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I would be surprised if Ryanair could keep going. Anecdotally, I know a number of people that will never use them again - either because they themselves have ha

I would be surprised if Ryanair could keep going. Anecdotally, I know a number of people that will never use them again - either because they themselves have had problems or they know people that have. There's some real animosity growing towards them. All things being equal, people would usually pick the cheapest flight. But Ryanair are now making it abundantly clear that their flights are not equal to others. When you pick a flight you need confidence that your flight will take off, and that you can get home. It amazes me that Ryanair are willing to lose people's confidence like this, it will take a long time to get it back, if at all.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
If their whole business model is built around breaking EU labour laws and underpaying staff then good riddance.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- user5994461 8y ago
  There is a lot of squeezing that can be done without getting into illegal territory. That would be for the regulator to decide and force them to pay the arrears, if any. That touches the only thing that America has and that Europe really lacks: class action lawsuit. I suppose it's good when all employees of a company can go together against the company.
- jimmy1 8y ago
  This is like the premise for almost every massive corporation. At some point and time they bend and twisted the laws far enough, but not too far to get shut down to gain a competitive advantage. Banks are the best example -- always a game of cat and mouse with regulators. Every corporation tries to figure out how to pay the least amount of taxes possible, and pay their workers the least amount possible to get the job done.
- fjsolwmv 8y ago
  Have their business is in picking the customer's picket on the way from booking to landing, with myriad trick fees.
ahartmetz 8y ago
Well yeah, they have competition from EasyJet and some others. EasyJet is like Ryanair but not crap. Planes look nicer inside, baggage fees feel less like a ripoff, and they don't try to sell you lottery tickets(!!) on every flight.
- philbarr 8y ago
  > EasyJet is like Ryanair but not crap Exactly - I've only been on two Ryanair flights and they were dreadful. It's like they were going out of their way to make it feel shit.
  - mft_ 8y ago
    Not saying you’re wrong, but as a counterpoint: I’ve been on many many EasyJet flights, and I think about ten or so Ryanair flights. I’ve actually never had a problem with Ryanair at all – you don’t get as nice a service as easyJet, but fares usually are considerably lower. Essentially you get what you pay for – if you want rock bottom priced air-fares, you have to expect poorer service. (Admittedly, I’ve not got caught up in any of the recent problems)
    - igrekel 8y ago
      Exactly, what can you expect when in many cases, the flight costs less than the ride to the airport.
  - Tade0 8y ago
    I've worked for a company where the CEO's previous gig was introducing Ryanair in my country. This man was exceptionally talented in cost-cutting, and raked in many awards for "company of the year" etc. because of this. I had flown Ryanair for the first time only after I left that company and I could recognise his, um, touch in the way everything was organised.
- nellaby 8y ago
  Added to this you don't have to pay to get your tickets in seats next to each other. Ryan Air clealy makes an active effort so your seats are far away from each other. I was on a flight where my partner was next to an empty seat (one among many) but for some reason I was placed on the other side of the plane. Oh, and they make sure to mention you can't move seats before taking off. Don't listen to that dross
hutzlibu 8y ago
But they are overall still the cheapest(for europe). And I had only pleasant experience so far. (I can ignore advertisement very good) Can book easily(even with PayPal), I know their procedures, ... so they did build up some trust for me (and others). Thats why I book usually with them. The strike is a new situation, but I also have no scheduled flights, so I see how it goes. But I also never flew EasyJet, so it is possible that I might switch once ... and then stay with them.
- nostalgeek 8y ago
  > so they did build up some trust for me (and others) let's not pretend they don't try to rip customers off with hidden or gotcha fees, because they do. Their whole business model is based on bait+switch. You said they did "build trust" but at the same time you are saying " I know their procedures", of course, because if you are not careful you'll pay some bullshit fees. It's just one of the worst plane company in western Europe. And they are not that cheap since their planes often only land not in main airports but ones in the middle of nowhere so you often have to add the cost of transport to your actual destination which is often not that cheap.
  - hutzlibu 8y ago
