Ryanair cancel flights due to pilot shortage?

[Wing Commander Fowler]

WHBM - you don't appear to get it! The cancellations are due to lack of crews!!!! Of course the small reduction in aircraft delivered (if there ever was one) is not the cause of this. Indeed if we had MORE aircraft there would be MORE sat on the ramp!

[Faire d'income]

Ley me get this right; bmi change their schedules to operate their 330s from LHR instead of MAN. Commercial decision.
BA change their schedules by cancelling flights to Riyadh;commercial decision.
Ryanair change their schedule by cancelling flights; commercial decision.

More FR hillarity. Let me get this right.
* bmi change flights from LHR to Man probable increase in revenue. Probably no decrease in schedule.
* Ba to Riyadh, dont know the details possibly security risk but only one route.
* 1000 flights in 3 months cancelled with more to likely to come. Suspicious looking excuse given. Aircraft seen sitting idle ( most unlike FR granted ) and it is the same thing?
The Real Shady Spin is more like it.

[DW11]

Originally Posted by OpenCirrus619

Am I missing something?

From what I can see Ryanair cancelled a load of flights but are unhappy that this was reflected on the BAA information boards / site. They were cancelled, so the information is correct - I don't see that it matters if they notified BAA 20 mins or 20 days in advance.

If this was a "schedule change" and there was no intention to resume these services then I would agree BAA was at fault.

OC619

They'd better have a word with Dublin as well as they're showing a PIK and a STN as cancelled.

[Aloue]

I think Ryanair are fully entitled to blame everybody in sight for adverse publicity, even if it is based on the facts of the situation!

It's whether or not we allow ourselves to be deflected by their spin that matters! Clever pre-emptive strike with the press release in December. Lots believe it. In reality it probably has more to do with having thin loads than the lack of current pilots (which is undoubtedly an issue). To my mind last in the list, at around 152, would come the Boeing strike.

Bad Aviation Authority for drawing attention to the scale of the Ryanair scam!!!

[Safety Guy]

Let's not forget that Ryanair's cancellations will affect the BAA's revenues as well. They gave Ryanair slots for those flights, and those slots are hard to fill when cancelled at a late date. Maybe BAA is keeping those cancellations to make a point?

[bacardi walla]

If Boeing is to blame for cancellations due to late delivery of aircraft, why are there so many sitting idle today? Simple.......no crew to fly them.

[LTNman]

Ryanair denies flight cancellation rumour; says schedule running normally

http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds...fx2457115.html

LONDON (AFX) - Ryanair Holdings PLC has denied a rumour that its flights were subject to widespread cancellation this morning, saying its schedule of flights was operating normally, on time and with no cancellations.

In a statement, Ryanair said the false rumour emanated from one of the London investment banks shortly after 7.30 am.

'This rumour was untrue and could have been verified by that bank, had they made any attempt to contact the airline directly, or had they checked Ryanair's flight information page on www.ryanair.com, which confirmed that all Ryanair's early morning departures from London Luton and Stansted airport had departed as normal and on-time,' the Irish low-cost carrier said.

'Ryanair regrets that such a false and inaccurate rumour would emanate from a respected London investment bank without any attempt made to verify the facts either directly with the company or on Ryanair's website,' it added.

At 9.26 am, shares in Ryanair were 0.17 eur at 7.71.

-------------------------------------------------------

Interesting statement from Ryanair stating that all Ryanair morning departures had departed as normal from Luton seeing that their entire Luton fleet was on the ground until the afternoon.

Also worth noting is that the first post here came at 06:30 and that just after 07:30 a London investment bank had also reported the news. I wonder if they read pprune?

[vee-en-ee]

