Airline Reporter » Ryanair

VOTE! Airline Says No Kids Allowed in First Class – Should More Follow?

David Parker Brown — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:30:26 +0000

Malaysia Airlines has announced no kids in first class, will Ryanair ban all kids from some of their flights too?

Recently Malaysia Airlines announced they would no longer allow babies to fly in their first class cabins on Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A380s when they go into service. This comes after complaints by first class passengers, who pay a pretty penny, not wanting to hear screaming kids during their flight. The airline has stated they have tried noise cancelling headphones, but passengers wanted the baby-ban. The airline still plans to allow babies in business and economy class seats.

Ryanair also recently announced they would start offering child-free flights this October. However, they announced the new flights right before April’s Fools and they have not officially announced one way or another if they will actually be offering the flights.

On the other side of the spectrum, I just got an email in my inbox this morning from Qatar Airways stating that two kids can fly for free (plus taxes and surcharges) with one adult. It doesn’t appear to be directly related to Malaysia Airlines not allowing babies to fly, but it is pretty good timing.

Reading many of the comments on the internet after Ryanair’s announcement and even more recently after Malaysia Airlines’ baby-ban statement, there seems to be a lot of popularity behind not allowing or restricting children from flying. Personally I do not have my own kids, nor am I a big fan of screaming kids on an airline, but it almost seems that is just part of living in a society — being around kids.

I am curious to get your thoughts and figured it is about time for another poll (Note: if you are reading this on the Seattle PI or Reuters synidcation, you will have to go to http://www.airlinereporter.com to vote):

[poll id="5"]

If an airline outright banned all kids, there would probably be a huge backlash , even though it seems most people do not want kids on their flight. An airline like Ryanair might be able to get away with it, but look at all the attention Malaysia Airlines received just from banning kids from first class on only two aircraft type. We will have to wait until October to see if Ryanair’s promises of child-free flights was true or just another marketing ploy and I would suspect many other airlines around the world are watching how the Malaysian ban will work out.

Images: David Barrie and ffc57

Updated: Check Out These April Fool’s Jokes From Airlines

David Parker Brown — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:23 +0000

Um...what? You are holding this blog upside down.

Tis the season for fooling. It is hard to know what is true and what is not true on this day. Some airlines have really gotten into it and come up with great April Fool’s news stories. Who says airlines can’t have a sense of humor? Here are the ones I have found so far:

* Air New Zealand promoted their new pay per pound program, which I have stated previous, it might actually work
* Ryanair will start child-free flights
* easyJet announced the new royal couple will be flying them and honeymooning in Scotland
* WestJet will be adding helium to their aircraft to reduce weight
* Southwest now is able to travel through time and they brought a video back to prove it
* Air France will start Jupiter flights starting Bastille Day
* Swiss Air Lines will hand out different types of chocolate depending on your flier status
* Virgin Atlantic is to have fresh produce and herbs in upper class
* Virgin America announces Sir Richard Branson buys Pluto and re-instates it as a planet
* JetBlue is to get rid of free snacks, DirectTV, direct flights and more (via @hbaskas)

If you run into any more April Fool’s jokes done by airlines (or airline-related) let me know and I will add it to the list with a little shout out to you.

Ryanair to Offer Child-Free Flights. Real or April Fools Marketing Genius?

David Parker Brown — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:15:58 +0000

Ryanair Boeing 737

Yesterday Ryanair “officially” announced that they will start offering child-free flights starting in October. Is this real or another free-publicity tactic by Ryanair? Well, the catch is that Ryanair might be crazy enough to do this. However, the fact that it is April Fools day tomorrow, makes me suspect this might all be a ruse. Also take into account that they have a history of pulling April Fools jokes in the past, from providing moon flights, offering first class seating and selling porn on board, Ryanair has been a fun little jokster.

Don’t get me wrong, this is genius marketing. First you get media outlets to report on the story, creating buzz and free advertising. Then, after it is announced it was a joke, there is another round of free advertising, saying it wasn’t true and how silly Ryanair is being. I was able to get an official copy of the press release, but I haven’t been able to get any confirmation from them that this is an April Fools joke. Sure, maybe this is real, but I am willing to bet that it is not. Since the press release itself is so entertaining, I want to share it with you all:

RYANAIR TO INTRODUCE ‘CHILD FREE’ FLIGHTS

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airlines, today announced that it will introduce ‘Child Free’ flights from October (winter schedule) after a Europe-wide survey of 1,000 passengers showed that half would pay higher fares to avoid other people’s children. The survey showed that a third of passengers (36%) have had flights ‘ruined’ by other people’s noisy kids with one in five passengers (18%) urging Ryanair to restrict the number of children on flights.

