Looks like Ryanair is finally taking notice of public opinion...

MuffinsDa

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/ryanair-pledges-end-to-abrupt-culture-and-revamp-website-1.1534585

Obviously they are not doing it just to be nice, something must be hurting their bottom line somewhere! Either way it's good news if it happens, and it would make them a more usable airline for a lot of people (myself included!)

BonkeyDonker

Only Ryanair could get positive publicity for saying that they are going to treat their customers less ****.

MuffinsDa

Gosh he is really going for the charm offensive today! :
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ryanair-apologises-to-tragic-dublin-surgeon-after-charging-him-188-to-switch-29592819.html

BonkeyDonker

A lot of airlines will be getting worried about this - because if Ryanair actually manage to get customer service right they will be very hard to beat. That said of the flights I have had with them over the years I have not had a bad experience, perhaps I have been lucky - or more likely I realised the level of service to expect when you pay very little for a flight, and read the T's&C's.

Jhcx

Either O Leary is about to step down and he's making a new path for his successor or their on some new kind of drug. Its like they've had a personality change quote 'Softer Image' over a decade of hardship blood sweat and tears have been brought into the company and suddenly they are looking for a softer image. Things must be taken a turn for the worse over at FR HR

Dublinflyer

I think he is playing a long game here. He has talked a lot in the past few days about a service to the USA but who would take the chance of flying Ryanair across the pond. It's on thing getting stuck in Europe and having to pay up for a flight but if that happened to you in the states the cost of getting a last minute flight would be massive. Maybe I am reading too much into he has been flying a friendly flag in the past few days. A lot of the older airlines are held up by the profits on long haul so if was able to break into that while keeping costs down it would make a few other carriers very nervous.

urajoke

Lots of free advertising as Media will make this story front and centre and people will assume they will change.

As a marketing tactic you have to love it. No wonder they are one of the most successful airlines in the world.

Peppa Pig

Dublinflyer wrote: »

who would take the chance of flying Ryanair across the pond. It's on thing getting stuck in Europe and having to pay up for a flight but if that happened to you in the states the cost of getting a last minute flight would be massive.

I'd have no problem flying to the US with Ryanair. I like Aer Lingus to America but if O'Leary charges me €300 return then I'll take them any day and read a book instead of in flight entertainment and bring ham sandwiches instead of a free meal.
Mind you if getting to New York means you land in Philadelphia then all bets are off.

Getting stuck there with AL is also expensive if you want a last minute flight. It's €571 to fly to JFK tomorrow.

A319er

Er no ham allowed ex dublin CBP will take them off you !!!

Peppa Pig

A319er wrote: »

Er no ham allowed ex dublin CBP will take them off you !!!

Even if I eat them on the plane

lord lucan

Peppa Pig wrote: »

Even if I eat them on the plane

If you clear USCBP in DUB you won't be allowed them through, whether you be pax or flight crew. If you're doing clearance on arrival in the US there's no bother once you have them consumed before you arrive and clear customs.

urajoke

Peppa Pig wrote: »

Mind you if getting to New York means you land in Philadelphia then all bets are .

A good number of people flying to Philly with US Airways are using that service to get to New York.

Peppa Pig

Right - I'd still fly Ryanair to the US, even if it's bread and jam.

If they did start going there, it would be interesting to see what effect it would have on AL and the US carriers.

andy_g

Jhcx wrote: »

Either O Leary is about to step down and he's making a new path for his successor or their on some new kind of drug.

I can confirm it's the new drug as it was trialed on the pilots over the last six months and nothing has happened yet :cool:

A319er wrote: »

Er no ham allowed ex dublin CBP will take them off you !!!

Only if clearing CBP in dublin but dont think FR would do it in dub, unless they put the cost to the passenger.

GarIT

MuffinsDa wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/ryanair-pledges-end-to-abrupt-culture-and-revamp-website-1.1534585

Obviously they are not doing it just to be nice, something must be hurting their bottom line somewhere! Either way it's good news if it happens, and it would make them a more usable airline for a lot of people (myself included!)

