Ryanair Overheats Passengers At Eindhoven Airport

[jackharr]

Tableview

Note to self : don't post until first cup of tea is inside body!

But far less likely to make an error than when posting with two or three beers inside body

[Groundbased]

I work with quite a few EU directives in my line and the trend I have observed is towards positive opt in. By this I mean that whatever the "added value benefit" is the default position should be that you don't have it and are not agreeing to take it unless you positively take action to do so. I would expect no insurance unless I ticked a box to agree to it.

[CafeClub]

Where does this nonsense come from that everyone on Ryanair has paid very little.

Obviously, flying a LCC does not ALWAYS mean that "everyone has paid very little". Sometimes due to routes, availability, time to departure etc the fares are going to be reasonably high. Market forces and all that. Same way a weak dishwash coffee at the airport is waaaay more expensive than the same elsewhere.

Grasped by the S&Cs, you pay what you have to.

However, electing a LCC as your mode of travel (regardless of ticket price) means that you have indicated an acceptance of a lower standard of service - and that you are content paying for all the extras like boarding cards (ahem), water, aforementioned weak coffee and so on when on board.

Fine. Fair (or is that Fare) enough. But when the water is warm or the seats jammed together or it's full of boozy stag refugees, or you are stuck at the gate with no APU in 35 deg heat... don't complain. It's one of the risks that goes with the territory.

That's all I was saying. Buy a pair of Levis or buy some copy. But don't complain the latter isn't as good as the former.

[BRE]

perfectly normal on United DCA - JST

They run a Saab 340 three times a day between DCA and JST. The Saab apparently does not have an APU. Also, JST does not have ground air.

When we boarded last July, the first thing the flight attendant told us was to keep down the shades as there was no airconditioning while on the ground. It was very hot inside the plane, and she was visibly suffering from the heat (apparently not her first round trip that day). It was also reassuring that the Captain came on PA, also apologized for the heat and announced that the A/C would be fully working once they had reached cruise height. So this was 20 minutes from boarding to take off, and another 20 - 30 minutes until temperatures began to drop somewhat. Even on arriving in DCA, it was still stuffy and hot inside the plane.

[antiskid marks]

Pax pay cheaper....that's a matter of marketing hammering and lies.

I had to fly the other day, was stunned by a quite expensive price at first sight. Checked other airlines, AF return was almost half price the FR one way. Not taking into account the free bag and the quality of service. A different world!

[Depone]

911slf

What you describe as happening on that Thomas Cook flight is in fact Ryanair procedure too. Open and man doors and close window blinds if no APU or ground air.

In the last 24 hours a Ryanair internal company memo had reiterated that procedure. The question is: why did this crew apparently not follow procedure.

[paidworker]

" Pax pay cheaper....that's a matter of marketing hammering and lies. "

Two years ago 60% of our inbound clients arrived to Spain via Ryanair , always choosing the lowest cost. This year it is 15% ,, Ryanair are no longer especially over the higher season months a low cost carrier and in fact are often on page 2 or 3 of websites who conduct comparisons for specific dates. This is for flights into various spanish airports and is based on 400 appx flight ticket bookings in 2012.

Im eternally glad too that i dont have to reccomend them to clients who are cost sensitive.

O Leary was asked directly in a University Lecture in TCD why he was such an asshole and why he treated on occassion his staff and client so bad and he replied simply that it was good for business.

It sounds like in this case the crew didnt follow procedure but the take away ( as usual ) is that there is a steady flow of disgruntled people from passengers to crew to industry professionals lining up to slap Ryanair in the face and eventually little sins come to roost.

[Yaw String]

Sorry professional colleagues in Ryanair..but this incident speaks so much about how one crew, on one day, abandoned reason, training, and due responsibility to pax and crew...
The cabin staff appear to have been left helplessly at the mercy of a desperate joe public, allegedly held hostage in extreme environmental conditions...

My problem with this is that, had I been there, I would have been arrested..having taken initiative to open doors/emergency exits myself.!

What a bunch of..................

Jobsworth does not belong on flight deck!

P.s. Loved the video in thread #1...Will surely be used in future cabin staff training courses...A karate blow to the right arm maybe....to make him drop the video camera!!
p.p.s..Now they want to take cameraman to court...Yep, let's just shoot the messenger!