While the survey found that passengers would prefer to avoid other people’s children, it placed ‘blame’ firmly with parents with top gripes being:

50% Parents who expect ‘special treatment’ because they have children.
25% Parents who allow children to annoy those in seats behind.
15% Parents who board late and expect others to accommodate them.
10% Parents who allow children to run in the aisles or kick seats.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“When it comes to children we all love our own but would clearly prefer to avoid other people’s little monsters when travelling. While half our passengers would like us to divide our cabins up into ‘adult’ and ‘family’ areas it is not operationally possible due to our free seating policy, with optional priority boarding. However, with clear demand for ‘child free’ flights Ryanair will introduce child free flights on high frequency routes from the start of our winter schedule in October.”

So what do you think? Real or fake? Would you like to see child free flights?

Image: jplphoto

Ryan Air is Told Their Boarding Pass Fees Are Not Fair

David Parker Brown — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:30:32 +0000

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-DHK)

It has been quite some time since I last talked about one of my favorite airlines: Ryanair. Last time I pointed out how Ryanair was actually talking about becoming a more mature airline. Their CEO, Michael O’Leary was touting what they can offer passengers versus being the lowest cost airline possible. Although they aren’t getting attention over a crazy new fee idea, they are in some hot water for an old fee.

If you think the fees of airlines in the United States are crazy, you might be a little shocked to see how Ryanair does business. Having to pay $45 for a checked in bag on Spirit Airlines? Ha… That is amateur night. The fee in question is the ability to print your boarding pass at the airport. If you do not manage to print it at home, you are looking at a €40 (about $54.00) fee.

Do not get me wrong, that is a lot of money for a very simple process, but it is a part of the process — this is how Ryanair works. You get super dirt cheap tickets and then fees for pretty much everything else outside of moving your bottom from one part of the world to another. This is their business model and it is very successful for them. The more people check in at home, the less kiosks and employees they need at the airport, reducing costs and reducing ticket fares. Although fees can be annoying, Ryanair is quite clear of their policies and they pass down the savings to the customers. If you do not like the policies of the airline, don’t fly the airline.

Anyhow, a Spanish judge has now ruled that this fee is “unfair.” This all started with a passenger named Dan Miro, took a Ryanair flight back in May 2009. He missed the part where he should print his boarding pass at home and was quite upset when he found out how much he had to pay at the airport. It just so happened that Miro is a Spanish lawyer and instead of taking the blame for not realizing his mistake, he decided to take Ryanair to court.

Ryanair argued they are a low cost carrier and do things differently than other airlines. However, the judge wouldn’t hear it and decided that the airline is responsible for printing boarding passes, since that is the way it works. Ryanair sees the boarding pass just like an ID. You need an ID to fly and if you forget it at home, you just don’t get to fly. Instead of leaving a passenger high and dry if they forget their boarding pass, the airline will allow passengers to print it out at the airport… for a fee. Although a very different procedure from most airlines, this really isn’t all that crazy. An airline is not allowed to try to do things differently without fear of being taken to court?

Ryanair states that if they have to stop charging a fee for printing boarding passes, they might just not offer to print them at the airport at all. How lame would that be? I might start sounding like a broken record here, but if you do not like the fees of one airline, do not fly it. Use your cash to give your vote. So many people talk about hating fees, yet they they see that super low price, they cannot help themselves. Always reminds me of the quote, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”

What are your thoughts? Is this a fee that has come too far? Do you think a US carrier might try this fee someday? Should US carriers be sued for the fees they already have?

Source: Irish Times via Air Observer Image: wico

Ryanair Says it Needs to Improve Service Quality? What?

David Parker Brown — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:30:59 +0000

Ryanair Boeing 737-800 (EI-EKK) at Boeing Field before being delivered to Ryanair

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary is known for saying crazy things. Standing seats, paid toilets and more recently flying with only one pilot. This bizarre approach gets him and Ryanair a lot of free publicity. It is a genius way to do things, because it works.

