how much do you really hate Ryan Air?

Mad Finn

Here's a put up or shut up question. Name the last five flights you took in or out of Ireland THAT YOU PAID FOR YOURSELF, and name the airline you flew with.

Does not include 'corporate' flights that your company or somebody else paid for. It's easy to go business class when somebody else is paying the tab.

Last five flights that were paid from your own pocket: where to and who with?

That should give some indication of how competitive the market really is. And how broad the choice is.

In my case

From..........To..............With
Dublin.........Milan (ret)...Aer Lingus
Kerry..........Dublin.........Aer Arann
Biarritz........Dublin.........Ryanair
Dublin.........Beauvais.....Ryanair
Dublin.........Luton (ret)..Ryanair


In the case of Kerry Dublin and Biarritz Dublin you have no choice. You have to go with the carriers mentioned. In the case of Milan you have the option to fly to Bergamo with Ryanair but the difference in cost is minimal and Aer Lingus offered better timing for my purposes.

Dublin Beauvais cost about a euro a head. No brainer. We had the time, we saved the money.

Dublin Luton. End destination was St Albans. Luton was nearest airport. No brainer.

murphaph

Manchester : Ryanair
Warsaw : Aer Lingus
Prestwick : Ryanair
Glasgow : Aer Lingus
Cologne : Germanwings

mmmmmm, could have sworn I'd used Ryanair more than that! Pretty even spread. The last flight to MAN was 99c plus taxes and that was booked just 4 days before travel. Ryanair are grand so long as you just follow the instructions, heck, the pretty check in girl even let me off the extra charge for checking a bag the last time I flew with Ryanair.

kippy

London - Ryanair
Edinburgh - Ryanair
Madrid - Aer Lingus
Barcelona - Aer Lingus
Charlois - Ryan air.
All flights were less than 120 return-london/edinburgh substantially less.

I think the two Spainish flights were with Iberia one way (I think they are Aerlingus partners)

Were RyanAir to buy Aerlingus it would be pretty obvious who most of this company would be flying with-indeed, I think were you to look at passanger numbers for Ryanair in most EU countries you would probably see them as being very high.
I dont think this is a problem so long as the prices remain relatively cheap.
Kippy

Red Alert

People who hate ryanair are those who are disorganised.

Alun

Red Alert wrote:

People who hate ryanair are those who are disorganised.

??????

A Dub in Glasgo

Glasgow - Dublin Aer Lingus
Glasgow - Dublin Aer Lingus
Prestwick - Dublin Ryanair
Glasgow - Dublin Aer Lingus

Going to Dublin on Friday night with Aer Lingus with my wife and 2 kids for £37 return each. Aer Lingus was much cheaper than Ryanair for that flight as they had a 3 day sale.

GerardKeating

a Dozen Dublin-London flights, two Dublin-Birmingham flights and Dublin-Dusseldorf & Dublin-Munich Flights in the past two years

One of the Brum flights was RyanAir, all the rest were Aer Lingus.

Ryanair were not an option for the Munich trip. RyanAir and Aer Lingus were competitive with each other for most of the other trips but i went with AL most of the time.

Lennoxschips

Dublin - Amsterdam, one-way (Aer Lingus)
Amsterdam - Cork, return (Aer Lingus)
Amsterdam - Cork, return (Aer Lingus)
Amsterdam - Cork, return (Aer Lingus)
Amsterdam - Newcastle, return (KLM)

markf909

Gatwick - Ryanair
Toulouse via LGW - Easyjet / Ryanair
NY - Aer Lingus
Edinburgh - Ryanair
LA - Aer Lingus

I have been moving towards flying with Ryanair a lot since I stopped getting flights on expenses

therecklessone

Last 5 (all return trips):

1. Dublin - Manchester (RYR out, AL in)
2. Dublin - London Stansted (RYR)
3. Dublin - Manchester (RYR)
4. Dublin - London Stansted (RYR)
5. Dublin - London Heathrow (BMI)

Price was main consideration for 1 and 3. Destination was only consideration for 2 and 4. Time of return flight was main consideration for 5.

