Spanish police have removed more than 100 Belgian students from a plane that was due to fly from the Canary Islands to Belgium.
The Irish budget airline Ryanair says police were called after the university students became disruptive.
They refused to carry out instructions after some objected to being charged a fee for excess hand luggage, it said.
By: pauldyson1uk - 17th February 2011 at 07:51
Ryanair looking at MS-21’s or C919 as possible 737 replacements?
why would he be looking a a new fleet ? when Ryanair already has probably the youngest fleet of the low cost airlines.
I thought he had a very good deal from Boeing and he tried to get the same deal from Airbus and they told him to do one.
I would of though the cost of training flight crew and cabin crew and ground equip for the new aircraft would not be cost effective.
By: Skymonster - 16th February 2011 at 00:28
They will probably pay for the certifications by adding to the cost of the uniform fee that they charge the crews!:)
Nah, it’ll be a “fly on a certified aircraft” fee, added as another per sector per passenger surcharge on top of the basic fare
Andy
PS: I don’t see why Ryanair shouldn’t consider these aircraft – if the performance is Ok, if manufacturers can get them certified and if they can offer a reliable supply chain for spares and support, then the old Scumbag could get a very good deal on a new fleet of a/c
By: MSR777 - 15th February 2011 at 18:44
I cannot understand why the fact that Ryanair is looking at Russian Chinese airliners is reported as a seismic shock. This makes perfect sense, there was a time when Brazil was not considered and now look at how Embraer is selling.
Of course the big challenge is finding who will pay for the granting of airworthiness certification for operations in Europe ?
They will probably pay for the certifications by adding to the cost of the uniform fee that they charge the crews!:)
By: scotavia - 15th February 2011 at 18:26
I cannot understand why the fact that Ryanair is looking at Russian Chinese airliners is reported as a seismic shock. This makes perfect sense, there was a time when Brazil was not considered and now look at how Embraer is selling.
Of course the big challenge is finding who will pay for the granting of airworthiness certification for operations in Europe ?
By: soyuz1917 - 15th February 2011 at 14:59
Ryanair looking at MS-21’s or C919 as possible 737 replacements?
By: PMN - 14th February 2011 at 14:59
I am slightly baffled as to what could possibly “go wrong”, when compared to travelling to another carrier, that stops you from travelling on a low-cost airline to get one of your concerts…?
There have been times where we’ve turned up to KLM flights out of LBA that have been cancelled and they’ve immediately put us on bmi for a connection through somewhere like CDG and somehow managed to get us to our destination, usually with hardly any loss of time. You don’t usually have that kind of backup with budget carriers and it isn’t something we can risk. As for losing baggage, I’m quite familiar with the concept of a handling agent dealing with both mainline and low cost carriers so I’m reasonably aware you’re no less likely to lose your luggage on one or the other (you’re much more likely to lose it transiting through certain airports rather than flying with certain airlines – AMS currently tops my lost luggage list). When luggage does get lost you can usually get by with the clothes you’re in for a couple of days and blag a guitar from someone on the gig, so losing luggage isn’t the biggest concern. Important things like guitar effects are usually carried in the cabin so they can’t be lost.
How does any of that relate to travelling with low cost carriers out of convenience?
By: cloud_9 - 14th February 2011 at 14:48
…we can’t risk something going wrong.
I am slightly baffled as to what could possibly “go wrong”, when compared to travelling to another carrier, that stops you from travelling on a low-cost airline to get one of your concerts…?
A flight with any normal airline (non low-cost!) could get delayed/cancelled and might loose your baggage just as much as any other airline might.
I suspect it could it be due to the fact that despite it being cheaper (as advertised!) it would in fact work out more expensive in the long-term because the low-cost airlines would clobber you very heavily with their excess baggage charges for all your musical instruments and equipment, because they only charged you £9.99 or some other ridiculously “low-fare” and a pitiful baggage allowance, so much so that they have to make their money by other means…or, in the situation of a cancelation/delay, you are more likely to get help from the airline if flying with a more respectable carrier rather than an a low-cost carrier, which could mean that you still arrive at your intended destination, rather than being stuck at your point of origin?
Which proves the point that the reason you travel with low-cost carriers is purely down to a reason of convenience…
By: PMN - 13th February 2011 at 22:04
Jay, I’ve done hundreds of flights with bands (carrying more hold and cabin baggage than you could ever even contemplate) and hardly any of them have been on budget airlines because we can’t risk something going wrong and not getting there. How many flights have you done where hundreds of thousands of pounds (or the local currency equivalent) plus your reputation go down the drain if you don’t arrive at your destination? Probably none, so please don’t try tell me about ‘discerning people’. I understand the concept probably better than you ever will. :rolleyes:
By: nJayM - 13th February 2011 at 21:57
RyanAir and most LCCs are complete off-limits for most people I know
Jay, that’s utter nonsense. “Lack of discerning customer base”? Whenever I’ve flown with Ryanair it’s been to airports I actually want to go to and it’s generally been without hold luggage so it’s been very cheap, does that make me an ‘undiscerning customer’?
