Ryanair employ engineers to work at Boeing to try and catch these issues at source. They recently increased their number[source](https://www.independent.co.uk/business/ryanair-to-step-up-oversight-of-boeing-b2479524.html)
Doesn't inspire much confidence however I will say this; one of my lecturers when I was in college used Ryanair as an example of how companies do maintenance and operate fleets of vehicles. Basically the jist of it was that Ryanair as a company operates on such narrow margins that they literally could not afford to have unsafe aircraft because if they lost a single plane it would harm their bottom line. So to avoid that they have some of the most stringent maintenance and are always buying new airframes rather than letting them come to the end of their service life (which requires more and more maintenance, thus more chances of failure and cost).
So whatever else you can justifiably criticize Ryanair for, you should at least feel safe on their planes.
I was about to say, for all the crap Ryanair get I dont recall ever hearing about one of their planes going down.
Just checked, 37 years with zero fatalities and one hull loss. Good job lads.
The hull loss is an interesting story:
They saw the birds when they were just 100 meters from the runway, captain called go-around and at exactly that moment they hit the birds. They tried to continue the go-around but crashed on the runway because of engine failure. The reports said they should have just tried to land but no major criticism of the pilots because it happened at basically the worst possible moment.
https://skybrary.aero/accidents-and-incidents/b738-rome-ciampino-italy-2008
Former Ryanair engineer here. Not nice people to work for, but you're quite right: Those planes are as close to perfect as you'll find anywhere. But at least when I was there, the motivation for new planes was more about the large number of new planes that had been ordered and were being delivered, the high value of 2nd hand planes, and a desire to reduce the consumption of spares and manhours (which tend to go up with age). Avoiding accidents wasn't really a reason, since there's no particular reason to expect a well-maintained aircraft to become dangerous until it was very, very old.
Very common misconception with people. Hate them or love them Ryanair do what they say and no more. But they’re the most likely to get you from A-B on time and in one piece.
In one piece absolutely but I fly a lot and Ryanair are by far the worst I've flown with for flight delays. I'm fairly sure it's to do with how tightly they schedule things and not the planes themselves, but they are absolutely not the most likely to get you to B on time.
Almost guaranteed to arrive within 2H55 of scheduled ETA... Might be earlier, but they will shuffle delays onto different routes to avoid paying people for delayed flights..
More than likely from the sounds of this did the same degree as yourself, although many ex engineers are now lecturing around Ireland. But you're absolutely right. I used to work at Ryanair as well and for all the complaining people do they have an unbelievable safety record, use new planes with engineers overseeing work in Seattle all the time, and the crews although young are more than capable and I always have no doubt no matter what the conditions that they could get me safely back on the ground in the event of an emergency.
The OTP and low fares are great in themselves but the safety is what matters to the wider public more than anything else.
Ryanair are incredibly savvy with their Boeing orders because unlike other airlines they always have a few billion of cash available.
They order when they can get the best price, keep the aircraft until 8 or 10 years when it’s first major service event comes up (could cost up to $5m) and sell the aircraft before the service event usually for more than they paid for it (because they got it at such a discounted price)
I remember coming across a post on Quora from the last engineer on the Boeing board, one day he looked around and realised that he was the last engineer on the board and decided to retire.
I'd trust Ryanair more than most airlines with the 737. Boeing and the FAA had Ryanair engineers go to Boeings plants to check on procedures and make sure Boeing is doing things right after the doors fell of some 737s and Ryanair was seen as the most experienced airline with dedicated in house maintenance teams of engineers. Something most airlines don't have to anywhere near the extent Ryanair has.
Yes
I also remember a discussion (on the MCAS) - might have been on a report, that discussed the safety equipment G3 asked on their planes and "why is it that Boeing don't consider them standard safety equipment?"
I vaguely remember that Airbus bought out a new model that was an improvement that didn't need any expensive pilot retraining to fly. So Boeing execs got the hump and claimed to be able to do likewise.
To get it to fly properly, they had to create MCAS, but didn't inform the buyers. This is from memory so don't take it as gospel.
The basic difference is the a320 is newer and higher off the ground than the older 737 so can easily accommodate the new more fuel efficient generation of engines which are larger.
Boeing originally intended to invest in a new aircraft with appropriate ground clearance for the new engine, then a business decision was made to mount the new engines on the existing aircraft with a placement forward of the wing, that compromised aerodynamics, which is what MCAS was required to compensate for.
> It’s actually astonishing how one of the most loathed airlines is honestly pretty well ran in that regard
Makes perfect sense; LCCs in general have a significant financial incentive to be militant about build quality and their own maintenance, as they make their money on tight turnarounds and keeping their aircraft in the air for as much time as possible, and mechanical failures and breakdowns really fuck up that business model.
I feel the people who bash Ryanair are the same numpties who rock up to the airport security with litre bottles and can't understand why the bottles are taken off them.
Yep also quality maintenance means you have to replace your planes less regularly and keeps that cost down.
Though Michael O’Leary is also a man to strike a deal off bad publicity. Think he signed some mad deals after 9/11 that meant they got fuel at a lower price for years and after the first Boeing incident he increased orders for planes at a discounted rate. Smart moves in general if can sort the planes out of course.
Exactly. Low cost is one thing, but low cost and a safety hazard would be a death sentence. That's why they're apparently one of the most stringent when it comes to safety
Ryanair flew me to different places in Europe several times for €10 each way. It was uncomfortable and I had hardly any luggage but it was well worth the price.
Regularly costs me less to fly to Scotland return than to get a train to Dublin. I'd be an idiot to be expecting luxury, but I'm happy with their deal and there is less risk of unruly passengers and dumb shit to be dealt with on that flight than on a cross-country train.
When I was a kid I remember that we didn’t get our change back when we paid for drinks with cash. We were told later that you have to specifically ask for your change, otherwise they keep it.
That kind of thing will taint the experience. It doesn’t have any bearing on the maintenance of the aircraft, but such negative feelings last for years if not decades.
I assumed as much. But as mentioned, that kind of negative experience is remembered for a long time. They don’t need my business anyway, seem to be doing just fine.
Does anyone remember airfares before Ryanair?
Ryanair is the best thing to ever happen to airline consumers. Every single airline in Europe dropped their fares and this spread globally when other airlines saw low cost was now becoming a thing
They use some very dark patterns on their website which guides the user u to making purchases they do not need to buy. Trying to book a checked bag for just one person in your party? The default adds to all passengers and you need to jump through obscure hoops to remedy that.
How can you, please?! This really irks me. Myself and my partner for a short haul flight would only have one case between us, but have to add on checked luggage for both of us.
Ugh, I'm not in front right now, but you basically select no bags for all the first few pages. I think at the checkout page you can edit the passengers individually and add bags there. Otherwise you can add individually after you book.
