A kind, more gentle Ryanair

MadsL

Michael O’Leary, the brash and combative chief executive of Ryanair, says he is not a regular on the dinner party circuit. But the public abuse he receives about his airline’s customer service when he eats out at McDonald’s with his children is clearly getting to him.

In an apparent U-turn for Mr O’Leary – who regularly makes headlines for his tirades against competitors, regulators and government ministers – he has pledged to soften Ryanair’s image and overhaul the airline’s customer relations strategy.

“We should try and eliminate things that unnecessarily piss people off,”

So, when are you resigning Michael?

I have flown both Southwest (Ryanair's heroes) and Ryanair. Southwest are head and shoulders better than Ryanair without all the silly stuff.

So, would you be more inclined to fly with them if they fired their Sneaky Tricks team?

smileyj1987

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdnQLDcDVSc

Cody Pomeray

I don't think the problem is how they treat cutomers. Their customers are getting sun holiday flights for 100 odd quid. They could call most people motherfu*cking c*cksuckers as they board the plane for all most customers care.

Btw, I don't understand see why this story leads in RTE's headlines.

As an aside, there is one serious problem with how Ryanair operates, and that's how they treat their staff, and how they encourage other carriers to treat airline staff generally. Although Ryanair's policy toward their staff is legal, I personally find it irresponsible and exploitative. It's the "rude" staff I feel sorry for.

SEPT 23 1989

I'm just glad Michael chooses to live in Ireland and pay astronomical amounts of tax into the exchequer unlike some of our other Irish business patriots

Peregrine

I never had a problem with their customer service so it doesn't really change anything.

The only problem I have with Ryanair is how they threat their staff.

Fr_Dougal

Oh Michael...master troll...

Nodin

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

As an aside, there is one serious problem with how Ryanair operates, and that's how they treat their staff, and how they encourage other carriers to treat airline staff generally. Although Ryanair's policy toward their staff is legal, I personally find it irresponsible and exploitative. It's the "rude" staff I feel sorry for.

The above.

Conmaicne Mara

Have flown with them, have no problem with them. If their staff don't like their working conditions, who's forcing them to work there?

Ryanair, does what it says on the tin.

Nodin

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

Have flown with them, have no problem with them. If their staff don't like their working conditions, who's forcing them to work there?

.

...in a country that has about 400,000 unemployed?

ScumLord

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

As an aside, there is one serious problem with how Ryanair operates, and that's how they treat their staff, and how they encourage other carriers to treat airline staff generally. Although Ryanair's policy toward their staff is legal, I personally find it irresponsible and exploitative. It's the "rude" staff I feel sorry for.

It's going to have a knock on effect with passengers too, you can see the staff are at their wits end and take it out on passengers.

What turns me off is their website. It's like it's been purposely made into the internet's worst website just so it can catch you out. It's like they read a book on how to make a user friendly website and did the exact opposite of what it recommends.

I would always buy tickets online so that's the only interaction I have with Ryanair and it's been enough to make me avoid using using them.

I absolutely love Ryanair. If I'm flying shorthaul to places like England or Continental Europe, then it's fine - you don't need luxuries when you're only flying around 45 minutes - 4 hours. Have never had problems with staff nor have I had problems with their flights, so they get a constant thumbs up from me. However, if I was flying long-haul, then of course I'd go with another carrier.

BoB_BoT

It looks like the "U-Turn" is a response based on the flack they're getting for the below. The real question is are they trying to improve customer service or is it just lip service to get the press off their backs about the below.

Surgeon Muhammad Taufiq Sattar had to pay nearly £160 to change his regular evening Ryanair flight to the UK to an earlier one moments after he was told it was likely his family were dead.

The 52-year-old flew over to see his family in Leicester almost every week and had his return ticket booked to travel last Friday as usual.

But after being woken and told at 3am last Friday that his family’s house was on fire, he immediately changed his plans deciding he needed to get over to the UK as soon as possible.

