Shameful: Ryanair Exposes Cabin Crew For “Staging” Photo

Shameful: Ryanair Exposes Cabin Crew For “Staging” Photo

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Earlier James wrote about a situation that has gone viral with Ryanair’s cabin crew. Ryanair is an ultra low cost carrier, and typically their crews don’t overnight at hotels, but rather they just fly somewhere and back the same day. So they’re clearly not as well equipped as other airlines when they face a situation where crew have to spend a night somewhere due to irregularities.

Due to weather they recently had about two dozen crew stranded overnight in Malaga. The airline didn’t get them hotels, but rather just had them sleep in the airport. There were even pictures posted online of this.

Admittedly the weather was bad and hotels were probably pretty full, but in my opinion an airline should have a higher duty of care when it comes to taking care of their employees, and should have looked further from the airport for accommodation.

Ryanair claimed the photo was staged, and said that the crew was moved to the “VIP Lounge,” where they had food, drinks, and more comfortable seating.

Ryanair has now posted CCTV footage on their Facebook and Twitter pagese of the crew clearly “faking” their sleeping arrangements for a photo.

This is simply pathetic. Not on the part of the cabin crew, but on the part of the airline. How low does the airline have to go to “expose” their employees in this way, not to mention violate their privacy?

Did the crew “pose” for a photo? Absolutely. But only to show how poorly they were being taken care of by their employer. It looks like they chose to just sit around all night rather than sleep, but it’s not like they had a better option for sleeping than just doing so on the floor.

What is Ryanair trying to prove here? “Look, they staged sleeping, really they sat around all night because there was nowhere to sleep!”

Ryanair is known for being one of the most dodgy airlines when it comes to their cabin crew. They don’t even employ them directly, but rather through an agency. Flight attendants even have a quota they have to reach for how much they sell onboard, so they could be fired if they don’t sell enough alcohol, perfume, and scratchcards.

Ryanair should be ashamed of the way they’re exposing their cabin crew in this way. Not that the airline cares much about morale, but what kind of a message does this send to their employees?

And it’s pretty telling that they’re deflecting from the real issue here.

We’ll never know for sure just how hard they tried to find their crews hotel rooms. Yes, I believe there was probably nothing near the airport available. However, I’m highly skeptical of whether they really exhausted all possible options in finding accommodation for their crew, including looking further from the airport.

At a minimum they owe an apology to their employees for what they put them through, and I’d say they also now owe them an apology for exposing them in this way, but I doubt there will be an apology for either of those things.

What do you think — is Ryanair justified in “exposing” their cabin crew, or is this low?

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  1. niko_jas Guest

    Portuguese media today is reporting that all 6 cabin crew involved in the photo have now been fired by Ryanair!

  2. AB Guest

    So a real video gets more flak than a fake photo? I get hating big bad companies, but come one...they were just defending themselves from an obvious made-up story

  3. SC New Member

    Fantastic insight, Ben. Thank you for understanding and reporting on the bigger picture here. RyanAir is a horrible company on the customer and staff side.

    Unfortunately, I cannot say easyJet is much better, I spent 11 months fighting them to reimburse me the train ticket I was forced to buy after a cancelled flight from AMS>SXF. Norwegian is the only "budget" airline which has a transparent and user-friendly refund policy.

    I for one...

    Fantastic insight, Ben. Thank you for understanding and reporting on the bigger picture here. RyanAir is a horrible company on the customer and staff side.

    Unfortunately, I cannot say easyJet is much better, I spent 11 months fighting them to reimburse me the train ticket I was forced to buy after a cancelled flight from AMS>SXF. Norwegian is the only "budget" airline which has a transparent and user-friendly refund policy.

    I for one vowed to never fly Easy or Ryan after my last incident, and have maintained that promise for nearly three years now. Good post.

  4. Alex Mas Guest

    Apparently lounge was only opened at 5:15 am.
    So for most of the night, that room was all that those crew members got.
    Which is pathetic. You cant sleep on those chairs. Floor is the only option you get.
    Yes, photo was staged, but only to prove the point. It's not like they were staying in the hotel and made this photo just for laughs

  5. James Guest

    Ryanair Didn’t violate anyone’s privacy here. The cabin crew took a photo of themselves and posted it. They already gave away their privacy by doing that. Get your facts right before trying to stir something that isn’t there. It detracts from the rest of your article

  6. Fred M Guest

    Malaga is at the centre of a huge coastal resort area with hundreds if not thousands of hotels along a vast strip of land connected by a fast freeway. The main European peak school holiday and tourist season ends at the end of August and September so I find it hard to believe Ryanair’s crew handlers could not find rooms within an hour’s coach ride east or west on the freeway that runs from near...