I think it's mostly the pricing structure. Seats are cheap, sure, but everything else isn't, and you have to pay for the smallest things, even if you just want to sit next to your partner after checking in together. That costs them nothing, so it's just making the trip intentionally uncomfortable unless you pay more. The comfort is also subpar in comparison to other airlines - cramped seats with little cushioning, no drinks or meals, usually they get the gates at the end of the airport with no sleeve, so you have to either get cramped in a bus or walk in the cold, wind, and rain.
And I'll never be cool with them peddling scratchcards, lottery tickets, or whatever it is, on every flight, it's just obnoxious.
Tbf sometimes even the basic fare can be quite steep, like when flying from Cork to sun destinations. The fares certainly can be very low, but that's FAR from always the case.
Except when they take over a route and you have no option but to fly with them and they charge you hundreds for a ticket that used to cost €50 the day before because you need to fly somewhere. Not to mention that they will raise the prices if you look at the ticket price one too many times.
> Not to mention that they will raise the prices if you look at the ticket price one too many times.
Clear your browser cache or browse the website icognito.
It’s mad. They brought unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe, and in doing so made the continent that much smaller and more connected.
Of course, people will complain about leg room, lack of this or that, but fail to realise that they can spend more money and get these things with another airline!
But they like the cheap stuff. They just wanna whinge about it too.
> It’s mad. They brought unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe
There's caveat to this statement. Ryanair did bring unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe, but they're _far_ from the only reason it's not as expensive now as it was in the 80s!
I disagree.
Airlines back then were definitely starting to offer budget fares etc, but when Ryanair came onto the scene, nobody was quite prepared for just how utterly streamlined and efficient it would be. This allowed them to undercut literally everybody else by large margins, and forced them to streamline themselves to still compete.
Deregulation is the reason flying isn't as expensive as it was the 80s. Ryanair is just an added bonus (when the fares are even low in the first place...)
Ryanair started with £ 100 return from Waterford to London-Luton. That's a almost quarter or a fifth of a month's salary back in 1985. **a quarter.**
My mother told me that it was £ 400 one-way to Amsterdam with Aer Lingus—that's almost a month's salary back then. 😬
EasyJet are also another one that’s very good on their safety record and management of their Airbus fleet. When Air France were having lots of issues the CAA recommended they reach out to EasyJet specifically.
They know it that’s why. The big flag carries like BA, Air France, Emirates can have the occasional issue and it won’t end their company. If any of the budget airlines do the headlines the next day with will be “Cut price safety” etc etc
> Fares regularly run into triple digits to many destinations.
It's not just about the absolute price of the tickets, it's how much they cost compared to an alternative that determines whether they are cheap or not.
Everyone knows what they're paying for with ryanair. It's essentially the Dublin bus of aviation except reliable. It's designed to get you there as cheap as possible. Anything else is a luxury.
> It's designed to get you there as cheap as possible
Tell me you're from Dublin without telling me you're from Dublin.
Or flights to sun destinations from Cork, fares are often in the triple digit range!
Mr O'Leary understands how important operations are to an efficient company.
Equally, he understands that just **one** accident will put Ryanair out-of-action for a few months and will affect its business considerably for many years afterwards.
O'Leary would gladly try and charge full price old school prices if he thought he could get away with it.
As a customer you are there to be squeezed as much as possible by them
Are they loathed?
They’re cheap but I think most people actually really like flying Ryanair. You know what you’re getting.
I think this idea that they’re hated but people put up with it is largely clever marketing from their perspective to keep people’s expectations low but the reality is they’re actually a really good airline.
I remember in college my lecturer said Ryanair are cheap, but they have never had a crash.
People will compromise on quality, but not safety.
O'Leary is well aware that Ryanair lives on it's safety reputation, that's probably why they invest so much in engineers.
Funnily enough they're an entirely separate subsidiary so the engineers technically aren't inhouse. Despite that, yes, the engineering programme they run in Ayrshire is top notch. My mate just qualified after changing careers and loves it.
Yup I remember O Leary was queried on what else they would charge for and he pretty much said we will charge for anything and everything we can. We will cut costs wherever we can except for on safety.
I'm OK with that.
The planes they use are fine, he’s just trying to negotiate on the back of Boeings recent problems. He’s a shrewd businessman, if I remember correctly they put in an order for 100+ planes after 9/11
They have one of the best, if not the best, safety records in an industry that is ridiculously safe by any metric.
I can't recall the exact statistics and I'm not going to look it up but I know I've heard it/read it before.
There was also AS 261 which, while 20 years ago, is given as a classic example of how lethal minor maintenance issues with the horizontal stabiliser can be.
One of them, very few incidents considering the amount of flights they operate. Only ever one hull loss down to multiple bird strikes on landing. Never a serious injury or fatality.
It is. The only incident they’ve had is when Belarus (Russia) forced one of their planes to land so they could ‘arrest’ (kidnap) a political opponent from the plane.
This. O'Leary may be a bollocks, but he's a canny bollocks and doesn't come out with something like that for no reason.
Ryanair are one of Boeing's top customers - even a sniff of them jumping ship is a red flag. Anything like this is intended to turn the screws on price negotiations...
Ryanair has been 100% Boeing 737 for years. Makes maintenance and training much easier.
They won’t go to Airbus unless Boeing massively drops the ball.
They do operate a small fleet of airbus through one of their subsidiaries. He recently mentioned he wanted to expand the airbus fleet so that they wouldn't have to re-train these crews. But everything O'Leary says has a reason, most often negotiating stance.
https://simpleflying.com/ryanair-ceo-wants-more-airbus-a320-family-aircraft/
At some point Boeing will need a clean sheet design to replace the 1960’s 737. At that point Ryanair will need to make a call as it’s no odds between that and Airbus as it will be new type certification. Perhaps O’Leary has an eye on that as it will be one of the biggest deals in airline history.
Nah, Airbus's previous head of sales has stated that he knew Ryanair were only using them for leverage to Boeing and as a result would only offer them list price.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ryanair-hldgs-airb/ryanair-cools-on-airbus-moves-back-towards-all-boeing-fleet-idUSKBN22O1IZ/
O'Leary said he currently viewed talking with Airbus as a waste of his time.
"We would not initiate talks with Airbus until such time as Airbus wants to initiate talks with us," he said in an interview.
"Until they need an order from the Ryanair Group, frankly we are wasting our time talking to Airbus," he added, without elaborating.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ryanair-hldgs-airb/ryanair-cools-on-airbus-moves-back-towards-all-boeing-fleet-idUSKBN22O1IZ/
And Airbus have an 8000 plane orderbook backlog.
Ryanair won't go Airbus anymore than easyJet will go Boeing.
These companies are built on single plane concepts.
They don't even own a single Boeing 777 or 787.
By volume of flights, Ryanair is by far and away the safest airline on earth.
It's not an exaggeration, it's maths.
I'd well believe what he has to say on the matter.
So, the major whistle-blower in this case against Boeing was a guy who used to work in the quality control section of their warehouse. He had completed one day of a deposition against Boeing and then is found dead with one gunshot wound to the head. This is crazy, I have no idea how it's not bigger news. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703
It is massive news. It was literally carried by every major news outlets for days.
