You've got to hand it to Ryanair's spectacular tactics and PR stunts Their
sheer nerve alone is enough to shock you at first, and then move you to throes
of hysterical laughter. Throughout all of these challenging years, this company
has managed to go so low below the belt (seat belt, that is) that it's a wonder
they are still in business, but they're still alive and ticking even whilst
employing the most incredibly shrewd and ridiculous tactics that keep clients
begging for more. The latest tactic? The CEO now wants to eliminate
seat belts on flights in favor of a standing-only section.
Their planes are flying, their
schedules are holding, and they continue to advertise, so it begs the question:
does one actually enjoy this type of treatment? Well, if you travel on an
airline like Ryanair, then yes, I believe you do. Recently, they really hit the
bottom of the bowl, no pun intended, as they proudly unveiled that they plan on
removing two of the three bathrooms on their planes, allowing for up to six
more extra seats. And now, the often smug CEO Michael O'Leary suggests
seatbelts are pointless as he lobbies for SRO sections on planes, citing that
"if there was ever a crash on an aircraft, God forbid, a seatbelt won't
save you". Indicating that nobody is required to wear a seatbelt on the London Tube, he
hopes to bend around EU safety regulations and create the standing space where
passages would be sold at about $1.60 apiece. His justification?
"We "We don't have heavy
landings anymore. If you say to someone, 'look, hang onto the handle there,
you're coming in to land', they'll be fine."
Some of the highs and lows through
the years have included the£20 charge for reprinting a boarding pass, £20
charge per person each way just for checking in at the airport, a £1 charge per
minute just to call customer service (which one must do if they have an issue
as there is no email address on their site to voice questions), the way
overpriced food on board, and a sneaky weight restriction on carry-on bags of
15 kg. Pack even a shade above that and you'll be hit with a £14 per kilo extra
charge.
Let's not forget the
ever-so-deceptive "cheap"fares that are as difficult to find as a
needle in a haystack, and the lovely creative positioning of destinations on
their website. Booking a flight to what they say is Paris on their site will
actually leave you in Beauvais, over an hour and 20 minutes away, leaving you
paying exorbitant transfer fees at the end of the day, making you wonder if
this is really a low-cost flight in any sort of shape or form.
And then there was perhaps the most
famous exploit of all, landing on an island off of Spain which was not the
intended destination, offloading passengers, and leaving them there to fend
while the plane turned around and departed. The customers hustled for a ferry,
the crew naturally wound up back home safe and sound.
The positive side of this newest
lavatory change? They've scrapped the original plan to charge passengers to
utilize the lavatories on board, so feel free to go ahead and indulge in that
expensive bottle of water in flight. As for seatbelts, would you be willing to
take that chance? Not this Explorateur.
Voice your views on
our FACEBOOK page!