    Malaga is at the centre of a huge coastal resort area with hundreds if not thousands of hotels along a vast strip of land connected by a fast freeway. The main European peak school holiday and tourist season ends at the end of August and September so I find it hard to believe Ryanair’s crew handlers could not find rooms within an hour’s coach ride east or west on the freeway that runs from near the main Malaga airport. I suspect any contracted accommodation they have was fully booked, not the entire area.

    The airline has had bad media coverage for just about every treat-employees-and-customers-badly trick in the book but the smirking leprechaun CEO O’Leary always comes up trumps. Ryanair flies new planes, gets most flights there on time and if you know how they work - destination airports miles from destination city, charges for everything, tight baggage policy, ursurous charges for reprinting/reissuing boarding passes at the airport and so on - and play them at their own game you can see a huge amount of Europe for very little airfare, and many customers do just that and keep returning for more.

    There are clouds on the horizon. Though the airline has never had a fatal crash, well publicised incidents of near-exhaustion of fuel and emergency priority landings, harassed and badly treated flight and cabin crew appear to have hardened attitudes and employees at many of their bases in Europe are unionising and playing hardball and they have experienced considerable strike action and consequent cancelled flights. Currently they are reported to be trying to move Polish employees onto self-employed contracts which eliminate benefits such as sick pay and maternity leave and sound dangerously close to the UK’s hideous zero hours contracts which bind an employee to an employer who does not contractually have to provide a minimum number of work hours per week/month/year, pays minimum wage and forbids the employee to,work for anyone else on ‘off’ days.

    With Monarch, Cello, Primera Air, etc all belly up, it’s probably an employers market for airline crew right now but I suspect the projected coming global shortage of pilots might force Ryanair to change its attitude to crews and I believe growing public discontent with employers who impose unreasonable conditions may eventually force EU politicians to legislate fairer Ts & Cs for all.

    I hope it never happens but one fatal crash attributed to crew fatigue or risky fuel load policy and the resulting legal and legislative fall-out would probably be enough to wipe the smirk off the odious O’Leary’s face permanently.

  7. James Guest

    I guess nobody bothered to update that they didn't sleep in the lounge overnight. It didn't open til 5am
    https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2018/10/18/ryanair-staged-photo-update/

  8. Mark Member

    Ryanair is the same company that "researched" the idea of installing pay toilets. I have cast my vote by never flying them! Ryan points out that as a deconstructed airline, Spirit has a ways to go in their dash for the bottom.

  9. Donato Gold

    @Icarus. @Mark.
    Published reports are that crew deadhead ed home next day as pax.
    Not as crew and not in violation.

  10. majik Guest

    Petulant behavior from both sides. Ryanair's approach should have been to approach the crew or their contracting agency with the CCTV evidence. Ask them to issue a retraction or an apology or said evidence would be published and any contracting agency publicly named.

  11. Mark Guest

    Im a capt on the B737. If this is the accommodation the company would give me, I'd refuse next day schedule. Even Asia is complying better to EASA regalation than Ryanair does.
    Whats your company???

  12. Mark Guest

    Im a capt on the B737. If this is the accommodation the company would give me, I'd refuse next day schedule. Even Asia is complying better to EASA regalation than Ryanair does.

  13. Capt. Montoya Guest

    you can also go and find a job in a real airline. Nobody forces you to work for a low cost.. Shame on the crew.

  14. S.G New Member

    I am absolutely against Ryanair exposing attitude and the way they treat they employees !
    But for everyboy that says they´re the worst, let´s face it, if you are in/from Europe ( my case, from Portugal ) and if you´re not so young, and you remenber the prices of flying before Ryanair, it was a complete diferent world. NO, there´s nothing so cheap as Ryanair and punctuality is almost always sharp. Oh, and yes, i also had problems with them.

  15. Icarus Guest

    Airlines have mandated crew rest and need to comply with EASA

    If they cannot provide accommodation for the crew then they would not be considered legally rested to perform their next duty, thus risking further flight disruptions

    It’s not a question of finding suitable accommodation. Ryanair should have arrangements with local hotels in case of irrops even if night stops are not scheduled , which I doubt is the case here

    ...

    Airlines have mandated crew rest and need to comply with EASA

    If they cannot provide accommodation for the crew then they would not be considered legally rested to perform their next duty, thus risking further flight disruptions

    It’s not a question of finding suitable accommodation. Ryanair should have arrangements with local hotels in case of irrops even if night stops are not scheduled , which I doubt is the case here

    Otherwise they have to dead head them on the next flight

    There is no evidence who these employees are and they cannot be identified therefore there would be no further action.