The latest from the STN departures board....
looks like Boeing are going to be sued for a large sum if "Please Contact Your Airline" means what I suspect it does!....
15:35 FR758 FRANKFURT HAHN AIRBORNE 1539
15:40 FR905 CORK BOARDING
15:55 AB8855 BERLIN TEGEL LAST CALL
16:00 FR436 HAMBURG LUBECK LAST CALL
16:05 FR703 KERRY LAST CALL
16:10 T34725 MANCHESTER LAST CALL
16:15 AB8747 DUSSELDORF BOARDING
16:15 FR1005 NIMES PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
16:20 AB8556 GLASGOW GATE OPEN
16:20 EZY239 EDINBURGH GATE OPEN
16:35 EZY3119 MALAGA GATE OPEN
16:35 FR3012 ROME CIAMPINO PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
16:45 AB8054 MANCHESTER
16:45 FR8363 SEVILLE
16:50 FR415 GLASGOW PIK PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:00 FR225 DUBLIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:00 FR9273 EINDHOVEN
17:10 FR2194 TAMPERE
17:10 FR2316 BRATISLAVA
17:15 EZY3035 BARCELONA
17:15 FR8398 JEREZ PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:20 EZY3775 BILBAO
17:20 FR1905 BARI
17:20 FR8351 ALMERIA
17:25 EZY3875 ALICANTE
17:40 FR8325 VALENCIA
17:45 FR105 SHANNON
17:45 FR3848 REUS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:50 FR2436 KRAKOW
17:55 EZY241 EDINBURGH
17:55 EZY3195 LYON SATOLAS
17:55 FR2638 GRANADA
17:55 FR306 SALZBURG
18:00 EZY3567 COPENHAGEN
18:00 FR3014 ROME CIAMPINO PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:00 FR968 GOTHENBURG CITY
18:05 EZY517 NEWCASTLE
18:10 E0003 NEW YORK JFK
18:10 FR058 STOCKHOLM SKAVS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:15 EZY3417 MUNICH
18:20 EZY217 GLASGOW
18:20 EZY257 BELFAST
18:25 EZY3627 PRAGUE
18:30 FR312 SALZBURG
18:30 GSM996 GLASGOW
18:35 FR227 DUBLIN
18:35 FR8347 PORTO
18:40 FR8546 BERLIN SCHONEFE
18:40 FR9808 GIRONA BARCELON
18:45 FR2466 SZCZECIN
18:45 FR464 TURIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:50 FR038 OSLO TORP PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:50 FR4198 MILAN BERGAMO
18:55 FR798 VENICE TREVISO
19:00 FR9774 KARLSRUHE BADEN
19:10 FR258 MALMO STURUP PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:15 T34727 MANCHESTER
19:20 FR3258 DUSSELDORF WEEZ PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:20 FR613 DERRY
19:40 EZY3891 AMSTERDAM
19:40 FR297 DUBLIN
19:40 FR714 AARHUS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:40 FR907 CORK
19:40 FR9904 NEWQUAY
19:45 GSM980 EDINBURGH
19:45 JXX156 KEFLAVIK
19:50 FR438 HAMBURG LUBECK
20:00 DY1307 OSLO
20:00 FR764 FRANKFURT HAHN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
20:10 4U2337 STUTTGART
20:10 FR293 DUBLIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
20:15 AB8449 BERLIN TEGEL
20:15 FR588 PISA
20:20 AB8527 LEIPZIG
20:20 FR1007 AMSTERDAM PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE

[jewitts]

Current situation according to BAA Stansted:

16:35 FR3012 ROME CIAMPINO PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
16:50 FR415 GLASGOW PIK PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:00 FR225 DUBLIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:15 FR8398 JEREZ PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
17:45 FR3848 REUS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:00 FR3014 ROME CIAMPINO PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:10 FR058 STOCKHOLM SKAVS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:45 FR464 TURIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
18:50 FR038 OSLO TORP PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:10 FR258 MALMO STURUP PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:20 FR3258 DUSSELDORF WEEZ PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:40 FR714 AARHUS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
20:00 FR764 FRANKFURT HAHN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
20:10 FR293 DUBLIN PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
20:20 FR1007 AMSTERDAM PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE


Seems like more than a 1% cancellation rate to me! (As stated in the December Ryanair press release!)
I suspect that even if they were cancelled some time ago, there are still a lot of passengers who will not book with Ryanair again.

[LTNman]

Under new EU compensation rules for cancelled flights this should cost the airline a fortune as I suspect these flights have been available for booking for months. Somehow I don’t think Ryanair will pay up.

[WHBM]

"Ah no, the flight's not cancelled sir. We've just decided not to operate it. But no, it's not cancelled. Oh no. And all the passengers booked on the flight which is not cancelled have been transferred to other flights".

Only in Ireland ...........

[FlyLowCost]

Originally Posted by LTNman

Under new EU compensation rules for cancelled flights this should cost the airline a fortune as I suspect these flights have been available for booking for months. Somehow I don’t think Ryanair will pay up.

The flights were cancelled over one month ago and all the pax got a notification by email. So they are under the new EU rules.

[chateau57]

Lots of Ryanair 737's sitting around Stansted today ........

[BEagle]

"......had they made any attempt to contact the airline directly...."

Something which many people have tried to do over the years. Remind me again of the Ryanair Customer Service telephone number?

