Ryanair in 2013

[regi]

by doing so they show the world he is right... bad move from FR

And if they do nothing about it, that would mean he is right ...
Seriously, now, no company would put up with such a behaviour, from one of its employees.

I see every day in the news items where employees openly speak with reporters during strikes, and tell where it goes about. Difference is that they are protected by union laws.
Employees even dare to say publicly that their CEO should be kicked out.

[Passenger]

There is a reaction from Evert van Zwol (Ryanair Pilot Group) about the dismissal of John Goss (pilot and RPG board member) and the lack of response by the Irish Aviation Authority about the recent RPG enquiry in which some 1.000 Ryanair pilots admitted that the company fuel policy is a safety issue:

direct link to the interview (in Dutch, 6 min):
http://www.luchtvaart.tv/video.php?id=14197

article:
http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Ar ... er_Ryanair

[sean1982]

How can a pilot comment on the ins and outs of a company if he doesnt work himself for it. Not saying anything about the value of the RPG, but im afraid that I have to side with FR on the fact that the chairman is unreliable and in my opinion is not defending the ryanair pilots, rather then protecting the legacy airlines

[Passenger]

How can a pilot comment on the ins and outs of a company if he doesnt work himself for it. Not saying anything about the value of the RPG, but im afraid that I have to side with FR on the fact that the chairman is unreliable and in my opinion is not defending the ryanair pilots, rather then protecting the legacy airlines

Aviation safety is something that every citizen in the world is entitled to comment because every thing that flies around could fall on one’s head - remember the Helios 737. Secondly, if we follow your strict rule that only people from inside a company are entitled to comment about that company, we can close this site and some 90% of all forums worldwide.

If you have listened to Evert van Zwol, you would have heard that he said he is not a union delegate talking about salaries and rosters: he wants to discuss a safety matter, brought up by own investigation. So this is NOT about a chairman defending legacy airlines, as you suggest. This is about someone who’s organisation has received 1.000 poll forms, thus confirming that the company has a safety issue with its fuel policy. Pilot John Goss received a letter that he has to consume less fuel. How is he supposed to do that? Change the way he’s flying safe for years now? Or by taking less fuel at departure?

Another thing that Van Zwol said, is that it’s unacceptable that the Irish Aviation Authority refuses to address a safety issue that is clearly on the table. The IAA has to investigate rumours if they seems to be serious, but the IAA doesn’t want to do so. Why not?

Furthermore, van Zwol said that O’Leary cannot be trusted. During the television broadcasts about the Valencia fuel emergencies, O’Leary said he was willing to listen to every single pilot who identified himself as a Ryanair pilot. Goss did so, and yet he’s fired.

[sean1982]

Wheter you like it or not, RPG is the pilot Union. If a KLM pilot is the chairman of that Union is the same like me being the chairman of BASF in antwerp. Van zwol cannot be trusted just like O'Leary

[sn26567]

Maybe RPG members are compelled to take their officers out of Ryanair because Ryanair pilots are afraid to declare themselves members of a union by fear of being fired?

[sean1982]

It's very simple. If they have the numbers of pilots they claim to have all they've got to do is go on strike tomorrow and FR will be crippeled. All I see now is a KLM pilot trying to hurt the airline at his Achilles heel which is safety without any evidence to back it up. That is at minimum questionable.

[airazurxtror]

At the head of the (Non) Ryanair Pilot Group, there is also a pilot from Air France, one from KLM, and one from Aer Lingus - i.e. from the three competitors who most hate and fear Ryanair.
It's a laugh, really.
One would like to hear the French reaction, for instance, if the Air France Pilot Union was headed by a foreign pilot from another company : "La Frrrance aux Français ! L'honneur de la Frrrance ... ! Dehors les étrangers !" and so on ...

[Boeing767copilot]

Ryanair sues sacked pilot over TV appearance

Ryanair has launched legal action against a pilot who appeared in a Channel 4 documentary.

The no-frills carrier sacked John Goss last week after he took part in the Dispatches programme which raised questions about Ryanair’s safety record.

The airline went one step further yesterday (August 22) by launching a defamation lawsuit against Goss in Dublin’s High Court. Ryanair is also taking legal action against Channel 4 over the programme.

In a statement on Ryanair’s website, lawyer Paul Tweed of Johnsons, said: “Mr Goss has failed to provide Ryanair with any acceptable explanation as to why he, as “one of Ryanair’s longest-serving pilots” and “a former flight safety officer” appeared on the Dispatches programme which defamed Ryanair’s safety reputation, just weeks after he confirmed in writing that he had no concerns regarding Ryanair’s safety.

“In view of the extremely serious implications arising from Mr Goss’s comments, which have been extensively reported across Europe and worldwide as questioning Ryanair’s safety, Johnsons have been instructed to vigorously pursue this defamation action, with a view to obtaining total vindication from Mr Goss of Ryanair’s industry-leading safety which has been independently verified as being “on a par with the safest airlines in Europe”.”

The Dispatches programme alleged that the carrier puts pressure on pilots to carry the minimum fuel needed for a diversion. It detailed how on one occasion last year, three flights diverted from Madrid to Valencia had declared a fuel emergency before landing safely.

ryanair.com

[regi]

aha , a real law suit....or not?
I am eager to see how this will evolve. First of all, if the case really goes ahead.
the first case has already been dropped:
http://airnation.net/hangar/threads/rya ... raph.6200/

A defamation lawsuit is a tricky thing that can go in many directions.
Easiest thing is that the lawsuit is declared as invalid because the complainer has no leg to stand upon.
Second thing is that the complainer will ask for compensation. But even if he wins the case, he must prove that he was harmed so much that the claim covers his costs...
This is something that can drag on for a very long time.
I am unfamiliar with specific Irish law , but I guess that the complainer is looking for a gag order, not so much for financial compensation.