  16. Nick C. Guest

    I don't see how anyone is taking the crew's side. Yes, it sucks that accommodations weren't provided, but 1) was there even hotel availability? And 2) Is it even in their contracts to be provided such? If answer to either is NO, then not airlines fault. Some of the crew lied... and if it was then posted on social media, they have essentially made false or derogatory statements about their employer (which is probably also...

    I don't see how anyone is taking the crew's side. Yes, it sucks that accommodations weren't provided, but 1) was there even hotel availability? And 2) Is it even in their contracts to be provided such? If answer to either is NO, then not airlines fault. Some of the crew lied... and if it was then posted on social media, they have essentially made false or derogatory statements about their employer (which is probably also a violation of their contract/CBA). It's not "to demonstrate their conditions", because they made it worst than it was. Let me repeat that.... they LIED by posing for that picture.

    Furthermore there is no right to privacy in a public place. Their names or contact info weren't provided, so stop with that 'violated their privacy' nonsense. Ryanair, albeit cheapskates, are a business. If they don't like the work conditions these crews can quit. If they don't abide by Ryanair's rules, then they can be terminated... it's that simple.

    Ben states that there were likely no hotels available in area. WHAT more do you want? They can't magically conjure them up. I swear, people are so self-entitled today. Occasionally crew get stuck just like passengers in airports. It's part of the job.

  17. Christian Guest

    Shame on Ryanair!

  18. Rob_Riyadh Guest

    Sir Lucky,

    Don't be too quick to judge.

    "Ryanair now has over 13,000 people working for the company. Most employees are employed and contracted by multiple agencies to fly on Ryanair aircraft. Or, as is the case for pilots, the vast majority are either agency employed or self-employed, and their services are contracted to Ryanair."

    You even mentioned they are from agencies.

    Have you read their contracts? You bring an accusation...

    Sir Lucky,

    Don't be too quick to judge.

    "Ryanair now has over 13,000 people working for the company. Most employees are employed and contracted by multiple agencies to fly on Ryanair aircraft. Or, as is the case for pilots, the vast majority are either agency employed or self-employed, and their services are contracted to Ryanair."

    You even mentioned they are from agencies.

    Have you read their contracts? You bring an accusation against Ryanair as if they are in breach of their contracts. My views are different.

  19. Kathy Guest

    A picture is worth a thousand words. Staged or not, the situation became a "window" to view a real life dilemma. Kudos to Lucky for bravely voicing something too often "silenced."

  20. Kilck Guest

    Wait...so for those of you criticizing the crew...if they weren’t sleeping on the ground they are sleeping in uncomfortable chairs. That is terrible for those of us relying on properly rested flight crew.

  21. Michael Guest

    Hey Unlucky, update your ridiculously off base post with some facts maybe:

    https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/ryanair-claims-viral-photo-of-stranded-crew-was-staged.html

    - hotels full due to national holiday
    - moved to lounge but no refreshments, which the airline admits and apologises for
    - crew positioned back to Porto and DID NOT operate flights

    Crew clearly in the wrong. RyanAir may be a terrible employer but that doesn't mean they lose the right to defend themselves against outright lies and fake...

    Hey Unlucky, update your ridiculously off base post with some facts maybe:

    https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/ryanair-claims-viral-photo-of-stranded-crew-was-staged.html

    - hotels full due to national holiday
    - moved to lounge but no refreshments, which the airline admits and apologises for
    - crew positioned back to Porto and DID NOT operate flights

    Crew clearly in the wrong. RyanAir may be a terrible employer but that doesn't mean they lose the right to defend themselves against outright lies and fake news shared out of context. There's no evidence that they didn't attempt to provide for the crew or lied about their side of the story

  22. Michael Gold

    When I first saw that pic I first thought it was of an Air India plane galley. Whew!

  23. Experienced traveller Gold

    The Ryan Air crew wanted to make a point and so staged themselves sleeping on the floor. They wanted employer and public to see it to highlight poor conditions . They have their faces hidden so the employer cannot identify them .
    Good on them .

  24. Alan Guest

    I'd have gone back and slept on the aircraft before I tried sleeping on the floor.

  25. BrewerSEA Gold

    I find all of the pro-employer knuckleheads coming out of the woodwork to defend Ryanair hilarious. It takes a certain rabid lust to suck at master’s teat to conclude that this image was “staged” to the point it undermines their complaint. So 24 people had 8 chairs to share from 1am-6am and some of them decided to lay on the ground to demonstrate the space they were given to “rest.” An eight year old could...

