Ryanair: Caught Napping

jonny68

At last a programme that exposes Ryanair for what they are,i look forward to this,as someone who used to fly with this pathetic airline almost every week for a year and a half i can totally identify with this programme.

http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/R/ryanair_caught_napping/index.html

Transmission: 8pm Monday 13th February 2006
Repeated 3.25am Wednesday 15th February 2006

Ryanair was founded in 1985 by Irish businessman Tony Ryan. It is Europe's largest low-cost carrier, operating 270 low-fare routes to 21 European countries.

Two Dispatches undercover reporters spent five months secretly filming Ryanair's training programme and onboard flights as members of the cabin crew . The reporters reveal what really takes place behind the scenes: inadequate safety and security checks, dirty planes, exhausted cabin crew and pilots complaining about the number of hours they have to fly. And watch Ryanair staff speaking frankly about their experiences and attitudes towards passengers.

Dave!

Michael O Leary offered them an interview to refute any points made in the documentary and they've refused, afaik.

I'll be watching it anywho.

What's your problem with Ryanair, jonny68? I don't think I've ever flown with them, just curious.

Santa Claus

DaveMcG wrote:

Michael O Leary offered them an interview to refute any points made in the documentary and they've refused, afaik.

I'll be watching it anywho.

What's your problem with Ryanair, jonny68? I don't think I've ever flown with them, just curious.

It's only once you've flown with them that you realise how bad they actually are !

BuffyBot

TBH looking at the documentation sent back and forth between Ryanair and the production company, it seems the production company is clutching at a few too many straws.

There is already a thread here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054887315

Skyuser

when is it on?

jonny68

DaveMcG wrote:

Michael O Leary offered them an interview to refute any points made in the documentary and they've refused, afaik.

I'll be watching it anywho.

What's your problem with Ryanair, jonny68? I don't think I've ever flown with them, just curious.

I have many problems and issues with Ryanair that i wouldn't know where to begin,id definitely recommend that you fly with another airline if possible if your booking a flight,it's worth paying the extra few quid,of course Michael O Leary is going to deny everything in this programme but on the contrary having been a regular flier of Ryanairs for a year and a half id well believe everything that is said in this programme.

jonny68

Skyuser wrote:

when is it on?

Channel 4, 8pm Monday 13th February 2006

penexpers

Santa Claus wrote:

It's only once you've flown with them that you realise how bad they actually are !

I've flown with them over 50 times and never had a single problem (except for that time I missed my flight after oversleeping). By contrast I've flown Aer Lingus/Air France/other major airlines about 20 times and every single time there's been a problem, mostly the planes being delayed but sometimes other things.

Yes, Ryanair treat you badly, but all they do is follow their clearly published T+Cs so I don't think people have any cause for complaint when things go wrong and Ryanair don't do anything.

Without Ryanair, we'd still be paying hundreds in airfares, I personally wouldn't be able to have gone on most of the trips I've been on in the past few years. For the way they've totally reshaped the short haul European market they deserve alot of credit.

I'm flying to Amsterdam/Eindhoven in a couple of weeks. I got my flights on Ryanair for 60 euro. Aer Lingus wanted 250 euro for the same dates. That just can't be beaten.

neacy69

tbh i think you pay for what you get...yes ryanair can be backstards but are as already said following their published T+C's if you want to fly to britain or mainland europe for the same price or less than the cost of the train to galway then fly with ryanair If you want to twice that price for no reason the fly with Aer Lingus

You pay very little cos it is a BUDGET airline

rubadub

What problems have people had?
I had a flight cancelled and they gave another the next day. Had to stay in a hotel at my expense, but I am not complaining about that. I had no insurance and was well aware of what I was letting my self in for.
I think the new baggage charge is a brilliant idea. The overpriced food is a good idea too, the people foolish enough to buy it are just making my ticket even cheaper.

People moan about small seats on a 1hr flight to the UK, yet will stand on a bumpy bus crammed in for 90mins without much complaint.