There's something up here because TheJournal.ie posted that Ryanair basically said F you to Which on Twitter.

Foggy43

The 6.01 news and Daily Mail seem to have the answer. It appears Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar, whose family where murderd, was charged for a ticket change when trying to get back to the UK. It looks as though he missed his planned flight as the Gardai took him to a quiet room so the UK Police could break the full devastating news.This appears to have put Ryanair in a very embarrasing position. Mr. O'Leary said the money has been refunded and has personally appologised to Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar.

Impetus

MuffinsDa wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/ryanair-pledges-end-to-abrupt-culture-and-revamp-website-1.1534585

Obviously they are not doing it just to be nice, something must be hurting their bottom line somewhere! Either way it's good news if it happens, and it would make them a more usable airline for a lot of people (myself included!)

Ryanair is another Nokia in the works. Nokia was big, and now is almost gone. They pushed phones based on the dead operating system Symbian, that even the third world ceased to be interested in.

With the RY share price tumbling, having to deal with the fact that Ryanair is the most hated airline in Europe (what other airline has to engage in NSA type spying against people who post stuff (including staff) on the net pointing out the company’s deficiencies?), not to mention it being “Britain’s least favourite brand”, it seems to me that O’Leary is starting to finally, finally wake up from his slumber of arrogance.

Add to this his stupid time-wasting website captchas, and error messages (you forgot to indicate whether or not you wanted a third rate coach tour around bongo-land – so go back to the start, you fool), and the company’s colour blind cabin “design” (blue and yellow), + the continuous voice message spam offering what one suspects is illegal (in many cases) gambling, third rate, over-priced junk food and beverage, not to mention the non-availability of end to end online journey planning etc.

Competition too from – vueling.es, norwegian.no, etc

The European air travel market has become too competitive with companies that care about service quality, and above all do not go out to antagonize the customer. Ireland may have a lot of quality/abuse insensitive ejit customers for O’Leary, but elsewhere in Europe, Ryanair is increasingly un-able to compete with other carriers that map the routes served by Ryanair. Causing Ryanair to reduce the service level until they become non-runners in the market.

Most other carriers that don’t give one’s private data to national organised crime networks in foreign countries (as the British newspaper The Guardian referred to certain "intelligence agencies" and other airlines do not require your national ID, DoB and similar details to be entered into the “system” during the check-in process.

Ryanair’s change of “tone” is too little, too late. Three months to de-nastyize the website - a timeframe that is alarming in its modesty.

strettyend

to little to late . what you reap is what you sow. o,leary and ryanair have been treating customers with disdain for years with their motto "if you dont like it you can f*ck off". well now consumers have had enough of their so called "customer service", rip off charges and general contempt for the people who pay their wages. i for one couldnt care less if they are going to become consumer friendly from now on, as i changed airlines a few years back and would never ever consider flying with them again. think ryanair have now discovered to their cost they are not invincsible and people do have a choice.

sword1

You are talking as if ryanair are a company in trouble,i am proud that an irish airline carried 80 million people last year and find it strange how much bad feeling there is towards them.

professore

What I liked about Ryanair is what you see is what you get - unlike most things in this country. Now the marketing heads are being let loose. For shame.

coylemj

Foggy43 wrote: »

The 6.01 news and Daily Mail seem to have the answer. It appears Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar, whose family where murderd, was charged for a ticket change when trying to get back to the UK. It looks as though he missed his planned flight as the Gardai took him to a quiet room so the UK Police could break the full devastating news.This appears to have put Ryanair in a very embarrasing position. Mr. O'Leary said the money has been refunded and has personally appologised to Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar.

