Ryanair – Business Plus

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)

  • Anonymous
    Guest

    BigDog.
    Participant

    The FT and BT are reporting….

    Ryanair is following Easyjet by offering a flexible ticket from €69.99 and allow for unlimited flight changes including free changes on the day of travel. Although higher than usual LCC tickets, they will still be lower than any fully-flex ticket from other carriers.

    They will also offer “Premium Seating” but “subject to availability also Fast track through its London hub at Stansted. Though there won’t be different seats nor a curtain.

    A 20kg bag allowance and priority boarding is also included. Though passengers will still have to pay for their refreshments.

    Ryanair claims one quarter of its passengers are on business.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/11057948/Ryanair-introduces-business-class.html


    superchris
    Participant

    Ive yet to meet a business traveller who travels on Ryanair when given a choice. i.e. I know plenty who fly them as they live near Stansted.

    None of these initiatives addresses my concerns on safety. In many air accidents, the attitude and professionalism of the cabin crew saves lives, and Im yet to be convinced how someone on minimum wage (or even Lithuanian minimum wage) would perform heroics to get their passengers out of a burning plane.

    I still ‘would rather walk’ than fly on Ryanair.


    MrMichael
    Participant

    I have never used Ryanair and have no plans to. This is based purely on product andf no fear on my safety in using them. I totally disagree with superchris that safety is compromised by staff being on any mimimum wage. BA (mixed fleet) cabin crew are not on much more than Ryanair, do we worry about safety there…no. The issue is training and rest for flight and cabin crew, not money.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    I would never fly Ryanair not just because I don’t trust them or O’Leary but mainly because they fly to/from out of the way airports, so by the time you factor in the cost of getting from there to your actual destination and the extra time it takes, you’re likely well out of pocket.

    I would consider Easyjet though but the one big advantage the
    LCC’s have is the ability to buy one way fares at roughly half the return price. This means someone could fly into AMS, work their way through Germany using the train for appointments in different cities, ending up in Basel to fly back.

    As an example, a return cheap business fare Lugano – LCY via ZRH is CHF 500 or CHF 299 in economy. A one way economy is CHF 750! It’s quite crazy and why I’d use Easyjet out of Milan if I was purchasing a one way (or open jaw) ticket.

    LP, do you think DUB, OPO, MAD, BCN….the list could go on and on….are out of the way airports?

    @superchris

    I would rather fly FR to Lamezia or Fez than walk!!!


    TravelWise
    Participant

    The new fare offers fast track, so fast track past the Ryanair desk and head to a decent airline; in fact any other airline. Sorry, but no changes will entice me to fly Ryanair. They would have to be absolutely the only airline to fly that route and even then I would really need to justify the meeting. Firstly I would attempt TV conf, teleconf, Skype,instant messenger, fax or pigeon mail before I succumbed to Ryanair.

    Sorry for the strong words but they lost my valued custom from their appalling lack of customer service many years ago.


    superchris
    Participant

    and Travelwise, that is kind of my point, I just wouldn’t go.


    travelworld2
    Participant

    I share the views of nearly all the posters on this thread. Mr O’Leary made his position clear many years ago when he said that people who wanted the frills of high cost airlines should stick to them. His airline was aimed at those who wanted to fly as cheaply as possible and so he cut out absolutely everything he could to get the cost down. That’s why he ended up with unpleasant aircraft interiors with wipe down plastic coverings, no seat pockets, overly priced food and drink, no jet ways and a business model which not only charged exorbitant fees to discourage certain passenger behaviours (and provided a nice extra revenue line in so doing) but actually took advantage of those who failed to read the deliberately hard to follow rules on its website and ended up charging them cash when they committed the heinous crime of (say) turning up at check in with one bag weighing 14kg and one 16kg….

    In some ways I have no problem with that; it’s a free market and if people are happy to travel like that, good for them. I’m not.

    Where I have the greatest possible difficulty is that now he’s worked out he’s run that line as far as it can go and the airline needs to change its tune. Sorry, but you’ve had your chance. You haven’t wanted my custom for the last decade or more, and now you do, you can’t have it.


    MartinJ
    Participant

    Echoing what travelworld2 has said, to entice business travellers Ryanair needs a culture change and not just a few added products like fast lane and flex fares. For as long as Chief Executive Bully Michael O’Lery heads the airline it won’t be able to shed its cheap&nasty image.


    KarlMarx
    Participant

    Let’s look at the numbers, Ryanair carries about 80 million passenger per annum, well over double BA and more than KLM/AF or LH Group.

    It is a huge airline.

    This campaign is positioning against another very large airline, easyJet, the UK’s largest by passenger numbers.

    Ryanair has no need to try to attract full service airline passengers and doesn’t much care about them, it’s the orange pax they are after.

    BA on short haul is a bit player and not serious competition to Ryanair.


    PatJordan
    Participant

    Michael O’Leary is targeting Business travellers.

    Hmmm….in November 2006 Mr.O’Leary is quoted:

    “We should outlaw business class traffic. We should pack them into economy class rather than have the fat and overpaid flying around on flat beds after they’ve all eaten and drunk their fine wines. We should put them in economy class rather than have them sleep across the Atlantic.”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/736916/OLeary-dismisses-Stern-as-an-idiot.html

    How things have changed in a few short years.

    Maybe the leopard can indeed change it’s spots!!!

    More expensive than BA economy, but with less service! The Classic Ryanair deal. Well done, for like any good custard Mr O’ Leary is consistent.


    MrMichael
    Participant

    I would not criticise Mr O,Leary, he has turned a minor crummy little airline in to one of the biggest in the world. Every airline, even SouthWest that he modelled it on have sat up and taken notice. How many LoCo,s are out there, only because they too have copied the Ryanair model, Whizz, Jetstar, Air Asia, Easyjet and the old Go to name a few.

    I stick by not wanting to fly Ryanair, but by golly I wish I had bought some shares in it ten years ago, and how many defunct airlines would now be still flying if they had Mr O,Leary at the helm.

    Tweaking the business model to increase market share is surely what any half decent CEO is expected to do. Indeed, if he did not we could have a pop at him more than we perhaps are doing now. I like a CEO that speaks his mind, he is entertaining, successful and has changed the face of short haul travel. He has changed it for the better, because even those who prefer BA, Iberia, KLM etc get a better deal now because of him.

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