Ryanair Share Discussion Threads

[ed the business] 12/10/2009 11:31

Saw that on the website - most amusing

[spob] 12/10/2009 11:23

BBC Panorama / Ryanair correspondence regarding documentary to be screened tonight



PANORAMA

From: Vivian White [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: 25 August 2009 15:44
To: Mcnamara, Stephen
Subject: From Vivian White, BBC-TV "Panorama."

Stephen McNamara
Press Office

Dear Stephen

As I said when I called this morning, Panorama is just starting to prepare a programme on Ryanair which we would presently intend to transmit at the beginning of October- that is as Ryanair goes over to an entirely on-line booking scheme - in other words to coincide with another public step by Ryanair, ahead, or out of line, with other companies in the same business.

We would very much like your help, cooperation, and participation in this film - in particular to have a research meeting early on, and to talk to Michael O'Leary on camera.

I am the reporter on the programme and my phone number is 07950 000285; the producer is Alan Holland; the assistant producer is Claire Dutfield-Onono.

We are just starting but I anticipate that the headline issues in the film will be these: 1) what is the secret of Ryanair's success- what is the business model - if Ryanair is doing well how come anyone else is doing badly 2) How come Ryanair is the airline (even the consumer company) which people seem to have the strongest feelings about (which we will reflect in the film) ... and 3) does Michael O'Leary mind about all that- and how vital is he to Ryanair?

Within these broad headings specific questions (which we would like to research further with you) that now occur to us include:
How / is Ryanair surviving the recesssion
How / is it affecting the company's operations- cutbacks.
Going fully on-line. Risks? Road-tested?
The low-cost business model. In the longer term will Ryanair (like Tesco's in the UK ) - "mature" and start offering a range of products - not just pile-em high and sell 'em cheap..?
Is the present customer proposition transparent - fair - how many passengers actually pay above the quoted price for extras - would a simpler "we'll carry you for x" model be fairer ?
Does Ryanair mind about having provoked such furious on-line protests by very dissatisfied customers?
Does Ryanair mind about PR and its own reputation ..and what does it do about it?
Ryanair and advertising: why it doesn't or hardly does.
What do its own customer surveys say about customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction.
Has Ryanair got an "ideal" "target" customer in mind.
Michael O'Leary's own anti-PR / shoot from the hip PR tactics.

As I say we may think of or come across more or other obvious questions later - or you may draw them to our attention - so the above is not a full and final menu but a good guide as to what we have in mind now.

I hope we'll talk again soon and I hope we'll meet you - and Michael O':Leary.soon.

Yours sincerely



Vivian White
Reporter, Panorama




From: Mcnamara, Stephen
Sent: 26 August 2009 12:57
To: 'Vivian White'
Subject: RE: From Vivian White, BBC-TV "Panorama."

Dear Vivian,

Thank you for your email and your interest in Ryanair. Having reviewed your email I do not think it appropriate for Ryanair to actively be involved in the consultation, researching or making of yet another BBC programme which clearly looks to portray Ryanair negatively.

If we were to participate all we would end up doing is denying false and misleading claims by the BBC (as set out in your email) and/or unidentified and unrepresentative minority online groups about Ryanair.

In relation to your email, please note the following:

1. Ryanair moved to an entirely online booking system on 20th May last and the transition has been very successful – nothing new is happening in October.

2. Ryanair leads other airlines, we are not "out of line" – other airlines inevitably follow our lead (e.g. all economy flights, web bookings, avoidable baggage charges etc.). Even BA is now charging for checked in bags and is getting rid of 'free' catering on short-haul flights - the only area BA doesn't follow is in matching Ryanair's low fares and our no fuel surcharge guarantee.
3. We do not agree, nor is there any real evidence to suggest that Ryanair is the airline which people "seem" to have the strongest feelings about. In fact Ryanair is the airline which most people choose to fly over all other competitors, which is why we will carry 67 million passengers in the current year, almost three times BA's traffic, and a growth rate of 15% (9 million new customers) over last year's number.

We do not agree with your statement that Ryanair provokes "furious online protests by very dissatisfied customers" if this were true then why will we carry 67 million passengers this year and why do people choose/prefer to fly with Ryanair over all other airlines?

The answer is because only Ryanair provides an unbeatable combination of the lowest fares (average of less than £30 one way – incl baggage charges this year), on a fleet of brand new aircraft, with the best punctuality, the fewest cancellations and the least lost bags of any major airline in Europe.