    I find all of the pro-employer knuckleheads coming out of the woodwork to defend Ryanair hilarious. It takes a certain rabid lust to suck at master’s teat to conclude that this image was “staged” to the point it undermines their complaint. So 24 people had 8 chairs to share from 1am-6am and some of them decided to lay on the ground to demonstrate the space they were given to “rest.” An eight year old could tell you that these six employees were not asleep close together under fluorescent lighting. They were merely showing the inadequate facilities given to them. Would it have been acceptably honest if instead they had just panned across some tired faces?

    The truth is that a lot of people here have a problem with workers publicly criticizing their employees. To see ultraconservative Robert Hanson cry fake news is particularly satisfying/disturbing.

  26. Marty Flood Guest

    You've called this one incorrectly Lucky. If someone falsely accuses you of something, you prove them wrong if you can. This is exactly what Ryanair did in this case. Shame on YOU Lucky for being taken in by the Ryanair staff who, by the way, are free to seek alternative employment whenever they like.
    P.S. Still love your articles and congratulations on your recent nuptials.

  27. Mihai Guest

    Doesnt anyone see that most of the above “people” defending Ryanair are first time posters without any previous comments in the forum? They never reply back... Have funny names..

    Hey Ryanair employee! Nice to see you on OMAAT!!

  28. tullio Guest

    Oppressor and oppressed — they’re both losers !

    I would have payed out of my own packet for a hotel and screw Ryan !

    Self respect and dignity for one’s self come first !

  29. Joe Gold

    I'm no fan of big airlines. But 1st it turns out they had nowhere to go because all hotels in the area were booked (as opposed to the airline "refusing" to put them up) and then it is staged beyond that.

    As Joe B. said, I have no empathy towards those who manipulate the public.

    It's called negative attention seeking, and now it's viewed as a justifiable practice.

  30. Bill Guest

    Seriously? These employees staged fake photos to smear the airline and you are going to attack the airline for defending itself?

  31. Mark Guest

    Highly illegal for the crew to operate the aircraft the next day without proper rest. That is the law governing maximum duty time, minimum rest and what type of accomodation. Without proper accomodation, the night would be considered duty time.
    If they did operate, Ryanair should be put under investigation by Irish CAA.

  32. DUANE WEAVER Guest

    How is the employee's privacy being compromised when they're staging a photo in a public area? Quite likely Ryanair is a bad employer, but if you are an employee and you don't like it, then go work somewhere else.

  33. Rich Gold

    Maybe your mother never told you the story about the boy who cried wolf. Your opinion is way off base here. Once you are caught lying no one is going to believe you. So legitimate complaints by Ryan air employees are going to be dismissed or discounted.

    And I find it pathetic that the only comment you responded to was a credit card question.

    You are rapidly losing any relevance you had.

  34. Robert Hanson Diamond

    Another Dan Rather "fake but accurate" news story.

    Once upon a time, made up fake news stories were considered shameful. Now it's all the rage.

    Ryan Air doesn't take great care of it's employees? What do they expect, they work for Ryan Air. Get a job working for a better airline, or understand that you chose to work there, and your job is not likely to be cushy; but you should have known...

    Another Dan Rather "fake but accurate" news story.

    Once upon a time, made up fake news stories were considered shameful. Now it's all the rage.

    Ryan Air doesn't take great care of it's employees? What do they expect, they work for Ryan Air. Get a job working for a better airline, or understand that you chose to work there, and your job is not likely to be cushy; but you should have known that when you applied for the job. If Ryan didn't do things 'on the cheap', it wouldn't even be in business.

    Apparently they don't understand that to the extent they publicly shame their employer, they risk being out of work. Not because Ryan Air fires them, but because people stop flying Ryan, and Ryan doesn't need their "services" anymore.

    Maybe they should apply to work for Primera Airlines instead of Ryan.

    Oh, wait.....

  35. Paul Guest

    A bunch of left wingers blatantly lying and defaming and their lefty cohorts saying the ends justified the means and them all crying foul when caught out. Who would have thought this would happen in America where the rule of law holds Supreme???

    Oh wait.. wasn't that a couple of weeks ago

  36. Jose Guest

    It's garbage employees like them make crappy company like Ryanair. Fire them all as they don't deserve a job at Ryanair. Regardless of how the company treats you but if you are faking and making up something you are worst than the company. Lucky, I must say this time you are lousy for siding with the employees.

