Ryanair to improve customer service

Irish Times

about time

Flew with them a few times, got what I paid for, didn't expect any more, and I said it before and I'll say it again, thought their cabin crew were more customer focused than the stuck up bunch at Monarch, O'learys bunch straight away you want a drink, no trying to sell you papers, food and perfume etc first, and if you want another one sir just ring the bell, Monarch, order all you want now cos we ain't coming back, and touch that bell button and your off...

A very close relative is a captain for B.A. ( I used to travel frequently with them when they did the Manchester to TFS route which was a B.A. 'Gib' subsidiary), when they sold to Easy Jet I used them once but never again. As I travel this route 9 or 10 times a year I have since used several carrier's, I reluctantly used Ryan Air once and like my experience with Easy Jet, never again. Easy Jet so i'm told, have improved slightly but Ryan Air (in my opinion) hasn't.   He (my close relative) has 'horses mouth' knowledge of how O'Leary works and how he make the fortunes he is making, and O'Leary, or one of his aircraft.( in my opinion) is heading for a fall.  His aircraft regularly fly (according to regular Spanish media reports) on a wing and a prayer and his cabin crew are (in my opinion) equivalent to Burger King trainees. Yes they are quick to try and get you pzzd at exorbitant drink prices but there is far more to cabin crew competance  than serving drinks whilst the aircraft is 'rotating', also and more importantly there are many other incidents that occur daily on all flights, (far more than we are actually aware of but most go un-noticed because of the professionalism of well trained cabin crews), but God help anyone who befalls illness, (for example an angina attack), on a Ryan Air aircraft. Most airline crew members are subjected to a rigorous first aid training regime as part of their duties, I would be interested to know if any Ryan Air cabin crew have had any training other than to pour a pint and shut the door?. It's an age old cliché (you pay peanuts-you get monkeys) and if anyone wants to travel on an aircraft that is flying on fumes and staffed by chimps then good luck to them we are all blessed with the freedom of choice, but I would rather don a pair of flippers and kiddies water wings and swim rather than fly with Ryan Air. (this is not an advocation it is purely my opinion and I am entitled to it).  No offence intended tis purely a light hearted muse.

I saw several scaremongering  reports recently regarding the amount of fuel Ryanair take on for each flight. They have proved that they take on the required amount as per regulations and in fact are now suing 9 pilots who posted differently on an aviation only website. Ryanair's safety record stands up to anyone's ( including staff safety training which again has to meet EASA standards). However, the fact that they cant do these things without pissing off millions of passengers speaks volumes about their customer service training imo. I'm one of these "follow the rules " and don't expect much from the staff and everything will go according to plan.

The reason why customer service is important for any airline is because unlike taking a bus many passengers are apprehensive about flying, some are actually frightened so passenger confidence should be paramount.  It is also becoming more and more stressful due to the increased security measures and the 'rip-off' mentality every airport seems to adopt. Mr O'Leary's aircraft must be adhearing to E.A.A. rules but only just and there are many unforeseen factors that can challenge a routine flight, prolonged taxi and take off will use vital fuel if there is an incident at the destination airport and a 'stacking' procedure is required, or bad weather avoidance etc. These are parr for the course for Mr O'Leary but for a passenger it can be very frightening, cabin crew attitude then becomes vital.  I would never belittle or mock anyone for flying Ryan Air as I am sure the majority of passengers who travel with them do so quite simply because they are the cheapest (supposedly). I personally enjoy flying and like to make the experience a part of my holiday so I am willing to pay £70 extra to have confidence in the airline and courtesy by it's staff members.

Me too, I have had more than my fare share of trouble with Jet 2, So now if we can we use monarch,
Some people dont rate them, but they leave you alone instead of coming round with the "Sky shop" every 10 minutes, Never tried Ryanair because of the bad press, Let your feet do the voting,

The trouble we have in Ireland is that we only have two choices when travelling to the Canaries, Aer Lingus or Ryanair. This summer, Ryanair was 400 cheaper than AL. For 400 euro, I'll put up with the arrogance of Ryanair staff!! On flights to the UK, again, Ryanair is 50% cheaper so again, they'll get my business ( plus its only an hour flight). All that being said, we have booked with Aer Lingus to Tenerife for next summer. They reduced their fares so, although still dearer, I thought we would give them a try.
Just as an aside, coming back from Lanzarote a few weeks ago, we were asked by Ryanair staff, to put the cabin luggage into the metal box thingy to measure the size. I got my bag in with a bit of effort but do you think I could get it out???? I ended up pulling and dragging the whole frame about. I looked like I was throwing the feckin hammer in the olympics  

Flight time and then price is my priority then airport.

I love Ryanair and will always use them rather than another airline if they are going to a destination I want to be in. (Wish they did long haul).  I am always amazed when passengers decry them because they have been caught trying to take on too many bags, or they are asked to pay because their bag size is larger than that allowed for hand baggage.  Once you book with them you get several emails before you fly reminding you of what you are allowed so if people ignore it then they should expect whatever happens to them.  I like that they allow 10kg for hand baggage whereas the likes of Monarch only allow 5kg I also don´t mind Easyjet, and like their rule that if you can lift it into the overead rack you can take it as hand baggage.

At the end of the day, to me it is just the same as a bus to get from A to B so if I can save money while doing it I'll use it.  Abide by their rules they are fine, more leg room than most, always found crew very professional and pleasant and even their on-board meals are no worse than others and cost similar prices, so no contest.

Agreed Gypsy. Its the ground staff that I find pernickity

Pernickity   I may try that  

Whoever gets my drink the quickest wins...