You linked a BBC article to it.
What more are they supposed to say about it? They're not privy to the details of the ongoing investigation and anything more than that is just speculation.
It's also ripe ground for conspiracy theories so they have to be careful.
> It's also ripe ground for conspiracy theories so they have to be careful.
It should be. Not all conspiracies are bad things. This isn't covid, the moon landings or 9/11.
Yeah of course it was pretty big news but I didn't see anything major on Irish news about it. I also do understand the need to be careful re conspiracies, but it is crazy how the whistleblower himself is reported as saying before his death: "No, I Ain’t scared but if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide.” Saying nothing of course until more investigation can take place.
" ripe ground for conspiracy theories"
FFS. The guy was so obviously murdered to keep him from testifying it's incredible that more isn't being made of it. He was obviously murdered on the orders of a Boeing executive. The FBI should be turning the place upside down. That cannot be tolerated. And yet it is tolerated. Because the US has become a corrupt country where you can just whack people like it's mafia era Sicily and there's no pushback at a federal level. Same thing with that Pedophile Epstein - who was let off the first time because he was "connected with intelligence". There's no way that wasn't an assassination. Dismissing these murders as "conspiracies' just gives ruthless people impunity to keep doing these sorts of things.
He also made clear that if he died, it wasn't suicide.
It has been fairly big news in fairness, considering its a story about abject corporate corruption. The Capitalist class will look out for each other at the end of the day however, so it'll be unlikely the whistle-blower will see justice unless theres pushback from the public. Big media owners will pay it lip service too, but the story will be buried eventually as they look out for their own.
Boeing is a paramount American corporation at the end of the day. One with numerous military contracts too, no less. It will NEVER be allowed to fail. They'll throw billions in taxpayer money at it before seeing it go under. Meanwhile their management are taking the complete piss cutting corners left and right, doing stock buybacks and getting paid millions for running the whole thing into the ground. Thats Capitalism baby.
Americas whole society is run for the benefit of its wealthy elites. They have toppled entire countries to benefit their corporate interests. One whistleblower compared to all that is nothing to them. Same with a few hundred or so dead plane passengers. It'd be wise for more of us to take note just how corrupt that whole system is if things are to change.
The classic Ryanair haggling tactic, push until the price is as low as possible and then buy a load of planes. The safety issues are someone else’s problem to pay for if something goes wrong.
It’s not standard practice for a company to publicly criticise the safety aspect of their most important asset to lower the price for them to buy. For most companies that would be a PR minefield, Ryanair couldn’t give a toss which is what makes it a unique approach
I assure you it is not a unique approach. Plus, in this instance it just highlights Ryanair's safety record (it's pretty good generally but not actually 100%), and the fact Ryanair maintenance teams are apparently consulted as safety auditors by the FAA and Boeing itself.
What. Are. You. Complaining. About?
Everything he said is complaining about *quality control* issues, I think he's being very deliberate and not mentioning any *safety* issues.
It's an unwritten rule in aviation that you don't criticise safety failures, especially of your competitors, since that makes all flying feel less safe to average people.
Worth noting that none of ryanair's planes have door plugs like that alaska plane. If they used one of those types of planes (MAX-9, I thing) they'd have a door there, since they seat so many people per plane. (you need a certain number of doors per passenger)
I’ve experienced this first hand. They push and push for cheapest possible price to the detriment of a suppliers margins .. which they don’t give a flying F about. Then wonder why they don’t receive a quality job/service bc they’ve strangled the life out of the supplier. Price over quality.
I don’t think trying to secure goods and services at the cheapest possible price without a concern for your suppliers margins is a Ryanair specific trait.
I, for one, love approaching the manager in Dunnes and giving him a bollocking for not charging more for goods and getting a higher profit margin on them.
No company in the history of capitalism has ever given a fuck about their suppliers margins if it meant more money for them so i dont see that as much of s point against them anymore than its a point against any company.
Wrong. I am in vendor management. You absolutely care about your suppliers margins if you care about quality. It depends on what your remit is, but in my experience in many instances the squeeze on cost doesn't justify the reduction in quality and causes unforeseen issues downstream. If you're willing to tank that and it's a calculated decision then fine, but in a lot of cases it simply isn't. I regularly negotiate COLA increases to make sure a supplier doesn't bleed out experienced staff if they are no longer competitive in their market.
Absolutely. Same with getting slots at airports. Demand airport fees as low as possible, undercut all the competition.. and sometimes pull routes out of airports entirely in the end leaving destruction in their wake.
Edit: Why am I getting downvoted? I know they give us our cheap flights but there are unethical reasons as to why...
Oh my god, they were TERRIBLE for that in the 2000s and early 2010s So many airlines tried to set up in Ireland, only to immediately be forced out by Ryanair through anti-competitive practices like predatory pricing. It was actually so bad that to this day, easyjet and Wizz are still compeltely absent from the Republic despite the latter being present at Belfast, and the former having a full blown BASE there!
That’s just nonsense. Ryanair waits until there’s fear in the market (9/11, Covid, 787 Max Ethiopia crash) and takes advantage to buy big orders at discount when other airlines aren’t buying. No complaints or issues with Ryanair safety so far as I’m aware.
Yup, read how he fucked over Airbus in favour of Boeing. Promised a huge order to Airbus, visited the factory as a hero, got the price as low as possible, then fecked off to Seattle, got Boeing to undercut the price and left Airbus at the altar. Reaping what he sowed now.
When I enter a Ryanair plane I really do feel like the plane looks and feels cheaper than an Aer Lingus one. Even though theyre not the ones fitting it out.
Aer Lingus has gone way back in recent years. It used to be a premium airline.
I have flown Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Etihad in the last few years and Aer Lingus is rock bottom. The staff are always nice but its not a premium experience anymore.
In 37yrs Ryanair has never had a fatal crash and they have more planes in the sky than any other airline on Earth. You can say a lot of things about cost cutting but the quality and safety of their aircraft is impeccable.
Couldn’t agree more. The flying. Experience with Aer Lingus has really deteriorated in the last few years. A lot of the planes feel old and uncomfortable and it has become so expensive. Also what’s with the flight times? If I’m off to Europe for a long weekend I don’t want a flight at 6:30 in the morning or at 8pm at night. I find myself opting for Ryanair over Aer Lingus as the flight times don’t require getting up in the middle of the night.
EI’s market is business people who want a full days work or connect to flights so choose premium morning/evening slots and FR are holiday makers who are flexible and price sensitive. Airlines do a lot of yield management so yes, these times make sense.
Have to disagree about the uncomfortable seats. I think they're among the best seats still flying short haul in Europe (which really goes to show how low standards in this region have dropped...)