Ryanair can not spend time, yet again, defending our success to various BBC programmes. I wish you the very best of luck with your new programmes but decline your invitation to be involved.

Yours sincerely
Stephen McNamara
Head of Communications

PANORAMA

________________________________________
From: Vivian White [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: 04 September 2009 13:16
To: Mcnamara, Stephen
Subject: from Vivian White, BBC-TV Panorama.

Stephen McNamara Head of Communications Ryanair
Dear Stephen
I understand that the Annual General Meeting of Ryanair is on September 24th., 2009, and that this is open to the Press. Please may we attend ?
Yours sincerely
Vivian White
Reporter, Panorama




From: Mcnamara, Stephen
Sent: 04 September 2009 13:29
To: 'Vivian White'
Subject: RE: from Vivian White, BBC-TV Panorama.

No. We have no intention of facilitating yet another BBC hatchet job.

Regards

Stephen McNamara

TIMES ONLINE
September 23, 2009
Panorama turns the camera towards Ryanair
Martin Waller: City diary
Is Panorama planning a hatchet job on Michael O'Leary and Ryanair? The programme sent someone along to a recent press conference by Airbus with the sole purpose, it seemed, of extracting disobliging remarks about the Irish motormouth and his airline. John Leahy, the chief operating officer, was repeatedly asked by the Panorama man about possible bust-ups with O'Leary.
Was it true Ryanair had shaken hands on an order and then walked away? Yes, said Leahy, but "that's business". Would Airbus accept no more orders from Ryanair? Don't put words into my mouth, said Leahy, in no mind to badmouth an important potential customer. Eventually, he was forced to concede that "I think it's fair to say Michael O'Leary plays hardball".
The BBC man was obviously happy with that. Repeated calls to the BBC and the programme failed to elicit a response, so we must suspect something is in the pipeline, probably not favourable. I have some sympathy with Ryanair. Surely by now everyone knows its flights are a) going to cost more than it says on the tin, and b) not exactly going to be the height of luxury.



EMAIL TO PANORAMA FOLLOWING TIMES ARTICLE
-----Original Message-----
From: Mcnamara, Stephen [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thu 24/09/2009 1:21 PM
To: Vivian White
Subject: Ryanair


23rd September 2009

Dear Vivian,


I note in today's Times Online article that "Panorama is planning a
hatchet job on Michael O'Leary and Ryanair". Since you seem determined
to proceed with another biased and unbalanced piece on the UK's largest
and favourite airline, Michael O'Leary is willing to appear on your
programme, as long as you can facilitate either a live interview or
agree to an uncut pre-recorded interview. As I am sure you are aware
given the evident bias of Panorama and the BBC in this matter, we do not
want any response or reply to be censored or editorially cut by your
reporters.

Can you please contact me to see how we can facilitate Michael O'Leary's
appearance on this programme, doubtless to rebut the false allegations
and biased reportage which it will undoubtedly feature.

Yours sincerely

Stephen McNamara




LETTER TO PANORAMA – FOLLOWING AGM INTERVIEW

-----Original Message-----
From: Mcnamara, Stephen [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thu 24/09/2009 7:06 PM
To: Vivian White
Subject: Ryanair - for Michael

Re: BBC - TV "Panorama"

Dear Vivian,

It was a pleasure to meet you in Dublin this morning. I am sorry that the BBC and Panorama are unwilling to agree to an unedited or uncensored interview. May I repeat what Stephen said in his email yesterday, we would be delighted to defend Ryanair on Panorama's "hatchet job", but only if you allow us to respond to your false and misleading questions in an uncensored and uncut way.

As for the two issues you raised this morning, may I confirm as follows:

1. Ryanair has no hidden charges. All of our charges are brought to the attention of all passengers - and accepted by them - before they are allowed to make a booking on Ryanair. Any additional charges over and above our guaranteed lowest fare (with no fuel surcharges) are discretionary. All passengers can avoid these charges should they wish, by declining those services.

