O'Leary v Evan Cullen on RTE1

[asleep at the wheel]

From tonight's "primetime" on RTE1; an expose of pilot fatigue in Ryanair and of the disgracefully unregulated aviation industry in Ireland.

http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/230-2172554.smil

Another example of O'Leary doing a cheap imitation of Goebbels...

[DH121]

Well done Evan Cullen. And who can complain about David Learmount, after that bit of straight talking?

MOL must have little imagination - if Ryanair have an accident in which fatigue is a causal factor, he'll be in deep doodoo!

[atse]

Interesting to see the Great Man MOL finally looking shifty eyed and uncertain. He still managed to get his pre-prepared Ryanair mantra repeated several times -

€100,000 for 18 hours a week
€100,000 for 18 hours a week
€100,000 for 18 hours a week
€100,000 for 18 hours a week
€100,000 for 18 hours a week

Interspersed with:

That Aer Lingus (horror!) pilot over there ...
That Aer Lingus (horror!) pilot over there ...
That Aer Lingus (horror!) pilot over there ...
That Aer Lingus (horror!) pilot over there ...
That Aer Lingus (horror!) pilot over there ...
That failed Aer Lingus pilot over there ...

Which sure is better than actually addressing the key question when you are in a hole!

[CamelhAir]

The bottom line is, to Joe Ordinaryman in front of his TV, with an opinion on everything, and knowledge of nothing, are pilots fatigued or merely overpaid, workshy and lazy?

[pos-init]

I saw the interview tonight and, from a puerly objective view point, feel that MOL came across, unfortunately, quite well.

But this of course is MOL's forte which can only mean that Cullen was completely out of his depth. He (Cullen) made a patethic attempt to badger MOL, thinking perhaps that he was at an IAPA meeting with only pilots watching. Pathetic. Over 99 percent of the people watching this were ordinary non aviation people who have no idea of the politics involved and as a result have been reassured by the CEO of the airline that everything is ok - and because of Cullens inept performance, they probably believe it. MOL came across quite well because he wasnt challenged by a competent person capable of disassociating himself from his obvious loathing of the man and frankly let all of us down.

Why did Cullen not challenge that fact that Ryanair regularly employ split shifts which disguise the fact that althought pilots only FLY 18 hours a week, it is done so over a 50 hour per week period. A pilot can show up for work at 7am in the morning and not get home till 11pm that night and have only flown 6 hours. This surely is the issue yet most people going to bed tonight are not aware of this because Cullen wasnt able to articulate it. Fool. Cullen lost an opportunity of a life time because his ego got in the way and the nett result is that nothing will change - a golden opportunity has been lost - perhaps MOLs thaunts are not that far from the mark??

[Aloue]

I saw the interview tonight and, from a puerly objective view point, feel that MOL came across, unfortunately, quite well.

MOL came across quite well because he wasnt challenged by a competent person capable of disassociating himself from his obvious loathing of the man and frankly let all of us down.

Well, I am not sure which programme you saw, but it was not the same one as I saw. I once again observed the infamous Chief Executive present the interviewer with an impossible task as he repeated the same old guff and simply refused to deal with any facts. But on several occasions your hero of the moment looked positively "shook" at the end of a couple of his diatribes, especially when he though the camera had moved away. He was reduced to throwing the usual stuff around and NEVER dealt with the issues.

I think pos-init you may be confusing spectacle and spin with substance; this is a Ryanair trait. What was far more interesting to me was the fact that the President of IALPA scored some important blows where they matter. pos-init I have a prediction for you. MOL will not willingly appear with Evan Cullen on TV or radio again - I conclude exactly the opposite from the encounter that you do.

Anyway, this is all a matter of opinion. What matters are the facts. And the facts as written on Ryanair rosters do not support the blatant statements of Mr. Michael O'Leary. Just as happened in the REPA case, the FACTS are what will matter in the end. The facts are all that matter.

In that regard, you say the following:

Why did Cullen not challenge that fact that Ryanair regularly employ split shifts which disguise the fact that althought pilots only FLY 18 hours a week ...