Well O’Leary recently said some very interesting things that was reported by The Guardian and he isn’t getting much attention. It is odd because this is some of O’Leary’s craziest stuff ever: he wants Ryanair to improve in quality.

He told the Guardian that he feels Ryanair is maturing and with growth, they need a new strategy and a new leader. O’Leary feels that the airline needs to talk more about what they can offer versus being the cheapest airline at all costs.

Whoa! What? Does that mean no more crazy rants? Well don’t get too excited, because even though he says he should leave, he also says he won’t leave until the airline doubles in size.

O’Leary stated, “When we are twice the size we are now, at around 400 aircraft, then the growth rate slows down to 2% or 3% per year. The shareholders will want a return. You will need a different management then. We won’t need my dog and pony show, which is about generating publicity. Every company has to move from being the high-growth Robin Hood.”

Well, at least he knows his shenanigans is just a show.

Ryanair has already been moving into larger airports and away from their small airport game plan. They say they want to bring up their image, but I am almost thinking they just want to bring up the price of a ticket and increase their profit.

Love Ryanair or hate them, they have a model that works. They can do almost whatever they want because they charge so little? Why change something that works? If they move out of the crazy realm, I am sure other airlines would be more than happy to step up.

Image: Drewski2112

Standing Seats are NOT Coming to a Ryanair Plane Near You

David Parker Brown — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:27 +0000

I doubt these yellow Ryanair seats will be taken out for stand up seats anytime soon

I debated if I should even blog about this, but figured why not?

Ryanair is out there running its (genius) PR machine again. It doesn’t matter how many times Ryanair says something the media will pick it up and treat it like fact. I love Ryanair’s ability to consistently do this and especially with a topic that has already been picked up previously. They will talk about some radical money-saving scheme (ie paid toilets) and then it never happens. Yet passengers get the idea that Ryanair is willing to do almost anything to save passengers money and look to them for the cheapest ticket possible, while Ryanair gets tons of free publicity. Like their PR strategy or hate it, at least it works (and I know I am guilty of helping them out).

Anyhow, Ryanair is at it again saying they are looking to provide uber low fares on stand up seats, but Boeing is saying no way. Aubrey Cohen with the Seattle PI quotes Boeing as saying, “We are not considering standing-only accommodations, nor do we have any plans to do so. Among other things, stringent regulatory requirements — including seats capable of withstanding a force of 16 Gs — pretty much preclude such an arrangement.”

Even though I don’t think it is that crazy of an idea to offer stand-seating in the future, I doubt we will be seeing them anytime soon. Many short-hop flights from 30-90 minutes could be done standing up. Think of riding a full bus or train and seeing people having to stand for longer periods of time. Unlike a bus or train, an airplane under-goes much more force with take off and landing.

Even if standing seats did exist, would they make economical sense? Ryanair is saying they would charge as little as $6 for a standing seat. Adding extra seats, but reducing fares while having to haul around more weight doesn’t seem to make business sense. It would most likely be more cost effective just to keep the sitting seats and charge more.

Image: GetDown

CLASSIC VIDEO: Alaska Airlines Commercial from 1984 is Psychic

David Parker Brown — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:00:44 +0000

When I was a young kid I remember seeing this commercial on TV. With all the talk about all these extra fees and maybe having to pay for bathrooms, I couldn’t help but think of this classic commercial. Thanks to YouTube, I was able to track it down and wanted to share. Little did the ad agency know how real this might become.

This also shows that is Ryanair will really do this (I don’t think they will), they need to make sure the doors take credit cards!

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OPINION: From Someone Who Has Flown Ryanair

David Parker Brown — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:30:40 +0000

Amy's family took this photo when flying from Shannon to Paris in 2008. Dorothy (Amy's mom) points out the Aer Lingus plane in the background going to the same airport and charging three times more than Ryanair.

Don’t worry folks. The blog is not going to turn just into talking about Ryanair, but recently I have received not just one, but two emails from Stephen McNamara with Ryanair and they have caused a lot of discussion on Twitter and the blogsphere [check out the BitterWallet.com opinion on the letters]. A lot of people have contacted me and commented about how crazy Ryanair can be, but I think they just would take it as a compliment. I haven’t had the opportunity to fly Ryanair, but my girlfriend Amy has been able to fly them quite a few times and I wanted to share her viewpoint:

Due to a study abroad experience, and later a work relocation for a family member, I’ve had the opportunity to travel a bit in Europe, flying on Ryanair about 15 times.