2. As for your false claim that Ryanair "shook hands" on a deal with Airbus back in January 2002. This claim, although repeated by Airbus, is not backed up by the correspondence at that time. I did meet with Senior people in Airbus on Friday 11th January 2002. We discussed terms for a large order for Airbus aircraft, which Airbus knew at the time would be subject to final negotiations and Ryanair Board approval. The fact that no final agreement was reached at the 11th January 2002 meeting was confirmed by a fax received from Noel Forregard (the then Chief Executive Officer of Airbus) some ten days later on 21st January 2002, offering further and better terms to Ryanair in order to beat Boeing to win the Ryanair order. The idea that I would commit billions of dollars of Ryanair shareholder funds to a multi-billion aircraft order on the basis of a "handshake", without the approval of the Board of Directors of Ryanair, is utterly absurd and Airbus know this claim is untrue. Airbus' claim that an agreement was reached at the 11th January 2002 meeting was clearly disproven by the improved terms they offered Ryanair ten days later on 21st January. These false claims are just sour grapes on the part of Airbus.

Having said that we have since had a number of discussions with Airbus about the possibility of acquiring Airbus aircraft and I remain hopeful and optimistic that at some time in the future if Airbus aircraft are cheaper than Boeing, then we will order Airbus aircraft. As with all things in Ryanair, we try to negotiate the best prices we can, so that we can continue to lower the cost of air travel for our 66 million passengers. This year while other airlines (such as British Airways) are losing passengers, cutting routes and jobs, Ryanair is cutting fares (to less than £30) adding routes, creating up to 1,000 new jobs and carrying 66 million passengers.

I realise that Panorama have an anti Ryanair bias in this case, but thankfully it is not supported by the travelling public who continue to flock to Ryanair and fly with us in ever increasing numbers, not just in Britain, but indeed all over Europe.

Finally as an organisation funded by licence payers, shame on you for travelling to Dublin today with British Midland and wasting yet more licence fee income, when you could have flown on Ryanair through Gatwick, Stansted or Luton, at a fraction of the high fares charged by British Midland and with fewer delays or no lost bags either. Ryanair will keep on lowering the cost of air travel and who knows in time perhaps even Panorama and/or the BBC will stop wasting money flying high fare, frequently delayed airlines like BA and British Midland, and fly with Britain and Europe's biggest and favourite airline.

Finally, if you change your mind on an uncensored or unedited interview, please feel free to contact me and I would be delighted to answer any further misleading or inaccurate questions you might have.

Warmest regards


Michael O'Leary
Chief Executive


Stephen McNamara

Head of Communications




PANORAMA
REPLY FROM PANORAMA – FOLLOWING AGM INTERVIEW

From: Vivian White [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: 25 September 2009 18:25
To: Mcnamara, Stephen
Subject: RE: Ryanair - for Michael

Stephen McNamara
Head of Communications September 25th., 2009
Ryanair

Dear Stephen

Thank you very much for the emails which you and Ryanair's Chief Executive Michael O'Leary sent us yesterday, in connection with the programme we are making about Ryanair. It was a pleasure to meet him, and yourself.

As I told you yesterday at the hotel (when you proposed it to us for the first time) we are unable to accede to the condition that Mr O'Leary would only be prepared to do an interview if we would agree to run it unedited in the final programme. We do not give undertakings of that kind as a matter of principle, and we cannot do so in practice in this case.

However, as we said yesterday, we certainly intend that our programme shall be fair and balanced.

We are very grateful for the points of information which Mr O'Leary raised in his email, and we shall take note of these. I anticipate that there may well be other points we should want to check with you , to learn your response, and we should certainly like to stay in touch with you, if we may.

Yours sincerely


Vivian White
Reporter, Panorama




Mr Vivian White
Panorama
BBC Television Centre

Email - [e-mail]


30th September, 2009


Dear Vivian,

I refer to your letter dated 25th September, and would appreciate if you would confirm what other issues or false claims Panorama proposes to cover in addition to the two you raised with me following our AGM, namely:

1. Hidden charges (of which there are none).
2. That Ryanair reached an agreement with Airbus at our meeting in Toulouse on 11 January 2002, which is another false claim, when Airbus were still improving their offer 10 days later on 21st January 2002. If you want sight of these confirmatory letters, we would be pleased to let you have a look at them, as they confirm that Airbus' claims are false.

Are there any other false claims which you wish us to address, or is Panorama going to confine its remaining coverage to subjective claims about "strong feelings" or "furious online protests" from a tiny number of unidentified posters, who are totally unrepresentative of the 67 million passengers we will carry this year?

Since Panorama won't agree to either a live interview or an unedited pre-recorded interview, I want to make sure that no other false allegations are published by Panorama without affording us the right to respond factually to them.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes



Michael O'Leary
Chief Executive


PANORAMA

From: Vivian White [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: 01 October 2009 08:41
To: Mcnamara, Stephen
Subject: RE: Ryanair

Dear Stephen

I've received your email and the attached letter, thank you. We had taken note of the point you made about Airbus in your previous correspondence. We'll be in touch again before the end of this week.