ShiverinEskimo

While I understand that you get what you pay for I hate them for the how they treat you. All their staff look at you like you're scum because your cheap skate enough to fly with them. The girlfriend smashed her knee and had to crutch the whole way from check-in to the gate because of their ridiculous wheelchair charge of 18 sterling.

2 weeks previous she called to say she smashed her knee and has to keep it straight and hence could they guarantee an isle seat on the right so she could stick her leg out. The said they could not guarantee this and recommended she not take the flight until her leg is better.

She turned up anyways and after crutching it down she went up when they asked for "people with babies or mobility difficulties to approach first". Up she went thinking she sorted going down the stairs out onto the airfield to board and they gave her about a 10 second headstart meaning she was swamped by rushing passengers trying to get down stairs and had to queue up to get on despite being "prioritised" upon boarding call.

Once on the plane there was a delay in taking off and a hostess (or whatever the PC name is these days) called out my girlfriend's name. After a small discussion it turned out that the person she spoke to on the phone took a chance and made the assumption that she wouldn't be on the flight and so double booked her seat. The person who was sold her seat had to sit out and get the next available flight.

I know its cheap but common decency and manners should not have to be paid for and should not be waived just because you paid a tenner for your flight. Filth. As someone esle said - I'd rather pay the extra and have the nicer boarding experience at the nicer gates without having to be a rugby international to board and alight the plane. The staff are ten times nicer on the likes of aer lingus and co.

A long rant. Apologies.

Shiv.

Our man in Havana

Once on the plane there was a delay in taking off and a hostess (or whatever the PC name is these days) called out my girlfriend's name. After a small discussion it turned out that the person she spoke to on the phone took a chance and made the assumption that she wouldn't be on the flight and so double booked her seat. The person who was sold her seat had to sit out and get the next available flight.

The cheek of them. Goes to show what crooks they are!

BC

ShiverinEskimo - To be honest it sounds like Ryanair didn't do anything wrong in that case. They advised your girlfriend not to fly, she chose to ignore that so i wouldn't hold them responsible for the problems she had.

Regarding the double booking - ALL airlines overbook flights. Its common practice. The amount of no-shows/cancellations etc usually means it doesn't cause a problem. Unfortunately in this case it did, but thats not a Ryanair specific problem. Its happened to me on Aer Lingus and Air France and to two friends on Continental and British Airways.

Heinrich

Ryanair is providing inexpensive air travel with no frills. They, along with Easyjet, have significantly changed the shorthaul industry. Before these airlines came along the cartel Aer Lingus - Air France - Lufthansa etc were rooking the passengers. Admittledly you got a free cup of tea and some biscuits.

If you don't like Ryanaor why not take another carrier? I had a really bad experience with Air France and never flew with them again. That's the way to do things. Bitching that one has flown many times is baloney! As for the broken leg anecdote the same would apply to other carriers!

These reportages (or whatever you call them in English) are pretty rubbishy. Usually one-sided and inaccurate in the main. When will we see the investigationg "REPORTERS" doing the same with the national carrier? Maybe they are not middle aged enough.

CJhaughey

O'Leary had an interview this morning on morningireland, refuted every single thing that was leveled at his company and also destroyed the interviewer as well.
Fair f***ks to him.
I am not in favour of his business approach but I have flown Ryanair and it is successful at what it does, get people to other places cheaply.
how can you argue with that?

ciaran13

jonny68 if you disliked ryanair so much why did you fly with them for a year and a half?

i presume its because taking everything into account, you still thought they were best company to fly with as they're so cheap

penexpers

BC wrote:

ShiverinEskimo - To be honest it sounds like Ryanair didn't do anything wrong in that case. They advised your girlfriend not to fly, she chose to ignore that so i wouldn't hold them responsible for the problems she had.

Regarding the double booking - ALL airlines overbook flights. Its common practice. The amount of no-shows/cancellations etc usually means it doesn't cause a problem. Unfortunately in this case it did, but thats not a Ryanair specific problem. Its happened to me on Aer Lingus and Air France and to two friends on Continental and British Airways.

