GUBU

GUBU
An Irish woman's social, political and domestic commentary

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Ryanair in the wars

I've sent the following mail to Michael O'Leary. If I get a response will publish here.

Dear Mr O' Leary,

First off, let me say that I rather stupidly did not
bet on your horse Economy Drive at the point to point
in Clegarrow/Rainstown some months ago as it won very
well. I had lost on all the previous races and took a
'chip' break and thus missed the opportunity. I hope
the horse continues to do well.

I'm just writing to let you know that I think you
played the pr badly this week. I know a lot of people
who thing the EU is dealing with Ryanair unjustly. My
husband used to work in Brussels and flew with Ryanair
to Charleroi every week. The flights were always on
time and very affordable. If we had been left to the mercy
of Aer Lingus and their fares we would have had to move to Brussels altogether. Aer Lingus has received millions
in state aid over the years so why should you not
receive some? The development of Charleroi provided
lots of local jobs there as well as generating more
business for Dublin Airport. The Belgians should be
let subsidise just as much we keep Shannon going. This
adverse decision will create a lot of sympathy for
Ryanair.

However, the reaction to the wheel chair case totally
destroyed any goodwill available. Announcing a charge
on all tickets which transparently earns significantly
more than the cost of the wheelchairs appeared very
spiteful. There was a legitimate point to your case in
that the airports were doing the charging. But
announcing the 'wheel chair tax' really turned me off
the brand as it was a really petulant and greedy
move.If I were you I would reverse this decision and
perhaps reflect on John McManus' column some months
back when he listed the 10 reasons why a CEO should go
and why they all seemed extremely appropriate to
yourself. Here's the link in case you missed it. (subsrc. required) I am not suggesting that you should leave, but it might be a good idea to go on retreat or something and calm down a bit.

Yours sincerely, Sarah Carey

posted by Sarah | 13:06 0 comments

Comments: Post a Comment