It seems he normally flew to East Midlands on Friday evenings and had booked his regular flight for Fri. Sept 13th. In the early hours of that morning, he was contacted about the fire and went to Dublin airport intending to catch an earlier flight. The Gardai took him to a room where he received a call from a sergeant in the Leicester police who broke the grim news (no survivors) to him. He then asked Ryanair if he could change his evening flight to East Midlands to an earlier flight and they said he would have to purchase a new ticket so he paid up.

Give MOL his due, he didn't try to hide behind the usual 'we're conducting an investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment' BS. Instead he came straight out and said that the people who made Dr. Satter buy a new ticket were following company procedures.

However his crocodile tears for Dr. Satter need to be taken with a large pinch of salt, story below from the Indo in 2008...

Funeral flights bring in best profits, says Ryanair boss

HARD-pressed funeral goers are Ryanair's most profitable customers, chief executive Michael O'Leary revealed unapologetically yesterday


http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/funeral-flights-bring-in-best-profits-says-ryanair-boss-26452014.html

Tenger

Impetus wrote: »

Ryanair is another Nokia in the works. Nokia was big, and now is almost gone.......

With the RY share price tumbling, having to deal with the fact that Ryanair is the most hated airline in Europe ........not to mention it being “Britain’s least favourite brand”, it seems to me that O’Leary is starting to finally, finally wake up from his slumber of arrogance.
..........
..........
..........
Ryanair’s change of “tone” is too little, too late. Three months to de-nastyize the website - a timeframe that is alarming in its modesty.

I wouldn't characterise the share dip as "tumbling".

And a comparison with Nokia is not valid unless another aviation company suddenly develops an alternative to LCC than leave FR as the only airline still flying planes!

senorG

Impetus wrote: »

With the RY share price tumbling, having to deal with the fact that Ryanair is the most hated airline in Europe

Share price is hardly tumbling..Down 7% this month but up 41% for the year and 106% up over last 24 months. Carried a record 9million passengers last month, hardly in danger of extinction anytime soon.

coylemj

senorG wrote: »

Share price is hardly tumbling..Down 7% this month but up 41% for the year and 106% up over last 24 months. Carried a record 9million passengers last month, hardly in danger of extinction anytime soon.

+1 Too many posters jumping on the bandwagon saying things like that people will be 'leaving Ryanair in droves' in complete denial of the facts.

Yes, Ryanair's customer 'service' is sh1te but their passenger numbers keep going up year after year.

In the words of that international statesman Charles J. Haughey - 'go jump on some else's grave'

strettyend

sword1 wrote: »

You are talking as if ryanair are a company in trouble,i am proud that an irish airline carried 80 million people last year and find it strange how much bad feeling there is towards them.

there is no doubt they have been a tremendous success story but does that give them the right to be arrogant and downright rude to their customers? look at the recent event regarding the tragic story of the doctor changing his flight to the uk after getting the tragic news about his family in leicester. even after explaining the circumstances at check in he was still charged £ 150!! now i dont care if he got a refund or apology afterwards, where was the compassion or the humane side at that moment? it was the usual rules are rules. in all honesty do you think any other airline would have shown such heartlessness or coldness to this this tragic individual? didnt think so. as far as im concerned if they were gone in the morning it would be good riddence to bad rubbish.

IngazZagni

strettyend wrote: »

there is no doubt they have been a tremendous success story but does that give them the right to be arrogant and downright rude to their customers? look at the recent event regarding the tragic story of the doctor changing his flight to the uk after getting the tragic news about his family in leicester. even after explaining the circumstances at check in he was still charged £ 150!! now i dont care if he got a refund or apology afterwards, where was the compassion or the humane side at that moment? it was the usual rules are rules. in all honesty do you think any other airline would have shown such heartlessness or coldness to this this tragic individual? didnt think so. as far as im concerned if they were gone in the morning it would be good riddence to bad rubbish.

Yes I would. If you have ever worked at an airport or any other service industry you would know that people are willing to go to incredible lengths to lie their way out of additional charges. It's not unreasonable for them to dismiss the claims until proof is provided. Such was the case here.

