Fuerty & Ryanair in the news

[dagwood]

You would not complain Woe, its not in your nature.

[IsThisForumStillGoingWow]

http://budgetairlinewatch.com/?p=440

Our advice: if you are worried about bags being weighed inaccurately at check-in:

a) Carry a set of digital luggage scales in your pocket and use them for a handy demonstration, if your bag is said to weigh more than it did at home.

b) Insist that your bag be weighed on a different luggage scale if you think the one being used by a particular check-in desk is inaccurate.

c) Ask to see the "calibration certificate" for the scales. Probably, the airline can't produce such a document and, if the dispute is over a couple of kilos, they will possibly become frustrated at the delay to other passengers and let you through without an excess charge.

d) If you are seriously unhappy with the way you've been treated, complain to the CAA.

[annalivia]

Michael answers the critics
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ryanair-plan-to-sue-channel-4-over-dispatches-broadcast-29495287.html

[bedouin]

Also, I complained a couple of years ago and asked to see the Calibration Certificate (required by law I believe). They said it was in the office, which meant going back through security etc ...  yeh OK, then you miss the flight. They have all angles covered.

But check-in is the land side of security, not airside, so you wouldn't have had to go back through security if you'd complained at the time.

[dagwood]

FiFi I'm surprised by you, reading a paper like that. Don't you remember the old song "The man from the Daily Mail". It seems years ago they were equally as efficient at massaging the truth as they are today.     

[dagwood]

The Man From The Daily Mail

[print]


(Peadar Mac Ghiolla Chearra, Percy French)



Now Ireland's a very funny place, sir
It's a strange and a troubled land
And the Irish are a very funny race, sir
Every girl's in the Cumann na mBan
Every doggie wears a tri-coloured ribbon
Tied firmly to its tail
And it wouldn't be surprising
If there'd be another rising
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Every bird upon my word
Is singing treble - I'm a rebel
Every hen it's said is laying hand grenades
Over there sir, I declare Sir
And every male bird in the farmyard
Stock crows in triumph for the Gael
And it wouldn't be surprising
If there'd be another rising
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Now the other day I travelled down to Clare, sir
I spied in an old boreen
A bunch of busy gooses there, sir
Dressed in orange, white and green
They marched to the German goose step
As they whistled Grann na bheal
and I'm shakin' in me shoes
As I'm sending out the news
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Every bird upon my word
Is singing treble - I'm a rebel
Every hen it's said is laying hand grenades
Over there sir, I declare Sir
And every male bird in the farmyard
Stock crows in triumph for the Gael
And it wouldn't be surprising
If there'd be another rising
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Now the whole place is seething with sedition
It's Sinn Fein through and through
All the peelers they are joining local units
And the password's Sinn Fein too
Every doggie wears a tri-coloured ribbon
Tied firmly to its tail
And it wouldn't be surprising
If there'd be another rising
Said the man from the Daily Mail

Every bird upon my word
Is singing treble - I'm a rebel
Every hen it's said is laying hand grenades
Over there sir, I declare Sir
And every male bird in the farmyard
Stock crows in triumph for the Gael
And it wouldn't be surprising
If there'd be another rising
Said the man from the Daily Mail

[fifi]

FiFi I'm surprised by you, reading a paper like that. Don't you remember the old song "The man from the Daily Mail". It seems years ago they equally as efficient at massaging the truth as they are today.     

I dont remember that one. Its a good one though. Im not a Daily mail reader.

[zedzedeleven]

FR don`t need to run the risk of a hefty fine by contravening the weights and measures act. There are enough passengers turning up with overweight bags to ensure a steady source of revenue. These passengers are the gormless who don`t read the t&c, the freeloaders who think it`s ok for the rest of us to pay for their excess and the unfortunate who relied on their Lidl bathroom scales. And the lackadaisical who think a couple of kilo`s won`t matter .