Actually, Ryanair don't overbook as a policy due to the high costs of compensation for overbooked passengers etc.. This was an oversight.

ShiverinEskimo

BC wrote:

ShiverinEskimo - To be honest it sounds like Ryanair didn't do anything wrong in that case. They advised your girlfriend not to fly, she chose to ignore that so i wouldn't hold them responsible for the problems she had.

Advising someone to not fly while sitting behind a strict no-refunds policy is the reason I dislike them. They weren't advising her not to fly for her good. They advised this for their own good - hoping they had a paid-for empty seat to fill at last-minute pricing.

My other point of disliking them was the fact that they did not provide her with enough of a head start to negotiate stairs on crutches without having rushing passengers all over her like a rash. Why bother asking for infants and reduced-mobility passengers if you're just going to send all the other rat-racers 10 seconds late. It would have been much safer for her to wait until everyone else had boarded had she known they would do that.

Like I said. I understand the "you get what you pay for" argument. But you should not have to pay for human decency/manners.

penexpers

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

Advising someone to not fly while sitting behind a strict no-refunds policy is the reason I dislike them. They weren't advising her not to fly for her good. They advised this for their own good - hoping they had a paid-for empty seat to fill at last-minute pricing.

My other point of disliking them was the fact that they did not provide her with enough of a head start to negotiate stairs on crutches without having rushing passengers all over her like a rash. Why bother asking for infants and reduced-mobility passengers if you're just going to send all the other rat-racers 10 seconds late. It would have been much safer for her to wait until everyone else had boarded had she known they would do that.

Like I said. I understand the "you get what you pay for" argument. But you should not have to pay for human decency/manners.

I would like to see you get a refund off Aer Lingus or any of the other major airlines for the same reason. Travel insurance exists for a reason...

Jesper

Return flight to London from Friday to Monday the Week before Paddy's day €20.50 (all in). O' Leary ya legend. Then stick me with a €5 credit card fee, happy to give it; I almost feel like I was robbing them.

ShiverinEskimo

penexpers wrote:

I would like to see you get a refund off Aer Lingus or any of the other major airlines for the same reason. Travel insurance exists for a reason...

We didn't want a refund. We didn't want red carpets. We wanted to be treated like human beings. Charging for wheelchairs and giving no assistance or clearance to a passenger on crutches going down stairs is a horrible way to treat people. The Disability Rights Commission agrees with me on this point and hence ruled that Ryanair in Stansted could no longer charge for wheelchair use. (Which happens to be exactly where this occurred.)

I don't care how much money they save people - its a disgusting way to treat people. I swear they look at their passengers like sheep and just want to herd them on and off the planes. They put my girlfriend at risk on those stairs. And as such I dislike them. I respect what they did for the price of flights but the real genius behind ryanair is how they managed to get people to expect and be happy with utterly abysmal customer service. You get what you pay for my arse. Manners cost nothing and as such no one should have to pay for them.

People are missing my point. It wasn't the money. It wasn't the overpriced food. It wasn't the insane way they make you queue for your plane in Dublin.
It was the lack of common decency in assisting someone who is a paying customer.

Anyways - This was well over a year ago. I never intended to get this emotional over something that has long since been forgotton. The girlfriend's knee healed nicely - enough to go skiing shortly afterwards which was great - and we enjoy our flights on Aer Lingus and other operators since.

Peace out.

jonny68

ciaran13 wrote:

jonny68 if you disliked ryanair so much why did you fly with them for a year and a half?

i presume its because taking everything into account, you still thought they were best company to fly with as they're so cheap

Why,because of cash restrictions basically and i used to sometimes book a few flights well in advance,no denying they are still the cheapest (not always but mostly) but the service they provide is nothing short of appalling.

This crap doesn't wash with me because you pay less than other airlines you should expect bad service,that is a stupid way at looking at things,so for example you go to a Wetherspoon bar as opposed to a normal bar and you pay a lot less,do you expect the service to be a lot worse?