Besides O'leary has said for years that there will come a time when Ryanair will need to soften its image. It may have come a bit sooner than he thought though.

I am glad that they are going to revamp the website. It has become a pain to navigate in recent times and compared to the likes of the easyjet website, it pails in comparison.

urajoke

Haters gonna hate.

Now imagine a world without Ryanair.

How much will your fare go up ? And will it be worth it simply to have a nice website and 'happy' crew ?

Apparently it's ok for every other BUSINESS to constantly batter you with adverts for their services while in shops etc but not Ryanair. I have had far worse customer service over the years on average from Aer Lingus CC.

Now we have the usual predictions of doom and gloom from posters, predicting Ryanairs demise, I laugh at that one, name one airline that has failed because of a poor website or customer service, go on name on, name a major player with 80 million passengers per year. You can't because none have and to suggest Ryanair will is ludicrous.

But please do continue to entertain me it is fun to read these posts, cheap entertainment after all.

S ireland 2013

Foggy43 wrote: »

The 6.01 news and Daily Mail seem to have the answer. It appears Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar, whose family where murderd, was charged for a ticket change when trying to get back to the UK. It looks as though he missed his planned flight as the Gardai took him to a quiet room so the UK Police could break the full devastating news.This appears to have put Ryanair in a very embarrasing position. Mr. O'Leary said the money has been refunded and has personally appologised to Dr. Muhammad Taufiq al-Sattar.

Awful story and my thoughts are with him , what awful news to receive , may they RIP.
Regarding the refund the staff member correctly implemented the company's policy as it would be with "any" passenger who arrived at an airport to change their flight due to a family bereavement??? it's just very unfortunate that it got blown out of proportion and Into the news as this sad story has been a major headline for the past week or so;

Ryanair website ;
3.1.7
"In the case of a bereavement of an immediate family member (spouse, civil partner, mother, father (including step parents), mother/father in law, brother, sister (including step siblings), brother/sister in law, child (including step child), grandparent or grandchild) within 28 days of intended travel we will, upon application made as soon as reasonably practicable but in any event by the proposed date of travel and accompanied by a copy of the applicable death certificate, make a refund in line with Article 10.2."


Therefore the staff member was ( as instructed and implemented in the company) charging for the change and on receipt of a death certificate in weeks or months to come or Whenever he was able to submit it.....a refund would be processed .

Without a death cert where is the proof? I know this story has been headline news however the staff Member followed the procedure,
I'm Sure many many ppl out of the 80M they carry PA arrive to airports
With awful stories with the need to change flights and travel fast, as with all airlines aer lingus BA etc you pay to change the flight there and then and write to CS dept for a refund..

If not I'm sure many people would have an "emergency" or "bereavement" seeking a free flight Move...

S ireland 2013

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Gosh he is really going for the charm offensive today! :
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ryanair-apologises-to-tragic-dublin-surgeon-after-charging-him-188-to-switch-29592819.html

Awful story and my thoughts are with him , what awful news to receive , may they RIP.
Regarding the refund the staff member correctly implemented the company's policy as it would be with "any" passenger who arrived at an airport to change their flight due to a family bereavement??? it's just very unfortunate that it got blown out of proportion and Into the news as this sad story has been a major headline for the past week or so;

Ryanair website ;
3.1.7
"In the case of a bereavement of an immediate family member (spouse, civil partner, mother, father (including step parents), mother/father in law, brother, sister (including step siblings), brother/sister in law, child (including step child), grandparent or grandchild) within 28 days of intended travel we will, upon application made as soon as reasonably practicable but in any event by the proposed date of travel and accompanied by a copy of the applicable death certificate, make a refund in line with Article 10.2."


Therefore the staff member was ( as instructed and implemented in the company) charging for the change and on receipt of a death certificate in weeks or months to come or Whenever he was able to submit it.....a refund would be processed .