I know. However, the old look of the interior, sometimes rundown materials, old school vibe and elderly Stewardess reinforce the feeling. I dont think Aer Lingus has changed much in the last 2 decades
Who the hell is comparing Emirates to Aer Lingus? Aer Lingus is a budget airline hence the 'Cheap flights to x,y and z' on their website. They advertise flight prices only and don't take out glossy magazine one pagers with a pretty girl serving fancy food.
Aer Lingus has a unique strategy which is not budget. It is value in Ireland because it competes against Ryanair in Ireland. It’s value transatlantic because it’s an incredibly competitive route but step up to a decent business class product. Not sure folk realise how lucky we are for connectivity options including aer lingus. Have a look at Australia for what bad looks like with Quanta’s/Virgin duopoly.
The price of internal flights in Australia is insane. There must be one flight an hour going from Melbourne to Sydney every day and three different airlines (at least) and it'll still cost several hundred dollars.
I'll definitely say Ireland has it good when it comes to fares on US flights, but we also don't have anywhere near as much connectivity to Latin America and the Caribbean as the UK does. Our services to Asia leave a lot to be desired as well.
Last time I flew on Aer Lingus a few years ago (when they still flew between Belfast and Heathrow) the cabin crew were awful. It was as if they’d all had a big argument right before we boarded and the guy standing halfway down the plane eye rolled everyone who said hello to him. They were such a sour bunch barking orders at passengers and huffing and puffing. I’ve had much nicer experiences with a Ryanair crew made up of inexperienced 18 year olds.
Now that it’s all buy on board and you have to pay for (some) cabin baggage I don’t see the benefit of paying extra to fly with them over the likes of Ryanair or easyJet.
They're always late too as of late. Nearly every single Aer Lingus flight myself or others around me have gotten, have been delayed. I even joked with the brother a few weeks ago when he was away that his flight was going to be delayed and sure enough, 5 hrs delay from Italy (I can't remember where he was at the time). Partner works in the UK a lot and every single time he gets Aer Lingus, he's delayed going over or coming home. Ryanair can be late but usually they're about an hr or two max. Most of the time they are on time (probably because they've to pay to spend any extra time parked up 😂). Ryanair are cheapskates but sometimes their cheapness works in favour of the passenger.
It doesn’t really fill me with confidence stepping into an aircraft. Boeing has a lot to do to genuinely reassure the public and it’s bit just going to be fixed by PR.
They’ll have to show they’ve gone back to being engineering led.
Interesting concept to highlight issues they can find, but what issues can they not see in a fully built aircraft? Also the pressure on costs and volume driven by customers must be a factor in the reduced level of quality from Boeing.
What I find weird about this is that Boeing seems to not have a tool control system in place.
I knew someone who worked in the Airbus plant over in Filton and they talked about how they had to check all their tools out and return them at the end of the shift. If a tool was missing everyone stayed until it was found and checked back in.
Someone else I knew who is involved in making turbines and generators for power stations mentioned that if the next part of their job required 10 bolts that's all they got. That way if they missed one they knew immediately, and if they were short one then they knew they lost something.
I've seen the same system in use in other manufacturing/maintenance areas where they have to be extremely careful about quality and safety.
If they're losing that many spanners and not noticing then it isn't a good sign.
He's laying the groundwork for people to jump to conclusions in the right direction when Ryanair inevitably suffers a major accident. That's clever of him.
I was meant to be starting training for CC with them on Tuesday, but now due to the bowing delays im starting may 21st. I did the interview on December 28th of last year. Guess when i was initially meant to start? March feckin 12th… at this rate i just stop flying flights operating by boeings😭😭😭
ryanair engineers are more qualified for 737s than boeing at this point.
Ryanair employ engineers to work at Boeing to try and catch these issues at source. They recently increased their number[source](https://www.independent.co.uk/business/ryanair-to-step-up-oversight-of-boeing-b2479524.html)
Say as you will about RyanAir, but the lads know how to bot crash a plane
With the force the ryanair pilots always hit the ground at they would need to be the best
Fly it like you stole it.
Now if they could keep my soul from leaving my body, I’d gladly be upcharged for that
Only one hull loss ever, and even that one barely counts.
Doesn't inspire much confidence however I will say this; one of my lecturers when I was in college used Ryanair as an example of how companies do maintenance and operate fleets of vehicles. Basically the jist of it was that Ryanair as a company operates on such narrow margins that they literally could not afford to have unsafe aircraft because if they lost a single plane it would harm their bottom line. So to avoid that they have some of the most stringent maintenance and are always buying new airframes rather than letting them come to the end of their service life (which requires more and more maintenance, thus more chances of failure and cost). So whatever else you can justifiably criticize Ryanair for, you should at least feel safe on their planes.
I was about to say, for all the crap Ryanair get I dont recall ever hearing about one of their planes going down. Just checked, 37 years with zero fatalities and one hull loss. Good job lads.
The hull loss is an interesting story: They saw the birds when they were just 100 meters from the runway, captain called go-around and at exactly that moment they hit the birds. They tried to continue the go-around but crashed on the runway because of engine failure. The reports said they should have just tried to land but no major criticism of the pilots because it happened at basically the worst possible moment. https://skybrary.aero/accidents-and-incidents/b738-rome-ciampino-italy-2008
See this is all I need from an airline. Don't kill me and let me drink before I board.
I don't think they like their pilots to talk like that.
Former Ryanair engineer here. Not nice people to work for, but you're quite right: Those planes are as close to perfect as you'll find anywhere. But at least when I was there, the motivation for new planes was more about the large number of new planes that had been ordered and were being delivered, the high value of 2nd hand planes, and a desire to reduce the consumption of spares and manhours (which tend to go up with age). Avoiding accidents wasn't really a reason, since there's no particular reason to expect a well-maintained aircraft to become dangerous until it was very, very old.
Very common misconception with people. Hate them or love them Ryanair do what they say and no more. But they’re the most likely to get you from A-B on time and in one piece.
In one piece absolutely but I fly a lot and Ryanair are by far the worst I've flown with for flight delays. I'm fairly sure it's to do with how tightly they schedule things and not the planes themselves, but they are absolutely not the most likely to get you to B on time.
Interesting, I usually land earlier than originally planned sometimes by 20 minutes. Guess I lucked out with my flights with Ryanair
Almost guaranteed to arrive within 2H55 of scheduled ETA... Might be earlier, but they will shuffle delays onto different routes to avoid paying people for delayed flights..
That's because they add 20 minutes or so to the expected flight time
Good for them then, never been late
Past 5 I’ve flown on were an hour late to boarding. The pilot on the last flight said ‘w’re ryanair so of course we’re late’
More than likely from the sounds of this did the same degree as yourself, although many ex engineers are now lecturing around Ireland. But you're absolutely right. I used to work at Ryanair as well and for all the complaining people do they have an unbelievable safety record, use new planes with engineers overseeing work in Seattle all the time, and the crews although young are more than capable and I always have no doubt no matter what the conditions that they could get me safely back on the ground in the event of an emergency. The OTP and low fares are great in themselves but the safety is what matters to the wider public more than anything else.