Ryanair has cheap tickets to various cities in Europe. They have a great business model – no question about that. I think that anyone who is duly warned about the downsides of flying Ryanair and then complains about it is getting exactly what they deserve. It’s a low-cost airline, and they don’t owe you anything. If you want a first-class experience, go ahead and pay three times as much to fly another airline. If your main concern is fast and cheap Point A to Point B service to another European city, then low-cost airlines like Ryanair or Wizz Air or easyJet or whoever is the cheapest that week will do just fine.

You should do your research whenever you plan a trip, that’s a given. There a few things to consider if you’re deciding whether or not to fly a low-cost airline on your trip. For ease of comparison, I’ll refer to the points that David and Stephen McNamara were debating about Ryanair.

#1: Customer service – Low-cost airline staff are primarily concerned with efficiency. You may be trading above-and-beyond friendliness for getting the plane off the ground in time. I don’t exactly equate on-time arrivals with “customer service” but it’s important to recognize that Ryanair has a good on-time arrivals record. Ryanair doesn’t do connections, so being on-time is pretty critical if you’re hopping around. I was only on two late flights, and only one was a little catastrophic for my vacation plans. Did I go complain to Ryanair? No way. Did I expect them to pay for my 200 Euro cab ride because I missed my train? No – I knew exactly what I was getting into when I bought that cheap ticket.

#2: Charging for the little things – Yeah, there are lots of fees that make that cheap fare go up (though probably still cheaper than a larger airline). Here’s a list of Ryanair’s fees. However, if you have no checked luggage, can find a promo fare with no check-in fee, don’t need snacks or drinks, don’t need priority boarding (which most families do) and have no sports equipment, musical instruments or baby stuff (including actual babies – 20 Euros), you can avoid a lot of fees. Think 22 year old backpackers. This is their heaven.

#3: Flying to small airports – Ever heard of Reus, Spain? How about Beauvais, France? That’s “Barcelona” and “Paris” in low-cost airline speak. Many (but not all) of the airports that low-cost airlines fly to are outside of the major city where your hotel probably is. In this case, you’ll probably pay about 15 Euros to take a bus for 1-2 hours. In Weeze, Germany, I believe the bus we took into Dusseldorf was also owned by Ryanair, which is pretty genius. When flying from London to Dublin, I booked a flight from Stansted and it required a one-hour train ride from London, adding another 30 BPs to the overall cost of the flight. It makes sense that flying to smaller airports keeps costs low – and it’s usually not a big deal. Just know how to get to the main city.

#4: Ryanair is popular – Well, yeah – Ryanair was kind of the pioneer in this market and their route coverage has just grown and grown. After awhile I would just assume that Ryanair had a better/cheaper flight than its competitors.

#5: Charging to make reservations over the phone – I never called to book flights (I’d go to internet cafes), so I didn’t experience that first-hand. I guess their argument is that people who use the online booking shouldn’t absorb the cost of paying customer service representatives that answer the phones. Use the internet, it’s 2010.

#6: Almost never giving refunds – I would never have expected a refund from Ryanair. They are pretty upfront about being a bare-bones airline, and I’m sure the other low-cost airlines are the same. Also, if you don’t get a refund, you’re really not out that much money.

#7: People fly, in spite of their complaints – For me, the positives (cheap, good schedule) outweighed the negatives (slight inconveniences, occasional fees, minimal customer service). There is certainly something to be said for the “if you don’t like it, go somewhere else” approach. There were a couple of times I felt frustrated and declared that I would never fly a low-cost airline again, but that feeling only lasted until I got to a computer to try to book my next trip.

Low-cost airlines in Europe really are in a class of their own. For most routes, it seems like they compete more with ground and sea travel than they really do with large, long-haul airlines. I came to view the small airports like train stations – lines aren’t too long and you don’t need to be there very early.

Basically, if any other airline could offer better customer service, fly to bigger airports, and still be cheap – they’d run Ryanair out of business. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, so for now low-cost airlines like Ryanair are your only choice and they know it. Consider yourself warned and make sure to do your research.

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Ryanair Emails Again to Rebut My Previous Blog

David Parker Brown — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:35:15 +0000

Ryanair Boeing 737

On Friday I posted an email I received from Ryanair. I very much enjoyed the email and the interaction with Stephen McNamara, Head of Communications with Ryanair.