Without a death cert where is the proof? I know this story has been headline news however the staff Member followed the procedure,
I'm Sure many many ppl out of the 80M they carry PA arrive to airports
With awful stories with the need to change flights and travel fast, as with all airlines aer lingus BA etc you pay to change the flight there and then and write to CS dept for a refund..

If not I'm sure many people would have an "emergency" or "bereavement" seeking a free flight Move...

adamski8

If i had to fly home for a funeral i wouldnt give two shiiitss about paying 150 more to change the flights, would kinda be the last thing i would be thinking about. I dont think the guy is short of money either so i dont see why this is a story

roundymac

[QUOTE=S

Without a death cert where is the proof? I know this story has been headline news however the staff Member followed the procedure,
I'm Sure many many ppl out of the 80M they carry PA arrive to airports
With awful stories with the need to change flights and travel fast, as with all airlines aer lingus BA etc you pay to change the flight there and then and write to CS dept for a refund..

If not I'm sure many people would have an "emergency" or "bereavement" seeking a free flight Move...[/QUOTE]
Exact same procedure with EI, no refund until you produce the Death Cert.

Peppa Pig

There is one thing about not paying excessively for a flight to go to your Granny's funeral but another about travelling home when you have just found out your wife and children were murdered.
Very few (if any) people in Ireland knew this man actually worked here when the story broke, so I can understand the Ryanair employee.

What I can't understand is the guards not speaking to Ryanair on his behalf. They brought him into a separate room, gave him news that destroyed his life and apparently allowed him to make his own way home. Seems very strange and un-Garda-like.

LuckyLloyd

urajoke wrote: »

Haters gonna hate.

Now imagine a world without Ryanair.

How much will your fare go up ? And will it be worth it simply to have a nice website and 'happy' crew ?

Apparently it's ok for every other BUSINESS to constantly batter you with adverts for their services while in shops etc but not Ryanair. I have had far worse customer service over the years on average from Aer Lingus CC.

Now we have the usual predictions of doom and gloom from posters, predicting Ryanairs demise, I laugh at that one, name one airline that has failed because of a poor website or customer service, go on name on, name a major player with 80 million passengers per year. You can't because none have and to suggest Ryanair will is ludicrous.

But please do continue to entertain me it is fun to read these posts, cheap entertainment after all.

Not a whole lot, if at all. If Ryanair disappeared, another airline (or group of airlines) would step into that portion of the market. Ryanair have demonstrated the template, low fare air travel is here to stay. They're just a business, if they disappeared it wouldn't be a great loss. The new company might treat the staff switching jobs with a modicum of decency too.

eusap

Looking at the facts rather than the Ryanair haters, Ryanair's charm offensive has nothing to do with falling shares prices or low passenger numbers. In august they carried 9 million people, at least twice the population of Ireland its hardly a falling airline.

The new charm offensive is more to do with the business traveler and i guess is part of the growth strategy to get past the 100million mark. A lot of companies out there don't let staff book flights with credit cards but have to go through travel agencies especially in central Europe, by allowing travel agents access and i guess receiving a % cut on the sale price will clear this barrier.

The next argument of the business traveler who do book with their own credit cards is that with the Ryanair site its not possible to save a profile to reduce the number of tick boxes and options, so i hope this will be addressed with the site upgrade.

Another argument business travellers use is that its hard to get a proper invoice for expense reasons, so i hope this is addressed.

And the last argument is the biggest argument for business travellers is that what happens when i need to cancel or change my flight i need a number to contact and talk to a real person. So i guess this will be the new customer focus.

As a business traveller who takes over a 100 flights a year and have no problem using Ryanair these points will make it a more useable airline

urajoke

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Not a whole lot, if at all. If Ryanair disappeared, another airline (or group of airlines) would step into that portion of the market. Ryanair have demonstrated the template, low fare air travel is here to stay. They're just a business, if they disappeared it wouldn't be a great loss. The new company might treat the staff switching jobs with a modicum of decency too.