[Can the Man]

Ollie

The man from the daily mail, haven't heard that in over 20 years, brings back memories from my nights in the Kilteel Inn and the Wolf Tones

[lionfish]

To go back to an earlier comment regarding the amount of "spare" fuel on board.
On my recent RA flight from FUE to LBA, which I mention in a different thread, we were originally given a flight time of around 4h5, when we crossed the Southern coast of England  we were told that the flight time was down to 3:55 and all we had to do was to fly up to the N. Wales coast, over LPL, MAN and land at LBA. All appeared to go to plan until we crossed over LPL at which point the pilot executed quite a few strange manoeuvres. The next thing I saw through the window was Walney peninsular (Barrow-in-Furness), yet more strange turns and before long the Humber Estuary and then continuing this circle round to LBA. All this was due to a severe thunder storm over MAN and it added a good 25 minutes to our flight time.
At least I feel comfortable that this pilot had good reserves of fuel!
What I can't understand is why the thunder storm wasn't known about earlier and a different routing taken - perhaps up the North Sea and across to LBA.

[dagwood]

To go back to an earlier comment regarding the amount of "spare" fuel on board.
On my recent RA flight from FUE to LBA, which I mention in a different thread, we were originally given a flight time of around 4h5, when we crossed the Southern coast of England  we were told that the flight time was down to 3:55 and all we had to do was to fly up to the N. Wales coast, over LPL, MAN and land at LBA. All appeared to go to plan until we crossed over LPL at which point the pilot executed quite a few strange manoeuvres. The next thing I saw through the window was Walney peninsular (Barrow-in-Furness), yet more strange turns and before long the Humber Estuary and then continuing this circle round to LBA. All this was due to a severe thunder storm over MAN and it added a good 25 minutes to our flight time.
At least I feel comfortable that this pilot had good reserves of fuel!
What I can't understand is why the thunder storm wasn't known about earlier and a different routing taken - perhaps up the North Sea and across to LBA.

A thunder storm can start in at very short notice. I may be triggered of by hot air rising from a corn field or a hay field or large buildings. This can be very hard to predict.   

[lionfish]

Yes, but heavy thunder storms over MAN had been predicted in the forecast!

[Magoo]

FiFi I'm surprised by you, reading a paper like that. Don't you remember the old song "The man from the Daily Mail". It seems years ago they were equally as efficient at massaging the truth as they are today.     

Nothing wrong with the Daily Mail. I get it on prescription from the doctor, as I suffer from low blood pressure 

[Magoo]

Anyone remember Dan Air?  Did they not come unstuck flying with low fuel reserves?

[dagwood]

Anyone remember Dan Air?  Did they not come unstuck flying with low fuel reserves?

Don't you mean Dan Dare I remember him

[Voldermort]

Anyone remember Dan Air?  Did they not come unstuck flying with low fuel reserves?

No they came unstuck when the parent company Davis and Newman ran out of money and couldnt afford to buy any fuel 

[dagwood]

Any relation to Dan Dan the boiler man.

[Brayone]

It's painful to listen to people knocking Ryanair and to watch that ridiculous programme on C4. Of course they were running low on fuel. The planes had been diverted and had additional flying time under their belt, but still had sufficient fuel for 1/2 hr flying. They declared a fuel emergency as they are obliged to do if they are going to eat into that 1/2 hours capacity. This is in order to give them priority. The opposite happened in the US some time back when a South American aircraft which was running low on fuel crashed into the sea because it was kept in a holding pattern. As Fifi says, the gutter media ( and the Mail is as low as you can get ) thrive on knocking success.

[dagwood]

It's painful to listen to people knocking Ryanair and to watch that ridiculous programme on C4. Of course they were running low on fuel. The planes had been diverted and had additional flying time under their belt, but still had sufficient fuel for 1/2 hr flying. They declared a fuel emergency as they are obliged to do if they are going to eat into that 1/2 hours capacity. This is in order to give them priority. The opposite happened in the US some time back when a South American aircraft which was running low on fuel crashed into the sea because it was kept in a holding pattern. As Fifi says, the gutter media ( and the Mail is as low as you can get ) thrive on knocking success.