Arriving in Dublin Airport at around 5.30am, and just moments after Leicester Police had confirmed by phone that no member of his family had managed to escape the blaze, he approached the Ryanair check-in desk to see if he could change his ticket.

Distraught, and with tears streaming down his face, he explained why he had to change his flight from 9.40pm to East Midlands Airport in Leicester later in the day so he could catch the 6.30am flight to Birmingham instead. But he was told he would have to buy a new ticket.

The stunned neurosurgeon produced his credit card and was promptly charged €187.46 - approximately £158 - for a one-way ticket to Birmingham.

In his first interview since returning to his west Dublin home in Castleknock on Wednesday night, he told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I don’t want to make a big deal about it but it did shock me. I really did not expect them to charge me.

‘I thought, given the circumstances, they might just let me transfer flights, as I had already paid for a return fare.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2426352/Ryanair-forced-distraught-father-pay-160-change-flight-moments-learning-family-died-house-fire.html

I know I've quoted the daily mail, but it's been on the radio etc... today.

Menas

A kinder more gentle Ryan air will smile as they fleece you with their sneaky charges.
Awwww.

Conmaicne Mara

Nodin wrote: »

...in a country that has about 400,000 unemployed?

They can take a Ryanair flight out :rolleyes:

wil

Feckity feckity feckity feckity feckity feckity feck

Savoir.Faire

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

I don't think the problem is how they treat cutomers. Their customers are getting sun holiday flights for 100 odd quid. They could call most people motherfu*cking c*cksuckers as they board the plane for all most customers care.

.

It would be rather funny if the hostess said 'hello you cocksucker, enjoy your flight' as you were boarding. Maybe punch you in the face as well.

bumper234

BoB_BoT wrote: »

It looks like the "U-Turn" is a response based on the flack they're getting for the below. The real question is are they trying to improve customer service or is it just lip service to get the press off their backs about the below.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2426352/Ryanair-forced-distraught-father-pay-160-change-flight-moments-learning-family-died-house-fire.html

I know I've quoted the daily mail, but it's been on the radio etc... today.

It's terrible what happened to that man and his family but to be fair to the Ryanair staff if they crumbled to every sob story they would be sacked.

Trigger Happy

Trigger Happy wrote: »

A kinder more gentle Ryan air will smile as they fleece you with their sneaky charges.
Awwww.

Even with their "sneaky charges", they still work out cheaper than a lot of their competitors.

wil

bumper234 wrote: »

It's terrible what happened to that man and his family but to be fair to the Ryanair staff if they crumbled to every sob story they would be sacked.

There's sob stories, and then there's tragedy.
Even MOL realised how wrong it was got.
Mind you his choice of words left a little to be desired.

Elbaston

Ryanair treats us mean, but we can't leave cause we love them too much, maybe we can change Ryanair if we have a little time, Ryanair doesn't mean to hurt us, its our own fault ... we complain too much, we make Ryanir do it, we deserve it.

bumper234

wil wrote: »

There's sob stories, and then there's tragedy.
Even MOL realised how wrong it was got.
Mind you his choice of words left a little to be desired.

I agree but the news of this had not broken so no one knew his name or what had happened. For all RA staff knew he was just a guy with a story.

Menas

Eh....I wonder if the Ryanair cyberwatch team are reading this....will boards be getting a court order to hand over our email and ip addresses.....will I go to jail for slagging off ryanair?

Menas

Deleted User wrote: »

Even with their "sneaky charges", they still work out cheaper than a lot of their competitors.

I don't disagree. I have not flown with them for about two years now, way too much hassle for little saving.

For a few quid extra I prefer to use an alternative where I can.

I work a lot in eindhoven and I had no choice as only ryan air fly direct to eindhoven. But they pissed me off so much that I now prefer to fly aer lingus to amsterdam and get the train up.