Ryanair do not "regularly employ split shifts". Please provide examples (cite a roster example or two for us). Secondly, you say that Ryanair pilots "only FLY 18 hours a week". This is untrue. Ryanair pilots frequently exceed this number of flying hours.

In fact, now that I look at it, your post has a curious tone to it .... So, can I just ask you to confirm if you are a Ryanair pilot and to whom your refer when you said that "[Cullen] let us all down"?

[suasdaguna]

to me the programme was the biggest threat to FR's public image in a long time. M O'L had no choice to go on it. As far as he's concerned he was in union heaven in RTE's studio surrounded by union boff's so he had to come out fighting....he was cornered.

What I didnt like about the programme was it was all FR, FR. No mention of split duties in Aer Arann where lates are shoved into earlies or good old Aer Lingus where they work with great regurlarity 6/2/5/1.....their roster pattern I believe is a disgrace but to change. The IAA as Mr Learmount said are fence sitters unlile the CAA. The IAA have only one choice now but to be involved and be more of a hands on regulatory authority....will that happen? no....only when the chain gets broken will it change.

Why were these other airlines not focused on?

As far as the general public percieve the whole programme it's FR only who run sweat shop regimes....not so!

As far M O'L calling Mr Cullen a "failed Aer Lingus pilot" as a parting shot, this was school yard bully boy stuff and I hope Mr Cullen takes O'Leary to task for this great untruth . Mr Cullen does trojan job for IALPA.

[Waggon rut]

Oh my God not again, I must remind myself I ONLY work 18 hours a week!

The laws of space-time cease to exist in Ryanair.

The 5.5 days I have off each week must be turning my brain into porridge.

I wish he would give up on that old chestnut

Wag

[Baron rouge]

18 hours a week !!! what a laugh, I can assure you that i regularily fly more than 28 hours in 5 days and some weeks, as many as 35-38 hours in 5 days, due to the fact that I am 5 ON / 5 OFF which converts realy in: 5 ON / 2 Commuting / 3 OFF.

[take-off]

i wonder how much effort will be spent in finding the pilots that spilled the beans?

[the grim repa]

I found that if i looked at this programme from the point of the guy on the street,then ryanair did quite well.But when i look at it from the point of view of the IAA or higher management,then i was another pr disaster for ryanair management.One in which again their expert witness(rosekind) rubbished their so called expertly tested roster.Learmount was quite unusually direct.

Again many questions have been asked and we get the usual 18 hour week/100,000 pound salary reply.Instead of answering any questions mol questioned why he as a great success story with 20 years at the helm should have to appear on a talk show for the common people.

Interesting to see that he could not bring himself to look evan cullen in the eye.like a real man would.

[brownstar]

anyone watching this who doesn't know about ryanair, his claim of pilots flying only 18 hours per week is just a statistical interpretation, the real limit as in the one that applies to fatigue is duty time limit which is 12 hours per day! The flight time limit is 100 hours in 28 days.
As for the no one flies more than 900 hours per year, well, it depends on your definition of a year...... gald to see the IAA got that one fixed,??

[TwoDeadDogs]

hi all
In today's Irish Times, in an article about the programmes, it said that O'Leary claimed that FR pilots do not even fly at night.Guess it must be leprechauns flying those -800s that regularly taxi to stand after dark, at Dublin.
As for the comment about EI's roster, well,they enjoy terms and conditions that compensate for it, by comparison with FR/RE/WX pilots and you'll notice that there's very little migration out of the EI flight deck.The other way round, in fact...
regards
TDD

[potkettleblack]

Just heard from the gf's mum who saw it last night and she reckoned the IALPA guy came across in a really poor light. He spoke like a knacker and he reminded her of the militant taxi guys that have been on tv over here in Ireland these last few weeks. Like most people who aren't involved in the industry she seized on the 18 hours a week point and thought pilots had it easy. I put her straight on his creative maths and she saw reason but there will be many others out there that still haven't the faintest of the workload on the modern pilot.

Message seems to be for IALPA to leave the militant left wingers at home and get a savvy spokesperson if they get another chance who can communicate to a lay person.

[the grim repa]

I think that this was not for the people on the street,as they have neither the will or want to make any changes.