I've approx. 25 more flights to take before the end of the year, roughly 50% are with Ryanair. Got some great deals in their €10 seat sale recently,but I'd have probably booked with them anyway cos they're the only airline serving Stansted, and thats the nearest airport to where I want to get.

Nuttzz

Dub - Liverpool - Ryanair
Dub - London - Ryanair
Dub - Manchester - Ryanair
Dub - budapest - Malev
Dub - Stanstead - Ryanair

Our man in Havana

Waterford-Luton Aer Arann (no choice)
Dub- Prague Aer Lingus
Dub - LAX Aer Lingus
Dub - BRS Aer Lingus
SNN - IAD via LHR British Airways

Not a ryanair among them!

Ruu_Old

Starting with the latest ones first:

Dub->Chicago-Aer Lingus (One Way)
Dub->London City-Cityjet (Air France) City airport ftw! Paid a bit extra but worth it.
Dub->Heathrow-BMI
Dub->Frankfurt-Ryanair
Dub->Liverpool-Ryanair.

I thought I used Ryanair a bit more than that.

JaysusMacfeck

Dub - Barcelona - Aer Lingus
Dub - Eindhoven - Ryanair
Dub - Murcia (Spain) VIA Glasgow - Ryanair
Dub - Barcelona - Aer Lingus
Dub - Edinburgh - Ryanair

Much of a muchness.

Traffic

Dublin - Manchester Ryanair
Dublin - New York Aer Lingus
Dublin - Manchester Aer Lingus
Dublin - Luton Ryanair
Dublin - Berlin Aer Lingus

Ive never had any problem with Ryanair

El Stuntman

the thread title seems wierd? what's 'hating Ryanair' got to do with your question?

David McWilliams has a good article on Ryanair right now and asks some good questions

mickoneill30

Dublin - Boston - Aer Lingus
Dublin - Frankfurt - Aer Lingus
Dublin - Manchester - Ryanair

No problems with Ryanair. The automated check in on the AL to Boston was brilliant though. I was checked in and had gotten rid of my bags 5 mins after walking into the airport. Ryanair is fine but I prefer to get a seat number though when I get on a plane. I just like sitting in the boarding area and waiting for my block of seats to be called out. It's too much like a free for all when you don't have a seat number. Too many idiots all trying to get on at the same time. Are they afraid it's going to go without them? Do Ryanair save money by not giving you a seat number? Does it save ink or something?

therecklessone

mickoneill30 wrote:

Do Ryanair save money by not giving you a seat number? Does it save ink or something?

Speeds up boarding according to them.

BendiBus

Dublin-Gatwick 5xReturns with Ryanair.

No problems. Flights as cheap as just €25, max < €60 (incl taxes charges etc.)

seamus

1. Dublin - London (Return) - Aer Lingus €115.89
2. Dublin - London (Return) - Aer Lingus €95.89
3. Dublin - London (Return) - Aer Lingus €185.69 (booked ten days before the flight)
4. Dublin - Malaga (Return) - Aer Lingus €368.64
5. Dublin - London (Return) - Aer Lingus €193.42 (booked five days before the flight)

Each time I checked Ryanair and they were either as expensive, or worked out more expensive when extra travelling costs were taken into account.

divot

Ok - I'm counting back from Christmas 2006 as I've a couple personal ones booked... these are all departing Dublin...

1. Edinburgh, Aer Lingus
2. Edinburgh, Aer Lingus
3. Glasgow, Aer Lingus
4. Liverpool, Ryanair
5. Greece, charter/package

Liverpool was Ryanair because Aer Lingus dropped it as a route from Dublin. I would have paid a reasonable premium to fly Aer Lingus if it'd been possible, and even looked into the possibility of going DUB-Manchester on Aer Lingus and getting the train to Liverpool.

