I am constantly amazed how this Rainboe character continually gets away with rude and abusive posts. A simple question is asked on an SLF forum and off "it" goes.
I cannot believe Rainbow is a pilot or has ever been in any form of command...possible a frustrated engineer?

I have been working with (NB not for) Ryanair for some months now, and I will add to the chorus of those who insist that their standards are very high.

There is a perfectly sound economic reason for this. It's the cheapest way to run an airline.

So far as maintenance is concerned, I have experience of many UK operators operating standards, from BAF in the old days to BA now. Ryanair is as good as or better than all of them, mostly better, in its adherence to the spirit and letter of the regulations, as well as in its corporate culture that "we must be best, because people expect us not to be".

Those who know BA well will spot the difference there.

It is also better than most if not all of the larger European and US operators;(including those that declare a policy of perfection, or whatever that is in German) not difficult in some cases, of course, but a high bar to get over in other.

I am less familiar with Ryanair's Flight Ops standards, but I have no doubt whatsoever that they are the same as maintenance, for the same reasons.

Pity about Ryanair's unnecessarily dreadful customer relations, customer service and website, but you can't have everything.

Capot,

Interesting to read your comments from within. There seems to be a number of people who travel regularly on Ryanair who have the same view. If you are careful with booking and understand the system, the experience is generally OK.
Certainly, the aircraft look new and appear to be much younger than a number of other airlines' fleets.

Rainboe

I refuse to be drawn into your petty little argumentative world and therefore will ignore any future jibes at me. :bored:

I thought forums had rules about abusive behaviour? It's quite clear that you aren't a pilot you don't come across as very intelligent.


Thank you to everyone else it has certainly provided me with some food for thought. I have been flying as a passenger regularly since I was a child in the 70's and have obviously seen many changes! The safety of my family is paramount to me and some of the posts have provided me with reassurance.

I will go on my flight in January (not that cheap I hasten to add!) with confidence.

Looking forward to browsing these forums I love all things aviation.

There's no abuse whatsoever (where?), it's just amazing that the total inability to get a refund out of Ryanair in any shape or form makes even the most nervous passenger suddenly able to fly!

You come to a pilot forum squeaking you are frightened of flying. You need a man to tell you to 'pull yourself together and get on with it!'. Unfortunately, I am a pilot. Occasionally I have to hold someone's hand and say 'there there, don't be frightened' when all along I really want to get my belt off and tan them until they decide perhaps they're not too frightened after all.....after they've delayed 400 people for an hour because of their incredibly stupid phobias!

You don't have a thing about spiders as well, do you? Mice? Lizards and snakes? Wide open spaces? It seems people who suffer one phobia very often have a bigger selection they can pick and chose from for the day. It shows deeper rooted problems, but as we don't have Agony Aunt anymore, I can't direct you for help. An interesting observation I have made over the years is that the nervous passengers who hold up flights are almost always obese, but that leads us into a politically incorrect area and I don't go such places.

It would be useful to know if you do manage to conquor your fears and actually fly. Might give you a phobia about Irish accents though!

Rainboe, you may have a hell of a lot of hours and been a captain for god knows how long, but your posts here make you sound like a complete to$$er. I really hope I never have to fly with anyone as opinionated as you. The whole point of phobias is that they irrational fears, lilylady shouldn't be abused for asking a question to people that will be able to provide here with the answer, even if it could seem like a silly question to those people answering.

Our (Ryanair's) maintenance always amazes me; I have yet to fly with anything more than an inop clock. I have also never felt under any pressure from anyone (Company, Base Captains or Captains) to compromise safety merely to remain 'on schedule'. In fact the opposite is true, according to our SOPs we are supposed to fly econ speeds at all times, even when late.

It is true Ryanair has a lot if different nationalities on its books, this is one of the reasons the SOPs are so thorough. The other is safety. I recently was a safety pilot (3rd pilot in the flight deck, there in case the captain becomes incapacitated, we have to do an approach which the new pilot isn't legally allowed to do yet (low vis) to keep an eye out in case the training captain doesn't spot anything and make the tea!) whilst a new guy was line training, he struggled with his command of English and has recently gone back to just observing until he can improve his English.