In the comments of the blog, I was asked how I replied to his email. I thought about a long reply, but settled on just thanking him for connecting with me and that I have corrected my blog. I was kind of hoping he would read the post I made and oh boy did he!

Here is his (unedited) email I received on Friday morning:

Hi David

While I contacted the Seattle pi I will not be keeping a line of communication open with your blog – no disrespect but I simply don’t have the time (or resources) to correct the errors most bloggers come up with – but as you said, you have never flown with Ryanair so perhaps you are unaware that:

1.      They provide sub-par customer service (and are almost proud of it) – Wrong. Ryanair has the best on-time record, the least lost bags and the fewest cancelations of any major European airline.

2.      charge for everything – Wrong. Ryanair allows passenger to avoid paying for any of the services that are factored into the cost of high fare tickets, the average fare with Ryanair (which includes a 25KG baggage allowance) is just €32 – compared to the next cheapest airline at €60.

3.      fly to smaller airports. Wrong. In some cases we do, but we also fly to many main airports (e.g. Berlin, Edinburgh, London and Madrid etc) and passengers, especially those who travel frequently realise that it is more comfortable and quicker to travel through smaller airports – while it also allows for cheaper fares which passengers would walk over hot coals to get to.

4.      but are one of the most popular airlines in the world – Wrong (but almost correct). We are the world’s favourite airline per IATA statistics which show that Ryanair carried more international scheduled passengers than any other airline last year.

5.      They charge customers to call their customer service hotline – Wrong. We don’t have a customer service hotline; passengers can contact customer service in writing only.

6.      and are well known for almost never giving refunds. Wrong. While our fights are non-refundable we do provide refunds in rare cases of weather related cancelation (per EU 261 legislation) and in cases where they are entitled to a refund of government taxes and charges. However, if a passenger is looking for a refund because their cat/dog/grandmother is sick they are not entitled to one, and won’t get one – per the Terms and Conditions they agreed to.

7.      Yet, they provide super low fares and passengers keep flying them. Correct – almost, it should really say and an increasing number of passengers fly them – Ryanair continues to grow thanks to our low fares while other airlines’ passenger numbers continue to collapse.

But I guess I can let you have that one – one out of seven ain’t bad – for a blogger!

Ryanair does ‘understand’ social media and that blogs are generally based on opinion (which is why we generally ignore them – unless they appear somewhere like the Seattle PI). Far be it from me to preach on new media but like good journalists good blogs should be balanced and at least factual – if a blogger wants to blog about something by all means go ahead but if people are going to take the time to read a blog they should be confident that the blogger at least knows the facts and matches those facts with the entertainment value a blog provides.

Finally, re “I have updated my blog, but in my defense, major news organizations were covering this, like the BBC for example.” Ryanair was contacted by the BBC and provided a statement which was carried in the piece and explained the situation – this however did not make it into your blog – which is why we contacted the Seattle PI – bloggers can not just take a story that entertains them and omit the facts – as you clearly did in this case. Major news organisations provided balance, when you picked up the story from their sites you ignored that balance.

Regards

Stephen McNamara
Head of Communications

Ha! 1 out of 7 or about 14% right (according to Ryanair). Surprised I got the “Ryanair is one of the most popular airlines in the world” wrong. How about the most famous Irish airline in the US or at least on my blog? Now most of the rebuttals are questionable and I know McNamara is doing his PR job to put the positive spin on his airline.

Like I have said, I have never flown them before, so not sure how to respond to these. For those of you who have flown them, care to add your opinion on his email?

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Image: skippyscage

RYANAIR SPEAKS – I get an email from Stephen McNamara, Head of Communications with Ryanair

David Parker Brown — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:30:22 +0000

Ryanair out does themselves this time!

I love Ryanair. Personally I have never flown them, but I have absolute respect for what they are able to accomplish. They provide sub-par customer service (and are almost proud of it), charge for everything, fly to smaller airports, but are one of the most popular airlines in the world. They charge customers to call their customer service hotline and are well known for almost never giving refunds. Yet, they provide super low fares and passengers keep flying them. I talk over and over again how powerful this business model is and how someday it might come to the United States. Passengers complain about bad service and fees, but they keep dealing with it, as long as they get the cheapest fare. How can we hold Ryanair responsible if people are willing to pay? I can’t, but I sure can blog about their shenanigans.

