Ryanair in 2013

[sn26567]

O'Leary: Ryanair to stop 'p***ing off' customers

Ryanair has launched a new digital strategy as part of a campaign to improve customer service.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary announced the changes during the airline’s annual general meeting in Dublin - initiatives include setting up a Twitter account and ending the charge for downloading its mobile app.

O'Leary also said that the airline "would eliminate things that unnecessarily p*** people off". Ryanair has become known for its array of fees and charges over recent years.

A major part of the strategy will see the airline revamping its website to make it easier for customers to complete bookings online.

Ryanair also intends to remove some security features for individual website users, although they will remain in place for “high volume or multiple IP addresses in order to deter larger travel agents, screenscrapers and others who flood our website seeking fare quotes”.

“Our primary focus this winter will be to significantly invest in, and improve, the Ryanair.com website, our mobile platform and our interaction with passengers using social media,” said O’Leary.

“These improvements will be accompanied by a new digital marketing strategy which will see Ryanair switch a significant proportion of its marketing budget from old to new media, with a particular focus on mobile and social media platforms.”

As part of the plans, Ryanair will stop charging €3 to download its mobile app from October 1. It has also started tweeting this week from its @Ryanair Twitter page.

Source: BBT

[Stij]

O'Leary: Ryanair to stop 'p***ing off' customers

and the training has started!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNUJ_td7eJc

Sean, you keep us posted?

Cheers,

Stij

P.S. On one of my last FR flights the purser was friendlier than normal!!!

[tolipanebas]

O'Leary: Ryanair to stop 'p***ing off' customers

and the training has started!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNUJ_td7eJc

Sean, you keep us posted?

Cheers,

Stij

P.S. On one of my last FR flights the purser was friendlier than normal!!!

Hilarious! Not just the sketch itself, but also the type casting, BTW...

Thanks for sharing.

[sean1982]

I didn't find it that funny really, and on top of that quite racistic.

Having said that, new memo's have been issued regarding cabin service. Sales levels and PA's are being drastically decreased. Baggage will be dealt with by cabin crew as per current standard, which means we'll try to fit it in the cabin if not it will be placed into the hold free of charge. Service is reduced to drinks and duty free only.

[Stij]

Sean,

So no more electric cigarettes, bus tickets, scratch cards, etc.?

I didn't notice it because I was watching a movie on my Ipad on recent FR flights...

Cheers,

Stij

P.S. It's just a joke...

[airazurxtror]

P.S. On one of my last FR flights the purser was friendlier than normal!!!

Hilarious! Not just the sketch itself, but also the type casting, BTW...

Thanks for sharing.

Ryanair has all that the public demand : good prices, ponctuality, new aircraft (not the like of OO-DWF !) and good connections to a lot of destinations - but it lacked a convivial attitude towards the cutomers.
If they now acquire that attitude, there will be no limit to their success.
And Brussels Airlines, for one, has good reason to be worried.

[sean1982]

Sean,

So no more electric cigarettes, bus tickets, scratch cards, etc.?

I didn't notice it because I was watching a movie on my Ipad on recent FR flights...

Cheers,

Stij

P.S. It's just a joke...

correct, the scratch card may stay, because it's a charity thing, but otherwise everything will be removec from the service. It will still be onboard for people who want it .... but there will not be a separate sales run for it anymore.

We're pushing to get the ontime jingle to be removed as well, however apparently FR feels it's one of their strongest selling points and quite a lot of pax seem to like it as well (unbelievably )

[Stij]

We're pushing to get the ontime jingle to be removed as well, however apparently FR feels it's one of their strongest selling points and quite a lot of pax seem to like it as well (unbelievably )

Well, the infrequent flyers (those that applaud (Is this a Belgian thing or are other nationalities just as stupid)) always start laughing, so I'm afraid they're right!

Cheers,

Stij

[sean1982]

almost everyone claps, besides morrocans

[Passenger]

Ryanair has all that the public demand : good prices, ponctuality, new aircraft (not the like of OO-DWF !) and good connections to a lot of destinations - but it lacked a convivial attitude towards the cutomers. If they now acquire that attitude, there will be no limit to their success. And Brussels Airlines, for one, has good reason to be worried.

"... With 86% consumers saying they would leave a brand that treated them poorly, it's clear that the quality of customer service can either make or break even the biggest names. In these times of economic hardship companies simply can't afford to compete on brand awareness or price alone if they want to be sure of retaining their customers..." This is a quote from Richard Lloyd, executive director of the British consumer group Which?, in their study "best and worst brands for customer satisfaction".

To see how good (or bad) Ryanair did in that query, click on this link:
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/09/whi ... on-334204/

... the scratch card may stay, because it's a charity thing..."

