in every area, no matter what" becomes ingrained in the culture, it can often lead to such nonsense that the opposite is achieved. Not enough in depth thought is given to the long-term.
Cutting costs in one area can easily lead to consequential rises in others which have not been considerd. It would be like having a squiggy jelly ball; you push it in in one place and it bugles out in another. You then push in the bulges, and guess what, it bulges out somewhere else.
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Blimey.
I saw this crop up on BBC news a couple of days ago. It was so barmy that I thought I must have imagined it. Has MOL actually gone nuts?
Even if 2/3 of his pax don't check baggage, it still means he will lose 1/3 of his revenue, as people won't decide that it's better to fly Ryanair than take more than one change of pants.
Amazing.
BTW - good luck to all you FR pilots. The next few months will be interesting.
Ciao
CC
I saw this crop up on BBC news a couple of days ago. It was so barmy that I thought I must have imagined it. Has MOL actually gone nuts?
Even if 2/3 of his pax don't check baggage, it still means he will lose 1/3 of his revenue, as people won't decide that it's better to fly Ryanair than take more than one change of pants.
Amazing.
BTW - good luck to all you FR pilots. The next few months will be interesting.
Ciao
CC