Must buy shares in the Daly Mail, everybody is talking about it. Like O'Leary says " any publicity is good" But dont worry about the Brits bitching about Ryanair, they had to get a Greek to show them how to run an airline and an Irish man to sort BA. Its a pity he asked them to work because then he had to leave.     

[dagwood]

The silence is Defining!

[fifi]

Expect more bad news stories on Sunday from the gutter press.

12 Aug 2013
RYANAIR CABIN CREW WANTED BY MAIL ON SUNDAY.



From: Amy Oliver <Amy.Oliver@mailonsunday.co.uk>
To: "ryanairdontcare@yahoo.co.uk" <ryanairdontcare@yahoo.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, 12 August 2013, 15:22
Subject: Can you help with Mail On Sunday investigation?


Dear John,

I'm a feature writer at the Mail On Sunday and am looking to interview a disgruntled Ryanair steward or stewardess about their experience of working for the airline. I came across your brilliant blog and am getting in touch to see if you can help me. I understand your daughter was treated badly by Ryanair Perhaps there are other people you know who would talk?

It may be easier for us to have a quick chat on the phone. My number is 020 3615 1819 / 07742 462 707.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Many Thanks

Amy

Amys article


Bonuses for catching you out with excess baggage, pushing e-cigarettes and targeting 'rowdy groups': How Ryanair cashes in on your check-in misery - and targets your holiday money

   Ryanair workers are rewarded for enforcing the tough rules and squeezing as much money as possible from passengers
    This year it will carry more international passengers than any other airline in the world, and at record profits

By Amy Oliver


Cynical: Cabin crew on Ryanair flights are encouraged to squeeze as much money out of customers as possible

It likes to claim it is the 'world's favourite airline', but with its notorious hidden costs, brusque cabin staff and aggressive sales tactics, Ryanair has taken the phrase 'no frills' to unprecedented heights.

Now an investigation by The Mail on Sunday has exposed astonishing details of the tactics the airline uses to squeeze pounds and euros from its no-frills passengers, including:

    Special cash incentives for ground staff who identify overweight or oversize hand luggage and charge passengers up to £60 a time.
    Incentives for ground staff who sell 'priority boarding' passes.
    Deliberately targeting boisterous stag and hen parties with drinks and gifts.
    Pushing nicotine-filled 'e-cigarettes'.
    An extraordinary training manual of hard-sell tactics that cabin crew must master, a key element in Ryanair's booming profits. Disillusioned Ryanair crew who spoke to the MoS revealed that they and their colleagues were told to meet 'almost impossible' sales targets from the gifts and drinks trolleys, and that they depended on sales bonus money to top up their wages.
     
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The company has attracted particular criticism for its draconian policy on the size of hand baggage and the high fees it charges if bags are judged too big to take on board. Now it can be revealed workers can be rewarded for enforcing the tough rules.
Reach for the sky: Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, right, and Chairman David Bonderman, centre, pictured with Boeing President Alan Mulally, left

Reach for the sky: Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, right, and Chairman David Bonderman, centre, pictured with Boeing President Alan Mulally, left

Our investigation comes just days after Ryanair was taken to task by many of its own pilots who claimed in Channel 4's Dispatches programme that they had concerns about the airline's attitude towards safety.

Ryanair fiercely denied the allegations and immediately dismissed one of its long-standing pilots, Captain John Goss, who openly criticised the airline in the documentary.

Ryanair is hugely successful and this year will carry more than 81.5 million people – with more international passengers than any other airline in the world – to 180 destinations in 29 countries.

In May, the company reported a £477 million profit – a 13 per cent year-on-year rise.

The hard-nosed sales tactics which helped them earn these extraordinary profits are laid out in a 34-page  training manual, seen by this newspaper. It sets out a series of sales  tricks that cabin crew should use to increase their monthly bonus and, more importantly, create revenue for the airline.