Nodin

Savoir.Faire wrote: »

It would be rather funny if the hostess said 'hello you cocksucker, enjoy your flight' as you were boarding. Maybe punch you in the face as well.

No, no.

"If we die its ALL. YOUR. FAULT!!!!!."

Chinasea

MadsL wrote: »

So, when are you resigning Michael?

I have flown both Southwest (Ryanair's heroes) and Ryanair. Southwest are head and shoulders better than Ryanair without all the silly stuff.

So, would you be more inclined to fly with them if they fired their Sneaky Tricks team?

Southwest weren't blocked at every corner by the crooked cronyism'd government backed Mob\DAA\ cosy Aer Lingus cartel that Ryanair are and continue to be subjected to.

People have very short memories.

kowloon

bumper234 wrote: »

It's terrible what happened to that man and his family but to be fair to the Ryanair staff if they crumbled to every sob story they would be sacked.

I wonder if the same employees might be the scapegoats up for sacrifice when things like this go wrong.

Feathers

He forgot to mention that if you want the nice pleasant staff that'll be a €50 surcharge.

up for anything

Ryanair is the Dublin Bus of the skies. If you want more than to get from A to B the cheapest possible way than pay the fares that other airlines charge and quit complaining.

Back in the 80s travelling by air was the preserve of the very comfortably off - now most people can afford to fly, even just for the weekend or an overnight stay :eek:. I remember costing a return flight (either Aer Lingus or British Midlands at the time) to Dublin over the Christmas holidays back in the late 80s - ST£285 and that was booking it in September. How much would that be in Euro if it was this Christmas I was trying to book it for - far more than most people could afford.

Grandeeod

Less of this sneaky Ryanair crap. Aer Lingus are just as sneaky.

I fly Ryanair regularly when it suits. If it doesn't suit I fly Aer Lingus. Over the years I have found Aer Lingus more flexible when I have to carry extra baggage. For example a few kilos over in your checked in case, no problem. You can carry a man bag on board with your hand luggage. Small differences, but if you try to expand on Aer Lingus generosity, you get screwed. Here's the example.

I decided to fly Aer lingus with one checked in case, hand luggage and man bag. I opted to bring another case with work related equipment and check it in online at 9 yo yos a kilo. I didn't mind paying for it. It was cheaper than Ryanair, until I realised that Aer Lingus only allow you to check in a maximum of 12 kilos excess online. After that you have to pay the difference at the airport and its 15 yo yos per kilo! Even the staff were embarrassed. I paid up but could not get an answer beyond "you are punished" (nice phrase) for doing this.

So while Michael O'Leary may say we don't want your ****ing checked in bags, Aer Lingus are catching up. As for service on the route I regularly fly, feck all difference between both airlines except price. Aer
lingus on my regular route are like a flying old folks home with passengers bemoaning the good oul days and taking every opportunity to berate Ryanair.

Yamanoto

Grandeeod wrote: »

As for service on the route I regularly fly, feck all difference between both airlines except price. Aer
lingus on my regular route are like a flying old folks home with passengers bemoaning the good oul days and taking every opportunity to berate Ryanair.

Hmm....

What route is that?

Grandeeod

Yamanoto wrote: »

Hmm....

What route is that?

What? You don't believe me? I fly 20,000 miles a year on it and I get a Hmm...:D

Tenerife - Dublin.

anncoates

I don't care how they treat their staff as it used to be a million pounds to fly to London and now it's 10 cent and if you don't like them, don't fly them and i wish MOL was in government.

Did I get that all right?

Femme_Fatale

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

They can take a Ryanair flight out :rolleyes:

You could say "Nobody forces them to work there" about anywhere, to justify crap working conditions. It's a stupid argument. Nothing justifies crap working conditions.