Ryanair used to be reasonable, on-time mostly, and not too uncomfortable. Now they are a living h*ll to fly with, charge you for checking in one bag (! - take note Aer Lingus!) - most evening/night flights run late, and they allegedly give pilots financial incentives to cut corners, leading me to feel there is a disaster-inviting culture of corner cutting in operation.

I'm not fond of them and avoid them at all costs now, both when work is footing the bill, and when I am.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Hamburg-Lubeck - Ryanair
Birmingham - BMI Baby
Berlin - Aer Lingus
Copenhagen - SAS
India - Bmi/Qatar airways

Tend to go with the one flying closest to a lunchtime take off even if it means a little extra. Only Ryanair flight was because it was with girlfriend and three kids and economy took over.

Mad Finn

El Stuntman wrote:

the thread title seems wierd? what's 'hating Ryanair' got to do with your question?

A lot of people whinge about Ryanair. I was wondering how many grumbled about them but nevertheless found their prices just too tempting to ignore.

I am pleasantly surprised by the breadth of answers. I thought more people would have flown Ryanair a greater proportion of the time. Instead people seem to be examining their options and picking the flight that suits them best, taking into account factors such as overall cost (incl getting to and from airports) time of departure, distance from final destination etc etc.

It would seem from this, admittedly small sample, that people do not have a dogmatic anti-Ryanair stance ("they're nasty to people in wheelchairs, I'll never fly them again") nor do they have a petulantly pro Ryanair ("Mick O'Leary's great. He's responsible for cheap flights and I love the way he kicks the unions") outlook.

Instead, they avail of the many attractive alternatives that are available now in a highly competitive market in which, let's not forget, both airlines currently participate profitably. Competition is broadening choice and benefitting the travelling punter, ie us. O'Leary was dead right about that.

Now he wants to change his tune and expect us all to follow it. No way Micko. Let's keep the competition on the air ways out of Ireland. You're doing well out of it. So is Aer Lingus and so are we.

Mad Finn

El Stuntman wrote:

David McWilliams has a good article on Ryanair right now and asks some good questions

Apart from his annoying habit of coining irritating epithets (Low-GI Jane, Kells Angels and the one he will never be forgiven for: the Celtic Tiger) I usually have a lot of time for McWilliams. But this article is rubbish. It's based on premises that are just plain false.

eg

"O'Leary is an outsider". Horse Dung!!! O'Leary is very well connected with his posh school background and his close personal friendships with the likes of Charlie McCreevy and Mary Harney.

'O'Leary is a straight talker' Yeah right! There's a subtle difference between 'obnoxious' and 'straight'. If he stuck to his guns on the principle that 'competition is good for customers' he might be entitled to the 'straight-talking' label. But having lambasted cosy monopolies for years he now wants to become one. "It's different when it's me" he seems to be saying.

O'Leary is a business man. He does what is best for HIS business. It is only incidental that occasionally that coincides with what is best for his customers. His first loyalty is to his shareholders.He would have no obligation, compunction or even desire to keep a separate Aer Lingus offering an alternative to Ryanair on short haul routes. Instead, it would be a major asset stripping job.

"Ryanair is the only game in town" Er no. not at all. There are plenty of other airlines for whom Aer Lingus could offer complementary rather than competitive options. It's not beyond the bounds of possibilty that a European airline might be attracted by Ireland's relatively uncluttered air space, to concentrate transAtlantic 'hub' activities here, freeing them up to compete more effectively on short-haul in Central Europe.

There is of course a dispute over the shape of aviation in the future. Airbus is betting on the hub and spokes model with heavy traffic between high-density hubs and connecting flights between the hubs and outlying regions. Boeing says the future is point to point.

As congestion builds, the hub and spoke model will become 'the only game in town'. It will have to be.

cast_iron

I agree with Stuntman - in fairness, the thread title is a bit misleading.
People have't really shown how much they hate Ryanair - just how often they fly with them.

Mad Finn

cast_iron wrote:

I agree with Stuntman - in fairness, the thread title is a bit misleading.
People have't really shown how much they hate Ryanair - just how often they fly with them.

