Ryanair cabin crew strike 25 and 26 July 2018 - cockpit strike 10 August

[sn26567]

Ryanair announced 31% cancellations in Belgium on 25-26 July. According to documents seen by La Libre Belgique, it will be 70% in Brussels and 50% in Charleroi. Some passengers will have a big surprise!

Meanwhile Ryanair has brought cabin crew from foreign countries to Belgium to help filling the voids...

The unions even hint that not one single Ryanair flight will take off from Belgium on 25-26 July. They probably have forgotten that Ryanair has moved some Polish and German crews to Belgium to operate some flights.

[CTBke]

Ryanair announced 31% cancellations in Belgium on 25-26 July. According to documents seen by La Libre Belgique, it will be 70% in Brussels and 50% in Charleroi. Some passengers will have a big surprise!

Meanwhile Ryanair has brought cabin crew from foreign countries to Belgium to help filling the voids...

The unions even hint that not one single Ryanair flight will take off from Belgium on 25-26 July. They probably have forgotten that Ryanair has moved some Polish and German crews to Belgium to operate some flights.

they can do whatever it takes to prevent them from doing so ..

[Passenger]

Flightradar24.com seems to suggest that most Ryanair flights out of/to CRL will operate, whilst most flights out of/to BRU are cancelled:

CRL:
https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/crl/departures
BRU:
https://www.flightradar24.com/airport/bru/departures

[Passenger]

Two weeks ago, The Guardian has published this article about the long term risk of these strikes for the brand Ryanair:

...Any further disruption could start to crystallise an image of Ryanair as a risky bet that makes paying an extra 10% or so for another airline seem like a good insurance policy... Their brand is built on being reliable bastards,” said Dan Gavshon Brady, a strategist at brand consultancy Wolff Olins. “What the strikes threaten to do is question the reliability. They’re more resilient than others because they’ve never promised anything more than no-frills but deliver on what they promise...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... e-bastards

[sn26567]

Is Ryanair deliberately lying in order to improve its image?

1. Ryanair said that only 31% of its Belgian flights would be cancelled on 25-26 July. We know that the real figure is 70% in BRU and 50% in CRL. Ryanair had accustomed us to a better reliability when they issued figures about their Irish pilots' strikes, e.g. this one one on tofay's strike:



2. And now this, published a few minutes ago:



This is an outright lie! Many Ryanair customers are still struggling to find suitable alternatives if the solutions suggested by the airline are not acceptable. Ryanair cannot be reached by phone (except rarely on a surcharged number), doesn't answer on Facebook or Twitter.

[Homo Aeroportus]

Did a quick check using FR24.

As of now, 16:20Z, Brussels has 11 flights listed as Cancelled for tomorrow 25JUL out of 20 flights total.

FR BRU Dep 25JUL.png (41 KiB) Viewed 2279 times

Flightstats.com reports the first flight, FR2961 to MPX, as cancelled (status changed this morning at 05:07Z).
The afternoon flight, FR2963 to BCN, is also Cancelled with the status changed today at 15:11Z, about one hour ago. This may hint to further cancelation being in the process to be announced.


As for CRL, FR24 reports only one (1) cancelation : FR6902 to Girona with STD 08:50.
All the other 56 flights are still scheduled according to FR24.
The -700 seems to be operating tomorrow : 17:55 FR8416 Budapest (BUD) Ryanair 73G Scheduled

Good luck to all affected.

H.A.

[Passenger]

Is Ryanair deliberately lying in order to improve its image?

Yes.

Many Ryanair customers are still struggling to find suitable alternatives if the solutions suggested by the airline are not acceptable. Ryanair cannot be reached by phone (except rarely on a surcharged number), doesn't answer on Facebook or Twitter.

Indeed - that's confirmed by many stories in the Flemish press. Ryanair totally disregards the European legislation and local legislation. Not only about the indemnity (250-400-600), but even about the basic rerouting. "At the passenger's convenience", legislation states. But passengers can 't even contact Ryanair to advise them what their "convenience" is.

This is relevant Article 8 from EU-Rule 261/2004:

Right to reimbursement or re-routing.