  37. Donato Gold

    @PW, @Dennis
    I have read reports that the crew flew the next day as PAX. There was no rest issue and no safety issue as far as those concerns relate.

  38. Callum Guest

    Dennis - Utter, utter rubbish. If it was reality it wouldn't be staged...

    - Prove the airline could have done more.
    - They forfeited their "right to privacy" (whatever that means...) the second they started slandering their employer. If you were slandered but had proof they were lying and refused to use it, you're a moron.

  39. Ben Kingsley Guest

    Why not cuddling?! :-)

  40. Charles S Member

    Lucky you wouldn’t like working in corporate America. If I posted something negative or perceived negative about my employer I would get terminated. No questions asked. Was this video in poor taste? Yeah I can agree to that. But employees should have staged the photo or complained publicly.

  41. Mauricio Matos Guest

    While Ryanair should made all the efforts to find them a hotel (I don't buy their version that all hotels were fully booked. Whoever knows Malaga and the region knows that there are literally hundreds of hotels around and it's not even high season), and even if the crew was Portuguese as I am, I think their were very wrong and Ryanair was right to expose them. I don't like to be manipulated by staged photos.

  42. Flyingfish Guest

    Lucky, why are u so increasingly judgemental and jumping to conclusions so quickly?

    U mentioned in your posts that the employees claimed the company did not try hard enough to find accomodation while the company said they tried really hard to find accomodation and priority goes to passengers first then staff and it was really hard as lodgings was full due to adverse weather. Unless you are on ground first hand and have all the...

    Lucky, why are u so increasingly judgemental and jumping to conclusions so quickly?

    U mentioned in your posts that the employees claimed the company did not try hard enough to find accomodation while the company said they tried really hard to find accomodation and priority goes to passengers first then staff and it was really hard as lodgings was full due to adverse weather. Unless you are on ground first hand and have all the facts on hand, you cant say for sure if the company is in the wrong. (What evidence do you have that ryanair did not try their best, other than you felt so? ) If rooms are truly full, do you expect ryanair to boot passengers out of hotel and let the staff sleep? (UA story all over again?)

    Now the staff claims ryanair did not even bother about their welfare, yet they actually made arrangements for VIP lounge available for their exclusive use. If there are no rooms, many stranded passengers would be happy to be at the VIP lounge! So what are u shooting ryanair for? That ryanair did not buy hotel rooms every night for their staff even though they need it only maybe once a blue moon? It is fine to have sympathies for the ryanair staff, another thing to lash out at ryanair itself based on just 1-sided view from employees

  43. Scott Guest

    So the only misleading thing about that photo was the suggestion that the crew was able to sleep. Pathetic

  44. Sam Guest

    Like i said in the original post by James, this was staged from the word go and now we have evidence.

    As some have pointed, these employees lost their credibility with this action. How dumb were they to not think that there were CCTV cameras around and Ryanair would have access to them within hours through lawyers/Court order or sth. Haven't they ever watched crime procedurals? I mean, we all know that airports have cameras...

    Like i said in the original post by James, this was staged from the word go and now we have evidence.

    As some have pointed, these employees lost their credibility with this action. How dumb were they to not think that there were CCTV cameras around and Ryanair would have access to them within hours through lawyers/Court order or sth. Haven't they ever watched crime procedurals? I mean, we all know that airports have cameras at every single corner!

    These silly people were banking on the ongoing 'hate' against FR to gain public sympathy and an upper hand during negotiations. I think this action will actually evoke the contrary.
    I believe that this is actually ground for firing as they are 'working against the company'.

    Both Ryanair and the crew are lying. They deserve eachother. Ryanair did nothing wrong to expose these lazy liars. If you want to lie, be clever about it!

    That said, i still prefer to fly Easyjet over Ryanair.

  45. CraigTPA Guest

    Neither side covered themselves in glory. Ryanair couldn't control the storm or the national holiday, but the way they handled "exposing" the crew was just wrong. And it wouldn't kill them, or any airline, to keep some cots or air mattresses in a closet against this sort of problem, they're not very expensive.

    On the other hand, I don't know if the crew thought people would believe the picture was real, or thought people would...

    Neither side covered themselves in glory. Ryanair couldn't control the storm or the national holiday, but the way they handled "exposing" the crew was just wrong. And it wouldn't kill them, or any airline, to keep some cots or air mattresses in a closet against this sort of problem, they're not very expensive.

    On the other hand, I don't know if the crew thought people would believe the picture was real, or thought people would realize it was staged and they were just making a point, but either way it was poorly handled. A picture of people in uncomfortable-looking chairs along with a caption saying how long they had to sit there would have made the point just as well.