RyanAir and most LCCs are off limits for many well documented reasons for most discerning people I know and likewise for me.
I’d rather fly national and conventional carriers any day than fly LCC. Never flown an LCC and never will. I often fly with no hold luggage and find the conventional carriers extremely suitable from all aspects including charges especially if one books well ahead.
Each one to their own.:cool:
By: PMN - 12th February 2011 at 21:17
Jay, that’s utter nonsense. “Lack of discerning customer base”? Whenever I’ve flown with Ryanair it’s been to airports I actually want to go to and it’s generally been without hold luggage so it’s been very cheap, does that make me an ‘undiscerning customer’?
By: nJayM - 12th February 2011 at 21:09
On this you are spot on – complete lack of a discerning customer base
It really doesn’t matter how much whingeing and bellyaching against Ryanair goes on because, for as long as its passengers accept how it operates, it will not make a scrap of difference.
Hi Sky High
On this you are spot on – complete lack of a discerning customer base is what it boils down to.
If one thinks a good deal is –
Flying for a £1 or 1 Euro and then to pay for everything else that is essential and find that routinely one lands at a outside city limits airport, to pay over the odds in travel in to the city along with wasted time……. need I go on.
The usual purpose of flying is to get from a point to another point of one’s choosing, quickly, comfortably and safely; but on the other hand if none of these really matter then you have MO’L LCC fan club customer.
By: nJayM - 12th February 2011 at 21:04
Sounds like McNamara is in training to replace Scumbag O’Riley! 😮
I wonder why there is no “administration” involved in processing their preferred card but there is for all other cards? :rolleyes::confused:
Andy
Hi Andy,
I don’t think anyone needs training to ‘ape’ MO’L. You just have to be happy to wallow in racehorse dung which is what any sensible business analysis of MO’L’s LCC reveals.:rolleyes:
As for the MO’L LCC preferred CC – well you more than even me knows why that incurs no administration charges – the small print ties you in knots.:eek:
MO’L is running the operation as if it is a stable of racehorses with jockeys willing to ride for free.
Ethics, professionalism and other genteel matters such as customer service – oops what are they ????:D
By: Sky High - 12th February 2011 at 12:55
It really doesn’t matter how much whingeing and bellyaching against Ryanair goes on because, for as long as its passengers accept how it operates, it will not make a scrap of difference.
By: MSR777 - 12th February 2011 at 11:04
As I’ve said before, these charges are just a minuscule part of the racket that these so called “low cost” airlines have to run. This is because the fares that they charge do not reflect the true cost of the operation. These fares can only be charged on the backs of paying unrealistic prices to their service providers, leading to poor wages and conditions for the employees, the various subsidies, discounts, local ‘deals’ etc, offered by various authorities on their route networks. These subsidies have, on more than one occasion, been the subject of court judgement against them, principally RYR I’m afraid.
In fairness to these ‘airlines’, passengers really need to get their collective heads around the ethos of these “carriers”. They have to realise that the fares charged are not capable of keeping the ‘airline’ afloat on their own. It therefore follows that they have to provide other sources of revenue to make ends meet. IMO these passengers have no one to blame but themselves in finding that they are caught up in this booking fee scam, after all its not as though its a state secret, its just one of the many little ‘add ons’ that give
them those wonderful ‘cheap fares’. Don’t like it?……don’t use ’em.
By: Skymonster - 11th February 2011 at 20:20
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara hit out and said Which did not know what they were taking about.
‘Before making ‘super-duper complaints’ the clueless clowns at ‘Which, Who or What’ magazine, should do some basic research,’ he said.
‘Ryanair does not levy any credit or debit card payment ‘surcharges’. Even our administration fee is avoidable by passengers who use our recommended MasterCard Prepaid.’
The airline launched a scathing attack on Which?, branding it ‘useless, irrelevant and inaccurate’.
Sounds like McNamara is in training to replace Scumbag O’Riley! 😮
I wonder why there is no “administration” involved in processing their preferred card but there is for all other cards? :rolleyes::confused:
Andy
By: cloud_9 - 11th February 2011 at 12:22
This will hopefully be another thorn in the side to Ryanair and others…
Which? slams airlines for excessive card fees
…budget airlines are the worst offenders as they charge a fee per passenger, per leg even though they have to process only one payment.