Bulls*it customer service in all different sectors should be of a good standard,with Ryanair it simply is not,not to mention their safety procedures leave a lot to be desired,many times ive been amazed when boarding flights just how "lax" security can be especially in this day and age,im not even to gonna go into their seriously stressed out and overworked staff as im sure this programme will cover this,Michael O Leary is talking cr*p and he knows it,id love to see him fly week in week out with his own airline and then come back and try back up what he is saying,with other airlines i might have had one or two problems but nothing on the scale as with Ryanair.

jonny68

jonny68 wrote:

This crap doesn't wash with me because you pay less than other airlines you should expect bad service,that is a stupid way at looking at things,so for example you go to a Wetherspoon bar as opposed to a normal bar and you pay a lot less,do you expect the service to be a lot worse?

If wetherspoon said it would be worse yes I would.
If they didnt I wouldnt go back if I expected better.Thats the market place for you.
Ryan air tell you what to expect before you book - ergo complaining that they dont do what they said they wouldnt do is actually the stupid way of looking at things.
Complaining when Ryanair reason that they do it this way to keep fares low and still complaining for the want of the stuff you pay extra for on other airlines is even more stupid.

If you want frills travel with those that do frills.
In fact travel business class and pay for it if you want even more frills still...

But dont expect not to pay for stuff that Ryanair never say they are providing.

ShiverinEskimo

Earthman you show me one company that advertises you pay extra for customer services and I'll take your point onboard.

Ryanair dont tell you to expect **** service. Just like no other airline advertises "pay more with us and we'll smile more, pretend we care and at least act like we give a ****"

No frills means no boarding bridge, no free food, no free drink, no tickets. It does not mean you get to be treated like scum and like it.

Royale with Cheese

I've never had much of a problem with Ryanair, I've really never felt like I was treated badly on their flights. However I do prefer flying with Aer Lingus (nice leather seats). I don't know if people have noticed but they're fairly cheap these days. Flights to the UK start at €1. I regularly fly back from Germany to Dublin with them for €14 each way before tax. Are Ryanair still definitely the cheapest around? I don't think so, any time I've tried to book flights to mainland Europe with them I've found their prices to be the same as Aer Lingus.

jonny68

ShiverinEskimo is right Ryanair do not tell you to expect a "crap service" i can do without food/drinks,etc ona short enough flight no problem,rarely did i ever buy any drinks or food on a Ryanair flight anyway,i can get a bottle of lucozade in Tesco for 95 cents why would i want to pay €2.50 or whatever rip off price it is they charge for drinks and snacks and the gullible people who buy them.

Customer service no matter what type of business it's in should always remain a top priority and the majority of business` thesedays adhere to that,it's ludricious to suggest that because a product is cheap ie Ryanair flights that people should have to be subject to sub standard service,absolutely ludricious.

I know 2 trolly dollys who used to work with Ryanair they now work for a decent airline Emirates,some of the horror stories they told me were shocking,people inc pilots turning up for work hungover,sub standard service,basically they told me they didn't really give a fu*k as long as they got from A to B,it didn't suprise me one bit though having had the bad experiences ive had with them.

bidireland

"who used to fly with this pathetic airline almost every week for a year and a half "

would you be flying every week if Ryanair didn't have low prices? Of course there service is crap, what do people expect to 1euro flights.

Hasn't anybody read the Ryanair book?

If it's so bad why didn't you fly with BA, they have nice business class seats at 3000euro a pop.

For all Ryanair's faults they've never crashed a plane.

Long live cheap flights, I can't wait untill they introduce "Standing Only Flights"

ShiverinEskimo

bidireland wrote:

Of course there service is crap, what do people expect to 1euro flights.

And it's never going to improve while there's people like you who believe you have pay extra to be treated better than spat out chewing gum.

jonny68

bidireland wrote:

"who used to fly with this pathetic airline almost every week for a year and a half "

would you be flying every week if Ryanair didn't have low prices? Of course there service is crap, what do people expect to 1euro flights.

If it's so bad why didn't you fly with BA, they have nice business class seats at 3000euro a pop.