[flyingtincan]

In my opinion all this talk of low cost being the same as low quality is rubbish.I have found that easyJet and Ryanair both do the business - i.e they get methere, usually with a fanfare, and in safety. If I want a sandwich or drink Ican buy one and if I don't want one (or bring my own) then I don't have to.

HOWEVER - CafeClub in post #132 gave a clue to the problem with thereference to ‘boozy stag refugees'.

It's not the airline that's the problem, it's the passengers.

The lower cost allows a lot more people to fill the planes travelling to differentplaces and more often. It’s that just sometime you wish that some of them were sittingjust a bit further away from where you are.

[Tableview]

easyJet and Ryanair both do the business - i.e they get me there,
It's not the airline that's the problem, it's the passengers.

There is a difference. I have observed over many flights and many years, that EZY's cabin crew are in the majority, consummate professionals, mature, and trained in handling difficult situations and passengers. This is generally known, so people who want to cause trouble and get themselves legless on flights to stag/hen weekends are less likely to fly EZY because they know they wont get away with it.

FR's crews do not come up to the same standards, and that's putting it mildly.

For those people for whom cheap and nasty works, FR might do the business. I'm not one of the 75 million suckers they carry every year - and I won't be.

[sean1982]

If you haven't flown FR yet and you never will, you must be a very sharp observer if you can spot through the aircraft skin that the CC are only mediocre :-/ FR cabin crew are as professional as anywhere else, they just do not have the SOP's on their side

[Tableview]

I have flown on FR. Once. I did so for a couple of very specific reasons, one of which was to be able to speak from first hand knowledge.

Whether the CC are unprofessional or whether the low standards are a result of the company's policy is irrelevant, the point is that the standards are low and something I do not intend to expose myself to again.

It was a ghastly experience and to say the least the cabin crew were tired and scruffy looking, had minimal command of English (or Spanish - it was a flight to Spain), disinterested, and sullen.

Fortunately, the existence of Ryan Air keeps a lot of people off the airlines I like to fly on, so it has its purpose!

[NWSRG]

I'm not one of the 75 million suckers they carry every year - and I won't be.

Totally agree Tableview. Had one too many poor experiences with FR. From a rugby scrum on boarding, to surly cabin crew, and the constant attempt to extract money from passengers for a plethora of 'added' services.

I know that their Terms & Conditions outline all the detail, but FR (and many other big companies) know that we don't read all of that. And they use that as an excuse to apply all sorts of unreasonable clauses and charges, knowing that the public will be caught out. This is simply wrong...it is immoral to knowingly take advantage of people in this way. And the people I really feel sorry for are those who are vulnerable...they may be elderly, or naive, or simply need a 'cheap' fare...they don't realise what they have signed up to until they are checking in, and being told they must pay extra for the privilege etc.etc. Sadly, most large companies do similar these days, but FR are masters at it.

I have now decided that I will never use FR again, unless I have no practical alternative. EZY are a much nicer bunch, and will be even better when they introduce allocated seating.

[CelticRambler]

Originally Posted by Tableview

I have flown on FR. Once. I did so for a couple of very specific reasons, one of which was to be able to speak from first hand knowledge.

n=1

Out of interest, what was the p value in your study?

[Hotel Tango]

Fortunately, the existence of Ryan Air keeps a lot of people off the airlines I like to fly on, so it has its purpose!

My view exactly which I have expressed elsewhere on PPRuNe. Unfortunately, more and more carriers feel forced into adopting the attrocious RYR model in an endeavour to remain competitive. At the moment we still have a choice. My fear is that a few years down the line there will no longer be a choice. I guess that's when I'll stop flying intra Europe altogether.

[Cameronian]

A couple of months ago I flew Ryanair for the first time. Their timings to and from Bristol happened to suit me better this time than easyJet's so, on a whim (Erica Roe, if you can remember that far back!) I decided to try them. For a first-timer their website is a nightmare, not helped at all by a natural paranoia fed by fear that their ambiguous wording throughout is deliberately aimed at trapping you into something you don't want.

The scrum at check-in/baggage drop, whichever you will, is dreadful and would cost so little - mainly effort rather than cash - to make tolerable.