S ireland 2013

BoB_BoT wrote: »

It looks like the "U-Turn" is a response based on the flack they're getting for the below. The real question is are they trying to improve customer service or is it just lip service to get the press off their backs about the below.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2426352/Ryanair-forced-distraught-father-pay-160-change-flight-moments-learning-family-died-house-fire.html

I know I've quoted the daily mail, but it's been on the radio etc... today.

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...

Lapin

MadsL wrote: »

I have flown both Southwest (Ryanair's heroes) and Ryanair. Southwest are head and shoulders better than Ryanair without all the silly stuff.

Good for you.

Let me know when they start flying from Dublin to Gatwick and I'll do the same.

In the meantime I'll continue using Ryanair for 50 odd quid flights.

rubadub

Savoir.Faire wrote: »

It would be rather funny if the hostess said 'hello you cocksucker, enjoy your flight' as you were boarding. Maybe punch you in the face as well.

I'm amazed they still have so many air stewards on planes, surely they could cut down on them, or find a way to get rid of them altogether. They could have an overpriced vending machine on the plane to still get that revenue.

I presume you could just have a video of safety instructions, I have seen this on other planes in foreign languages. Maybe they do need some safety personnel by law or something.

up for anything wrote: »

Ryanair is the Dublin Bus of the skies. If you want more than to get from A to B the cheapest possible way than pay the fares that other airlines charge and quit complaining.

I always was amused by people moaning about having to "suffer" a smallish seat for 60mins after getting a flight for next to nothing (exluding taxes) yet the same person would might not complain as much about having to stand for 80-90mins on a packed bus in rushour.

UDP

From my experience flying ryanair very regularly a few years ago I always found the staff to be the nice ones and some other passengers to be w@nkers. I used to sit in the front row boarding and saw how people treated the Ryanair staff with disdain even though I just witnessed the staff member being very friendly and helpful to the passenger before this w@nker.

The problem with ryanair is one of perception. Some people assume the staff are a$$holes and preemptively treat the staff badly thus confirming their prejudice when they don't get a friendly answer back.

The other issue is the staff having to be strict with f'ucking idiots who cannot follow simple rules. The idiotic customers confuse strictness with being an a$$hole.

FoxyVixen

bumper234 wrote: »

It's terrible what happened to that man and his family but to be fair to the Ryanair staff if they crumbled to every sob story they would be sacked.

It's understandable that they shouldn't consider every "sob" story, but in this specific case, it was a regular and weekly customer who was pretty much told to bend over and cough up. You would think Ryanair could have accommodated him a bit better due to these specific set of circumstances.

Poor man losing his family like that

UDP

FoxyVixen wrote: »

It's understandable that they shouldn't consider every "sob" story, but in this specific case, it was a regular and weekly customer who was pretty much told to bend over and cough up. You would think Ryanair could have accommodated him a bit better due to these specific set of circumstances.

Poor man losing his family like that

Horrible what happened to his family but how do the Ryanair staff know what happened to this guy's family? People are constantly lying to chance their arm to get away without paying charges and don't underestimate the stuff people will make up. Also the staff member would not have access to information as to how frequent a flyer someone is. Also this guy was a surgeon - I doubt he had any financial issue paying the fee and claiming it back at a later date as per ryanairs policy. Could make the argument maybe if someone didn't have the money to get back to their home country but then again that is why people have the option of insurance to cover such fees.

Banjoxed

I think at this stage there isn't anyone in Ireland, Britain and probably the rest of Europe that doesn't know what the Ryanair experience is all about. Would I want to work for them? No. But I do fly with them. Most of my poor experiences flying in recent years have had nothing to do with Ryanair, as I find the vast majority of their people are decent as long as you stay on the right side of their "rules". Instead, gaining access to Airside is the hurdle in most airports and O'Leary can't be blamed for that.

snubbleste

Ryanair CEO says staff had no discretion, like I suspected.