    I've never flown Ryanair and will do my best to continue to avoid them.

  46. Ryan Guest

    I don't think the airline is shameful for calling out the employees' staged photo. Nor did Ryanair invade anyone's privacy - that's laughable! They were in a public place, there is no expectation of privacy in the first place. But also, the employees already posted the pic of themselves on social media so it's hard to fathom why a clip of themselves from the security cam would ne objectionable.

    Was Ryanair in the wrong for...

    I don't think the airline is shameful for calling out the employees' staged photo. Nor did Ryanair invade anyone's privacy - that's laughable! They were in a public place, there is no expectation of privacy in the first place. But also, the employees already posted the pic of themselves on social media so it's hard to fathom why a clip of themselves from the security cam would ne objectionable.

    Was Ryanair in the wrong for the employees not having hotel rooms? Doesn't seem like any of us have the full details to say with certainty...e.g., were there rooms available.

  47. Dennis Gold

    @IntlBizTraveler, so you're worried about defaming the airline - a robotic, nonhuman entity - but are not concerned by the fact that the crew - actual humans - are being treated in this way and have to lie on the floor? The funny thing is that you'll likely be the first to complain when "your precious rights" are violated!
    I am guessing you're American and a businessman because that combination prefers $$$ over people.

  48. Dennis Gold

    I can't believe so many people are defending the airline! Yes, the crew "staged" the photo, but only to represent their reality at the time. Lucky's assessment was spot on:
    - the airline didn't look after them
    - they violated the staff's privacy
    - and think of the passengers - no doubt this "rest time" was considered off time and they're cleared to work the next day.

    I don't know about you,...

    I can't believe so many people are defending the airline! Yes, the crew "staged" the photo, but only to represent their reality at the time. Lucky's assessment was spot on:
    - the airline didn't look after them
    - they violated the staff's privacy
    - and think of the passengers - no doubt this "rest time" was considered off time and they're cleared to work the next day.

    I don't know about you, but I prefer my pilot to have had a good night's sleep before operating a flight. The regulators are so strict when it comes to alcohol consumption (rightfully so) but lack of sleep can have a similar effect.

  49. Callum Guest

    Hang on - so Ryanair have proven that these people were outright lying with slanderous posts to gain sympathy, yet Ryanair is the one in the wrong?

    I get that the VIP lounge still isn't really good enough, but I'm disgusted that there is such a low regard for truth nowadays. Perhaps you can explain why you don't care they were lying?

  50. IntlBizTraveler Guest

    Lucky, what's shameful about this post is how defensive you are of these scum employees.

    They should all be fired immediately, and an example should be made of them to the rest of the whiny Ryanair crew.

    Don't take this the wrong way - it's not like I'm advocating for employers to be "abusive" of their associates, but lying is never acceptable and neither is defaming your own employer...in the US improper defamation is actually illegal.

  51. Bruce Member

    this is a new low, even for Ryanair. Disgusting airline. But we will keep flying them, because they are cheap.

  52. Traveler Guest

    This is an airline you and James promote. Maybe it is time to think through the values a blog like this should have and publicly undertake that you and your contributors won't fly certain low cost airlines.

    This is a blog about points and travel for executives and other frequent flyers. How does Ryanair fit into that anyway?

  53. Vito Guest

    Ryanair is simply disgusting... Let us all fly Vueling, it´ll be much better... LOL But, never forget, cheap things are cheap for a reason...

  54. NB Guest

    The crew deserve to lose their jobs over deliberately trying to undermine their employer by staging and then publishing that photo. However, the crew won't lose their jobs because it's next to impossible to sack anyone in Europe, however badly they behave.

    I have no doubt that working for Ryanair isn't a bundle of laughs, just as flying it is not an experience to remember. It's simply a glorified bus service, and a well run...

    The crew deserve to lose their jobs over deliberately trying to undermine their employer by staging and then publishing that photo. However, the crew won't lose their jobs because it's next to impossible to sack anyone in Europe, however badly they behave.

    I have no doubt that working for Ryanair isn't a bundle of laughs, just as flying it is not an experience to remember. It's simply a glorified bus service, and a well run one at that. The crew are unhappy principally because they'd like to be doing a glamorous job but instead find that they are bus drivers, ticket collectors and clearer-uppers - and are paid significantly less than real bus drivers.

    None of that, though, excuses their appalling behavior.

  55. Donna Diamond

    Yes, they were correct to expose the staged photo. Ryan Air management didn’t cover themselves in glory by this exposure instead just revealed the contempt the crew has for management. Lots of reasons I would never fly Ryan Air, now just one more.