Well. OK. But did the first post not explain what it was all about?

I think the posts in general show that people are sophisticated shoppers.They fly Aer Lingus when it makes sense to do so and Ryanair when it makes sense to do so.

looksee

Only travelled once with Ryanair - Dublin Birmingham (I think). They abandoned about 15 or 20 people, didn't call the flight, no-one to ask, just put us on the next flight no comment or apology. Obviously wasn't worth their while flying with small number. Had to get accommodation in Dublin as all transport down-country had finished, cheap flight ha! (Though in fact it wasn't a cheap flight). Hail Aer Arran and Waterford Airport.

Lennoxschips

i flew with ryanair once, in 2001, for 50 cents, but have boycotted them since all the revelations about their bad business practices came out.

A Dub in Glasgo

I have flown with Ryanair since 1991, back then they were a clear winner between Britain & Ireland. Now, I am finding Aer Lingus comparable when you take into account checked in baggage and fees per person for credit card payment.

cast_iron

Mad Finn wrote:

I think the posts in general show that people are sophisticated shoppers.They fly Aer Lingus when it makes sense to do so and Ryanair when it makes sense to do so.

It's the same with all these "surveys". Never really accurate.
You have to look at the people who responded. Most appear to fly quite alot - it's kinda why they responded.
People who fly - but not very often - didn't really respond. There are quite alot of these people out there.
Also, people who use boards would be alot more computer literate than the average flyer, and therefore more able to chase prices on 20 different webites and the like.

Couple these facts with the fact that it has had so few respondants, and i would render it a rather useles poll.

jahalpin

The five flights i've been on were (all return);

Dublin - Las Palmas (Via MAN) (Aerlingus \ ThompsonFly)
Dublin - East Midlands (Ryanair)
Dublin - London Heathrow (Aer Lingus)
Dublin - London Heathrow (Aer Lingus)
LHR - CDG (British Airways)

Overall the best airline i've ever flown on has been Virgin Atlantic. Ryanair are OK but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired!!

Ryanair are also by far the most expensive when you book late, when I was going to Manchester to get my flight to Las Palmas, Ryanair were looking for €199 each way plus taxes and charges, whereas Aer Lingus was only €150 all in ( Booked around 12 hours before flight)

Villain

Dub-Edinburgh- Ryanair
Dub-Edinburgh- Ryanair
Dub-Edinburgh- Ryanair
Dub-London Gatwick-Ryanair
Dub-London Heatrow-Aer Lingus

If it wasn't for Ryanair we wouldn't have the low fares we can avail of today.

Idbatterim

What is peoples porblem with ryanair, they are cheap, have a huge route network, one of the lowest level of bag losage in europe and from what i have seen pretty impressive punctuality. Do people have a problem with being deprived of a meal on a 1 or practically max 2 hour european flight? whatever people say about ryanair, there are three models, expensive airlines, moderate ones (Aer Lingus) and cheap (Ryanair), ryanair are obviously doing something right if they are almost or already the biggest carrier of european passengers, they havent been around that long and it took them years to get going. Where are aer lingus in comparison, i flew with aer lingus about a week ago and do like the airline and service. And alot of the time they can be cheaper to fly with than ryanair to the same destination. And one other point i read was about the lack of competition at dublin airport, who is going to compete with ryanair coming into here? where are easyjet and the rest of them? we have very cheap airfares here, when i was booking floghts from here to the states i shopped around ages in advance and aer lingus were nearly 50% cheaper than the next lowest price flying from all over europe, also ryanair are a hell of alot cheaper than the other "low fares" airlines in Europe.