For all Ryanair's faults they've never crashed a plane.

Long live cheap flights, I can't wait untill they introduce "Standing Only Flights"

Listen to yourself FFS it's no wonder this country can be so bad with attitudes like yours,Customer service should be a top priority no matter how cheap or dear the product,no matter if it's like somewhere like the pound shop to Weir and sons jewellers,it does not matter what type of business a sub standard service is not acceptable for most people.

I still fly quite a lot but don't use Ryanair the difference is amazing,preferred airline is Fly BMI have flown with them now over 40 times and i can count on one had the bad experiences ive had and even when something does go wrong at least you can be rest assured that their helpful and courteous staff will do their best to assist you in anyway they can.

They've never crashed a plane,i hope they never do either but there have been many near misses,standing only flights,yes of course :rolleyes:

BuffyBot

I know 2 trolly dollys who used to work with Ryanair they now work for a decent airline Emirates,some of the horror stories they told me were shocking,people inc pilots turning up for work hungover,sub standard service,basically they told me they didn't really give a fu*k as long as they got from A to B,it didn't suprise me one bit though having had the bad experiences ive had with them.

Well I once heard from a guy that cleans the toilets who once knew a girl who worked at check-in who dated a guy in maintenence who overheard Michael O'Leary on the phone once to Satan..blah blah

babaduck

Anyway... if you only have Sky Digital, then it's repeated on More 4 at 8.10pm Sat 18th Feb (which is when I'll be watching it)

TBH nobody is forced to travel with Ryanair - they have seriously revolutionised the airline industry & are responsible for other carriers adopting the LCC model. I fly with them a lot, and if you're prepared to play by their rules, then you'll be fine. EI, BA & BD were absolute thieves on the DUB/LON routes for many years and have been forced to act like FR to keep passengers. My parents fly to places on the EI network more than I would, and from their reports, it's very much like FR service wise.

bidireland

i've been on more than 80 ryanair flights and have never had a problem. the coffee's crap and it costs 2euro, but that's still cheaper than most places in Dublin.

Our man in Havana

babaduck wrote:

Anyway... if you only have Sky Digital, then it's repeated on More 4 at 8.10pm Sat 18th Feb (which is when I'll be watching it)

Thanks for that info.

jonny68

bidireland wrote:

i've been on more than 80 ryanair flights and have never had a problem.



I find that somewhat difficult to believe or maybe ive been extremly unlucky then whereas ive had many many nightmares flying with them.

Had to laugh @ the front page of the Herald today you see some Ryanair trolly dolly having a snooze on the job,and Micheal O Leary is seriously trying to suggest that this has been made up,:D he's making himself out to be a bigger fool than he already is,if he had any decency instead of denying the glaringly obvious truth about just bad his airline is, he would just admit that there are many problems with ryanair and demand that there be a massive overhaul with Ryanair to bring them into line with other airlines,i might even fly with them again,then again maybe not!!!:eek:

jonny68

BuffyBot wrote:

Well I once heard from a guy that cleans the toilets who once knew a girl who worked at check-in who dated a guy in maintenence who overheard Michael O'Leary on the phone once to Satan..blah blah

:rolleyes:

penexpers

jonny68 wrote:

bidireland wrote:

i've been on more than 80 ryanair flights and have never had a problem.



I find that somewhat difficult to believe or maybe ive been extremly unlucky then whereas ive had many many nightmares flying with them.

Had to laugh @ the front page of the Herald today you see some Ryanair trolly dolly having a snooze on the job,and Micheal O Leary is seriously trying to suggest that this has been made up,:D he's making himself out to be a bigger fool than he already is,if he had any decency instead of denying the glaringly obvious truth about just bad his airline is, he would just admit that there are many problems with ryanair and demand that there be a massive overhaul with Ryanair to bring them into line with other airlines,i might even fly with them again,then again maybe not!!!:eek:

Well he says he has the evidence to prove the picture could not have been taken on a ryanair flight so...

penexpers

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

We didn't want a refund. We didn't want red carpets. We wanted to be treated like human beings. Charging for wheelchairs and giving no assistance or clearance to a passenger on crutches going down stairs is a horrible way to treat people. The Disability Rights Commission agrees with me on this point and hence ruled that Ryanair in Stansted could no longer charge for wheelchair use. (Which happens to be exactly where this occurred.)