I have my doubts if it is wise to go on the attack against the media.

[Passenger]

Virginie Mauguit, 28, stewardess Ryanair, based at CRL. Complained to the unions about working conditions, low wage (6,20 €/hour), too much pressure on onboard sales resulting in less time availiable for safety issues. Dismissed by Ryanair because she went to the union.
Het Nieuwsblad 2 Sept 2013:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... 2_00721159

One Belgian Ryanair pilot (female) and 5 Spanish pilots also complained with their unions: they’re all dismissed.
Het Laatste Nieuws 2 Sept 2013:
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1901/reisnieuw ... bond.dhtml

Perhaps Brussels Airlines can move their head quarters pro forma to Dublin, and then tell their strike-friendly unions that Irish law applies as from them, which states that the presence of unions is no longer an obligation.

[epsilon]

HLN is incorrect, there was no female pilot fired from CRL (as far as I have been told by people there). Same goes for the Spanish pilots. HLN got their stories mixed up. VTM Nieuws/Het Nieuwsblad has the correct version. And as far as I remember she quit herself a long time ago before any union involvement.

[airazurxtror]

http://www.ryanair.com/ie/news/ryanair- ... -in-august


Ryanair today (5 Sept) released its passenger and load factor statistics for August 2013:
•Traffic increased by 1% to over 9m passengers.
•First European airline ever to carry 9m passengers in one month.
•Annual traffic to end August grew 2% to over 80m passengers.
•Load factor increased 1% to 89%.
•Ryanair carries 9m passengers in a month, Aer Lingus carries 9m in a year!

[Inquirer]

It seems like there was a Belgian female pilot fired after all, together with 5 Spanish colleagues, yet Het Nieuwsblad simply didn't bring it, possibly because they thought it was the same as their other story?

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... 2_00719565

[Inquirer]

•Ryanair carries 9m passengers in a month, Aer Lingus carries 9m in a year!

I've had a look at the link, but do they also publish official figures which take into account stage lengths like all other airlines do, because IMHO a passenger flying on a short domestic flight within say the UK can not be compared to a passenger flying on a transatlantic route: a one to one comparison is a naive way to compare with others when the range of tickets sold can differ that much, so it would be much more interesting to know how many seatmiles they have sold, if we want to compare them to others.

[airazurxtror]

Inquirer, don't be so deadly serious ! it's just a bit of teasing towards the other Irish one ...

[Inquirer]

Inquirer, don't be so deadly serious ! it's just a bit of teasing towards the other Irish one ...

Who said I am being serious? I might be teasing too, you know?

But it's an interesting question to ask nevertheless, is it?

Where do they stand in a seatmile comparison, not just with Aer Lingus, but say with British?

[Boeing767copilot]

Ryanair settles legal case against Daily Mail

Ryanair has agreed an out-of-court settlement with the publisher of the Daily Mail after the newspaper repeated claims made in a Channel 4 programme last month.

The airline reached an out of court settlement with Associated Newspapers today (September 12) with an agreed statement read out at the High Court in Belfast.


http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/12 ... daily-mail

[regi]

Ryanair settles legal case against Daily Mail

Ryanair has agreed an out-of-court settlement with the publisher of the Daily Mail after the newspaper repeated claims made in a Channel 4 programme last month.

The airline reached an out of court settlement with Associated Newspapers today (September 12) with an agreed statement read out at the High Court in Belfast.


http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/12 ... daily-mail

Just as I was thinking...
( see message 27/08/2013 )
Let's see what it will be with Channel 4 .

[airazurxtror]

It seems the settlement by the Daily Mail goes along the Ryanair demands :

Michael Kealey, who represented the media group, said they accepted Ryanair’s 29-year safety record and that the airline had fully complied with EU regulations.
“A recent article about Ryanair referred to claims made by a group describing itself as a Ryanair Pilot Group and other claims broadcast in a Channel 4 TV Dispatches programme.
“Ryanair does not accept the results of the survey conducted by the interim council of this group, whose chairman is a KLM pilot, or that the group represents the views of the majority of Ryanair’s pilots.
“In relation to the three fuel emergency landings in Valencia over 12 months ago on Jul 26 we accept that the official report produced by the Irish safety agencies confirmed that all three aircraft took on extra fuel, all three aircraft flew for over one hour more than planned [due to adverse weather and diversions from Madrid to Valencia].
“All three aircraft fully complied with EU safety rules when landing safely in Valencia.”
The statement also acknowledged that if Ryanair pilots had safety concerns they were told to report them. Mr Kealey added: “Ryanair has made clear that if pilots have legitimate safety concerns they should report them either directly to Ryanair, or to the Irish Aviation Authority, using their confidential safety reporting systems.”

Paul Tweed, acting for Ryanair, said the airline was seeking to have an action against Channel 4 listed before the High Court in Dublin as soon as possible.

Read more :
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/li ... 42888.html

Mr O'Leary declined to disclose if any damages were awarded over the article that was published by the newspaper last month.