The latest wheeze from Michael O'Leary

Lenny Lovett

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1308852/Let-stewardesses-land-plane-crisis-says-Ryanair-boss-Airline-wants-ditch-pilots.html

Tropheus

FFS, I regularly fly Ryanair, but this tabloid like craving for pubicity is getting tiresome at this stage. Who are they trying to appeal to?

xflyer

It's ludicrous and he knows it. He is just playing to the tabloid game. I am a pilot, thus supposed to be biased but the reality is that you need two pilots whether he likes it or not. Even if one is working the cabin, they have to be able to fly to the same standard as a line pilot in an emergency. Which mean they would have to be pilots first not cabin crew.

But in reality, he knows that two pilots are needed and the reason his airline has the safety record it does is has is because there are two pilots.

If he is serious then he's a stupid man. If he's not then he's a total w***ker. Clearly he is neither, thus he is taking the P out of the press and the ignorant public. Also he likes to insult pilots. At this stage, it begins to look like some form of jealousy. God knows why because being a pilot is not much of a job these days. Thanks in no small part to him.

Klunk001

In my opinion its a pi@# take for a bit of publicity, I heard 5 euro flights been mentioned on the radio also when this was been discussed.There is a reports out there that could be used as examples as to why the two pilot concept worked for Ryanair (Italy comes to mind for some reason)

Absurdum

wouldn't it make more sense from MOL's point of view to send the co-pilot out to flog some perfume and raffle tickets than to train hundreds of stewardesses how to land the plane? :pac:

Lenny Lovett

Klunk001 wrote: »

In my opinion its a pi@# take for a bit of publicity, I heard 5 euro flights been mentioned on the radio also when this was been discussed.There is a reports out there that could be used as examples as to why the two pilot concept worked for Ryanair (Italy comes to mind for some reason)

I was at an interesting presentation by a Boeing Rep at the Cape Town Air Show a couple of years ago and he was discussing how the technology was there and tested that could enable passenger planes to be flown 'Pilotless' using the same technology that the RAF and American Air Force use in their drones. He said all that was needed was a systems analyst. When a member of the audience asked why Airlines weren't doing so he replied "would you be happy taking a flight and knowing there was no Pilot on board?" "No, I didn't think so!" Fair comment, I think?

wylo

Absurdum wrote: »

wouldn't it make more sense from MOL's point of view to send the co-pilot out to flog some perfume and raffle tickets than to train hundreds of stewardesses how to land the plane? :pac:

now theres an idea he'd actually probably consider!!!

Cant believe peoples reaction to this , it shouldn't even be in the aviation forum, it should be in a business or advertising forum or whatever because that is his only purpose in his words. He's not stupid lads he knows well it would never happen (right now anyway), and im surprised the media still humor him.

All that said and done, i wont be surprised if in 40/50 years time the co-pilot becomes redundant.

pclancy

Yep just another stunt for airtime by someone who excels at marketing. As above the technology exisits for planes to be single pilot or even remote pilot right now but it will take a long time for single pilot aircraft to something many of the travelling public would trust.

I don't see why they have to be so hard on their staff, especially pilots. Working with them instead of against them would surely result in a better place to work with more respect shown towards their line staff. You can tightly run and effectivly manage any enterprise without being mean.

therecklessone

pclancy wrote: »

Yep just another stunt for airtime by someone who excels at marketing. As above the technology exisits for planes to be single pilot or even remote pilot right now but it will take a long time for single pilot aircraft to something many of the travelling public would trust.

I don't see why they have to be so hard on their staff, especially pilots. Working with them instead of against them would surely result in a better place to work with more respect shown towards their line staff. You can tightly run and effectivly manage any enterprise without being mean.

As long as there is an oversupply of pilots desperate to build hours and a long queue of doe-eyed school leavers happy to schlep up and down the aisle selling overpriced food and drinks he'll treat his staff like sh1t and they'll like it.

Nforce

Lenny Lovett wrote: »

I was at an interesting presentation by a Boeing Rep at the Cape Town Air Show a couple of years ago and he was discussing how the technology was there and tested that could enable passenger planes to be flown 'Pilotless' using the same technology that the RAF and American Air Force use in their drones. He said all that was needed was a systems analyst. When a member of the audience asked why Airlines weren't doing so he replied "would you be happy taking a flight and knowing there was no Pilot on board?" "No, I didn't think so!" Fair comment, I think?

Speaking to an ex-Predator pilot recently and he said the exact same thing. However as UAV/UCAV aircraft become more mainstream it'll eventually occur in the airline industry.

owenc

Klunk001 wrote: »

In my opinion its a pi@# take for a bit of publicity, I heard 5 euro flights been mentioned on the radio also when this was been discussed.There is a reports out there that could be used as examples as to why the two pilot concept worked for Ryanair (Italy comes to mind for some reason)

So you think they are lying ryanair have flight offers on all year its £5 now acutally, you can fly to london for 1p, me and my family flew to stansted for 4p. They have these sales once or twice a year, i can't remember the last one but if they have one i'll be booking it.. when is the next one anyway?