MrPudding

Idbatterim wrote:

What is peoples porblem with ryanair, they are cheap, have a huge route network, one of the lowest level of bag losage in europe and from what i have seen pretty impressive punctuality. Do people have a problem with being deprived of a meal on a 1 or practically max 2 hour european flight? whatever people say about ryanair, there are three models, expensive airlines, moderate ones (Aer Lingus) and cheap (Ryanair), ryanair are obviously doing something right if they are almost or already the biggest carrier of european passengers, they havent been around that long and it took them years to get going. Where are aer lingus in comparison, i flew with aer lingus about a week ago and do like the airline and service. And alot of the time they can be cheaper to fly with than ryanair to the same destination. And one other point i read was about the lack of competition at dublin airport, who is going to compete with ryanair coming into here? where are easyjet and the rest of them? we have very cheap airfares here, when i was booking floghts from here to the states i shopped around ages in advance and aer lingus were nearly 50% cheaper than the next lowest price flying from all over europe, also ryanair are a hell of alot cheaper than the other "low fares" airlines in Europe.

My last 5 flights out of Ireland have been Dublin to Luton. All with Ryanair. No real problems. One flight landed 20 minutes late but the rest were ontime or early.

I really don't get the connection between the title of this thread and the question you are asking. How does listing our last 5 flights show how much we hate Ryanair?

Why do we have to hate them? TBH I would prefer to use AerLingus, but the fact of the matter is this:

I, like many other people, will use whatever airline suits me best for the journey I need to take. If I use Ryanair it is not because I love them, it is because they are the cheapest (including any oneard travel requirements) or, they are the best option due to where they are flying to.

If I use another airline it will be for the same reasons. No using Ryanair is not, for most people, a sign that they hate them. It is simply an indication that another airline has a better price for that particular journey or the destination works better.

I have used eazyjet a few times recently and I have to say that I rate Ryanair much better. I have had 3 flights and all three have been late. 2 of them with the staff making no mention or explaination for the delay. No "sorry for the delay but blah......" Nothing. Like if they don't mention it we wouldnt notice.

Also for those of you that want a seat number, yuo don't get them on Eazyjet either. Actually, you dont get themon Baby BMI either though you can pay extra to get a reserved seat.

Ryanair priority boarding is much better than either of the above. Then I use online checkin I am saving the airline money and hassle. It is easier for them to manage as the process of checking me in is offloaded from their staff. I expect to be rewaded for this. With Ryanair I get to the front of the queue, with eazyjet you don't. How does it work with AerLingus?

MrP

parsi

MrPudding wrote:

How does it work with AerLingus?

MrP

You get to pick your seat number. We're off to Berlin in October (Aer Lingus) and we have our seats already allocated so no need to worry about the scrums.

Of my last few flights to London 2 were Ryanair, 2 were Easyjet and 1 was Aer Lingus - all booked on the basis of cost (including one to Gatwick where I was getting an onwards train connection). I prefer to fly to Heathrow or Gatwick as the land connections are better and the tube from LHR is only £6 for a day ticket after 9.30.

I usually go to London in January with my eldest guy - the first year Ryanair were cheapest (by a long shot). Last year Easyjet were the best (overall) and this year we're going Aer Lingus because the overall difference is minimal.

As an aside - for the last 2 years we got the hotel for a tenner - this year its 25 !

jjbrien

DUB-LIVERPOOL RYANAIR
TORONTO TO DUBLIN VIA CHICAGO AND STOCKHOLM WITH SAS AND UNITED FROM TORONTO TO CHICAGO
DUB-OSLO WITH SAS wont do ryanair on this one as thier airport is 2 hours away from Oslo
DUB- NOTTINGHAM RYANAIR
DUB- GATWICK RYANAIR

I dont know why people moan on about Ryanair you get what you pay for a flight from point a to point b. The fares are cheap. So long as you obey the rules then there wont be a problem.

El Stuntman

Lennoxschips wrote:

i flew with ryanair once, in 2001, for 50 cents, but have boycotted them since all the revelations about their bad business practices came out.

they seem to be surviving OK!!

El Stuntman

Mad Finn wrote:

Well. OK. But did the first post not explain what it was all about?

I think the posts in general show that people are sophisticated shoppers.They fly Aer Lingus when it makes sense to do so and Ryanair when it makes sense to do so.

that hardly constitutes a definition of 'sophisticated'!!