Mr O’Leary added Dr Al Sattar had been refunded the extra charge and said that the booking change was handled according to the airline’s policy, which staff are told to implement without exception or variation http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2427845/We-eliminate-things-p--people-Ryanairs-Michael-OLeary-vows-stop-annoying-customers-macho-culture.html#ixzz2fWNvlozR

Seaneh

I REALLY don't get the ryanair hate.

I've flown with them and Aerlingus umpteen times as well as most of the major European and US airlines and I far, far, far prefer Ryanair to almost all of them.

You don't get a meal, so what. airplane food is rancid and unless you're flying more than 5-6 hours, eat before you get on the plane.
You don't get a drink, so whatm the flights where you go get a drink are stupidly expensive.
You don't get a checked bag, so what, even with a checked bag Ryanair flights usually work out about the same as an aerlingus flight, and you don't get a checked bag with them either! Unless you're going away for more than a week, you can fit everything you need in a carry-on.

I've never had a problem with Ryanair because I follow the rules, my bag fits the allowance, I make sure it's not over weight, if it's going to be overweight I just check it and bring a bigger bag, I print my pass before getting to the airport, I check in online and I arrive on time to check in and board comfortably. If you do these simple things, there are no problems.

Aerlingus, flights are more expensive, you get the same service, no checked bag, checked bag costs about the same as ryanair, no meal and I've had more delayed hours waiting for flights with Aerlingus than all the other airlines I've flown combined! I'm actually in the process of claiming compensation from the muppets for leaving me (and several hundred others) stranded in Madrid for 7 hours a few years ago which meant my flight didn't get to Dublin until after 1am and I had to spend a night in terminal 1 waiting for the next bus home when I should have been home in bed by 11pm, and all we got during our wait was the poor swiss air checkin staff apologising and saying they don' know what's happening because Aerlingus aren't givng them answers and a voucher for a ****ty sandwich and 183ml can of coke.

Most of the "good" European airlines like Air France, AlItalia, British Airways, Ibarian, etc charge far more for a flight and a checked bag (it's not a free checked bag, it's included in the price of the ticket) then ryanair on average and the service is no better.

There are few airlines who are actually worth paying a premium for, and the ones that are, the premium is too high for me and most others to justify for a few hours on a plane unless it's a seriously long haul flight.

Thank feck for Ryanair, thanks to them I've seen a lot of Europe for next to nothing and never once had a lost bag or delayed flight.

Collie D

It's O'Leary realising he hasn't been in the papers in a few weeks. Says something and we're all talking about it.

Do I like the man? No, I think he's a loudmouth just for the sake of it.

Is he a good PR man? Yes

Do I choose my flights based on whether I like the airline's chairman or because it's cheap? Cheap wins every time

John.Icy

Absolutely don't understand people constantly ****ing on about sneaky charges.

1.Book your tickets.
2.Book a bag if you need to.

Then if you don't want to pay nothing more, THEN DON'T BLOODY CLICK ON ANYTHING.

Like really, if you are lazy and end up renting a car or hiring a bus tour on arrival, that is your fault and no one elses. Learn how to use the internet.


Also, regarding rude staff, watch some of those Airline shows. Most customers are unbelievably ignorant, I genuinely was about to try google search one man so I could go to him and boot him up the ares. Staff deal with unreal ****, so take a look at yourself and maybe you'll realise why staff aren't kind to you, because they sure as heck were to me.

Bananatop

I can't see O'Leary being bothered about anyone unless Ryanair was making a loss. Changing their approach to customer service because of one customer? That certainly doesn't sound like Ryanair company policy.

conorhal

I'd be more inclined to fly Ryanair if they flew to within an asses roar of the actual destination that I booked.
When you compare flights between Ryanair and their competitors you're often not comparing like with like, I find that when they fly to the same airport as an Aerlingus flight then typically the fare is about the same.
Personally it's worth it to me to pay a small permium to avoid the additional cost, stress and bother of having to catch several connections to get to where Aerlingus or BA fly to.