Here, we detail the aggressive strategies and sneaky tricks along with some shocking staff disclosures – all of which keep Ryanair's profits sky-high.
Ryanair training brochure

Inside information: The Ryanair training brochure that helps the airline's profits soar

A £1 BONUS? IT'S ALL IN THE BAG

Ryanair admits that it 'incentivises ground service providers at many of the airports it serves to levy correct excess baggage charges for any baggage that exceeds Ryanair's published baggage allowances'.

Staff get £1 per item of hand luggage judged too big or heavy for a flight, according to the GMB union which represents check-in staff at Stansted employed by the Swissport agency. The figure was confirmed by former Ryanair employees.

'Staff are under a huge amount of pressure from Swissport who in turn are under a huge amount of pressure from Ryanair,' said a GMB spokesman.
Excess baggage: Catching passengers out with extra charges at the airport is incentivised

Excess baggage: Catching passengers out with extra charges at the airport is incentivised

'If they believe staff haven't charged for excess weight on check-in say, they would take them through a disciplinary process.'

The revelation that staff are rewarded with cash for charging passengers for oversize luggage will infuriate many who have to pay fees of £60 to have their hand luggage put in the hold, or £20 per kilo for overweight hold luggage.

The maximum weight for Ryanair hand baggage is 10kg, while hold luggage can be booked in at either 15kg or 20kg.

Ground staff are also encouraged to sell priority boarding passes and are offered 25p for each ticket at Stansted.

When questioned, Ryanair refused to give details of the payments, saying only that 'no Ryanair staff receive commission' as a result of identifying overweight baggage.

But later it admitted that third-party workers who handle bags for Ryanair flights at a number of airports do receive a bonus.

Additional profits to Ryanair from excess baggage are listed under 'ancillary revenues' in the annual report. These rose by 11 per cent to £756.2 million last year.


TARGET STAG PARTIES AND ROWDY GROUPS

Large groups of young men and women – stag parties for example – are a golden opportunity.

According to the Ryanair training manual seen by the MoS, 'providing quality customer service to more than one passenger at a time comes easily with patience. Some groups will require the occasional directional push.'

The cabin crew should 'pick out the leader, normally the loudest one of the group'. If they manage 'to achieve a sale from that passenger, the remainder of the group will normally follow suit'.

The training guide recommends that staff 'focus on sales in the first three rows of the cabin' because 'the rows behind are more likely to follow suit and also make a purchase'.
BOOZE AND cigarettes, A WINNING FORMULA

Sales from the drinks and gifts trolleys are a priority for the flight crew, who are 'incentivised' by a monthly bonus scheme and prizes including tickets for Champions League football games. The drinks trolley 'must' be launched within five minutes of the cabin crew being released from their seats.

Ryanair has confirmed that it has a target to persuade each passenger to spend a minimum of £1.70 per flight. This target increased to as much as £3.40 per passenger on longer flights.

Another former cabin crew member said Ryanair seemed particularly keen to push its own version of 'e-cigarettes' and set tough targets even though most passengers did not seem interested.

'We had a target of six packets of smokeless cigarettes to sell per flight, even though we usually only carried four packs on board,' she said.
Pushing products: Ryanair expects a cabin crew of four to sell between 20 and 30 scratch cards per flight

Pushing products: Ryanair expects a cabin crew of four to sell between 20 and 30 scratch cards per flight

'Some people just weren't interested so got annoyed. They'd say, "You've asked me if I want this already and I've said no. Please stop."

'We'd go up and down the aisle several times during the flight and offer the same products. They just told us to sell by any means possible. It is ridiculous how much you've got to push sales from the trolleys and it made me feel uncomfortable.'

Ryanair said its cabin crew are 'encouraged to sell all products equally'.

The training manual gives an example of sales targets to be achieved by eight members of cabin crew throughout the day. It suggests sales of five packets of smokeless cigarettes and 50 scratch cards.

And staff are heavily reliant on convincing customers to buy from the trolleys because 'productivity bonuses' account for 47 per cent of an average flight attendant's total earnings of £20,000.