Klunk001

I think the single pilot bit is the pi@# take, not the 5 euro flight.Their PR person mentioned the cheap flights as a "by the way" during a radio interview about single pilot ops.

tricky D

Yet again RyanAir rise to the top of the class for brand awareness.

Here's a good article about them:
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/a-little-aggression-gets-you-everywhere/3016071.article

They're excellent at tapping into peoples' emotions so that people continually talk about them, raising the brand awareness, despite the nonsense of the proposition. Must be a hoot working in their PR and marketing dept.

wylo

exactly, i remember seeing him on sky news talking about paying for toilets, the amount of times he got in the fact that they were the cheapest and best way to fly was unreal. All credit to him in fairness

someday2010

He said train the stewardesses to land the plane

but then they wouldnt be stewardesses they would be pilots

Absurdum

wylo wrote: »

now theres an idea he'd actually probably consider!!!

Copyright 2010 Absurd Proctions Ltd.

A320

MOL Having a press conference in Limerick today,it looks like shannon is to lose routes again

Lenny Lovett

A320 wrote: »

MOL Having a press conference in Limerick today,it looks like shannon is to lose routes again

Well.. What do Shannon Airport Management expect? Raising the charges in the current climate? They deserve to lose out. Feckin crazy IMO.

Jim236

Ryanair are dropping Paris, reducing frequency on Gatwick and Stansted, and adding Lanzarote.

Lenny Lovett wrote: »

Well.. What do Shannon Airport Management expect? Raising the charges in the current climate? They deserve to lose out. Feckin crazy IMO.

Whats crazy? They're increasing charges from practically nothing, and for the first time in 6 years as well. Whats crazy is the €10 departure tax.

KC61

I suspect that the fact that Ryanair is cutting the Shannon operations back is why O'Leary has put this totally daft story out as a smokescreen.

Again, it's classic MOL.

McSween

Jim236 wrote: »

and adding Lanzarote.

how come there was no announcement about this (though no dates are available as of yet), nor about gran canaria which is available for booking.

i haven't seen or heard anything about the new routes only when i clicked on the drop down desination arrow.

Jim236

McSween wrote: »

how come there was no announcement about this (though no dates are available as of yet), nor about gran canaria which is available for booking.

i haven't seen or heard anything about the new routes only when i clicked on the drop down desination arrow.

Cause then they lose all credibility in their criticism of the government. How can you argue the travel tax is causing routes to close, and then turn around a start new routes?

It was the same story with the Valencia base. When Ryanair pulled out of Valencia a few years ago, they had a huge fanfair about it, criticising the local government for being biassed towards Iberia. Nothings changed since then, but they saw there was money to be made in Valencia. So when they decided to reopen the base this November, they said nothing, knowing how it would look for them.

McSween

Jim236 wrote: »

Cause then they lose all credibility in their criticism of the government. How can you argue the travel tax is causing routes to close, and then turn around a start new routes?

It was the same story with the Valencia base. When Ryanair pulled out of Valencia a few years ago, they had a huge fanfair about it, criticising the local government for being biassed towards Iberia. Nothings changed since then, but they saw there was money to be made in Valencia. So when they decided to reopen the base this November, they said nothing, knowing how it would look for them.

interesting. didn't realise they didn't make an announcement about re-opening in valencia. i read about it on their wikipedia last week but wasn't sure when it was up and running again.

homer simpson

Same thing with murcia Regional Government, they have pulled all of their winter routes tto and from the airport saying it was down to the locals giving "X" amount to an airline to advertise the region ect, and the fact they introduced new charges. If they are that bad why not pull out altogether?

xflyer

That's exactly right. People don't understand what a co-pilot is. No airline refers to the second cockpit member as a co-pilot. They are both pilots. One is a Captain and the other is a First Officer--the sole difference being one of seniority, not training or skill. They two typically take turns flying every other leg, and both are required to balance the workload. No transport airplane will be certified for single-pilot operation unless it has been specifically designed for one pilot, and none have. There are good reasons to have two humans up there--to back each other up, and use their combined judgement to handle situations when things are not normal. It's not a matter of technology replacing the pilot's mechanical skills. A computer would have to replace the pilot's mind, and we're not at that point yet. Certainly it's crazy for any Windows IT person to suggest that technology is reliable enough to hold the lives of hundreds in its silicon hands. They of all people should know better.


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Parent

I quote something from a non pilot websit. Quite appropriate really.