Just keep the cheap tickets flowing.

This was aimed at the regulatory authorities and management.

Question is "why was it only ryanair in the dock"?Because they are perceived as bullies,liars and intimidators.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by the grim repa

Question is "why was it only ryanair in the dock"?Because they are perceived as bullies,liars and intimidators.

perceived? court of law found they lied.

[pos-init]

Aloue,

You are so lost in the anti Ryanair forest that you cant see the wood from the trees anymore.

All Joe public watching last night heard was..

Best safety record in Europe
Work 18hrs a week and 100,000 euro a year
Work 18hrs a week and 100,000 euro a year etc, etc, etc.

Whats worse is that he was allowed to repeat this appalling mantra time and time again completely unchallenged by Miriam “Paxman” O'Callaghan, one of our so called elite jurno interrogators, and worst of all, by Evan Cullen. Not once did I hear Mr Cullen contradict or challenge MOL’s definition of an 18 hour week. Not once did I hear him challenge MOL on duty time or split shifts. (By the way, I call reporting for work at 7am, working till noon, going off duty till 4pm and then returning to work later the same day a split shift – and it does go on in Ryanair and other airlines). The only salvo Mr Cullen got off was a fleeting reference to a special exemption, unique to the IAA, in relation to training captains and that was lost on everyone who heard it as 99% of the audience were not in aviation. O'leary knew this, why didn’t Mr Cullen?

We all know that what MOL said was total BS but Joe Public dosent, especially after this. Remember that the programme is called Prime time and has very high viewing figures. Most people who watched it would only be home a couple of hours having left for work at 6:30am that morning. Bloody pilots, complaining again that they have to work 18 hours a week for 100,000k – bloody cheek.
Think about it folks.

Quote..

In fact, now that I look at it, your post has a curious tone to it .... So, can I just ask you to confirm if you are a Ryanair pilot and to whom your refer when you said that "[Cullen] let us all down"?

You pompous git. How dare you question my credentials to pass comment on a public interview. Do you think that you have a monopoly on criticising MOL and the malignant management in RYR. I’ve read alot of your rants and all I see is a bitter and twisted RYR employee who takes every opportunity to gloat over every mishap that befalls them. I am only interested in changing their appalling work practices before they become the norm in our industry. There are (at least) two essential ingredients needed.

1. To explain the actual situation to the travelling Joe public and make them understand why it is essential for their safety that we change this and..

2. To strike if necessary to bring these changes about.

Aloue, I fear you don’t have the ability to do one nor the balls to do the other.

Good day

[BEagle]

Having watched the clip, I consider that O'Leary came across as an extremely rude and arrogant person, nasty and 'stuck on transmit'. Not only did he continually talk over the interviewer, but he also refused to answer any questions or to debate. He just trotted out the same old rot which everyone has heard before.

I will never fly with an airline whose culture is such that pilots are afraid to report excessive fatigue or safety issues for fear of retribution.

Not that O'Leary will be worried by that - there are plenty of others who will just look for the cheapest price they can find.....

[RVR800]

18 is excessive

900/52=17.3

[Pigsfly]

I saw it last night. I am fully aware of the situation, the working practices and methods of FR. Ryanair Pilots ARE stressed and fatuigued from the operation. In many cases deeply so from many years of it.

BUT, in the eyes of the PUBLIC, O`Leary WON. His points clear and consise to the average punter.

RYANAIR PILOTS..........you need to provide clear and understandable cases to the public.......You need to show them how remiss the IAA is.......You need to show the evidence and explain it in plain language......O`Leary will shout everyone down and blind all with statistics.

So get your heads together and provide the goods. Now that you have put the SAFETY CARD on the table, back it up. I am ex-ryanair Capt and know its there. My own doctor gave me a two week sick cert some years back for Sinusitis......because the level of fatuige and stress I was under was unsafe........I should add that I was constantly refused Annual Leave by FR admin prior to this.

Just one little case of such in thousands.

Now I work for an Airline that treats me like a human, mutual respect, excellent morale, excellent terms and conditions, no bullying and no personal abuse.

If you want to stay with FR and improve your lot.......Put forward and professional and proveable case.