Ryanair boss: I’m a clown, but my pilots are not tired
RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary has admitted he has been a ‘clown’ over the cancelled flights crisis – then launched into an extraordinary attack on his own pilots.
With disgruntled pilots plotting ‘mass sick days’ which could cause even more disruption for passengers, Mr O’Leary fanned the flames of the dispute by claiming they do not have a difficult job.
He also scoffed at complaints from short-haul pilots that they are suffering from fatigue because of a packed working schedule – suggesting this must be due to their activities outside of work.
Accepting he made a ‘major boo-boo’ over the crisis which has affected 315,000 passengers and left some stranded for up to nine days, Mr O’Leary also accused some pilots of being ‘precious about themselves’ and ‘full of their own self-importance’.
But despite previously claiming that an exodus of pilots has nothing to do with Ryanair cancelling more than 2,000 flights before the end of October, Mr O’Leary revealed that the firm aims to recruit 120 new pilots within ‘the next week or two’.
Speaking at the budget airline’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Dublin – in which he was criticised for his ‘gung ho’ response to the crisis – Mr O’Leary admitted that pay was ‘a bit on the low side’.
He revealed plans to give pilots at its busiest bases – London Stansted, Dublin, Frankfurt and Berlin – an £8,800 annual pay rise.
But he immediately risked inflaming tensions when he said he intended to tell pilots due a month’s holiday to reduce it to three weeks to ease the crisis. They will get that week back in January.
The move comes after pilots across Europe declared plans to snub the offer of a £12,000 one-off bonus to work during their holiday
‘If there’s fatigue it’s not a result of flying’
to prevent more flights being cancelled over the next few weeks.
Many have signed a letter threatening to ‘work to rule’ – meaning they will refuse to do anything outside their contractual obligations, such as turning up early to avoid delays or answering phone calls on days off. There are fears this could cause even more disruption for passengers.
Mr O’Leary insisted Ryanair’s pilots work under ‘good terms and conditions’ and relations with air crew are good. He added: ‘I don’t even know how there would be industrial action in Ryanair. There isn’t a union.’
The billionaire tycoon said the airline had ‘some goodies’ to discuss with pilots, but warned: ‘If pilots misbehave, that will be the end of the goodies.’
During a press conference, he went on the attack and suggested pilots have no right to complain about being overworked.
‘Once you are trained and skilled at doing it … I would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job or how it is they are overworked, or how anybody who by law can’t fly more than 18 hours a week could possibly be suffering from fatigue.’
He added: ‘If there are fatigue issues among pilots ... in short-haul flying it’s never as a result of flying.’
This drew a furious response from the British Airline Pilots’ Association. Brian Strutton, the chief executive, said: ‘Fatigue is endemic in all kinds of commercial flying. BALPA is worried about what message this is giving to pilots, and what effect this management attitude has on safety culture.’
Mr Strutton added that the 18hour figure used by Mr O’Leary ‘does not seem to have any basis in reality’ as there is no weekly limit for flying.
Regulations limit pilots’ flying hours to 100 in 28 days.
Mr O’Leary also came under fire from shareholders. One told him: ‘You should make a large donation to a third-world country and wear your sack cloths for a few weeks.’
Mr O’Leary apologised repeatedly. He said: ‘ We make mistakes. This time we made a major boo-boo.’
A Ryanair spokesman denied it is rushing to recruit pilots due to a shortage, saying: ‘ We continue to recruit pilots on an ongoing basis.’