So you don't think that after an airline that carried 80million disappears that your fare would go up anything or by just a small bit ? Really ?

So an airline suddenly gets a monopoly, they won't increase fares ?

All those small routes most people wouldn't have considered now unserviced, would immediately be covered ?

Wow Ryanair would be surprised to hear they in your opinion have no impact on current air fares.

Zonda999

This has been needed for a while, even coming from someone who like Ryanair! However, I think this is more about perception rather than actions. I mean, its going to be the same Ryanair without the arrogant (And often entertaining) vibe.

Lets be honest here, Ryanair is clearly seen as the lowest of the low in terms of EU LCC's, maybe along with Wizz air these days. Point being there is clear divide between them and, say Easyjet and up and coming LCC's like Norweigan, Transavia. Vueling, Germanwings.. This is despite, as far as I can see not a huge difference in cost base between the lot. Obviously, Ryanair don;t go to some of the bigger airports that those slightly more premium LCC's go but while that should only affect fares on those particular routes, it also does image damage as far as I can see..

Sure enough we don't get a lot of those carriers in Ireland, probably because of Ryanairs huge presence, but we have Aer Lingus who aren't far off them. Now, I also like Aer Lingus. TBH, I think their model represents what more and more "flag carriers" will do in future when they discover their short haul ops cannot make money in current form in light of competition from carriers like Norweigian and Easyjet. Point being Aer Lingus are not an expensive airline but still have the perception of a quality service and flying to major airports. So now we have a situation whereby people can and do routinely choose EI over Ryanair because its not that more expensive if at all in some cases.

It sounds like a bit of a cliché but its definitely happening, people paying more on the same routes just to avoid Ryanair. I can definitely see it happening on more medium haul routes such as Ireland to the Canaires for example. Flights with either will be reasonably expensive so why not pay the small charge extra to go with Ei to avoid Ryanair.

Carawaystick

I thought the main issue here is FR are going to allow travel agents book flights, mainly for corporate bookings, where big companies *only* book flights with an agent, or use Amex or the like.

So FR will sell flights for say 100 to punters on the website and 150 to the corporates giving a tenner to the agent and keeping the 40 extra

And allowing flexible ticketing for probably 2x their expected marginal fare

donvito99

Just saw my first Ryanair ad in years there. Wow, it's basic!

Bebop

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Ryanair have demonstrated the template, low fare air travel is here to stay. They're just a business, if they disappeared it wouldn't be a great loss. The new company might treat the staff switching jobs with a modicum of decency too.

If Ryanair were to fail, would that not prove the opposite? that the LCC template does not work? I certainly hope not

I would count myself as a supporter of Ryanair but I will choose Aer Lingus where available at a similar price.

I travelled from LGW to Dublin by Ryanair last year, I prefer Gatwick over the other London airports but they have a policy of holding departing passengers in the central waiting area in of the main terminal and do not announce the gate number until the flight is ready to board, about 30 minutes before departure, this results in huddles of FR passengers watching the monitors followed by a cavalry charge as soon as the gate number comes up, the fleet of foot get the best seats once they get past the baggage size check

Ryanair should sack the Gate Nazi's and allow you to book your seat online, this would make them unbeatable in my opinion

GTE

Bebop wrote: »

If Ryanair were to fail, would that not prove the opposite? that the LCC template does not work? I certainly hope not

To be fair, the comments you are responding to are about if Ryanair didn't exist from tomorrow. Nothing to do with market conditions forcing them to close.

flazio

Bebop wrote: »

Ryanair should sack the Gate Nazi's and allow you to book your seat online, this would make them unbeatable in my opinion

They already do that, for a price of course.