“There is simply no justification for excessive card charges. Paying by card should cost the consumer the same amount that it costs the retailer,” said Which? chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith.
“Companies should not be using card processing costs as an excuse for boosting their profits.
“Low-cost airlines are some of the worst offenders when it comes to excessive card surcharges but this murky practice is becoming ever-more widespread, from cinemas to hotels and even some local authorities.”
http://www.travelmole.com/stories/1146367.php?mpnlog=1&m_id=_rnms~s~T_
By: Dr Strangelove - 10th February 2011 at 21:50
One night the airstairs caught fire on a night boarding while it was in use, no one spotted it from the airline or the airport and it took a landing Air SouthWest crew to see it and report it. There was sheer pandomioum on the stairs with pasengers running in all directions, some darted inside the aircraft others tried making for the closed terminal doors. eventually after a state one was raised the fire went out, it was quite amusing but could have been very dangerous.
I was on duty that night, remember calmly logging the “State One” in the occurrence book before turning on the comms to ascertain what was actually going on! My word, there was interesting radio traffic that night. 😀
Fortunately we were advised that the “state” had been down graded before the rest of the section stampeded in on re-call.
By: pagen01 - 10th February 2011 at 16:32
As an airfield worker I was thrust screaming and kicking into an airport environment and what I witnessed of Ryanair was astounding, both for their people practices and shall we say on the limits of flight safety ignorance.
There is no way that I can see how they can be defended in any manner and I appluad these students for actually standing up and doing something about it rather than just whinging about it afterwards for a change.
The airline treats its passengers and anyone else unfortunate enough to come into contact with them with contempt.
I’m afraid the passenger demographic comments made earlier are generally true, we used to laugh about how we could tell the difference between a BA flight and a Ryanair flight, with the former a steward/dess would walk the passengers out across the dispersal to the waiting aircraft where another one would usher them in, with the latter the terminal doors would open spewing out the most oddly dressed people desperately clutching their precious Tescos bags and stampeding past the frail and infirm.
One night the airstairs caught fire on a night boarding while it was in use, no one spotted it from the airline or the airport and it took a landing Air SouthWest crew to see it and report it. There was sheer pandomioum on the stairs with pasengers running in all directions, some darted inside the aircraft others tried making for the closed terminal doors. eventually after a state one was raised the fire went out, it was quite amusing but could have been very dangerous.
Other things I have witnessed,
A particularly horrible night when Ryanair where very late getting in and pushing the airfield’s opening hours (quite common in itself), the controller then advising crew that they wouldn’t get out again due to work/time hours used, after a longish time on the ground the airline loaded its departing passengers and actually called start to the controller who had to refuse his request – you have never seen such a fall out as that episode, which include a nasty letter from O’Leary to the controller in question.
A passenger I went to collect got off the airstairs and spotted me as the lift, in a rush she walked around the front of the aircraft and her head was at the baggage hold co-incidentally as her bag was being taken off!
Fluid leaks that the crew were unaware of where they were coming from, requiring us to physically check as they held on the threshold.
Tyre marks litrally feet away from the runway edge – on a 300 foot wide runway! Apparently a proceedural problam which was also picked up at Stansted.
Seriously I could go on and on…
By: Skymonster - 9th February 2011 at 17:01
Words fail me at this point. How you can call an airline “irrelevant” is beyond me
Get real – in the overall scheme of the industry and where it’s going, those were largely irrelevent airlines. They were not trend setters or market makers, and they did not bring anything new or unique to the industry. There are trend-setters and market-makers in the airline industry, and the demise of these would cause shockwaves across the industry – e.g. the BAs, AF/KLMs, Lufthansas, Southwests – and sadly Ryanairs – of this of this world. Then there are “hangers-on” or “more of the same” brigade like the airlines I mentioned. Whilst the demise of these airlines would undoubtedly have been frustrating for the individuals booked with them and the staff who worked for them, the collapse of these airlines has been largely irrelevent to the direction and state of the industry.
Andy
By: Sky High - 9th February 2011 at 15:47
Indeed, but Ryanair also predicted a mass of full-service and competing low-fare airline failures in Europe, of which there have actually been relatively few with the exception of SkyEurope and a few fairly irrelevent non-airlines such as Air Comet, FlyGlobespan, XL, Viking etc. Don’t some of Ryanair’s aircraft still say “Bye Bye Baby” / “Arrividechi Alitalia” and the like on the side of them – as much wishful thinking on their part as the demise of Ryanair is on mine maybe?? 😉
Andy
Ha! Maybe it is:) or perhaps just “aggressive marketing” in their style.
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February 7, 2011 at 12:22 am