The onboard decor is certainly distinctive but the only problem I had was in reading the safety information on the back of the seat in front because it was too close for my newly sixty years-old eyes! I can always get a card a bit further away. Apart from these points the flight was perfectly unworthy of complaint. The seats were comfortable, there were no drunks nor any noisy behaviour. The hosties were great, given the limitations of time placed upon them. The red wine was truly shocking but the hostie saw my face and, unrequested, asked if I'd like my money back. There, that surprised you all! She just felt sorry for me.

All in all I cannot say that there was anything to raise a fuss about. Even with all of the surcharges, it was still very cheap - probably cheaper than easyJet that day but I didn't look to find out because their timing didn't suit.

I like easyJet, especially their hosties (is that word allowed these days?) but I have to say that on my two flights the Ryanair hosties were great too. I don't see me changing from easyJet as my default choice but I won't be frightened to go the other way if it's necessary.

Over the past few years I have bought a couple of hundred or more easyJet tickets for my family and myself with no issues. I am not qualified to comment upon other risk factors, made much of by some posters on PPRuNe, which might make easyJet the better choice.

I didn't get overheated, even under the collar, at any point.

[blind pew]

Whilst ryanair isn’t perfect by a long chalk, it, along with Laker and Easyjet they have revolutionised travel in Europe.
I have had a 36 hour delay with ryaniar due to snoclo and the ground staff couldn’t have been more helpful whereas I had a similar problem from a Swissair when the staff went and hid and left 500+ pax to sort themselves out.
I stopped flying with the lemon sucking irish dwarf after a disastrous flight from terminal 5 which involved a health and safety issue prior to delayed boarding, an aircraft with paint flaking off, a “senior” first officer who proudly announced that he had found a dent in the aircraft, threadbare carpets, an entertainment system that didn’t work and on the way back from Dubai we were parked at a coaching stand and only one coach was used to unload a full 777 in the rain.
This was the same airline that had one aircraft land having used ALL of the consumable fuel and no one dared to put it in the press.
Journalists getting free upgrades?

My first experience of Easyjet ten years ago was terrible but now I prefer to fly with them than a flag carrier.

Cityjet is excellent.

Aerlingus has lost its surly cabin crew since FR got on the scene but has gone the low cost route for double the price.

I was treated like an idiot by AF ground crew after they cancelled my flight on commercial grounds.
This year my wife and I were badly bitten by fleas on Delta – KLM handled the complaint – load of T@@sers as was their airline when I flew with them. (same group as AF).

I was sold £80 of invalid phone cards on FR and although I had help from a senior crew member I lost the money – felt that I had been scammed- but small fry compared to the convenience of flying with them.

The bit that erks me is the authorities – whether IAA, CAA, DGAC or FAA that ignore legitimate safety problems and do not do their job – especially in my experience - the IAA – along with the rest of the Europeans.

Sadly the statement that you get what you pay for ain’t true.

What is a disgrace was the captains behaviour but then I have had to intervene as a FO several times with incompetent captains on flag carriers and know of colleagues who have forced management to take action against idiots.

[Nicholas49]

Instead they chose to stage a mutiny and get themselves another 2 hours delay

Have you actually watched the video posted on the first page of the thread? Did you notice the sweat on the passengers' faces? Are you aware of the fact that those extra 'nine minutes' that those pesky passengers couldn't forgo could have cost a child's life?

To the crew, and in particular the Pilot-in-Command (oh the irony! As s/he sits locked safely in the flight deck with the window open while the cabin crew remonstrate with the angry, hot passengers) of this flight and aircraft: Shame. On. You.. Union recognition or not, you did not earn the right to wear your fourth stripe that day. You're the commander. Take charge. Man up. Grow a pair. Blindly following your company's SOPs will be no defence if you're in a court of law faced with a manslaughter charge. Absolutely pathetic.

[Excellent work by the Dutch DJ for: a) filming the incident; b) putting it on the net so that it hopefully becomes viral.]

[Buster the Bear]

I have flown twice with Ryanair this month. On both flights the cabin crew were excellent. How the Number 1 kept so cool when a few passengers stood up as we were vacating the runway I will never know. Both flights were on time, wrong, one flight arrived 10 min early.

If you stick to Ryanair's rules, you are in for a very pleasent experience. My only gripe is that the front row seat are not big bum bear width as they have integral folding tables in the arms.

[T-21]

I'am holidaying in Dorset this year, stuff the whole airline and airport experience its a shambles now . Simples don't use any of them ,vote with your feet and something might get done.