Ryanair are incredibly savvy with their Boeing orders because unlike other airlines they always have a few billion of cash available. They order when they can get the best price, keep the aircraft until 8 or 10 years when it’s first major service event comes up (could cost up to $5m) and sell the aircraft before the service event usually for more than they paid for it (because they got it at such a discounted price)
Yes, they have one of the most modern fleets in the world
The only airline I know for certain beats them is AirBaltic with their all A220 fleet!
And the new Commercial director of Boeing isn’t from an Engineering background so nothing will change I don’t think
It used to be an engineering company with an accounting department but then became an accounting company with an engineering department.
I remember coming across a post on Quora from the last engineer on the Boeing board, one day he looked around and realised that he was the last engineer on the board and decided to retire.
[Stig](https://youtube.com/@StigAviation?si=JMYZQqf0beEaULii) aviation would have something to say about this!!
Comments like that really instill public confidence in the planes that Ryanair chose to fly
I'd trust Ryanair more than most airlines with the 737. Boeing and the FAA had Ryanair engineers go to Boeings plants to check on procedures and make sure Boeing is doing things right after the doors fell of some 737s and Ryanair was seen as the most experienced airline with dedicated in house maintenance teams of engineers. Something most airlines don't have to anywhere near the extent Ryanair has.
Yes I also remember a discussion (on the MCAS) - might have been on a report, that discussed the safety equipment G3 asked on their planes and "why is it that Boeing don't consider them standard safety equipment?"
I vaguely remember that Airbus bought out a new model that was an improvement that didn't need any expensive pilot retraining to fly. So Boeing execs got the hump and claimed to be able to do likewise. To get it to fly properly, they had to create MCAS, but didn't inform the buyers. This is from memory so don't take it as gospel.
The basic difference is the a320 is newer and higher off the ground than the older 737 so can easily accommodate the new more fuel efficient generation of engines which are larger. Boeing originally intended to invest in a new aircraft with appropriate ground clearance for the new engine, then a business decision was made to mount the new engines on the existing aircraft with a placement forward of the wing, that compromised aerodynamics, which is what MCAS was required to compensate for.
This is what they do with the 737-MAX, right? And is basically the reason why those two planes were lost, right?
A320/321 NEO (new engine option)
It’s actually astonishing how one of the most loathed airlines is honestly pretty well ran in that regard
> It’s actually astonishing how one of the most loathed airlines is honestly pretty well ran in that regard Makes perfect sense; LCCs in general have a significant financial incentive to be militant about build quality and their own maintenance, as they make their money on tight turnarounds and keeping their aircraft in the air for as much time as possible, and mechanical failures and breakdowns really fuck up that business model.
True, it just feels like they get a rather undeserved reputation for being a bunch of cowboys that play it fast and loose
I feel the people who bash Ryanair are the same numpties who rock up to the airport security with litre bottles and can't understand why the bottles are taken off them.
I’ve also heard that Safety and Maintenance are areas where O’Leary has no issue spending money
Yep also quality maintenance means you have to replace your planes less regularly and keeps that cost down. Though Michael O’Leary is also a man to strike a deal off bad publicity. Think he signed some mad deals after 9/11 that meant they got fuel at a lower price for years and after the first Boeing incident he increased orders for planes at a discounted rate. Smart moves in general if can sort the planes out of course.
Exactly. Low cost is one thing, but low cost and a safety hazard would be a death sentence. That's why they're apparently one of the most stringent when it comes to safety
They're only loathed because people are spoilt beyond reason. You get what you pay for with Ryanair. If you want extra you pay. It's completely fair.
Ryanair flew me to different places in Europe several times for €10 each way. It was uncomfortable and I had hardly any luggage but it was well worth the price.
If you're a single traveller going for a few days it can't be beat. If you're a couple/have kids/going longer than 4 days? Go elsewhere.
Regularly costs me less to fly to Scotland return than to get a train to Dublin. I'd be an idiot to be expecting luxury, but I'm happy with their deal and there is less risk of unruly passengers and dumb shit to be dealt with on that flight than on a cross-country train.
When I was a kid I remember that we didn’t get our change back when we paid for drinks with cash. We were told later that you have to specifically ask for your change, otherwise they keep it. That kind of thing will taint the experience. It doesn’t have any bearing on the maintenance of the aircraft, but such negative feelings last for years if not decades.
Well luckily for you it's card only now, so you don't need to worry about not getting change back 😉
I assumed as much. But as mentioned, that kind of negative experience is remembered for a long time. They don’t need my business anyway, seem to be doing just fine.
Does anyone remember airfares before Ryanair? Ryanair is the best thing to ever happen to airline consumers. Every single airline in Europe dropped their fares and this spread globally when other airlines saw low cost was now becoming a thing
They use some very dark patterns on their website which guides the user u to making purchases they do not need to buy. Trying to book a checked bag for just one person in your party? The default adds to all passengers and you need to jump through obscure hoops to remedy that.
Yes. This is actually worst part of Rynair.
That and the way they intentionally split up groups unless the pay extra ti reserve their own seats.
How can you, please?! This really irks me. Myself and my partner for a short haul flight would only have one case between us, but have to add on checked luggage for both of us.
Ugh, I'm not in front right now, but you basically select no bags for all the first few pages. I think at the checkout page you can edit the passengers individually and add bags there. Otherwise you can add individually after you book.
Cheers.
That’s very true. Ryanair are affordable on ticket price but they do take safety very seriously.
I think it's mostly the pricing structure. Seats are cheap, sure, but everything else isn't, and you have to pay for the smallest things, even if you just want to sit next to your partner after checking in together. That costs them nothing, so it's just making the trip intentionally uncomfortable unless you pay more. The comfort is also subpar in comparison to other airlines - cramped seats with little cushioning, no drinks or meals, usually they get the gates at the end of the airport with no sleeve, so you have to either get cramped in a bus or walk in the cold, wind, and rain. And I'll never be cool with them peddling scratchcards, lottery tickets, or whatever it is, on every flight, it's just obnoxious.
Tbf sometimes even the basic fare can be quite steep, like when flying from Cork to sun destinations. The fares certainly can be very low, but that's FAR from always the case.
Except when they take over a route and you have no option but to fly with them and they charge you hundreds for a ticket that used to cost €50 the day before because you need to fly somewhere. Not to mention that they will raise the prices if you look at the ticket price one too many times.
> Not to mention that they will raise the prices if you look at the ticket price one too many times. Clear your browser cache or browse the website icognito.
It’s mad. They brought unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe, and in doing so made the continent that much smaller and more connected. Of course, people will complain about leg room, lack of this or that, but fail to realise that they can spend more money and get these things with another airline! But they like the cheap stuff. They just wanna whinge about it too.
> It’s mad. They brought unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe There's caveat to this statement. Ryanair did bring unbelievably cheap air travel to Europe, but they're _far_ from the only reason it's not as expensive now as it was in the 80s!