Bebop

Ryanair allow a few seats to be booked, I imagine that they see it as a money spinner, what I am talking about is having all seats to be reserved same as Aer Lingus, this would do away with the chaos of Ryanair Boarding with passengers queuing up a rickety air stair (perhaps in the rain)trying to balance their oversize cabin bag on one step at a time as the queue inches forward, it would also allow phased boarding,

If FR want to charge everybody €10 for seat allocation that's their call, the system is in place and would cost nothing to implement,

Peppa Pig

Bebop wrote: »

If FR want to charge everybody €10 for seat allocation that's their call, the system is in place and would cost nothing to implement,

This is the one thing I don't like about Ryanair, although when you are a wheelchair passenger they reserve seats for your full group.

But I always thought they don't reserve seats to ensure they do faster turnarounds than Aer Lingus. Their planes are usually turned around in 20-30 minutes, unlikely to happen if everyone just strolls on.

Stovepipe

the 25 minute turnaround is a myth, just like their alleged on time arrivals.
regards
Stovepipe

Peppa Pig

Stovepipe wrote: »

the 25 minute turnaround is a myth, just like their alleged on time arrivals.
regards
Stovepipe

I've seen a plane arrive at the gate and and 25 minutes later be heading back towards the runway, seen it several times. I've rarely seen a Ryanair plane arrive late (in the last 10 years anyway.)
regards
Peppa Pig

bikeman1

Stovepipe wrote: »

the 25 minute turnaround is a myth, just like their alleged on time arrivals.
regards
Stovepipe

Far from it in my experience. I timed it at BHX one evening on a DUB turnaround. From doors open to doors closed with approx 85-90% loadings on both flights it took 22.5 minutes.

Another recent flight with them and it was 25 minutes all told and we had 180 on board. So it is definitely possible and not a myth.

The scrum situation definitely encourages you to rush on the plane, hence a faster boarding.

Fagashlil

Stovepipe wrote: »

the 25 minute turnaround is a myth, just like their alleged on time arrivals.
regards
Stovepipe

Not a myth, do it up to six times daily, up to 5 days a week. The exception being some of the Spanish flights wher the use of an airbridge is required, and the turnaround is scheduled for 35 minutes, and on a double LGW, where there's a 50 minute turnaround in DUB.

dubdaymo

Bebop wrote: »

I travelled from LGW to Dublin by Ryanair last year, I prefer Gatwick over the other London airports but they have a policy of holding departing passengers in the central waiting area in of the main terminal and do not announce the gate number until the flight is ready to board, about 30 minutes before departure,

You must have been unlucky. I'm a very regular flyer through LGW South Terminal and this has never happened in my experience. I can't recall even one occasion when the FR aircraft was even at the gate yet having gone through the Gate checks and into the lounge. I like to watch 'em arrive, LOL.

sunnysoutheast

dubdaymo wrote: »

You must have been unlucky. I'm a very regular flyer through LGW South Terminal and this has never happened in my experience. I can't recall even one occasion when the FR aircraft was even at the gate yet having gone through the Gate checks and into the lounge. I like to watch 'em arrive, LOL.

Off-topic but the Gatwick sprint happens with EI too. You'll be in the business lounge and the flight will go from "Expected nn:nn" to "Flight Closing" with no stages inbetween. A mad dash later and you're in a massive queue to have your ticket and passport checked.

Shamrock841

Stovepipe wrote: »

the 25 minute turnaround is a myth, just like their alleged on time arrivals.
regards
Stovepipe

No myth! As an ex baggage handler I've been on some very quick turnarounds! LPL-ORK-LPL was one of the quickest ever, 19 mins from being chocked to pushback.

Bebop

dubdaymo wrote: »

You must have been unlucky. I'm a very regular flyer through LGW South Terminal and this has never happened in my experience. I can't recall even one occasion when the FR aircraft was even at the gate yet having gone through the Gate checks and into the lounge. I like to watch 'em arrive, LOL.

It helps if you are familiar with the terminal and can anticipate the gate that will be used, most of us have to rely on the monitors