Ryanair’s rumpus

Pay up – and win back goodwill

WHEN IT works smoothly, Ryanair – and the other no-frills airlines – are a genuine business success story. They’ve made chic European destinations accessible to the masses.

But when services go awry, they represent the very worst of business, as exemplified by the growing furore over Ryanair’s cancellation of dozens of flights each day because of a shortage of pilots.

Leaving aside how a businessman supposedly as reputable as Michael O’Leary could not have foreseen the implications of rota changes as rival airlines started poaching his staff, it is the company’s cavalier customer service – bordering upon the negligible – that is simply reprehensible.

Not only did Ryanair believe, at the outset, that it could ride roughshod over the regulatory rules that are in place to protect the interests of travellers, but the regulators themselves have been too slow to remind Mr O’Leary – last year’s Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cupwinning owner – of his company’s obligations. Why?

For the record, thousands of passengers are incurring unnecessary expense as they try and reschedule holidays, business trips and pre-planned journeys because of the airline’s mismanagement and obtuse refusal to reveal the flights being cancelled until public pressure forced its hand.

Rather than making it as awkward as possible for those concerned to seek financial redress, or switch their flights to rival airlines, Ryanair should be going out of its way to assist those who have been inconvenienced. If it did so, the resulting goodwill would help offset short-term financial losses.