There's an EU directive (coming) out that says that it's up to the airport to provide a wheelchair free of charge to the passenger - it's not up to the airline. When Ryanair get a wheelchair they are charged for it by the airport in question. Ryanair were simply passing on this charge which they are entitled to do. So in actual fact Stansted should be picking up the tab.

ShiverinEskimo

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

Earthman you show me one company that advertises you pay extra for customer services and I'll take your point onboard.

Irrelevant.I've flown Ryanair and not expected the earth.I've not experienced this lack of customer service that you speak of.I've got exactly what I expected.
You seem to expect more despite the low price.
Would you like to go back to the days when the equivalent of €450 was the average price of a London Dublin ticket?
It's sometimes 1 euro now...
And dont mention the taxes, you pay them regardless of airline.

Ryanair dont tell you to expect **** service. Just like no other airline advertises "pay more with us and we'll smile more, pretend we care and at least act like we give a ****"

Well unless every ryanair passenger is unique and no passenger ever flies more than once, there must be a hell of a lot of people who know what they will get with Ryan air and are happy to fly with them warts and all if its cheap.
They do have more passengers than BA now, so thats a hell of a lot of people with apparently their shoulders less chipped vis a vis ryanair than you...

No frills means no boarding bridge, no free food, no free drink, no tickets. It does not mean you get to be treated like scum and like it.

Thats got to be the most ridiculous statement on the thread.
If passengers were of the view that they were being treated like scum,then they wouldnt fly with them..

jonny68

THE RYANAIR PHILOSOPHY -CUSTOMERS DON'T MATTER

As said on tonight's Dispatches programme by one of their captains,what an insight to those(unlike me) who didn't know how Ryanair really operate,they were well and truly exposed and credit must go to the 2 female undercover reporters who had to work for them for 5 months,must have been soul destroying indeed.

Safety MUST BE OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE AT ALL TIMES especially with aviation travel,as we have seen on Dispatches tonight this clearly is not the case with Ryanair,all they care about is profits,customer service which most airlines (low cost or not low cost)ensure is of a high standard is seriously sub standard in Ryanair as we have seen from comments from trolly dollys on this programme.

Hygiene on board an aircraft should be of a high standard at all times,as we have seen this certainly is not the case,some child gets sick,"shall we clean it says the undercover reporter","nah we aint got time for that just spray some aftershave on it to disguise the smelL" said another employee :eek: absolutely revolting and disgusting the mere thought of having to fly on a plane where you have to endure something like that.

Low cost fares,definitely not always the case,i should know more than anyone,the dearest i paid to London Gatwick was €257 return one weekend and that is with 4 days to departure,i could've went with BMI or Aer Lingus cheaper but they only fly to Heathrow from Dublin and i needed to get to Gatwick and flying to Heathrow would've added an extra 2 hours onto my ownward journey, rarely did i ever pay less than €70 return to Gatwick on a weekend,average price was around €100 to €140,hardly cheap is it,,you'll get cheap fares alright if your willing to travel mostly midweek which isn't convenient for most.

As for their employees esp their "cabin crew" having to pay a massive €1,400 for their training is downright meaness as most or all other airlines as far as im aware provide free training not to mention uniforms,long hours spent working,falling asleep on the job,etc,etc,etc,i haven't even discussed delays and cancellations of which i have experienced many and not even a sorry,tough sh*t buddy,absolutely appalling is the only word to describe them,easyjet are another low cost airline and despite them being not too great either they are a cut above Ryanair,they are even willing to show the general public what actually goes on in that programme airline that does be on UTV.