'savvy' might be better?

Not in relation to this post particularly, but I am amazed by the amount of emotion and irrationality that is being brought into the whole Ryanair/Aer Lingus debate by otherwise intelligent people

edited to include my last 5 flights:

Ryanair to Gatwick
Ryanair to Gatwick
Ryanair to Gatwick
Ryanair to Gatwick
Ryanair to Gatwick

danindublin

EDINBURGH -> DUBLIN : Ryanair
FARO -> EDINBURGH : FlyGlobeSpan (Fantastic Airline)
CHARLEROI -> FARO : Ryanair
DUBLIN -> CHARLEROI : Ryanair
DUBLIN -> MANCHESTER (RTN) : Ryanair


I'm a total ryanair junky! More than 50 return flights in 18 months! I'd love to thank ryanair for making it possible for those who have a limited budget to travel to see Europe for next to nothing! In the past i've gotten flights for 50c including all charges (when they launched Hahn!) and you cant deny that €36 for a week to Fuerteventura at xmas is good! Berlin next week for €30 rtn

Years ago I would have paid for aerlingus but now its the mutton dressed as lamb airline. They have sales which last just 3 days and only happen every six months and while they are good, the flights available are limited. Every time I’ve flown with them I’ve felt like I was overpaying for the service I was getting.

El Stuntman

danindublin wrote:

Years ago I would have paid for aerlingus but now its the mutton dressed as lamb airline. They have sales which last just 3 days and only happen every six months and while they are good, the flights available are limited. Every time I’ve flown with them I’ve felt like I was overpaying for the service I was getting.

second that

last time I flew AL they delayed my DUB-NY flight by two days (:eek: ) due to technical problems of their own making

plus they all removed their name badges and told blatant lies to their customers - some 'customer service ethos' eh?

PhoenixRising

El Stuntman wrote:

second that

last time I flew AL they delayed my DUB-NY flight by two days (:eek: ) due to technical problems of their own making

plus they all removed their name badges and told blatant lies to their customers - some 'customer service ethos' eh?

Do you think you would have been treated any better by Ryanair in a similar situation?

Mad Finn

Idbatterim wrote:

What is peoples porblem with ryanair, they are cheap, have a huge route network, one of the lowest level of bag losage in europe

Let me answer two of those points completely rationally and without any emotion at all.

1) Ryanair does not have a NETWORK at all. It is a point to point airline. It has a collection of independent routes.

2) And because of that it should not lose your bags AT ALL. EVER. Saying that Ryanair has a lower rate of bag loss than Aer Lingus is like women boasting about having a lower level of testicular cancer than men.

Most bags are lost transferring from one plane to another. Point to point airlines don't have this problem so they should NEVER lose your bags.

Notwithstanding people's comments about the nature of this survey's sample size and the particular profile of the sample set, I think that with the exception of Lennox Chips, most people treat the airline market completely dispassionately. They fly with whoever suits them best.

And that's good.

Let's keep it that way.

MrPudding

PhoenixRising wrote:

Do you think you would have been treated any better by Ryanair in a similar situation?

That is kind of irrelevent. I think the point he is trying to make is that certain people seem to hold AerLingus as a company that has excellent customer service that puts Ryanair to shame. But, when the chips are down, they will fcuk people over as qucik as the next airline.

MrP

MrPudding

Mad Finn wrote:

2) And because of that it should not lose your bags AT ALL. EVER. Saying that Ryanair has a lower rate of bag loss than Aer Lingus is like women boasting about having a lower level of testicular cancer than men.

So do other airlines not lose bags when flying point to point?

MrP

PhoenixRising

MrPudding wrote:

That is kind of irrelevent. I think the point he is trying to make is that certain people seem to hold AerLingus as a company that has excellent customer service that puts Ryanair to shame. But, when the chips are down, they will fcuk people over as qucik as the next airline.

