Ryanair's Crisis Shows the True Price of the Low-Cost Revolution

[MULTIZ321]

Ryanair's Crisis Shows the True Price of the Low-Cost Revolution
By Gwyn Topham/ Opinion/ Comment Is Free/ The Guardian/ theguardian.com

"Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary, in his cheerfully blunt way, frequently used to assert that the only customer service that really counted was getting passengers to their destination on time and for the cheapest fare. That definition appeared to have softened when in 2013 it promised to be nicer to its customers: a bit more leeway with the bags, smaller fines for a lost boarding pass. Why not, O’Leary mused, stop “unnecessarily pissing people off”. Yet now, by whatever standard, customers are ill-served: thousands of flights cancelled, more than 700,000 passengers disrupted, and now a belated, grudging acknowledgment of statutory compensation rights.

The Irish airline, with typical bravado, put it down to a management cock-up: messing up the rotas, not paying attention to the piffling rules, and suddenly finding itself short of pilots for a few thousand flights. D’oh! But that show of transparency shouldn’t persuade anyone that this is an aberration rather than a symptom, a visible culmination of the logic of low-cost economics...."

Illustration by Robert G Fresson


Richard

 

[isisdave]

The thought that comes immediately to mind is this: "They got caught because you can't fly a plane without a pilot. I wonder if they've over-scheduled their maintenance staff too, and are just skipping half the inspections."

Eventually, there will be an accident that results from cheapness. Not until then is there likely to be any regulatory relief.

 

[x3 skier]

Interesting the Gaurdian website is free but asks for a donation. Unbundling?

Cheers

 

[Tamino]

There comes a point when operating by saving pennies costs dearly. Ryanair is one airline I will not fly regardless of ticket price.

 

[Bunk]

One problem with low cost airlines is the inability to contact them by phone if there any problems. My daughter flew Ryanair while in Europe and when a problem arose it was very frustrating not to be able to speak with a real person in real time

 

[Passepartout]

There are things that are more important than a low ticket price.