  56. Lars K Member

    @IAC, Yosef

    Now, what exactly were they LYING about?
    Were they given any place to sleep by their airline or not?
    The "staging" was simply "illustrating" the facts. Would it be better if they just snagged a non-staged photo that would inevitably violate the privacy of their employees?

    Well, Ryanair was surely hoping people would argue along your lines. Again, look at the facts. They treat their stranded employees just as they treat their stranded customers.

  57. ADP Guest

    They should be fired immediately for attempted political manipulation.

    In addition, please consider not feeding the problems the West is having with social media right now.

  58. William Member

    @Lucky - I have the CIP and am 0/24 or maybe I’m 1/24 because of the CIP, but I want the CSP and the Ink Cash as well as the Amex platinum and new gold. What order should I apply in?

    1. lucky OMAAT

      @ William -- The order shouldn't matter if you're at 0/24 (meaning the CIP is the only card you got in the past 24 months). If it were me, I'd probably apply for the Ink Cash, then one of the Amex Cards, and then wait a bit over a month and get the CSP and other Amex Card. Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

  59. Robert Guest

    You get what you pay for - if you fly Ryanair you support this kind of behavior!

  60. Tony Guest

    Vote with your money...dont fly Ryanair. It's not like the other airlines are angels but Ryanair is by far the worst - to both employees and customers. Flyers can make an example of Ryanair and send a strong message to the industry.

  61. JLC Guest

    Ryanair should have simply said they had access to the lounge with food and seats, sorry for not having a hotel on such short notice, they did not sleep on the floor as in the twitter photo. And leave it at that. No need to take the defamation on the chin, no need to shame the crew

  62. Emirates4Ever Guest

    The Ryanair employees would have made a stronger case if they hadn't resorted to fakery. I'm sure there's plenty they can gripe about, but outright lying like this doesn't help.

    That said, I am not a price obsessed flyer so I don't need to patronize such airlines.

  63. omar Guest

    I cant believe you're siding with the employees here. This is the definition of fake news and manipulation. Should ryanair have provided better accommodations, absolutely. But there is no need to lie. Expose what actually occurred but to lie and manipulate is shameful. I would fire those involved in a heart beat

  64. DKB Member

    Ryanair are about as litigious as they come, don't be surprised to get a summons or solicitors letter based on some lines you have in this, particularly the 'dodgy' one.

  65. Zack Guest

    I personally would be more worried about how fit to fly a cabin crew would be following an overnight, whether on the floor in the VIP lounge or their crew room. Malaga to anywhere in Portugal wouldn't be far, but it's still an unreasonable safety risk. I've always liked EasyJet and this is a pretty good reason to stick with them.

  66. Yosef_S New Member

    Seriously Lucky?!

    The crew used a staged photograph to dishonestly shame the airlines in the court of public opinion, and yet you think that the airlines is in the wrong for defending themselves with the truth?!

  67. PW Guest

    In any event, this strikes me as a safety issue if these crews were operating flights the night after not sleeping in a bed. We saw that this could be an issue in 9L3407.

  68. Jon Guest

    "Lying is never ok"

    Someone is being held hostage and is asked where others are hiding. It's not ok to lie? The crew's "lie" is depicting crew "sleeping" on the ground to draw attention to poor labor standards. If the crew went to their hotel directly after staging the photo, then the function of their misleading photo would be quite different.

  69. SurreyGent Guest

    The crew were wrong to fake their employment conditions. And imagine the furore if the crew had been in a nice comfy hotel while passengers were left in the airport. A friend of mine was due to fly BA that evening, her flight was cancelled and BA couldn't find her a room either, so it's not Ryanair's fault they couldn't find beds for the crew.

    Why does everything has to be someone's fault? It was...

    The crew were wrong to fake their employment conditions. And imagine the furore if the crew had been in a nice comfy hotel while passengers were left in the airport. A friend of mine was due to fly BA that evening, her flight was cancelled and BA couldn't find her a room either, so it's not Ryanair's fault they couldn't find beds for the crew.

    Why does everything has to be someone's fault? It was bad weather, hotels were full and so it was just one of those things that the crew had to stay in the airport. They shouldn't have faked their sleeping photo. Once they allege those conditions, their employer has or right or even obligation to look into the situation.

    Ryanair does lots of things I disagree with, but on this occasion I don't have a problem with it. But if people want dirt cheap flights, the company can't be forking out for expensive hotels for its staff...

