Has O.Leary made a Ratneresque statement?

[Bongtrees]

Just read the O.Leary has said in order to save money he wants to dispense with a co-pilot and in an emergency a stewardess would have to land the plane.

[julian]

I´m surprised he doesn´t expect a passenger to land it, and he´d probably charge that passenger for landing it !!

there is no such thing as bad publicity !!

[Colinm]

Why do we need 2 pilots for a journey of 2~3 hours. All it does is put up the costs. I would be quite happy with 1 pilot and trained cabin staff. Mostly George flies the plane anyway.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2 ... plane.html

[Bongtrees]

I guess you need two pilots because that is the law!

Given that R´air trolly dollies cant even do simple arithmetic (using a calculator to work out how much change is needed for a passenger buying 3.75 of goods and paying with a fiver) how could they land a plane?

[Bongtrees]

there is no such thing as bad publicity !!

except when your name is Gerald Ratner!

[Trigger]

I can't wait for the 'Fly Yourself' flights, they should be even cheaper!

[patchdog]

Can I fly the plane, please. I have an International driving licence.

[ajtg1952]

In the future, there will always be two in the cockpit; a man and a dog.

The dog is there to stop the man touching anything, and the man is there to feed the dog.

Get used to it !!!.....

[hiker]

The Full article is here

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-0 ... quest.html

Its a very good peice and well worth the read.
Dont mind the headline grabber; thats just Mick O doing his usual free-publicity stunt.

[costakid]

2 pilots needed in case 1 is taken ill. The cabin crew would'nt be cabin crew if they could fly planes, they would be pilots on 3 times the wages. Another paddy airways stunt.

[Beachcomber]

I think this story is in the same category as the one about charging passengers to use the 'facilities'. Mr O'Leary certainly knows how to get free publicity by manipulating the press.

Apparently his staff get a bonus for coming up with the most outrageous suggestions to save money.

When I listen to 'Cabin Pressure' on Radio 4 it always reminds me of Ryanair.

[pacos]

there is no such thing as bad publicity !!

except when your name is Gerald Ratner!

There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.

[markwilding]

I agree with those who say this is a stunt
A good one from earlier this year was that you would pay extra for a seat or you would have to stand.

When he has these ideas, he knows that he can't implement them because they go against the safety rules. As an earlier poster has already said, there needs to be two pilots in case one gets ill.

[Bongtrees]

Of course its a stunt but is it a stunt to far?

Would anyone use a surgeon who said that he would cut all the limbs off a patient who was just having a leg removed in a special saw one off get 3 more removed free?

People who bought from Ratner knew it was cheap tat but it wasnt until the boss said it out loud
that they deserted him for some other purveyor of tat. Its the same with Ryanair, this statement shows his utter contempt for passengers. It was not funny.

[katy]

Bongtrees you could be right. This statement implies that safety is not a great concern for the airline. I would wonder if they also cut corners with maintenance of their aircraft.

[markwilding]

Bongtrees you are properly right.
Although it is clear that he has a lot of surporters, You can already see a backlash against his style of business from the Media and when people realise that after adding all the extras they could pay less with another airline,they might start deserting him.

[Trigger]

Of course its a stunt but is it a stunt to far?

Some might say a Cupid Stunt!

[Lyric]

Bongtrees you could be right. This statement implies that safety is not a great concern for the airline. I would wonder if they also cut corners with maintenance of their aircraft.

Have you ever wondered why they have few technical delays and are predominantly on time.

[Colinm]

Coming from a mechanical background, fewer technical delays implies a better maintanence regime.
As to how they are predominantly on time - its easy, add 20/30 minutes to the true flight time.

[Campo Steve]

and when people realise that after adding all the extras they could pay less with another airline,they might start deserting him.

I've said it many times before, but, invariably, I have found them cheaper than their competitors on the same, or similar, route.

The reality is that other, non-budget, airlines that don't have the extras to be added on, have already included them in the price. You get nothing for free. The difference is that you can't take them off. If you fly with BA, baggage charges are included in the ticket price, whether you have any or not. At least Ryanair give you the choice of whether to pay for baggage or not.

And don't think the likes of BA haven't included the cost of the software etc for online checkin in their ticket prices.

The only exception is the credit card charges Ryanair make.