    Well, I guess with knowing their procedures, I also meant, that I know the points, where they try to rip me off. But since I know, and also exactly where I will land and start, it works for me very cheap.
  - tomp 8y ago
    > Their whole business model is based on bait+switch That's the business model of most of EU's cheap air companies. E.g. EasyJet "allows" you one piece of luggage on board, but unless you're EasyJet Plus (i.e. pay extra), good luck actually taking it with you on board with any sort of predictability or regularity.
    - nostalgeek 8y ago
      > That's the business model of most of EU's cheap air companies. E.g. EasyJet "allows" you one piece of luggage on board, but unless you're EasyJet Plus (i.e. pay extra), good luck actually taking it with you on board with any sort of predictability or regularity. And Ryan Air takes it to a whole new level. At least easy jet planes don't feel like they are going to break in the middle of the flight.
user5994461 8y ago
The 4 planes I took with Ryanair this summer were all late. The last one had air conditioning broken, we were roasting like chickens for almost 2 hours, from after we boarded the plane to before we could depart. I've been telling my girlfriend to never buy Ryanair again for as long as she bought Ryanair. There aren't really alternatives in the nearby airports or on the right day/time, so there's that. I guess they can keep doing whatever they want as long as there is no competition. Point being, there is little competition between airlines. There is also no reason for ryanair to be this cheap, they should be able to raise price without issues.
- tomp 8y ago
  > The last one had air conditioning broken Wow. I'm surprised that a plane that has any part of the ventilation system broken is even allowed to take off!
  - user5994461 8y ago
    The ventilation started once we were in flight. It's not clear to me if it needs the plane to move, or if it was fixed during the 2 hours we were stuck on the ground. By the way, the flight itself is less than 2 hours. The wait in the plane, grounded, was more than the flight time.
    - willyt 8y ago
      I think the Air conditioning is powered by the APU (gas turbine in the tail of the aircraft) on the ground or Fixed Electric Ground Power. Inoperative APU is not safety critical so airlines are allowed to fly with this defect. I'm guessing you weren't connected to ground power because Ryanair save money by only buying the absolute minimal services from the Airport; the FEGP is usually part of the air bridge structure in modern terminals but Ryanair flights seem to mostly board up stairs even when an air bridge is available.
    - rlonstein 8y ago
      > The ventilation started once we were in flight I think how the A/C on an airliner is driven depends the location. There are the engines while in flight, the APU (Auxillary Power Unit, a small jet engine that starts the main engines, tops the batteries, and other tasks) while idling on the ground, off the batteries, or off a service cart on the ground. Running the engines burns fuel, the APU burns fuel, and having the service cart incurs ground fees. So it's likely that RyanAir didn't want to spend to keep the A/C going.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
gambiting 8y ago
You need to be extremely lucky to be in a position where you can just "not use" a carrier - for myself and a lot of people I know Ryanair is the only available connection between places where we need to be. It's not a even a matter of paying more - there simply isn't a connection available otherwise.
soneil 8y ago
They've got to the point where everyone loves to hate them, but not enough to stop using them. If I compare with the bus I take to the airport: RYR have a higher chance of showing up on time. A higher chance of a functional toilet, and I'm guaranteed a seat. The bus is give-or-take 30 minutes, frequently stuck in rush hour traffic, and booking a seat doesn't guarantee I'll get on the bus, it just guarantees I'll have priority over anyone at the same busstop who didn't book. The kicker? My last three flights (each) cost me less than that bus. This is RYR in a nutshell. They'll lower their price if you'll lower your expectations. And in doing so, they've essentially brought air travel to the working class. Comparing them to a 'real' airline is like asking why hostels still exist when proper hotels offer a much better experience.
another-cuppa 8y ago
A lot of people say they don't like Ryanair, but a lot of those people will use it again when the price is less than a quarter of that of other airlines. It's actually a really interesting piece of psychology. Ryanair's service is so much worse in so many ways that I'm sure it's not better value for money. But even if you have to wake up at 4am to make it to an airport in the middle of nowhere to take a Ryanair flight to an airport 50 miles away from where you are actually going, it's still really tempting to pick the cheapest flight.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