MrP

It was relevant to the point made by El Stuntman. The point is that there are tons of passengers who can cite instances where they feel that they were badly treated by an airline. However there is no argument that Aer Lingus treats it's customers better than Ryanair do.

danindublin

MrPudding wrote:

So do other airlines not lose bags when flying point to point?

MrP

Of course they do! There are always mistakes with any process, delays and human error will always mean that bags will go missing. This is of course a greater risk of this where connecting flights are involved.

El Stuntman

PhoenixRising wrote:

Do you think you would have been treated any better by Ryanair in a similar situation?

Ryanair don't sell themselves on service

but, no I don't to answer your q

El Stuntman

Mad Finn wrote:

Saying that Ryanair has a lower rate of bag loss than Aer Lingus is like women boasting about having a lower level of testicular cancer than men. .

Classic!!

(although I must say there are some women poker players in Dublin whose balls are bigger than most men's....apols for the OT digression)

Mad Finn

Back to the question of 'what has hating Ryanair got to do with this thread?' I think I was largely motivated to post it by thinking of reports similar to this one which appeared in yesterday's Irish Times. (Actually it's an opinion piece by arch trendy lefty modernist whinger Mary Rafferty, but the following factual narrative underpins it.)

It refers to a case Ryanair took against trade unions representing some of its staff in which the airline alleged that some of its pilots were being bullied by pro-Union colleagues. The 'bullying' took place anonymously on internet chat rooms and Ryanair was demanding that the identities be revealed. In fact, the whole case blew up in Ryanair's face.

Quoting from the article


The judge found that there was no evidence of any bullying or intimidation of pilots by their colleagues on the website. He found wholly against Ryanair, and ordered the company to pay the costs of the seven-day action, estimated to be about €1 million.

He specifically found that the evidence of two senior members of Ryanair staff was "baseless and false". He judged that the real purpose of the company in investigating the pilots' website "was to break whatever resolve there might have been amongst the captains to seek better terms." He further stated that the decision to involve the Garda Síochána was unwarranted and had "all the hallmarks of action in terrorem" (ie designed to terrify).

Mr Justice Smyth took two hours to deliver his 65-page judgment last July. His further characterisations of the actions of Ryanair include the following: "despotic indifference", "sneering disregard", "facade of concern", "unburdened by integrity".

Justice Smyth concluded that "without hesitation, I find as a fact that ... 'fairness' did not seem to come into the reckoning of the plaintiff [ Ryanair] in its dealings with the defendants on the issues raised in and by this case. In summary, in the words of Isabella in Measure for Measure Act II.2: 'Oh, it is excellent to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant'."


Despite such a damning denunciation, not by a 'whinging' trade unionist 'sitting around on his hands' but by a judge, my question would be how much would this dissuade the greater travelling public from flying with Ryanair? The answer on evidence both here and in Ryanair's financial figures would seem to be 'not a lot.'

I have been pricing up flights for a midweek business trip to England in two weeks time. It will cost me just over 100 euro all in (Ryanair Dublin-Gatwick; British Midland Heathrow-Dublin) to get the best deal in terms of price and suitability given my itinerary. It would actually be a few euro cheaper to return via Aer Lingus but the BMI flight goes an hour and a half earlier.

You will NEVER dissuade Ryanair from pursuing the policies they do by whinging at them. They just won't listen. So let's not whinge at them. Let's use them when it suits us and discard them when it doesn't. Of course to do so will require the same level of competition on air routes as we have now.

So NO to the takeover of Aer Lingus, and no tears when they end up paying big legal bills for messing with the courts.

El Stuntman

what I find really interesting is the level of paranoia that the AL staff clearly have about Ryanair and the big bad wolf that is MO'L - i.e. cashing their pensions to buy shares in AL, mad stuff!!

I don't think I'd risk my financial security in my old age to stop another company taking mine over...

Idbatterim

I dont hate ryanair at all considering i can get return flights from dublin to hamburg lubeck for E40 with tax! this unbelievable situation cant be sustainable!