I do agree that they need to ditch the punitative attitude. I fell sorry for their staff that must have to constantly battle with angry passengers over the enforcement of petty rules. It absolutely does put me off flying with them, who needs to start a trip witih a fine for having a case that is a couple of millimeters too big for their baggage checks or wondering if you buy a bottle in the duty free are they going to have a strop about 'additional carry on luggage. When booking a flight I like a minimum of hassle and as a result, Ryanair is the last site I'll check for a flight rather then the first, and I know I'm not alone in that, which can't be good for business in the long run.

branie

I wonder what Frances Duff thinks of this

Conmaicne Mara

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

You could say "Nobody forces them to work there" about anywhere, to justify crap working conditions. It's a stupid argument. Nothing justifies crap working conditions.

They've two choices, improve their own conditions or quit. Anything else is fantasy land thinking.

Ryanair provide a good service to those of us capable enough to realise we're not going to be wrapped in cotton wool or spoilt. They get people roughly from A-B without fuss or large cost.

Well done them for providing that service, as anyone who had to rely on the previous tender mercies of a pre-Ryanair time will know well.

AlekSmart

Collie D wrote: »

It's O'Leary realising he hasn't been in the papers in a few weeks. Says something and we're all talking about it.

Do I like the man? No, I think he's a loudmouth just for the sake of it.

Is he a good PR man? Yes

Do I choose my flights based on whether I like the airline's chairman or because it's cheap? Cheap wins every time

But he's NOT a PR man.....he's the CEO of,what must be,THE most successful Irish business in recent times ?

I would imagine he is a PR man's worst nightmare,as he insists on tellin it like it is rather than referencing every corporate pronouncement off the PR Department to be sanitized before release.

There's something quite bizarre about just how viciously engaged we get when one of our own manages to make a REAL go of something,in a manner which totally transformed the reality of Affordable Air-Travel for Hundreds of Thousands of Irish People....It's almost as if we want to queue up and pay more to be patronized and fawned over ??

steve_wonder

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

I don't think the problem is how they treat cutomers. Their customers are getting sun holiday flights for 100 odd quid. They could call most people motherfu*cking c*cksuckers as they board the plane for all most customers care.

Btw, I don't understand see why this story leads in RTE's headlines.

As an aside, there is one serious problem with how Ryanair operates, and that's how they treat their staff, and how they encourage other carriers to treat airline staff generally. Although Ryanair's policy toward their staff is legal, I personally find it irresponsible and exploitative. It's the "rude" staff I feel sorry for.

do Ryanair mistreat their staff ?

I thought they pay their staff quite well

Femme_Fatale

Conmaicne Mara wrote: »

They've two choices, improve their own conditions or quit. Anything else is fantasy land thinking.

I don't think you'd agree if you were being treated badly at work that you should "improve your own conditions". How on earth does one do that if the conditions are not the result of their own doing?

Ryanair provide a good service to those of us capable enough to realise we're not going to be wrapped in cotton wool or spoilt. They get people roughly from A-B without fuss or large cost.

AlekSmart wrote: »

There's something quite bizarre about just how viciously engaged we get when one of our own manages to make a REAL go of something,in a manner which totally transformed the reality of Affordable Air-Travel for Hundreds of Thousands of Irish People....It's almost as if we want to queue up and pay more to be patronized and fawned over ??

Speak for yourself with your "we". Nobody is saying Ryanair should wrap customers up in cotton-wool, spoil them, fawn over them - quit with the stupid strawmans. And once again with the "We" are so resentful towards one of "our own" doing well for themselves. Tell me this: where's the resentment towards Daft.ie, Dunnes Stores, SuperQuinn? There isn't, because the dislike of successful Irish people just for being Irish and successful... is. all. in. the. imagination.

Ryanair's low fares are great - well done to them. This does not need to be accompanied with disdain towards their customers/staff, that's all there is to it.