Thank you

Yours sincerely

Vivian White




Mr Vivian White
Panorama
BBC Television Centre

Email - [e-mail]


1st October, 2009


Dear Vivian,

Your email of this morning to Stephen McNamara refers. You seem determined to avoid the issue raised in my previous letter.

If the only claims Panorama can come up with is that Ryanair levies "hidden charges" – when we don't – or alternatively that Ryanair reached an agreement with Airbus at our meeting in Toulouse on 11th January 2002 – when we clearly didn't, can you please explain why Panorama is wasting licence payers' money making a programme on these two false claims?

You must surely have some more false claims to justify a half hour programme on BBC. Since you didn't raise these with me at our meeting in Dublin on 24th September last, can you please now confirm what factual claims Panorama proposes to make, so that Ryanair has a right of reply to them.

This is particularly important, given Panorama's refusal to offer Ryanair either a live interview or an unedited pre-recorded interview. As we will be publishing this correspondence, I want to ensure that Panorama has been given every opportunity to put your allegations to Ryanair, particularly when you seem so determined to prevent Ryanair having a fair, balanced or unedited right of reply on the programme.

Yours sincerely



Michael O'Leary
Chief Executive


PANORAMA

From: Vivian White [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: 01 October 2009 13:02
To: Mcnamara, Stephen
Subject: RE: Ryanair

Dear Stephen

Thanks for the e-mail and the attached letter from Michael O'Leary. I shall be replying to you substantively soon, and I hope that will cover the points you have raised.

But just to deal with a couple of matters now: we understand clearly and we will reflect in the film that Ryanair and Airbus did NOT close a deal for Ryanair to purchase Airbus; and we understand clearly that Ryanair insist they do not have any hidden charges.

We do not intend to make false claims about Ryanair but to describe and attempt to analyse its remarkable success, and to see whether some commonly made criticisms levelled at it stand up or not, which is why our working title is "Why Hate Ryanair?"

Yours sincerely

Vivian White
Reporter
Panorama

[spob] 10/10/2009 13:00

Scheduled for Monday October 12 @ 20:30 on BBC One




Vivian White investigates the reasons why the ultimate 'no frills' airline has gained a reputation as the brand Britain loves to hate but can't stop using.

from The Times - 10 Oct 09

A dispute broke out last night between Ryanair and the BBC before the broadcaster's planned documentary on the budget airline.

The Panorama programme, scheduled to be aired on Monday and titled Why Hate Ryanair?, is expected to investigate not only the secret of the airline's success but also the reasons why it is apparently so unpopular with many customers.

However, Ryanair has accused the BBC of preparing a "hatchet job", last night publishing its correspondence with the corporation concerning the broadcast in a press release headed "BBC Panorama censors the truth".

[lbo] 27/9/2009 16:39

Sterling's slump adds to our woe


THIS Autumn's sterling rout is bad news for several major Irish quoted companies. With the euro now over 91p, Irish firms with significant UK operations are going to be hit hard when they translate the results of these businesses back into euro

And then there is Ryanair. The airline has been busy establishing new hubs in Europe, but 32 per cent of its turnover comes from the UK and eight of its top ten routes are either from or within the UK.

[ed the business] 23/9/2009 07:53

H1 results due early Nov

[ed the business] 23/9/2009 07:49

I'm anticipating a much better result than expected thanks to the new rule ie you must check in online and bring your printout of the boarding pass - no exceptions - penalty EUR40/ £40.

They must be catching loads of people out.

[djderry] 01/9/2009 20:55

The RNS of the 27th of August is shocking:"PLC's like Aer Lingus'....Guys,stop misusing the apostrophe!

[share_shark] 26/8/2009 17:04

href='http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0826/breaking60.htm' target='window'>http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0826/breaking60.htm


Ryanair to campaign for Yes vote/
Related »
Referendum spending limits urged | 26/08/2009Concern chief warns against No Lisbon vote | 24/08/2009Yes vote is 'hugely important', says Intel chief | 21/08/2009Commission rejects claims of anti-Lisbon farmers | 22/08/2009External »
SipoDepartment of the EnvironmentReferendum CommissionPanaThe Irish Times takes no responsibility for the content
or availability of other websitesELAINE EDWARDSRyanair has said it will spend "more than €500,000" campaigning for a Yes vote in the October 2nd referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

The move comes a week after the general manager of the multinational company Intel in Ireland said voting Yes to the treaty was hugely important for the future of foreign investment in Ireland.