[King Pong]

Crisis, what crisis! Everything is normal according to a Ryanair spokesman. No doubt BAA Stansted will remove these flights off their screens tomorrow so everything will appear to be normal. But at the end of the day Ryanair will have aircraft sitting around for the next couple of months doing nothing because they can’t recruit enough flight crews. For an airline that prides its self on keeping its costs to a minimum this is a disaster. So what’s this say about Ryanair’s terms and conditions?

[cwatters]

It looks like none of the flights mentioned above can be booked online for next wednesday (I tried three at random). So obviously these aren't new cancellations.

[The Real Slim Shady]

Cwatters

Don't tell WHBM, he won't like it!!

Is it uncommon for flights to be re-scheduled / cancelled or even consolidated by commercial for any number of reasons in advance of the planned operation? It appears if the company involved is Ryanair that any commercial change heralds some meltdown.

Why not vent your spleens supporting the BA crews who could see their pensions crumble if the shortfall isn't made up and leave FR alone.

[Pilot Pete]

Originally Posted by The Real Slim Shady

Is it uncommon for flights to be re-scheduled / cancelled or even consolidated by commercial for any number of reasons in advance of the planned operation? It appears if the company involved is Ryanair that any commercial change heralds some meltdown.
Why not vent your spleens supporting the BA crews who could see their pensions crumble if the shortfall isn't made up and leave FR alone.

This is a Rumours network and if the reason for cancelled flights turns out to be lack of flightdeck crew, it will be of great interest to many pilots as it may mark the turning of the worm and a little leverage available to ALL UK flightcrew to negotiate their ever decreasing terms and conditions back upwards.

It will also be of great interest for Wanabees, who might be able to get a little relief from the 'pay for your type rating' that has riddled the job market since 9/11.

So I personally would like to hear as much information as possible regarding what is happening at Ryanair, especially how many aircraft are sitting on the ground each day due to lack of crews. Perhaps those in 'Spotters Corner' would be able to picture them at each airfield and give us a clue of how many fleet wide?

PP

Edited to add;

Do you really think that if BA had lots of aeroplanes sitting on the ground due to lack of crews that they wouldn't be getting a 'spleen venting' on here?

[Scottie Dog]

How true are the cancellation?

Originally Posted by cwatters

It looks like none of the flights mentioned above can be booked online for next wednesday (I tried three at random). So obviously these aren't new cancellations.

I feel that I have to comment on the various remarks made by fellow Ppruners. Whilst I have no time for MOL, I also sometimes think that we all go mad when given the opportunity to 'have a go at' Ryanair.

I havinglooked at the flights listed by jewitts in his posting at 16.04 and the comments by cwatters, I thought that I would check all the flights listed - here are my results if trying to book for next Wednesday 25th January:

16:35 FR3012 ROME CIAMPINO NOT LISTED
16:50 FR415 GLASGOW PIK NOT LISTED
17:00 FR225 DUBLIN NOT LISTED
17:15 FR8398 JEREZ BOOKABLE
17:45 FR3848 REUS BOOKABLE
18:00 FR3014 ROME CIAMPINO NOT LISTED
18:10 FR058 STOCKHOLM SKAVS BOOKABLE
18:45 FR464 TURIN BOOKABLE
18:50 FR038 OSLO TORP PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE
19:10 FR258 MALMO STURUP NOT LISTED
19:20 FR3258 DUSSELDORF WEEZ BOOKABLE
19:40 FR714 AARHUS NOT LISTED
20:00 FR764 FRANKFURT HAHN NOT LISTED
20:10 FR293 DUBLIN NOT LISTED
20:20 FR1007 AMSTERDAM AIRPORT NOT SERVED!

As can be seen, there are a number of the flights which have been cancelled for more than 1 week, and the fact that Amsterdam is listed does give me serious food for thought that the BAA had loaded data from slot applications and failed to remove them before the event. This occurance has been known to happen at various airports around the UK.

Anyway that is my unbiased penny-worth which has left me taking statements from both sides with a pinch of salt.

[GLGNDB]

If it's known in advance the flights aren't going to operate then the slots can be cancelled with ACL. Once you cancel the slot or slot pair with ACL, they inform the airports and the flights are removed from the flight screen database. If a flight is active (usually a day or so before ) in the AOS system then the only option left is to show it as cancelled, otherwise AOS will plan stands etc for it. A good example of this is on bank holidays or at Christmas where you will see some airlines with a lot of cancellations on these particular days while others despite operating a reduced schedule don't have any showing as cancelled.