If their whole business model is built around breaking EU labour laws and underpaying staff then good riddance.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
user5994461 8y ago
There is a lot of squeezing that can be done without getting into illegal territory. That would be for the regulator to decide and force them to pay the arrears, if any. That touches the only thing that America has and that Europe really lacks: class action lawsuit. I suppose it's good when all employees of a company can go together against the company.
jimmy1 8y ago
This is like the premise for almost every massive corporation. At some point and time they bend and twisted the laws far enough, but not too far to get shut down to gain a competitive advantage. Banks are the best example -- always a game of cat and mouse with regulators. Every corporation tries to figure out how to pay the least amount of taxes possible, and pay their workers the least amount possible to get the job done.
fjsolwmv 8y ago
Have their business is in picking the customer's picket on the way from booking to landing, with myriad trick fees.

ahartmetz 8y ago

Well yeah, they have competition from EasyJet and some others. EasyJet is like Ryanair but not crap. Planes look nicer inside, baggage fees feel less like a ripoff, and they don't try to sell you lottery tickets(!!) on every flight.

philbarr 8y ago
> EasyJet is like Ryanair but not crap Exactly - I've only been on two Ryanair flights and they were dreadful. It's like they were going out of their way to make it feel shit.
- mft_ 8y ago
  Not saying you’re wrong, but as a counterpoint: I’ve been on many many EasyJet flights, and I think about ten or so Ryanair flights. I’ve actually never had a problem with Ryanair at all – you don’t get as nice a service as easyJet, but fares usually are considerably lower. Essentially you get what you pay for – if you want rock bottom priced air-fares, you have to expect poorer service. (Admittedly, I’ve not got caught up in any of the recent problems)
  - igrekel 8y ago
    Exactly, what can you expect when in many cases, the flight costs less than the ride to the airport.
- Tade0 8y ago
  I've worked for a company where the CEO's previous gig was introducing Ryanair in my country. This man was exceptionally talented in cost-cutting, and raked in many awards for "company of the year" etc. because of this. I had flown Ryanair for the first time only after I left that company and I could recognise his, um, touch in the way everything was organised.
nellaby 8y ago
Added to this you don't have to pay to get your tickets in seats next to each other. Ryan Air clealy makes an active effort so your seats are far away from each other. I was on a flight where my partner was next to an empty seat (one among many) but for some reason I was placed on the other side of the plane. Oh, and they make sure to mention you can't move seats before taking off. Don't listen to that dross

hutzlibu 8y ago

But they are overall still the cheapest(for europe). And I had only pleasant experience so far. (I can ignore advertisement very good) Can book easily(even with PayPal), I know their procedures, ... so they did build up some trust for me (and others). Thats why I book usually with them. The strike is a new situation, but I also have no scheduled flights, so I see how it goes. But I also never flew EasyJet, so it is possible that I might switch once ... and then stay with them.

nostalgeek 8y ago
> so they did build up some trust for me (and others) let's not pretend they don't try to rip customers off with hidden or gotcha fees, because they do. Their whole business model is based on bait+switch. You said they did "build trust" but at the same time you are saying " I know their procedures", of course, because if you are not careful you'll pay some bullshit fees. It's just one of the worst plane company in western Europe. And they are not that cheap since their planes often only land not in main airports but ones in the middle of nowhere so you often have to add the cost of transport to your actual destination which is often not that cheap.
- hutzlibu 8y ago
  Well, I guess with knowing their procedures, I also meant, that I know the points, where they try to rip me off. But since I know, and also exactly where I will land and start, it works for me very cheap.
- tomp 8y ago
  > Their whole business model is based on bait+switch That's the business model of most of EU's cheap air companies. E.g. EasyJet "allows" you one piece of luggage on board, but unless you're EasyJet Plus (i.e. pay extra), good luck actually taking it with you on board with any sort of predictability or regularity.
  - nostalgeek 8y ago
    > That's the business model of most of EU's cheap air companies. E.g. EasyJet "allows" you one piece of luggage on board, but unless you're EasyJet Plus (i.e. pay extra), good luck actually taking it with you on board with any sort of predictability or regularity. And Ryan Air takes it to a whole new level. At least easy jet planes don't feel like they are going to break in the middle of the flight.