Ryanair will announce crazy things and sit around while the world media talks about it and gives them free press. I know I am guilty of this as well, but they provide such great material. Trying to get a comment from them, especially as a blogger, is nearly impossible. I have tried to make contact with Ryanair on multiple occasions with no luck.

This is why I was so giddy to see an email from Stephen McNamara, Head of Communications for Ryanair, in my inbox this morning. Yes, it goes to insult my integrity as a blogger, but man oh man, it was a welcomed surprise. Ryanair was actually talking to me…something not many bloggers can say!

So where to start?

A while back I blogged about Ryanair ditching passengers at a wrong destination with no help. Looks like I might have been wrong and I for that. I stated that due to weather, the Ryanair flight was diverted to Fuerteventura and then took off leaving the passengers stranded. McNamara corrects me:

“Ryanair flight FR 6766 Bournemouth – Lanzarote (17 Feb) diverted to Fuerteventura due to bad weather in Lanzarote. Ferries between the islands, which are used for the onward transportation of passengers in such cases, were also affected by high winds so passengers were provided with EU261 information which outlines their entitlement to provide receipted hotel expenses to Ryanair, for refund. Ryanair arranged ferries to carry affected Ryanair passengers to Lanzarote free of charge when ferries recommenced the following morning. Ryanair apologises to passengers for any inconvenience caused but can never put passenger convenience before passenger safety.”

No problem! I have recently heard from other sources that it seems there was one very unhappy passenger that turned this small story into Ryanair bashing. I have updated my blog, but in my defense, major news organizations were covering this, like the BBC for example.

Ok enough of the background information, let’s get to the fun parts of the blog. McNamara actually didn’t email me directly at first, but wrote to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, where my blog is syndicated. The syndication just pulls my RSS feed and they have no responsibility for my content, so passed the message on to me. In his first email McNamara states, “This blogger clearly likes to express his opinion without undertaking any research (to the detriment of professional bloggers who research their pieces and do not simply type the first stupid idea that comes into their head) I ask that this blog be removed.” Haha, that’s right, he said, “stupid idea,” man I love Ryanair. You know, writing about stupid and crazy ideas like charging for bathrooms, talking about “BJ’s” on flights, letting passengers smoke, making passengers stand to fly, and many more.

If I got this email from any other airline I would be horrified. I always try to keep positive when talking about airlines and have a professional relationships with the airlines I work with. Getting this from Ryanair is a total compliment in my mind. They are the elusive airline, that any blogger would love to have communication with. They are well known for brushing off bloggers as a waste of time. To know that McNamara is actually reading my blog and enough to write two emails responding to it… all I can say is, how awesome.

The Seattle PI, very professionally let McNamara know that they have no control over my content and since I am an independent blogger, he needs to write me directly. McNamara’s didn’t like that so much and wrote to both of us. His reply is so priceless, I just have to post the whole thing:

“Your answer is less than satisfactory and it is a damming indictment of the Seattlepi.com that you would allow clearly incorrect and biased information appear and remain on your site – brushing this off as an issue for the publisher is simply rubbish – it is on your site, you are the publisher.

If you were contacted by a reader over an article which contained racist or foul language for example, I am sure you would have the power to remove or edit the piece. Far from this simply being an issue for the independent publisher it is also your responsibility, as the site hosting the information. You are responsible for what appears on you site – David simply writes his opinions, as he is entitled to do – your site allows that opinion to be broadcast to the world.

I have cc’d this to David as instructed – however this underlines how irresponsible blogging and irresponsible hosting of such blogs, which fail to look at facts but simply provide biased opinion, undermines the worth of all blogs – to the detriment of those bloggers who display journalistic integrity and provide balance.

Regards

Stephen McNamara
Head of Communications”

Classic . What is great is there is no comment about any of my other Ryanair posts or my Crazier Than Ryanair Medal, which I have plenty. I am hoping this means McNamara is open for me emailing him directly to “research” any future blogs I write about Ryanair — I am good with that.

Orig Image: Gerry Hill

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Ryanair Has Advertisement War with EasyJet

David Parker Brown — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:44:06 +0000

easyJet gets down and dirty, but Ryanair started it!

I can’t figure out if Ryanair and easyJet really hate each other or love the fact they can constantly fight. Recently they have been going at it over their advertisements. Ryanair struck first by asking why easyJet won’t publish their on-time numbers.