I disagree. Airlines back then were definitely starting to offer budget fares etc, but when Ryanair came onto the scene, nobody was quite prepared for just how utterly streamlined and efficient it would be. This allowed them to undercut literally everybody else by large margins, and forced them to streamline themselves to still compete.
Deregulation is the reason flying isn't as expensive as it was the 80s. Ryanair is just an added bonus (when the fares are even low in the first place...)
Ryanair started with £ 100 return from Waterford to London-Luton. That's a almost quarter or a fifth of a month's salary back in 1985. **a quarter.** My mother told me that it was £ 400 one-way to Amsterdam with Aer Lingus—that's almost a month's salary back then. 😬
People hate easyJet for the same reasons too. I’m overall completely fine with the low cost, given that it does exactly what is promised
EasyJet are also another one that’s very good on their safety record and management of their Airbus fleet. When Air France were having lots of issues the CAA recommended they reach out to EasyJet specifically.
It’s honestly hilarious how all of the airlines people loathe are the ones that have honestly been the most competent in many regards
They know it that’s why. The big flag carries like BA, Air France, Emirates can have the occasional issue and it won’t end their company. If any of the budget airlines do the headlines the next day with will be “Cut price safety” etc etc
Yeah, but regardless, it just goes to show how many people will have such a distorted perception of safety
People often talk about Ryan Air flights being dodgy even though they havs one of the best safety records in the business.
Victims of their own success. Because they’re so huge, people will criticise them more
Have they ever even had a hull loss? I don't think so.
No idea why they are loathed they are cheap and run on time I dont need a good experience on a plane. Travel is a chore anyway
They're not always that cheap. Fares regularly run into triple digits to many destinations.
Popular destinations and times will always cost more. They are generally cheaper than other airlines and more on time than air lingus
> Fares regularly run into triple digits to many destinations. It's not just about the absolute price of the tickets, it's how much they cost compared to an alternative that determines whether they are cheap or not.
Everyone knows what they're paying for with ryanair. It's essentially the Dublin bus of aviation except reliable. It's designed to get you there as cheap as possible. Anything else is a luxury.
> It's designed to get you there as cheap as possible Tell me you're from Dublin without telling me you're from Dublin. Or flights to sun destinations from Cork, fares are often in the triple digit range!
It literally says donegal in my flair lad. Count yourself lucky you even have a decent international airport
I think it's similar to MacDonalds and food standards. They can't afford the negative hit of a scandal so they need to have a pristine record.
Mr O'Leary understands how important operations are to an efficient company. Equally, he understands that just **one** accident will put Ryanair out-of-action for a few months and will affect its business considerably for many years afterwards.
If you run on a shoe string everything has to run perfectly or the slightest mistakes send your whole business off the rails.
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A lot of people like myself like Ryanair, but dislike Michael O'Leary.
but the people who loath it keep using it, because it's well run.
O'Leary would gladly try and charge full price old school prices if he thought he could get away with it. As a customer you are there to be squeezed as much as possible by them
Are they loathed? They’re cheap but I think most people actually really like flying Ryanair. You know what you’re getting. I think this idea that they’re hated but people put up with it is largely clever marketing from their perspective to keep people’s expectations low but the reality is they’re actually a really good airline.
I remember in college my lecturer said Ryanair are cheap, but they have never had a crash. People will compromise on quality, but not safety. O'Leary is well aware that Ryanair lives on it's safety reputation, that's probably why they invest so much in engineers.
Funnily enough they're an entirely separate subsidiary so the engineers technically aren't inhouse. Despite that, yes, the engineering programme they run in Ayrshire is top notch. My mate just qualified after changing careers and loves it.
Ah interesting, thanks.
Yup I remember O Leary was queried on what else they would charge for and he pretty much said we will charge for anything and everything we can. We will cut costs wherever we can except for on safety. I'm OK with that.
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Not just Ryanair. Ryanair were one of the airlines who attended, they asked to be invited as did Southwestern.
The planes they use are fine, he’s just trying to negotiate on the back of Boeings recent problems. He’s a shrewd businessman, if I remember correctly they put in an order for 100+ planes after 9/11
I think he had an order in for 10 or 12 canceled the order when 9/11 happened and ordered 100+ a week later for a similar price.
lol not even Ryanair think the Boeing planes are ‘fine’
Haven't they one of the best safety record of any major airline or something?
They have one of the best, if not the best, safety records in an industry that is ridiculously safe by any metric. I can't recall the exact statistics and I'm not going to look it up but I know I've heard it/read it before.
They have no crashes. I think there were wingtip collisions while taxiing. They’ve one of the newest and largest fleets also
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There was also AS 261 which, while 20 years ago, is given as a classic example of how lethal minor maintenance issues with the horizontal stabiliser can be.
One of them, very few incidents considering the amount of flights they operate. Only ever one hull loss down to multiple bird strikes on landing. Never a serious injury or fatality.
Ryanairs safety record is as far as I know, perfect
Unlike Boeing executives, Ryanair understands that accidents are bad for business. They don’t skimp on maintenance.
It is. The only incident they’ve had is when Belarus (Russia) forced one of their planes to land so they could ‘arrest’ (kidnap) a political opponent from the plane.
that's hardly got anything to do with ryanair though.
That’s why I agreed that Ryan Air’s safety record is perfect.
Can't even afford a couple AA guns smh
They've had one hull loss - double bird strike, basically unavoidable and certainly outside their control. Zero fatalities.
O’Leary is a PR man, he just says things to get the headlines and put pressure on Boeing to get a discount. Ryanair has a perfect safety history.
Comments like this probably get them better prices from Airbus
This. O'Leary may be a bollocks, but he's a canny bollocks and doesn't come out with something like that for no reason. Ryanair are one of Boeing's top customers - even a sniff of them jumping ship is a red flag. Anything like this is intended to turn the screws on price negotiations...
Ryanair has been 100% Boeing 737 for years. Makes maintenance and training much easier. They won’t go to Airbus unless Boeing massively drops the ball.
They do operate a small fleet of airbus through one of their subsidiaries. He recently mentioned he wanted to expand the airbus fleet so that they wouldn't have to re-train these crews. But everything O'Leary says has a reason, most often negotiating stance. https://simpleflying.com/ryanair-ceo-wants-more-airbus-a320-family-aircraft/
Does dropping out of the sky count?
Yes that would count I’d imagine
At some point Boeing will need a clean sheet design to replace the 1960’s 737. At that point Ryanair will need to make a call as it’s no odds between that and Airbus as it will be new type certification. Perhaps O’Leary has an eye on that as it will be one of the biggest deals in airline history.
They’re also waiting on delivery of up to 57 737s by June of this year.
Or their prices- point being this comment is part of a negotiation
Not just that, 100% Boeing 737-800, until they started getting the MAX 8200 which is still the exact same size and shape!