user5994461 8y ago

The 4 planes I took with Ryanair this summer were all late. The last one had air conditioning broken, we were roasting like chickens for almost 2 hours, from after we boarded the plane to before we could depart. I've been telling my girlfriend to never buy Ryanair again for as long as she bought Ryanair. There aren't really alternatives in the nearby airports or on the right day/time, so there's that. I guess they can keep doing whatever they want as long as there is no competition. Point being, there is little competition between airlines. There is also no reason for ryanair to be this cheap, they should be able to raise price without issues.

tomp 8y ago
> The last one had air conditioning broken Wow. I'm surprised that a plane that has any part of the ventilation system broken is even allowed to take off!
- user5994461 8y ago
  The ventilation started once we were in flight. It's not clear to me if it needs the plane to move, or if it was fixed during the 2 hours we were stuck on the ground. By the way, the flight itself is less than 2 hours. The wait in the plane, grounded, was more than the flight time.
  - willyt 8y ago
    I think the Air conditioning is powered by the APU (gas turbine in the tail of the aircraft) on the ground or Fixed Electric Ground Power. Inoperative APU is not safety critical so airlines are allowed to fly with this defect. I'm guessing you weren't connected to ground power because Ryanair save money by only buying the absolute minimal services from the Airport; the FEGP is usually part of the air bridge structure in modern terminals but Ryanair flights seem to mostly board up stairs even when an air bridge is available.
  - rlonstein 8y ago
    > The ventilation started once we were in flight I think how the A/C on an airliner is driven depends the location. There are the engines while in flight, the APU (Auxillary Power Unit, a small jet engine that starts the main engines, tops the batteries, and other tasks) while idling on the ground, off the batteries, or off a service cart on the ground. Running the engines burns fuel, the APU burns fuel, and having the service cart incurs ground fees. So it's likely that RyanAir didn't want to spend to keep the A/C going.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

gambiting 8y ago

You need to be extremely lucky to be in a position where you can just "not use" a carrier - for myself and a lot of people I know Ryanair is the only available connection between places where we need to be. It's not a even a matter of paying more - there simply isn't a connection available otherwise.

soneil 8y ago

They've got to the point where everyone loves to hate them, but not enough to stop using them. If I compare with the bus I take to the airport: RYR have a higher chance of showing up on time. A higher chance of a functional toilet, and I'm guaranteed a seat. The bus is give-or-take 30 minutes, frequently stuck in rush hour traffic, and booking a seat doesn't guarantee I'll get on the bus, it just guarantees I'll have priority over anyone at the same busstop who didn't book. The kicker? My last three flights (each) cost me less than that bus. This is RYR in a nutshell. They'll lower their price if you'll lower your expectations. And in doing so, they've essentially brought air travel to the working class. Comparing them to a 'real' airline is like asking why hostels still exist when proper hotels offer a much better experience.

another-cuppa 8y ago

A lot of people say they don't like Ryanair, but a lot of those people will use it again when the price is less than a quarter of that of other airlines. It's actually a really interesting piece of psychology. Ryanair's service is so much worse in so many ways that I'm sure it's not better value for money. But even if you have to wake up at 4am to make it to an airport in the middle of nowhere to take a Ryanair flight to an airport 50 miles away from where you are actually going, it's still really tempting to pick the cheapest flight.