I used to fly all the time with Ryanair but when you've had as many bad experiences as i have you can only take so much,ive spoken to so many other people as well who have had many nightmare trips with them so i made a conscious decision when i fly to pay the few extra quid with another airline knowing that the customer actually does matter and is not treated like dirt and herded onto the aircraft like cattle,i could not say ill never fly with them ever again as i might need to go somewhere and other flights might be full,etc but i will personally go out of my way to avoid flying with Ryanair until such time (if ever) that they drastically improve their service,despite the denials they have been well and truly exposed tonight on Dispatches,the camera doesn't lie.

whiskeyman

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/inpage.php?partner=DISPATCHES

For some reason, I can't open any of these "links".
Are they links to anyone else, or is this page just down?

thanks

jonny68

whiskeyman wrote:

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/inpage.php?partner=DISPATCHES

For some reason, I can't open any of these "links".
Are they links to anyone else, or is this page just down?

thanks

Can't seem to open them myself but of course O Leary is going to deny everything thus making a fool of himself,the camera doesn't lie FFS they have been well and truly exposed,i would have more respect for him if he actually just came out and admitted that there are many many faults with his airline,trying to cover up the truth does nothing for his credibility or that of his airline.

Johnee

jonny68 wrote:

Can't seem to open them myself but of course O Leary is going to deny everything thus making a fool of himself,the camera doesn't lie FFS they have been well and truly exposed,i would have more respect for him if he actually just came out and admitted that there are many many faults with his airline,trying to cover up the truth does nothing for his credibility or that of his airline.

Somehow I doubt you would. Sounded like you had your mind made up before you even watched the show. People see in it what they want I guess, but I was very interested by how the Dispatches people had to tone down so many of their claims.

Oooh, the staff have a dismissive attitude towards customers behind their backs? Has anyone ever worked in an industry where this doesnt happen. If you could only hear what doctors and nurses say about patients, or teachers about children, or so on, it's exactly the same. Hardly journalistic insight.

Come to think of it, having worked in newspapers, if you could only hear what journalists think of the gullible members of the public they feed their 'exposes' too.....

You need adobe acrobat to read them.
They're opening fine for me and are a right laugh.

Morgans

Was hoping for a major exposee here, but it was so tame. Yes, their turnaround time should be longer for more stringent safety checks, but I'd be interested to see how stringent other airlines are at complying with each safety checks. It struck me that the plants in the program were struggling to find anything strong to hand Ryanair on, and resorted to leading questions and cliched elements. Trainers helping with exams etc Ryanair dont like their customers, they trainees are ripped off with training fees etc, etc. O'Leary is a hard nosed businessman, and his company has a customer relations problem, but I do think that this progam was pretty much inspired by jealousy. I'm sure that security experts could find equally harrowing security issues with other airlines, if a documentary was set up to find them out. Pretty toothless, I thought. Disappointing.

zippo22

Turn off "pop up" and "ad blockers".

sheepshagger

The programme was rubbish - you get what you pay for - if you dont like Ryanair then go and get ripped off by the likes of BA or another full service carrier.

Not a fan of Ryanair myself so only fly them when theres not an alternative (ie never fly them to London as you have BMI and Aer Lingus into LHR).

I see O'Leary is lanching a 3 million seat sale tomorrow to fight back against the channel 4 programme. . some how I dont think people will stop flying them. . if it wasn't for the likes of Ryanair a lot of people would not be flying. . .a simple fact.

jonny68

Morgans wrote:

Was hoping for a major exposee here, but it was so tame. Yes, their turnaround time should be longer for more stringent safety checks, but I'd be interested to see how stringent other airlines are at complying with each safety checks. It struck me that the plants in the program were struggling to find anything strong to hand Ryanair on, and resorted to leading questions and cliched elements. Trainers helping with exams etc Ryanair dont like their customers, they trainees are ripped off with training fees etc, etc. O'Leary is a hard nosed businessman, and his company has a customer relations problem, but I do think that this progam was pretty much inspired by jealousy. I'm sure that security experts could find equally harrowing security issues with other airlines, if a documentary was set up to find them out. Pretty toothless, I thought. Disappointing.