The ad shows Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Founder of easyJet, with a Pinocchio nose and asking why easyJet says, “punctuality…is a top priority,” but hasn’t published their on-time stats for 37 weeks. Ryanair claims they have “lower prices and better punctuality than easyJet,” in the ad.

EasyJet struck back with their own ad pointing out that Ryanair states they fly to certain cities, but really fly to much smaller cities up to an hour away from the city advertised. This ad got Ryanair worked up and they complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), stating that easyJet was trying to accuse Ryanair of false advertising. The ASA ruled in Ryanair’s favor and the campaigned was banned.

Seems a little bit like Ryanair can dish it out, but doesn’t like to get dirty advertising back.

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Source: AirObserver

Ryanair Going Crazy Again, Leaving Passengers Stranded – UPDATED

David Parker Brown — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:33 +0000

Sunset view looking at a Ryanair winglet over the Canary Islands

If you read the blog often you know I have a fascination with Ryanair. Well I think most people who follow the airline industry have a fascination with Ryanair. As American travelers complain about fees, yet still pay them, I think Ryanair might show a glimpse of the future if passengers keep demanding the lowest price possible. Ryanair is known for their cheap prices, tons of fees and a total lack of customer service.

Recently Ryanair showed their customer service skills by stranding passengers at the wrong destination.

Eager passengers were on a flight from the UK to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands when it was diverted to Fuerteventura (about 30 miles away) due to weather. Even though airlines have no legal obligations to pay for costs related to weather, most make accommodations for customers in this situation due to this thing called “customer service.”

Instead, Ryanair booted off the passengers, fueled up and took off, leaving passengers on their own. Since there was no staff at the airport, there was little chance to get help. Of course, they could have tried to fight it out on the phone, but Ryanair charges by the minute to talk to a customer service representative.

Do I feel bad for these travelers? A little bit, I mean they lost a day of their vacation, had to get a hotel room, but flying on Ryanair is always a gamble. The old saying “you get what you pay for,” is quite accurate with Ryanair.

UPDATE 3/18/10: I just received an email from Stephen McNamara, head of communications for Ryanair who states the airline did provide ferry service to the passengers destinations. More can be found here.

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Image: GanMed64

My Six Favorite Airline Reporter Blogs of the Year

David Parker Brown — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:56:38 +0000

Me, in the engine of a Boeing 777 at the Future of Flight

This year has been amazing. 2009 brought some interesting blogs, a name change, syndication with the Seattle PI, coverage from multiple media outlets, some wonderful friends in aviation, travel around the country and much more.

I started this blog about a year and a half ago just to share my passion of commercial aviation with others. I started with only a few readers and now have thousands everyday. I have enjoyed the wonderful comments on my blog, syndication, and of course Twitter.

Looking back, in January 2009 I only wrote three blogs for the whole month and now, I work very hard trying to get one up daily. The task is not easy; I work a full-time job, own a house, have a wonderful girlfriend, and try to keep a decent social life. But I love following the airline industry and it seems some of you enjoy my perspective, so it motivates me to keep it up!

Next year is already looking great. I am currently working with a few airlines on some pretty cool projects I plan to take on early next year. I will also have a close relationship with the Future of Flight which has already inspired some of my blogs and allowed me to have VIP viewing of the Boeing 787 first flight. I also ask you, my readers, to think of interesting blogs you would like to see!

Now, to my top Airline Reporter blogs of this year. It was hard to choose just five of my favorite blogs, so I changed it to my top six (hey, this is my blog, I can do what I want ). They might not have been the most read, but they are special to me for different reasons. Here they are in no particular order and why they are my favorite:

#1 AirTran’s Big News (part 4): Every AirTran Airways plane will get Wi-Fi

Back in May 2009 I was invited by AirTran to fly from Seattle to Baltimore to go on their special Wi-Fi media flight. This was still at a time where being an aviation blogger was new, I didn’t have a solid direction my blog was going and I had never had an experience like this previously. This event really opened my eyes to the potential of my blog. I was lucky enough to meet Benet Wilson with Aviation Weekly, Ben Mutzabaugh with USA Today, Joe Sharky aviation legend, and many others who are very inspiring writers. The trip really started me thinking big and motivated me to aspire for bigger and original blogs.