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

[nordikcam]

I know why I do not fly Ryanair. There are many reasons often shared by others that I fully share! I understand less that the EU does not impose on Ryanair its regulation in the European sky ... and forbids it to fly if this regulation is not observed.

[sn26567]

Did a quick check using FR24.

Checked on BRU website:

06:55 FR2961 Milan Malpensa Cancelled
06:55 FR2985 Valencia Cancelled
07:00 FR2947 Madrid Cancelled
07:20 FR2925 Lisbon Scheduled 07:20
08:15 FR163 Berlin Schoenefeld Scheduled 08:15 (SXF-based)
08:55 FR2917 Barcelona Cancelled (BCN-based)
09:50 FR1453 Dublin International Scheduled 09:50 (DUB-based)
10:10 FR7010 Rome Fiumicino Scheduled 10:10 (FCO-based)
10:50 FR2943 Malaga Cancelled
11:00 FR2921 Barcelona Cancelled
11:55 FR2933 Alicante Cancelled
13:00 FR2915 Palma Mallorca Scheduled 13:00
13:20 FR2928 Porto Francisco Sa Carneiro Cancelled
16:45 FR2983 Rome Fiumicino Cancelled
16:55 FR2938 Barcelona Cancelled
18:25 FR2935 Venice - Treviso/Sant' Angelo Scheduled 18:25
18:35 FR1457 Dublin International Scheduled 18:35 (DUB-based)
19:00 FR2963 Milan Malpensa Cancelled
20:10 FR2951 Madrid Scheduled 20:10
21:40 FR2931 Lisbon Scheduled 21:40 (LIS-based)

Meaning 11 flights are cancelled, and 9 operated (often coming from non-striking bases). The figure of 70% then clearly related to BRU-based aircraft only.

A union leader declared to RTBF that 100% of the cabin crew based in Brussels would be on strike. If some flights take off tomorrow they will be manned by crew from foreign bases.

[TLspotting]

Charleroi at 7:56 : 8 738 parked on North Apron...

[Passenger]

Don't forget that Ryanair has been shamed publicly more than once on their stance against the EU-Rule 261/2004. So the passengers should not be surprised that they loose money because Ryanair is not willing to respect basic norms in social negotiations. But no, why should they be blamed for the result of their hunger for low fares.

It's easy to blame the other without having in mind what they do themselves.

You cannot blame passengers for their hunger for low fares. So you cannot blame passengers, in no way, for this strike.

"The passengers" is actually always just one passenger: it's an individual sitting at home, behind his/her computer or laptop or tablet or smartphone. All he/she does, is surf the net, compare fares and then book and pay for it. Passengers -specially the Ryanair ones- are not organized. They don't communicate to each other "let's not book untill Ryanair lowers their fare even more". And they have to accept the fare that Ryanair puts online. The only power an individual passenger has, is not to book.

One could eventually blame the travel industry for negociating fares that don't allow airlines to operate with a profit. But that's not the case with Ryanair, who is not active in the open distribution sales circuit (although they have some deals with some brokers indeed). But even then, it's the airlines who decide the fare.

[TLspotting]

This is for Charleroi !

0620 FR4522 Milan Bergamo / CANCELLED
0630 FR6728 Kraków / CANCELLED
0630 FR6318 Marseille / Already landed at MRS
0635 FR7737 Brindisi / CANCELLED
0635 FR8077 Montpellier / CANCELLED
0640 FR201 Copenhagen / CANCELLED
0645 FR8774 Oujda / Already landed in OUD
0650 FR1386 Porto / Already landed in OPO
0655 FR1057 Warsaw Modlin / CANCELLED
0700 FR3239 Manchester / Already landed in MAN
0700 FR3745 Pisa / CANCELLED
0710 FR8707 Bari / CANCELLED
0710 FR6105 Rome Ciampino / CANCELLED
0755 FR8085 Riga / Flying
0850 FR6902 Girona / CANCELLED
0910 FR5463 Madrid / CANCELLED
0910 FR2101 Bucharest / Flying
1015 FR6251 Corfu / Scheduled
1040 FR9053 Alicante / Scheduled
1045 FR1388 Bordeaux / CANCELLED
1050 FR6464 Zadar / CANCELLED
1120 FR2105 Toulouse / CANCELLED
1130 FR8023 Carcassonne / CANCELLED
1145 FR4864 Turin / CANCELLED
1250 FR8176 Las Palmas / CANCELLED
1310 FR8042 Ancona / Scheduled
1320 FR8178 Tenerife / CANCELLED
1355 FR6312 Faro / CANCELLED
1400 FR4526 Milan Bergamo / Scheduled
1405 FR8174 Arrecife / Scheduled
1420 FR1918 Valencia / Scheduled
1425 FR2835 Barcelona / Scheduled
1430 FR8577 Rhodes / Scheduled
1440 FR8048 Nîmes / CANCELLED
1515 FR1300 Lisbon / Scheduled
1525 FR1055 Warsaw Modlin / Scheduled
1555 FR2973 Bratislava / Scheduled
1600 FR6456 Ibiza / CANCELLED

