like teachers,
don’t mention league tables, protection of incompetent colleagues, refusal to reform terms/hours to suit educational needs and the economy in general, absence of professional appraisal post-qualification, etc, etc.
FF and the INTO have a lot in common.

I have flown with Ryanair many times – and never had any problems.

Nevertheless, I have problems with the Ryanair approach:

1.They always claimed to be champions of competition – saying this would always benefit the customer. The immediate effect of this proved correct – as I mention about prices. Now however, as their fat competitors became leaner, Ryanair aren’t quite as keen on the raw competition they say they love. Their drive towards break-down fares make it very difficult to provide the essential tool that customers use to make a choice between competitors: a clear price signal. Ryanair (and now the others had to follow suit) charge a basic price, then for food, then for bags, then for fuel, then for opening the door, then for taking off, etc etc.

2.They have engaged in practices that amount to false advertising (“Easter breaks” – then in small print, ‘not available at Easter’!!)

3.Ryanair’s attitude towards workers is hardly to be applauded. They engaged in what amounted to spying on the pilots. Their approach to other employees could best be described as bullying. Why is this to be praised?

But still – distorted competition is better than no competition. A market with Ryanair, warts and all, is better than one dominated by a state monopoly. And here’s where we turn to the player who could and should be making sure that Ryanair doesn’t get away with 1-3 above, and which should(by whatever mechanism) be securing air routes that are crucial to a strategy of balanced regional development: the government. But alas, all we find there is incompetence, cronyism, and an utter contempt for accountability. Aarrrgh.

They don’t pretend to love you and maybe this is important to some people to be loved by people they get a service from but they do what they do best. Fill aeroplanes with people and keep them flying as long as possible to make the most money.

For all the whinging and moaning and gnashing of teeth that Aer Lingus gets out of their fanboys I vote Ryanair every time.

Aer Lingus has a fleet of 39 planes. Ryanair has 137 planes. Aer Lingus is a regional airline with ideas above its station.

Snubbling the blue planes over the green ones is a form of snobbery in Ireland. How anyone can claim that flying in a brand new $70 million plane is slumming it is an uninformed peasant.

Ryanair is an incredibly successful company and the typical Irish thing is to snipe at successful people to bring them down to their level.

This would give the Government and the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT) staff grouping, which has a 12.5% stake in Aer Lingus, a majority at the EGM.

Read the first sentence there…if Ryanair abstain from voting, that gives a total vote of 75%, in which case 37.5% is a majority!!

It’s for the likes of this that I can’t help but admire O Leary. I hate Ryanair almost as much as anyone else who’s traveled with them. They’re really an awful airline. But O Leary, well he’s a genius of sorts, there’s no doubt about that.

MO’L is just making it as embarrassing as possible for the government. Its great crack.