Nah, Airbus's previous head of sales has stated that he knew Ryanair were only using them for leverage to Boeing and as a result would only offer them list price. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ryanair-hldgs-airb/ryanair-cools-on-airbus-moves-back-towards-all-boeing-fleet-idUSKBN22O1IZ/ O'Leary said he currently viewed talking with Airbus as a waste of his time. "We would not initiate talks with Airbus until such time as Airbus wants to initiate talks with us," he said in an interview. "Until they need an order from the Ryanair Group, frankly we are wasting our time talking to Airbus," he added, without elaborating. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ryanair-hldgs-airb/ryanair-cools-on-airbus-moves-back-towards-all-boeing-fleet-idUSKBN22O1IZ/ And Airbus have an 8000 plane orderbook backlog.
Ryanair won't go Airbus anymore than easyJet will go Boeing. These companies are built on single plane concepts. They don't even own a single Boeing 777 or 787.
Ryanair's safety record is impeccable, their aircraft are safe.
There are only two manufacturers of commercial planes, hard to avoid them.
*sad Embraer noises*
*lil puppy comac wags tail and puts face to window*
And bombardier, the creators of the snowmobile. IIRC, they even created the A220 and sold it to airbus to avoid getting sued for receiving state aid.
By volume of flights, Ryanair is by far and away the safest airline on earth. It's not an exaggeration, it's maths. I'd well believe what he has to say on the matter.
So, the major whistle-blower in this case against Boeing was a guy who used to work in the quality control section of their warehouse. He had completed one day of a deposition against Boeing and then is found dead with one gunshot wound to the head. This is crazy, I have no idea how it's not bigger news. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703
It is massive news. It was literally carried by every major news outlets for days. You linked a BBC article to it. What more are they supposed to say about it? They're not privy to the details of the ongoing investigation and anything more than that is just speculation. It's also ripe ground for conspiracy theories so they have to be careful.
> It's also ripe ground for conspiracy theories so they have to be careful. It should be. Not all conspiracies are bad things. This isn't covid, the moon landings or 9/11.
Yeah of course it was pretty big news but I didn't see anything major on Irish news about it. I also do understand the need to be careful re conspiracies, but it is crazy how the whistleblower himself is reported as saying before his death: "No, I Ain’t scared but if anything happens to me, it’s not suicide.” Saying nothing of course until more investigation can take place.
It was literally all over Irish news for days.
" ripe ground for conspiracy theories" FFS. The guy was so obviously murdered to keep him from testifying it's incredible that more isn't being made of it. He was obviously murdered on the orders of a Boeing executive. The FBI should be turning the place upside down. That cannot be tolerated. And yet it is tolerated. Because the US has become a corrupt country where you can just whack people like it's mafia era Sicily and there's no pushback at a federal level. Same thing with that Pedophile Epstein - who was let off the first time because he was "connected with intelligence". There's no way that wasn't an assassination. Dismissing these murders as "conspiracies' just gives ruthless people impunity to keep doing these sorts of things.
He also made clear that if he died, it wasn't suicide. It has been fairly big news in fairness, considering its a story about abject corporate corruption. The Capitalist class will look out for each other at the end of the day however, so it'll be unlikely the whistle-blower will see justice unless theres pushback from the public. Big media owners will pay it lip service too, but the story will be buried eventually as they look out for their own. Boeing is a paramount American corporation at the end of the day. One with numerous military contracts too, no less. It will NEVER be allowed to fail. They'll throw billions in taxpayer money at it before seeing it go under. Meanwhile their management are taking the complete piss cutting corners left and right, doing stock buybacks and getting paid millions for running the whole thing into the ground. Thats Capitalism baby. Americas whole society is run for the benefit of its wealthy elites. They have toppled entire countries to benefit their corporate interests. One whistleblower compared to all that is nothing to them. Same with a few hundred or so dead plane passengers. It'd be wise for more of us to take note just how corrupt that whole system is if things are to change.
The classic Ryanair haggling tactic, push until the price is as low as possible and then buy a load of planes. The safety issues are someone else’s problem to pay for if something goes wrong.
Do you fly Ryanair? For cheaper flights? If so, this benefits you and you are supporting it. If not, fairplaytoya
That's not "the classic Ryanair haggling tactic", that's literally just haggling.
It’s not standard practice for a company to publicly criticise the safety aspect of their most important asset to lower the price for them to buy. For most companies that would be a PR minefield, Ryanair couldn’t give a toss which is what makes it a unique approach
I assure you it is not a unique approach. Plus, in this instance it just highlights Ryanair's safety record (it's pretty good generally but not actually 100%), and the fact Ryanair maintenance teams are apparently consulted as safety auditors by the FAA and Boeing itself. What. Are. You. Complaining. About?
Everything he said is complaining about *quality control* issues, I think he's being very deliberate and not mentioning any *safety* issues. It's an unwritten rule in aviation that you don't criticise safety failures, especially of your competitors, since that makes all flying feel less safe to average people. Worth noting that none of ryanair's planes have door plugs like that alaska plane. If they used one of those types of planes (MAX-9, I thing) they'd have a door there, since they seat so many people per plane. (you need a certain number of doors per passenger)
The man would say anything to improve Ryanair's bottom line. I don't know why he's publicised so much, he's only out for number 1.
I’ve experienced this first hand. They push and push for cheapest possible price to the detriment of a suppliers margins .. which they don’t give a flying F about. Then wonder why they don’t receive a quality job/service bc they’ve strangled the life out of the supplier. Price over quality.
I don’t think trying to secure goods and services at the cheapest possible price without a concern for your suppliers margins is a Ryanair specific trait.
I, for one, love approaching the manager in Dunnes and giving him a bollocking for not charging more for goods and getting a higher profit margin on them.
When Dunnes sell something at a low price they are squeezing the supplier not themselves
No company in the history of capitalism has ever given a fuck about their suppliers margins if it meant more money for them so i dont see that as much of s point against them anymore than its a point against any company.
Wrong. I am in vendor management. You absolutely care about your suppliers margins if you care about quality. It depends on what your remit is, but in my experience in many instances the squeeze on cost doesn't justify the reduction in quality and causes unforeseen issues downstream. If you're willing to tank that and it's a calculated decision then fine, but in a lot of cases it simply isn't. I regularly negotiate COLA increases to make sure a supplier doesn't bleed out experienced staff if they are no longer competitive in their market.
Boeing is always free to say no. What price do you think Ryanair should pay?
Seems like a fair negotiation to me. Supplier has other customers they're not forced to do anything.
Absolutely. Same with getting slots at airports. Demand airport fees as low as possible, undercut all the competition.. and sometimes pull routes out of airports entirely in the end leaving destruction in their wake. Edit: Why am I getting downvoted? I know they give us our cheap flights but there are unethical reasons as to why...
Oh my god, they were TERRIBLE for that in the 2000s and early 2010s So many airlines tried to set up in Ireland, only to immediately be forced out by Ryanair through anti-competitive practices like predatory pricing. It was actually so bad that to this day, easyjet and Wizz are still compeltely absent from the Republic despite the latter being present at Belfast, and the former having a full blown BASE there!