[Passenger]

... I understand less that the EU does not impose on Ryanair its regulation in the European sky ... and forbids it to fly if this regulation is not observed.

The European institutions (EU-Commission, EU-Court) can't just simply forbid them to fly. But they can fine them severely, when it's proven that the constantly continously disrespect European legislation (like 261/2004). This takes time however - like the ongoing strike now, which could have been prevented by simply recognizing the trade unions. It will take some months before the EU can confirm that Ryanair voluntary refuses to obey to the EU legislation.

What will happen much sooner, is local prosecution: on request of the Belgian minister for Consumer Affairs, the Algemene Directie Economie Inspectie / Direction Générale Inspection Economique will probably sue Ryanair because of easily-to-be-proven infracts against consumer legislation. And though the fines are low, there is also a personal punishment when it's proven that it's voluntary indeed. We're not talking about Euro's then, but about a criminal court case.

[TLspotting]

Charleroi : At least 7 Ryanair on the ground, as far I can see from my terrace...

[sn26567]

Charleroi : At least 7 Ryanair on the ground, as far I can see from my terrace...

... and 60% of the flights cancelled, although the situation in CRL is much less clear than in BRU, where all the cancelled flights were announced in advance. In CRL, most flights are announced as scheduled and appear only to be cancelled later, although the passengers have been informed of those cancellations.

[TLspotting]

Charleroi : At least 7 Ryanair on the ground, as far I can see from my terrace...

... and 60% of the flights cancelled, although the situation in CRL is much less clear than in BRU, where all the cancelled flights were announced in advance. In CRL, most flights are announced as scheduled and appear only to be cancelled later, although the passengers have been informed of those cancellations.

I uploaded the list with Charleroi Airport, I'll see this evening if I can do a list of the all cancelled Ryanair flights for tomorrow, which is a longggg work

[Passenger]

Charleroi : At least 7 Ryanair on the ground, as far I can see from my terrace...

... and 60% of the flights cancelled, although the situation in CRL is much less clear than in BRU, where all the cancelled flights were announced in advance. In CRL, most flights are announced as scheduled and appear only to be cancelled later, although the passengers have been informed of those cancellations.

Not all passengers were informed about their cancellation, as this press report -with details- shows:
https://www.hln.be/nieuws/buitenland/ry ... ~a3650a25/

Summary in brief: Ryanair says f*uck you to their clients.

[TLspotting]

13:00 FR2915 Palma Mallorca Scheduled 13:00

Cancelled

[sn26567]

13:00 FR2915 Palma Mallorca Scheduled 13:00

Cancelled

Indeed: they didn't find a "Belgian" crew to operate the flight. And when I say Belgian, it only means "based in Belgium", because all of the cabin crew at Brussels are now Romanian, Portuguese, Polish, etc. No Belgian person would accept to work with a salary of €1000 nett with the high costs of living in Brussels.

[sean1982]

13:00 FR2915 Palma Mallorca Scheduled 13:00

Cancelled

Indeed: they didn't find a "Belgian" crew to operate the flight. And when I say Belgian, it only means "based in Belgium", because all of the cabin crew at Brussels are now Romanian, Portuguese, Polish, etc. No Belgian person would accept to work with a salary of €1000 nett with the high costs of living in Brussels.

Sorry, not true there is Belgian crew based in BRU and CRL.

Further more, the high succes rate of the strike proves my point that Luk De Wilde's article was pure and utter crap based on hearsay.