The new so called friendly approach towards passengers didn't last long: just two weeks, and it's over already. Charity?! Yes, for sure, like all the Belgians playing Lotto and Euromillions: they don't do that to win the jackpot, but to allow the National Lotery to fight poverty in the world. No, let's remain serious please: selling lottery tickets or scratch cards has nothing to do with charity: it's pure business. So staff will continue to go after their commission. I suggest you do try to watch the short Youtube movie here: it's hilarious, but at the sime oh so true. "Have a nice flight". Try to say it to passengers tomorrow: you can't.

[Stij]

. "Have a nice flight". Try to say it to passengers tomorrow: you can't.

Actually, on my last flight... They did!

Cheers,

Stij

[sean1982]

Ryanair has all that the public demand : good prices, ponctuality, new aircraft (not the like of OO-DWF !) and good connections to a lot of destinations - but it lacked a convivial attitude towards the cutomers. If they now acquire that attitude, there will be no limit to their success. And Brussels Airlines, for one, has good reason to be worried.

"... With 86% consumers saying they would leave a brand that treated them poorly, it's clear that the quality of customer service can either make or break even the biggest names. In these times of economic hardship companies simply can't afford to compete on brand awareness or price alone if they want to be sure of retaining their customers..." This is a quote from Richard Lloyd, executive director of the British consumer group Which?, in their study "best and worst brands for customer satisfaction".

To see how good (or bad) Ryanair did in that query, click on this link:
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/09/whi ... on-334204/

... the scratch card may stay, because it's a charity thing..."

The new so called friendly approach towards passengers didn't last long: just two weeks, and it's over already. Charity?! Yes, for sure, like all the Belgians playing Lotto and Euromillions: they don't do that to win the jackpot, but to allow the National Lotery to fight poverty in the world. No, let's remain serious please: selling lottery tickets or scratch cards has nothing to do with charity: it's pure business. So staff will continue to go after their commission. I suggest you do try to watch the short Youtube movie here: it's hilarious, but at the sime oh so true. "Have a nice flight". Try to say it to passengers tomorrow: you can't.

I suggest you piss off before you say things about me you know NOTHING about. I have been training crew and stimulating my crew for YEARS to be as friendly and professional as possible and have received loads of compliments from passengers all over Europe to compliment myself and my crew for exactly that!! I have a background in hospitality so I take personal pride in this, if not to prove sad meaningless people like yourself who have to much time ok their hands, so they do nothing else then complaining about everything on the internet. Never have I seen facts from you besides some links to avherald and some tabloids here and there and a few posts to stir the pot. Which proves exactly my point, that you are one of those typical people who THINKS they know something about aviation because they've read a few articles about it. I suggest you get a life and let the professionals talk about aviation.

[Inquirer]

Excuse me saying so, Sean, but your reaction above is something of a contradiction in terms in a way and so somehow you seem to confirm -unwillingly I am sure- the stereotypical behaviour played out in the video, which I too find quite funny although I don't take anything of it seriously!

Try to take the high road, keep smiling and take any opinion as constructive, even a negative one because remember everybody is a potential customer... Just like in that video, it's not as easy as it seems.

[sean1982]

Inquirer, im not on board here. Im not providing a service to anyone, and im sure not going to allow some low-life to make assumptions about me when they now nothing about me. The guy hasnt even flown FR yet so how the hell would he know how the crew is onboard. And even if ... How does he know how I behave onboard? I did hotel and caterin school, I worked front of house in michelin star restaurants before I got into aviation. Hospitality is in my blood and I will take none of these accusations, because I realize very well that as a LCC we ain't got much more to offer to people then an ontime flight and a friendly service.

[fcw]

... the scratch card may stay, because it's a charity thing..."

Charity?! Yes, for sure, like all the Belgians playing Lotto and Euromillions: they don't do that to win the jackpot, but to allow the National Lotery to fight poverty in the world. No, let's remain serious please: selling lottery tickets or scratch cards has nothing to do with charity: it's pure business. So staff will continue to go after their commission. I suggest you do try to watch the short Youtube movie here: it's hilarious, but at the sime oh so true. "Have a nice flight". Try to say it to passengers tomorrow: you can't.

Passenger, let me explain it slowly for you.
C H A R I T Y as in all money Ryanair makes from it goes to charity. Which part do you not understand?
Off course the players are after the money, but Ryanair doesn't make any money out of it.

Sean, once again, please don't feed the troll.

[Passenger]

Feeding the troll ? No, it’s kill the messenger.

It’s amazing to see how Ryanair and/or Charleroi staff here continues to shoot the messenger whenever FACTS are brought up. Why the aggressive and insulting comments from Ryanair/Charleroi staff? I don’t know. Maybe they just copy/paste their CEO’s behaviour. Maybe it’s company policy towards each online critic.

If I am not allowed to comment about Ryanair because I haven’t flown with them, we can cancel all topics about the A380 and B787, and also the posts from those Brussels Airlines bashers.