'Ryanair also expected a cabin crew of four to sell between 20 and 30 scratch cards per flight – an almost impossible task,' said the former stewardess. 'The passengers got fed up with those too and always asked if you actually won anything. I never saw anyone win money.

'We also had to say that proceeds went towards children's charities in the UK, Ireland and Europe, but not all the proceeds go to charity.'

Staff are promised prizes if they sell well. 'One time they were offering two tickets to the Champions League final in Wembley for the person who sold the most cans of Heineken,' said a steward.

'I really wanted to win and must have sold more than 100 cans, but I didn't get the prize. I didn't even get a thank-you.'
SO, DO YOU WANT PEANUTS WITH THAT?

According to the training manual, cabin crew can boost their bonus with 'link selling' – encouraging passengers to wash drinks down with Pringles or cheese and crackers. 'If somebody asked for a cup of coffee, I had to ask if they wanted a Mars bar or a muffin on top,' said an attendant.

'Up' and 'down' selling are additional weapons in the flight attendant's arsenal.
Captive audience: Crew can boost their bonus with ¿link selling¿ ¿ encouraging passengers to buy additional products to the ones they actually want

Captive audience: Crew can boost their bonus with ¿link selling¿ ¿ encouraging passengers to buy additional products to the ones they actually want

The training manual explains: 'Up-selling is when a passenger asks for a product, and you can relate the requested product to a similar one which benefits the  passenger but also increases your average spend and sales bonus.'

In other words, get the passenger to buy the more expensive brand – a J2O for €2.50 rather than a Britvic Orange for €1.80.

Alternatively, if a passenger 'is reluctant to make a purchase because they think it (a product) is too expensive, you should try to relate a cheaper product to gain a purchase'.
EVEN THE CABIN CREW FEEL THE PAIN...

Ryanair says its junior cabin crew earn £20,000 a year, but as many as 70 per cent of its pilots and cabin crew staff are employed via agencies on zero-hour contracts

Flight crew must also pay £300 for their own uniform and that's after many have paid nearly £2,000 for a six-week training course and accommodation in Germany.

Cabin staff must also buy numerous items for their 'crew bag', including, bizarrely, clean tea towels for taking food out of the oven.

One woman said: 'If we didn't have a tea towel we got a strike on our record and after three strikes you were out.

'You also had to carry a black umbrella and a spare pair of knickers – just in case you have to stay overnight. They go through your personal belongings to check that you have it all.

'They don't give you any food or drink on board,' said a former steward. Ryanair said: 'We are an airline, not a restaurant.'       
BUT DON'T TIP

'We couldn't keep our tips,' said the former steward. 'We're told not to accept them, but any money we did get had to go into the till.'

Ryanair said: 'We don't have tills.'










   

[bedouin]

More moans from the Wail on Sunday! What exactly is wrong with trying to stop the passengers who try to take oversized or overweight baggage on to the plane?  They're the selfish fools who make it difficult for the rule-abiding majority to find space in overhead lockers.  Just recently, because of this problem, easyJet had to announce a new smaller size limit for cabin bags (smaller incidentally than Ryanair's size).

And as for flogging food, drinks, duty-free, etc, every airline pushes their staff to maximise sales.

[dagwood]

Every thing has its place and the best place for this paper is the bottom of a hamsters cage and the online version could be printed off and used for the same purpose. I'm sure every large employer including The Mail have a number of disgruntled employees. Would they give a balanced account of why they are unhappy? Well I wonder. Also it unusual for staff to complain about getting paid a bonus or commission for making a sale or implementing company rules, it usually the opposite in fact. I'm sure M/S Amy Oliver works for nothing and her only goal in life is to inform the public of the truth. She is going the right about it by the look of her request for whingers. Also I hope Ryanair take channel 4, the Mail and all those mentioned in their Legal action for every penny they have and it might stop untruths and half truths getting published and getting air time. It would also stop them fooling the gullible sections of the public on whom they rely on to stay in business. Haven forbid something serious happened, how could anyone believe any media report.