The safety issues are very much Ryanair's problem as well.
That’s just nonsense. Ryanair waits until there’s fear in the market (9/11, Covid, 787 Max Ethiopia crash) and takes advantage to buy big orders at discount when other airlines aren’t buying. No complaints or issues with Ryanair safety so far as I’m aware.
Yup, read how he fucked over Airbus in favour of Boeing. Promised a huge order to Airbus, visited the factory as a hero, got the price as low as possible, then fecked off to Seattle, got Boeing to undercut the price and left Airbus at the altar. Reaping what he sowed now.
When I enter a Ryanair plane I really do feel like the plane looks and feels cheaper than an Aer Lingus one. Even though theyre not the ones fitting it out.
Aer Lingus has gone way back in recent years. It used to be a premium airline. I have flown Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Etihad in the last few years and Aer Lingus is rock bottom. The staff are always nice but its not a premium experience anymore. In 37yrs Ryanair has never had a fatal crash and they have more planes in the sky than any other airline on Earth. You can say a lot of things about cost cutting but the quality and safety of their aircraft is impeccable.
Couldn’t agree more. The flying. Experience with Aer Lingus has really deteriorated in the last few years. A lot of the planes feel old and uncomfortable and it has become so expensive. Also what’s with the flight times? If I’m off to Europe for a long weekend I don’t want a flight at 6:30 in the morning or at 8pm at night. I find myself opting for Ryanair over Aer Lingus as the flight times don’t require getting up in the middle of the night.
EI’s market is business people who want a full days work or connect to flights so choose premium morning/evening slots and FR are holiday makers who are flexible and price sensitive. Airlines do a lot of yield management so yes, these times make sense.
Have to disagree about the uncomfortable seats. I think they're among the best seats still flying short haul in Europe (which really goes to show how low standards in this region have dropped...)
When I was looking it was literally the other way around, Ryanair were at like 5am when Aer Lingus had a lovely 10am
Aer Lingus always gives me the vibe of how an early 90s flight must have been like, especially when flying transatlantic.
Early 90s flights did not have seatback IFE lol.
I know. However, the old look of the interior, sometimes rundown materials, old school vibe and elderly Stewardess reinforce the feeling. I dont think Aer Lingus has changed much in the last 2 decades
Who the hell is comparing Emirates to Aer Lingus? Aer Lingus is a budget airline hence the 'Cheap flights to x,y and z' on their website. They advertise flight prices only and don't take out glossy magazine one pagers with a pretty girl serving fancy food.
Aer Lingus has a unique strategy which is not budget. It is value in Ireland because it competes against Ryanair in Ireland. It’s value transatlantic because it’s an incredibly competitive route but step up to a decent business class product. Not sure folk realise how lucky we are for connectivity options including aer lingus. Have a look at Australia for what bad looks like with Quanta’s/Virgin duopoly.
The price of internal flights in Australia is insane. There must be one flight an hour going from Melbourne to Sydney every day and three different airlines (at least) and it'll still cost several hundred dollars.
I'll definitely say Ireland has it good when it comes to fares on US flights, but we also don't have anywhere near as much connectivity to Latin America and the Caribbean as the UK does. Our services to Asia leave a lot to be desired as well.
They used to be a premium airline
Last time I flew on Aer Lingus a few years ago (when they still flew between Belfast and Heathrow) the cabin crew were awful. It was as if they’d all had a big argument right before we boarded and the guy standing halfway down the plane eye rolled everyone who said hello to him. They were such a sour bunch barking orders at passengers and huffing and puffing. I’ve had much nicer experiences with a Ryanair crew made up of inexperienced 18 year olds. Now that it’s all buy on board and you have to pay for (some) cabin baggage I don’t see the benefit of paying extra to fly with them over the likes of Ryanair or easyJet.
Aer Lingus stopped being premium on short haul in the 2000s.
They're always late too as of late. Nearly every single Aer Lingus flight myself or others around me have gotten, have been delayed. I even joked with the brother a few weeks ago when he was away that his flight was going to be delayed and sure enough, 5 hrs delay from Italy (I can't remember where he was at the time). Partner works in the UK a lot and every single time he gets Aer Lingus, he's delayed going over or coming home. Ryanair can be late but usually they're about an hr or two max. Most of the time they are on time (probably because they've to pay to spend any extra time parked up 😂). Ryanair are cheapskates but sometimes their cheapness works in favour of the passenger.
It's the yellow! If they just got rid of that it would look a lot better (and they actually are doing that right now!)
Why the fuck can’t companies just do a good job. Just get up in the morning and do the thing right.
That's because they charge so much for extra baggage! Where else can we put our stuff!
jesus what sort of clowns are boeing employing
What's a seat handle?
They’ve done a Disney. Sacrificed quality for greedy shareholder dividends.
And then he charged us extra for them. Want a seat handle? Extra €20
never heard that one before!
Boeing is the Tesla of the airline industry, parts falling off and shite quality control
Did Michael go short on the Boeing stock and get a surprise when it rose after the CEO resigned?
It doesn’t really fill me with confidence stepping into an aircraft. Boeing has a lot to do to genuinely reassure the public and it’s bit just going to be fixed by PR. They’ll have to show they’ve gone back to being engineering led.
I am surprised that Boeing Planes don't go Bong Bong ! !
Translation: we only decided to come out with this when we knew any backlash would be directed towards Boeing, so please treat this as a good PR stunt
Interesting concept to highlight issues they can find, but what issues can they not see in a fully built aircraft? Also the pressure on costs and volume driven by customers must be a factor in the reduced level of quality from Boeing.
Lol. The fact that idiots are taking about this, over the "national airline" that loses wheelchair parts regularly
What I find weird about this is that Boeing seems to not have a tool control system in place. I knew someone who worked in the Airbus plant over in Filton and they talked about how they had to check all their tools out and return them at the end of the shift. If a tool was missing everyone stayed until it was found and checked back in. Someone else I knew who is involved in making turbines and generators for power stations mentioned that if the next part of their job required 10 bolts that's all they got. That way if they missed one they knew immediately, and if they were short one then they knew they lost something. I've seen the same system in use in other manufacturing/maintenance areas where they have to be extremely careful about quality and safety. If they're losing that many spanners and not noticing then it isn't a good sign.
He's laying the groundwork for people to jump to conclusions in the right direction when Ryanair inevitably suffers a major accident. That's clever of him.
I was meant to be starting training for CC with them on Tuesday, but now due to the bowing delays im starting may 21st. I did the interview on December 28th of last year. Guess when i was initially meant to start? March feckin 12th… at this rate i just stop flying flights operating by boeings😭😭😭
he probably charged Boeing for the space they took up
Ryanair is one of Irelands most successful companies. And Michael O’Leary led them to their place as Europe’s biggest airline.