Ladylily, I hope this helps you in some way, if you have any more specific questions or need any of the more technical stuff explained feel free to PM me. Capot hit the nail on the head with: "we must be best, because people expect us not to be".

Dit

Thank you for that Dit; you and others have restored my faith in pilots. It appears there are some of you with half decent personalities ;)

I may take you up on the pm,thank you

lily, Rainboe has that big red label "Warning: Toxic" for a reason :-)

You'll grow used to his acidic disposition the longer you hang out here.

:-)

S.

It says it like it should be said! The patience shop is fresh out of patience for people who can't live with their silly phobias. Perhaps it is as well some of you want to hold her hand and say 'there there!', but I think the best way to handle it is to say 'stop making a prune of yourself woman and either get on the plane or walk!'. That way does not fail- especially if you can't get a refund! The soft approach tends to lead one towards doing it constantly! But those of you who think you are unofficial agony aunts, the field is all yours!

.... er, not exactly Rainboe, it seems to say "Passengers and SLF" at the top of the page ....

.... it also says:ladylily63

.... I only ventured in here for a bit of peace and quiet away from the flak of the Military Forum - didn't expect such vitriol...

.... many - perhaps most (male) pilots are not as rude as some appear to be!

Happy landings anyway

teeters (an officer [for sure] and a gentleman [I hope!])

Edited again for emphasis - I do not choose to enter further debate with one so rude

I could be wrong - but I get the feeling that rainboe is actually Mike O'Leary

I don't know who he is but his childish, rude and arrogant ways seem to be, uniquely, ignored by moderators....

First time in a while that I've been on the SLF forum and I must say that Rainboe's remarks are totally out of order. This forum is for passengers to ask questions and post comments, and toxic reactions are the last thing they need.

Ladylilly; Michael O'Leary is far and away not the nicest man on the planet, but he does run a very successful and safe airline. I fly with them often and am quite happy with the operation. Enjoy your flight.

(retired 737 pilot)

Above that, it does say 'Professional Pilots Rumour Network'. As a professional pilot, I find it slightly demeaning and a little bit offensive to have neurotics coming here virtually saying 'you may fly all the time, but my carcase is so valuable to me that I'm not sure I find it safe enough to entrust myself to a trip on Ryanair, so everybody give me reassurance!'. If you are that nervous, get yourself on a 'Fear of Flying' course! But I do find it offensive people call into question the safety of something I have made a professional career out of because 'they are frightened'. Guys blast on and off carriers, in the dark. They do it because they have to. That is dangerous and takes courage. This wimp is frightened of travelling on Ryanair? Purrlease! The best answer is 'deal with it, or walk instead!' If you don't find that opinion valid, that's your lookout. She will fly, but everybody in the airport will know what a state she is in.

.....Still waiting to hear why those crossing themselves is an irritation.
Cant wait to see how yr going to explain that without offending anybody of a christian persuasion.

DPT

Presumably Rainboe sees this as he's getting ready to strap on the life jacket for the demo and then serve the tea and coffee. What a sweetie. I wonder if he's single.....

ladylily,

Following our PMs may I place this in the public forum.

Would you please PM the details of your flight closer to the date and I will speak with the crew to make certain that you are looked after as you have some degree of concern.

TRSS

Rainboe is a grumpy old pilot with about 5 million hours :} who has inhaled too much windscreen demister, with apparent side effects on his personality.

He learnt his passenger reassurance techniques by watching Mel Gibson deal with the potential suicide jumper in Lethal Weapon (the original) and now likes this approach, as it is efficient.

But give him a break, as he used to have a really big toy to play with, but now has only a little one.

The Real Slim Shady is a gentleman who has demonstrated his credentials once again by offering to help an SLF.

Final 3 Greens may still have me on 'ignore' but......


If the Real Slim shady was a true gentleman why does he 'kiss and tell'?

[Pity about Ryanair's unnecessarily dreadful customer relations, customer service and website, but you can't have everything.]

I'll agree with that. I'm still waiting for a reply to my letter as to why their website locked me out several times as I tried to pay for a flight and then charged me twice after a successful booking the following day.
Not Very Good, Ryanair. :=

But I'll repeat that I've got no qualms about Ryanair's sharp end.