Fact : the British consumer magazine Which? revealed that Ryanair is the worst branch in the U.K. Just read what the Which-CEO wrote: even for top brands there are limits.

Fact : the sale of scratch lottery tickets is NOT charity: it is commerce because only a part of the ticket goes to charity. Will cabin crew still have a commission on the sales of scratch cards? Yes. So it’s revenue. Charity is the envelopes legacy carriers put on your seat, with printed on it “the full content will be handed over to Red Cross Kenya”.

Fact : the high surcharges that don’t exist with legacy airlines will not be waived in The New Ryanair. Example: the fine for forgetting the boarding pass will not decrease from 70 euro to 7 euro. Why not? Because it’s part of the system.

Fact is that there was a profit warning some weeks ago: revenue for August was lower, bookings for 4Q2013 were lower. That's the reason for the "new company policy" - quid non. Off course Ryanair still gets new clients (mainly because they’re opening new routes), but they’re loosing former clients that used to pay more then 1,99 Euro. What remains, are those frequent flyers who book six months in advance, who have a profile on luchtzak.be and who know the difference between -400 and -800. Those passengers will never forgot their boarding pass, they travel with hand luggage only and they know the size, they don’t buy scratch cards and/or drinks, they don’t hire a car or book a hotel through Ryanair.com. Result: no extra revenue, no ancillary revenue: you just get the 1,99 euro plus taxes. Good luck, with 175 pax of these.

Fact is that I’ve been at Charleroi already many times, although not this summer. I know two groups, both including very very close family members, who don’t book Ryanair anymore because of the new luggage surcharges. O’Leary’s statement regarding these high luggage surcharges is “people HAVE to fly with hand luggage only”. Everybody in aviation, travel and hospitality (and I have 35 years of real experience there) knows that is not possible for many. For them, the final price tag now is higher then with legacy carriers. The two parties I’ve just mentioned is one scouts group who need their backbacks (with tents), and one group of adventurous hikers who each have more then 10 kgs individual equipment (if you want to know: Ryanair has lost them to the railways and to Corendon).

And finally, allow me to quote Michiel Maus, well known in Flanders (government advisor, lawyer, professor, tv commentator for tax matters). He said in De Tijd, 29 August 2013: I don’t fly Ryanair anymore… with three children, one has to pay so much extra’s that a legacy carrier now is cheaper… Last time we were at the gate when some staff noticed that the hand luggage from the little daughter was oversized; we had to go all the way back to the gate to pay the extra.”

[sean1982]

If I am not allowed to comment about Ryanair because I haven’t flown with them, we can cancel all topics about the A380 and B787, and also the posts from those Brussels Airlines bashers.

What you say about FR I couldn't care less (because you're wrong on practically all accounts), what you say about me personally I can respond personally in whatever way I want. It has nothing to do with who I work for or how I behave at work. It's PERSONAL.

For the rest, If that is what you believe, fine, that's you're good right. Let yourself be ripped off by legacy carriers with tickets on the same routes at 4 or 5 times the price of an LCC for just an extra coffee and a sandwich (if you're lucky). The smart people who are price conscious know where to go as over a 100 million people prove every year.

[Passenger]

Ryanair has all that the public demand : good prices, ponctuality, new aircraft (not the like of OO-DWF !)...

There is one unwritten rule in aviation public relations: don't ever mention other airlines' incidents, because they might also happen to you. Indeed: OO-DWF had a flap problem on 1st Oct and a false alarm for a gear problem on 2nd Oct. But even a new Ryanair 737-800 can have technical issues, like this flapless landing EI-DWA had to do today:
http://avherald.com/h?article=4697028f&opt=0

Old aircraft are not unsafe and I feel absolutely safe in a 23 year old VLM aircraft. Safety in general has nothing to with age of the aircraft, as this incident proofs:
http://avherald.com/h?article=45363621&opt=7424

[sean1982]

You just broke your own "rule". Boy, you crack me up

What do you mean with old aircraft are not less reliable?
http://www.avherald.com/h?article=421dc7e8/0000&opt=0

Do you want me to copy these 26 flap reports as well? As I said before, you dont know what you are talking about.

[Passenger]

You just broke your own "rule". Boy, you crack me up.

What do you mean with old aircraft are not less reliable?
http://www.avherald.com/h?article=421dc7e8/0000&opt=0

Do you want me to copy these 26 flap reports as well? As I said before, you dont know what you are talking about.

Seems you haven't read my post. I've only said that there exists an unwritten rule in aviation not to talk about incidents at other companies. Would be great if you would follow that rule. Even your boss does so, haven't you noticed that yet? And actually, I don't have to follow that rule as I'm not working for an airline!

Talking about aviation safety. Let me guess: Ryanair is number one, right? Euh, let's verify:
http://www.jacdec.de/jacdec_safety_ranking_2012.htm