#2 Pics and Video of Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s First Flight

What can I say about this? Being there in person on the Strato Deck at the Future of Flight, seeing the Boeing 787 take flight for the first time was absolutely amazing. 10 years from now, I am certain this post will make my “Top 5 blogs in the last 10 years.” Seeing this gorgeous plane lift off, while Boeing employees cheered them on, I felt so lucky to be there. I also got to meet the famous Flight Blogger Jon Ostrower to boot!

#3 Row 13: Why some airlines have it and others do not

I have wondered about row 13 for over 15 years. When I started to think about writing a blog on it in May, it took me five months to complete the write up (and posted it on Friday the 13th). When I started the research, I had no idea where it would lead me. Some airlines had no row 13 because of luck, another because of a canceled Boeing order. It was neat to make connections with many airlines and the fine folks at SeatGuru.com during my research.

#4 Mom Tells How Flying Used To Be

It is awesome that my mom has written a few blogs for me. This one was my favorite where she took a look back at what flying used to be like. She didn’t just blame the airlines for treating people like cattle, but realizes that airlines have just been meeting passenger demand for cheaper flying. Her story got put on the front page of the Seattle PI and got quite a bit of attention (something I was a little jealous about). People have really enjoyed reading her blogs and she is working on a few more for 2010!

#5 Putting Alaska Airlines 25 Minute Bag Guarantee to the Test

This one was just fun. I had just bought a car that was in Phoenix and a friend and I were flying down on Alaska Airlines to drive it back to Seattle (it was a great trip). I had just read that Alaska started charging for checked bags, but was giving passengers a guarantee — your checked bag will be at baggage claim 25min or less after the plane reaches the gate or you get a $25 discount on a future flight or 2500 bonus miles. This was a genius idea and I knew I wanted to cover it! It was perfect timing, since I already had booked my ticket on Alaska and I could put them to the test. I started my timer right as the plane stopped at the gate. It took us 15min 18sec to get from row 26 on the plane to baggage claim and the bag was already on the carousel. Good job Alaska Airlines! When I wrote the blog, they were planning to end the promotion at the end of the year, but since it has gone so well, they are extending it until at least July 31, 2010.

#6 Blogging on Ryanair

Ok, this is kind of cheating because it is not just one blog, but I just love blogging about Ryanair. I know that Ryanair says crazy stuff to get free media attention, but heck, I see it as win-win situation. In July I also gave out my “More Crazy Than Ryanair” medal (which I have more recently changed to “Crazier Than Ryanair”). Oddly I haven’t been able to give it out much since few airlines are crazier than Ryanair. I truly hope they can keep up the good (and crazy) times in 2010.

I wish everyone a wonderful and safe New Year!

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Merry Christmas (if that is your thing)

David Parker Brown — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:13:28 +0000

Keeping with my Ryanair holiday love, I am going to share some xmas liveries from Ryanair of the past:

Ryanair Boeing 737-200 with a nice big bow and Santa on the tail.

Ryanair always loves making waves. Hitting Santa will do it.

Santa's face on the nose of a Ryanair Boeing 737-200

No matter if you celebrate Christmas, or whatever, I wish you the best travels and just Happy December 25th! Click on the pictures for where I found them.

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Ryanair Backs Out of Buying Boeing 737’s (or are they?)

David Parker Brown — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:28:51 +0000

CEO Michael O'Leary really loves those Boeing 737's

Ryanair has announced they are breaking off negotiations with Boeing over purchasing 200 737-800’s. In early November I talked about how Ryanair was threatening to stop growth from not being able to reach an agreement with Boeing. The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary said the airline did come to an agreement, but Boeing is “unwilling to incorporate some other terms and conditions from our existing agreement into this new aircraft order,” O’Leary says. Of course O’Leary won’t elaborate what those details were.

Is this a real threat? I don’t think so. First off Ryanair already has a fleet of over 200 Boeing 737-800′s and is still planning on receiving over 100 more over the next three years. There is no way they are going to add another aircraft type or convert their entire fleet to Airbus. O’Leary also said he might be willing to re-open negotiations next year. Well, next year starts in about two weeks.

Ryanair is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world and it wants to continue its growth. Going after Aer Lingus isn’t working out so hot for them, so they need more planes. I am sure Boeing knows this and isn’t going to let Ryanair bully them around. Boeing already has 152 orders for the Boeing 737 and has delivered 336 so far this year. Yes, another 200 would surely be a good thing but it is not like Boeing needs the orders to keep the 737 rolling.

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Source: KING5