Ask yourself the question why single out Ryanair and not another bigger airline to expose then?Dispatches obviously gathered and were given inside information which lead them to do this,i personally thought it exposed them very well under difficult circumstances,im sure security experts could quite possibly find equally as harrowing security issues with other airlines which is very worrying but also would that airlines customer service and overall standards be as bad as Ryanairs?

Somehow i think not having flown with many different airlines both low cost and non low cost i can report that Ryanair are in fact the bottom of the pile by a long shot.

penexpers

Morgans wrote:

Was hoping for a major exposee here, but it was so tame. Yes, their turnaround time should be longer for more stringent safety checks, but I'd be interested to see how stringent other airlines are at complying with each safety checks. It struck me that the plants in the program were struggling to find anything strong to hand Ryanair on, and resorted to leading questions and cliched elements. Trainers helping with exams etc Ryanair dont like their customers, they trainees are ripped off with training fees etc, etc. O'Leary is a hard nosed businessman, and his company has a customer relations problem, but I do think that this progam was pretty much inspired by jealousy. I'm sure that security experts could find equally harrowing security issues with other airlines, if a documentary was set up to find them out. Pretty toothless, I thought. Disappointing.

Indeed. There was a very good book about airline accidents that came out a few years ago and the name of which escapes me right now. But it showed how many accidents were caused by poor maintenance and poor staff training. The concorde crash in Paris was the result of a well known design fault, the BMI crash over Kenilworth was due to poor staff training, the Pan-Am crash in Tenerife was due to poort staff training, the BA cockpit window blowout was caused by poort maintenance practises. Just because your ticket is more expensive doesn't guarantee that it's safer.

Cake Fiend

I don't remember Michael O'Leary ever holding a gun to my head, forcing me to fly Ryanair. When I'm paying less for a plane ticket than for a DART journey, I don't see much to complain about - I know I have the choice to use a different company if I feel the need.

penexpers

jonny68 wrote:

Ask yourself the question why single out Ryanair and not another bigger airline to expose then?Dispatches obviously gathered and were given inside information which lead them to do this,i personally thought it exposed them very well under difficult circumstances,im sure security experts could quite possibly find equally as harrowing security issues with other airlines which is very worrying but also would that airlines customer service and overall standards be as bad as Ryanairs?

Somehow i think not having flown with many different airlines both low cost and non low cost i can report that Ryanair are in fact the bottom of the pile by a long shot.

Ryanair are an easy target because of their low cost model. It is/was a mystery how they got their fares so cheap so most people assumed they were cutting corners on safety. You can be sure that alot of people (and you sound like one of them) can't wait for Ryanair to have their first fatal accident so they can point the finger and say "hah, told you so".

I am also happy to report that the new EI is not far off Ryanair in terms of rude staff. The only thing that is keeping EI above Ryanair is the slightly older cabin crew, but once they go I think EI will be as bad.

Again, though, it all comes back to the question of you get what you pay for.

jonny68

penexpers wrote:

Ryanair are an easy target because of their low cost model. It is/was a mystery how they got their fares so cheap so most people assumed they were cutting corners on safety. You can be sure that alot of people (and you sound like one of them) can't wait for Ryanair to have their first fatal accident so they can point the finger and say "hah, told you so".

I am also happy to report that the new EI is not far off Ryanair in terms of rude staff. The only thing that is keeping EI above Ryanair is the slightly older cabin crew, but once they go I think EI will be as bad.

Again, though, it all comes back to the question of you get what you pay for.

I'm absolutely appalled that you think that i would seriously want Ryanair or any airline for that matter to have a fatal accident what the fu*k do you take me for FFS :eek: I might have had bad experiences with them and ill give them the criticisism they deserve but for you to suggest something like this is ludricous.

As for being an easy target,rubbish,why did they not try and go to the very top of the aviation scale and expose BA or Emirates,etc the sh*t would really hit the fan then,a lame excuse indeed,ive had my say about Ryanair,people can fly with them to their hearts content if they are prepared to put up with being treated like dirt,ive more self respect myself.