In a statement, Ryanair said it believed it was "vital" that the Irish electorate give a "resounding 'Yes to Europe'" in the referendum.

The treaty was rejected by 53.4 per cent of those who voted in a referendum in June last year.

Chief executive of Ryanair Michael O'Leary said: "I believe it is vital that every Irish voter on 2nd October next votes in the referendum and votes 'Yes to Europe'. Ireland's membership of the European Union and the euro has transformed our economy and the lives of millions of Irish people today."

"Ireland's future success depends on being at the heart of Europe and our membership of the Euro. The European Central Bank came to Ireland's rescue last year when the combination of appalling mismanagement by Bertie Ahern's government over the past decade left Ireland hopelessly unprepared for the effect of the property/banking crisis and the recession which would, if it were not for Europe's help, have caused a collapse of the Irish economy.

"The difference between Iceland and Ireland was not one letter, but rather Ireland's membership of the European Union and the euro," he said.

"Without Europe and the euro, the Irish economy would be run by our incompetent politicians, our inept civil service and the greedy public sector trade union bosses, who through social partnership have in recent years destroyed Ireland's competitiveness, created an epidemic of useless quangos and feathered the nests of the public sector at the expense of ordinary consumers in Ireland."

Mr O'Leary said he believed the Irish electorate must vote Yes to the treaty in October or "our economic future will be destroyed by Government and Civil Service mismanagement and the narrow vested interests of the public sector trade unions".

Chairman of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (Pana) Roger Cole said the Ryanair announcement was not a surprise to him but he said limits must be placed on the amount that private companies could spend in a referendum or election campaign.

Mr Cole said it was "not reasonable that the corporate media can jump up and down" when money was being spent by bodies such as Libertas on a No campaign, and that the media not have anything to say about similar sums of money being spent by companies such as Ryanair and Intel to promote a Yes vote.

The Standards In Public Office Commission, the independent body which oversees spending in elections and referendums, confirmed yesterday there was no spending limit for individuals and companies.

"It is only when they start receiving donations that the legislation kicks in," a spokeswoman said.

She said the commission, in its annual report, had called for a redefinition of what constituted a "third party", subject to limits on spending in a referendum campaign.

It argued that the definition should not be determined on the basis of whether an individual or group had received a donation, but should focus instead on how much they spent.

They should be regarded as "third parties" if they intend spending over a certain threshold.

Mr Cole said the Irish people had rejected the Lisbon Treaty last year in a democratic vote.

"Now they are being forced to vote again on exactly the same treaty. One the key reasons why the EU political/media elite support the treaty is because it accelerates the process of the militarisation of the EU via the European Defence Agency and the 'revitalises Nato'.

"Now these same firms that are part of the military-industrial complex and have a vested interest in war can spend billions of euro bullying the Irish people into submission."

[bongo bwana] 26/8/2009 16:29

Excellent work SS and thanks.

[share_shark] 26/8/2009 16:11

DUBLIN (Dow Jones)--Ryanair Holdings PLC's (RYAAY) chief executive, Michael O'Leary, Wednesday called on Irish voters to give their assent to the Lisbon Treaty Oct. 2, saying a "no" vote would be "extraordinarily damaging" to the ...

[bongo bwana] 24/8/2009 09:23

Moving down the runway KR LOL.

[bongo bwana] 21/8/2009 15:19

Many thanks for that useful guidance KR.

Was in a queue in Murcia Airport last week and noted the number of people who were trying to dodge the €40 charge for a squirt of a bag! Many were unsuccesfull.

But it was the packed planes and the queues that convinced me to invest.

[keelingr] 21/8/2009 14:42

sold out a few months back at 3.30 (bought at 2.50) - bought back in few days ago at 3.09 with a target of 3.80-4.00...

[bongo bwana] 21/8/2009 14:37

Thanks KR. Good to be on board with you once again.

[bongo bwana] 21/8/2009 09:43

Just joined with close to 3200 shares.

[lbo] 18/8/2009 00:00

Ryanair is to close or switch nine of its 10 routes from Manchester airport in the UK from October, including a service from Manchester to Shannon.

[lbo] 05/8/2009 20:16

Ryanair Neutral