I had the pleasure of flying through Amsterdam yesterday on my way back to America and was expecting more thorough security checks than ever before, but was disappointed. The security checks in place at the gate in Amsterdam appeared no different to the standard security that all passengers are subject to;

By your description, they sound more thorough then normally.

removal and x-raying of shoes,

Never had that anywhere in Europe. I know if it standard procedure in the USA, but in Europe this is not normally done.

Only about 1 in 3 passengers were subject to a baggage search and a pat down.

Seems more then average. Also, since everyone goes through the detector gates anyway it filters out a lot of people anyway. Looks like the gates where set at tighter tolerances then normally.

Our gate was opened about 1 hour 20 minutes before scheduled departure and our flight eventually got under way 1 hour 30 minutes behind schedule,

That would be due to the additional security.

I was subjected to a search of my single item of hand baggage and also patted down. The pat down was brutal and probably would have found anything I might have concealed under my clothing

Very good security check then.

but the bag search was pathetic. The only item removed from my bag was a laptop, which was opened briefly, and then closed. A large book, my digital camera, my MP3 player, my wallet and more were left in the bag and not actually inspected!

What do you propose to make this inspection safer, considering the bag has already gone through X-ray? Empty a machine gun at the bag and see if it explodes?

I hope you had a nice flight, and did not feel too unsafe on board. 😉

I didn’t offer an analysis, just raw data. The topic doesn’t require any analysis….

You could have at least had the courtesy of acknowledging my analysis. You specifically asked for it I seem to remember. :rolleyes:

Why do I even bother. :confused:

The simple fact is that London has an abysmally small number of runways for a hub OR for a city it’s size. Please see the attachment which I created a year ago and am now reposting.

Ooooh come one now, not this list again. Are you sure you can’t figure out how to post a link to the previous thread? It would not be related to us having shot this list to pieces last time around, would it?

Gents, could the two of you please book a room or something?

That’s gonna be an interesting suspect line-up at the police station. I can hear the police officer talking to the bank employee: “yeah, like, uuh, we lined up 749 Santas… can you pick, like, the right one ma’am?””

Does anyone else get unwanted Michael Palin books from well meaning Mums?

Just be glad it ain’t the Sarah Palin book. 😀

Ah, yes and Concorde in its last year was more than 300,000 pennies, wasn’t it? So, back to O’Leary – if that’s how it works why so much antagonism?

Because O’Leary is businessman that negotiates hard will walk out of a deal if the terms are not to his liking. The thing is, any deal has to come from two sides. It takes two to tango.

The passenger that buys the ticket knows what he is getting into. The terms and conditions are clearly displayed on the website. The destination guide is clear and nowadays they do say they fly to secondary airports so these days that is no longer a valid complaint either. If there is any doubt, a quick google search will list hundreds of websites with personal stories on how Ryanair did not live up to expectations.

Boeing knew what they where getting into. A contract for dozens of 737s does not leave much to interpretation. If it does, the Boeing lawyers ****** up. Was it polite of Ryanair to sell their young 737s that where due for maintenance at very low prices (while still making a profit on the sale), of course not. But nowhere in the contract was it mentioned it was not allowed either. MOL made a guess on where the market was going, and he guessed right making him millions.

The airports complaining about being ripped of, or loosing service. They also have clear contracts detailing what Ryanair expects from the airport, and what the airport expects from Ryanair. If the airports don’t like terms, tough luck… again blame your own lawyers.

The only people I think that have valid reason to complain are the people working at Ryanair. They don’t have much alternatives for employment these days. Especially not if you are unable/unwilling to leave the aviation industry. Everyone else has an alternative. Boeing can sell to numerous other airlines. Passengers can fly with lots of other airlines. Airports can try to attract other airlines. But for many that’s too expensive or too much work. Well, you can’t have it both ways.

I am no great fan of Ryanair, purely because of the destinations they serve. The only destination they serve from my local that I ike is Madrid. But credit where credit is due, they build a large and profitable airline that does exactly what it promises… and nothing more. If people/companies are too lazy to properly read the T&C’s, well, that’s hardly Ryanair’s fault is it?

Nice photos, almost as bad as here (looking at 25 cms now, thanks god for Call of Duty MW2 ;)). What’s the KLM MD-11 doing there? Diversion from Schiphol?