Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit

[drach]

Ryanair

I think we are missing something quite fundamental here, lots of the pilots are only paid when they fly , this in its self is a huge burden to carry,
You cannot afford to be sick, and equally you cannot afford to fly, what do you do? It is wrong. Aviation has been turned on its head with Ryanair, and I for one believe that pilots should not be paid only when they put there butts on seats, I agree that extra pay should be accrued when you fly but not all.

I think we as a profession have been divided and it will be to our great cost, we should all demand that employers do not make aviation a money at all costs industry, because if you have no money to pay bills etc you will fly when you are sick, is that really what we want?
Do we let the likes of O Leary dictate the terms of our profession ?I think a letter to MPs etc is in order before they all join in. Coming to an airline near you?

[Timothy Quinn]

Landscape etc.

While the majors across Europe enjoyed sinful amounts of taxpayers money and inflated workforces along with the Anglo French supersonic white elephant,the little people went by bus!
But all that's gone now and they travel by Airbus or Boeing.

[A and C]

Yes Timothy

But the likes of Easyjet , Jet2, Air Berlin & Norwegian can offer competitive low cost travel without the staff insecurity that is part of the Ryanair culture and is clearly intended to keep the workforce passive.

[cockney steve]

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the issue, were I to take another RYR flight, I'd tell myself the following:-

The company has a wonderful safety -record.

The F.D. crew will arrive at an accident before me, without the benefit of as much energy-dissipating structure in front of them

The aircraft are modern and of well -established and proven design.

(I'll ignore the garish and utilitarian internal decor, it made a motor-coach look positively luxurious. )

Provided you resist all weasel wording, attempts to sell you un-needed, over-priced peripherals and comply with all the labarynthine terms and conditions, It's possible to avail yourself of very cheap transport over a long distance.


I'll reiterate something I said a long while ago......
RYR aircrew would do better to buy shares in the company.
That way, they'd get dividends back from their own efforts,- they'd enjoy some of the bounty they currently earn for MoL and his cohorts.
Given the number of pilots who are now in RPG, they'd have , at , say £10 a week each, a goodly purchasing power...apart from the "Divi" covering the RPG overheads, it could be used to buy further shares, thus compounding the growth of their holding.

A group of shareholders thus-empowered could make a real difference to the company AGM.

Bleating about being hard-done by, hasn't got anywhere...putting your money on the line, would change things......of course, there's always a risk the firm will go T.U. and you'd lose the lot......but that's why investors take so much profit.

[A and C]

Steve

You make some very good points, but the RYR sales policy is all about selling people things that they don't need and for this I refer you back to the girls of Facinating Aida.

As for the staff getting hold of shares........ I like that !

[Evanelpus]

Since they had their HS748,I cannot remember a single fatality with Ryanair,they must be doing something good!And re gripes etc,oversupply dictates the terms,it happens in every walk of life.
Long live Ryanair,they changed the whole aviation landscape in Europe for the better.

To be sung to the tune of "we'll support you ever more"

Are you O'Leary in disguise, Are you O'Leary in disguise?

[The Grim Reaper]

shortfinals:

Here's an independent view of life in the boardroom and crewroom at Ryanair: In the crewroom at Ryanair | Learmount

Independent? Are you having a laugh???

[Sober Lark]

I assume Channel 4, the FT and others who quote from 'the survey' have actually examined the RYR Pilot Group's methodology and reliability of the conclusions claimed? Is the survey publicly available?

[Argonautical]

A couple of weeks ago, an Emirates 777, at Birmingham, blew away some of the runway at the far end of runway 150. The runway was closed for about an hour while it was fixed and all incoming flights put into a hold. The only flight who constantly called up ATC about when it was going to re-open again, because of fuel concerns, was a RyanAir flight.

[Dan Winterland]

The company has a wonderful safety -record

They have had their moments - I would call it good. But your luck will probably run out when you keep pushing the limits and treat the regulations as targets. Speaking as a flight safety manager in a legacy airline, I would say the only thing keeping the RYR show on the straight and narrow (comparing like for like with other LOCO operation in Asia) sis the skill of their pilots and their standards. But with the pressure their main asset is under at the moment; IMHO, it's only a matter of time before the holes in the Swiss cheese line up.

I hope I'm wrong - but I have a serious foreboding about the operational philosophy of RYR. I for one, won't fly with them.

[slip and turn]

Originally Posted by 100pcpls

I have a copy of the certified results from the independent survey company. I am sure if you ask an RPG pilot he will forward you the pdf (I don't work for Ryanair).

Ryanair are saying it's the NRPG where N is for Non ...

Meantime, if anyone RPG or NRPG pilot can forward the survey results pdf I don't work for Ryanair either, but I will read it tomorrow on my umpteenth FR flight this year

[Sober Lark]

Thank you Grim Reaper. You've just proved my point. A survey can give you any conclusion you'd like it to give you. Even the wrong conclusion.

If the RYR Pilot Group survey holds any water then like the letters to every Tom, Dick and Harry that they publish in the public domain of their web site, in a similar manner they should have no fear in publishing full details of the actual survey they carried out for all to see.

[HundredPercentPlease]

Full details of the survey are here.

[SpringHeeledJack]

I was under the impression that the CVR was something that had to be preserved after an incident/accident. If, as reported the CVR's of several Ryanair aircraft involved in incidents were wiped, then surely that must be an illegal act ?

If the very successful company that is Southwest Airlines in the USA can engender a very loyal and happy staff culture, I wonder why the very successful Ryanair, albeit based in several different regulatory environments has so many disenchanted staff? There's no doubt that the running of a tight ship will bring profit over time, but at what cost ? The fuel issue..... would a bit extra fuel for safety really eat into the room for profit on any given flight ?


SHJ

[slip and turn]

Just went to check on the price of a bag and found this has appeared in the last hour or so on the Ryanair front page:
RYANAIR RELEASES CHANNEL 4 DISPATCHES LETTERS
They can't help themselves, it seems. I do hope their minds are concentrated on flying again once the doors closed tomorrow.

[pasir]

I am not qualified to seriously comment on Tonights Ryanair programme
other than to feel uncomfortable about their fuel safety margins if true.
Having seen and heard Mr O'leary I am reminded of a wily fox .

[Lord Spandex Masher]

Basically you've got your spineless Ryanair pilot who's too scared to carry extra fuel whining about a bit of pressure from management.

The decision on fuel is the captains, by law. If you don't carry extra when you think you might need it then I'd say you're acting rather unprofessionally.

It's not unsafe to carry "plog fuel" but may or may not be the most commercially sensible choice given the circumstances on the day.

[Sober Lark]

Thank you 100%.

What is the name of the independent survey company that designed, scripted, and analysed the data to produce the findings that Channel 4 have used?

[shaun ryder]

Lord Spandex Masher = TWT

[Lord Spandex Masher]

Good one Shaun. Perhaps, instead of the ad hominem, you could address some of the subject matter.