  70. Lars K Member

    I have flown Ryanair once - never again.
    The flight was delayed more and more and at one point all employees on the ground just left. Us passengers found our checked luggage around the corner. They all just left without telling any of the passengers. This was in Pisa.
    If you want your EU compensation, you get a phone number in Ireland, good luck with that.
    I treat a Ryanair connection as...

    I have flown Ryanair once - never again.
    The flight was delayed more and more and at one point all employees on the ground just left. Us passengers found our checked luggage around the corner. They all just left without telling any of the passengers. This was in Pisa.
    If you want your EU compensation, you get a phone number in Ireland, good luck with that.
    I treat a Ryanair connection as non existent and I sincerely hope, they will go out of business rather sooner than later. Their lack of ethics, actually of basic human decency, makes me want to puke.

  71. IAC Guest

    I think the crew are more fault here. Yes, it was certainly wrong of the airline not to find them somewhere to sleep, but staging a photo and lying to try and garner sympathy is definitely immoral and wrong. Given Ryanair's dodgy reputation, the public would most likely never believe them if they just denied that the crew slept the floor, so they kind of had to prove it.

  72. Luis Diamond

    I'm guessing these employees aren't employees anymore. What they did was lie to shame their employer which was probably enough to get them fired. Ryan Air had a decision to make. Accept public shaming for the fake photo that the crew posted or shame the crew and let the truth out and deal with those consequences and obviously they chose the latter. But yes, had they put the crew up in a hotel, all this could have been avoided.

  73. aarowa New Member

    Lucky, I think you were overly rash in your assessment. Ryanair certainly is not taking the high ground and you can fault them for that, but I don't think it's quite fair to call it shameful.

    The employees, while not being treated fairly, could have approached it differently: an article/expose, a call for media to investigate - I'm unclear how false information helped their cause. In fact, its this type of misinformation that causes future,...

    Lucky, I think you were overly rash in your assessment. Ryanair certainly is not taking the high ground and you can fault them for that, but I don't think it's quite fair to call it shameful.

    The employees, while not being treated fairly, could have approached it differently: an article/expose, a call for media to investigate - I'm unclear how false information helped their cause. In fact, its this type of misinformation that causes future, valid claims of mistreatment to be ignored because someone "cried wolf" (this has happened in every fight for justice, and it's never helped).

    This ultimately damages the good and right cause of the employees at large to obtain better treatment from Ryanair. What is unfair and is a shame is that the rest of the employees that have to now live with that kind of suspicion the next time they raise a fair, valid concern.

  74. Albert H Guest

    what? that area is considered to be a VIP lounge? haha.

  75. Heather Guest

    You’d think the airport would have thermarest mattress pads in case of emergency at the very least.

  76. Chris Guest

    i dont think its okay for anyone to stage anything and post it on social media. If we dont care about the truth then when something real happens we will never know if its true or not. The employees were shameful. Lying is never okay

  77. Joe B Guest

    I’m torn because while I do believe that the airline should have made a stronger effort to find better accommodations for the crew, as a member of the public I really take offense to being manipulated by images that aren’t real. The crew wanted their version of the story to dominate the narrative with that tweet being posted everywhere galvanizing public support to their cause. However, their disingenuousness was caught by the company compromising their...

    I’m torn because while I do believe that the airline should have made a stronger effort to find better accommodations for the crew, as a member of the public I really take offense to being manipulated by images that aren’t real. The crew wanted their version of the story to dominate the narrative with that tweet being posted everywhere galvanizing public support to their cause. However, their disingenuousness was caught by the company compromising their privacy. In this instance I’m not sure anyone is necessarily morally superior. It’d be one thing if the crew hadn’t tried to pass the photo off as real, but staging it undermines their credibility and would cast some doubt on any future claims about conditions they make if I see photos like this. I think Ryanair should do a better job of ensuring crews are well rested so passengers are safe, but I don’t need staged photos being passed off as real by employees.

  78. vlcnc Guest

    Put it simply Ryanair's business model is not consistent with good employee treatment - we are all guilty of this, their fares are ridiculously cheap compared to their nearest competitor easyJet which is considerably more expensive but also provides a better experience.

  79. RyanA Guest

    I still would have gone to a hotel myself to get some sleep, regardless of whether the company set up something.

  80. Evan Gold

    Spirit Airlines: "Hold my beer"

  81. RF Diamond

    LOL, this just further proves Ryanair is a trash airline.

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niko_jas Guest

Portuguese media today is reporting that all 6 cabin crew involved in the photo have now been fired by Ryanair!

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AB Guest

So a real video gets more flak than a fake photo? I get hating big bad companies, but come one...they were just defending themselves from an obvious made-up story

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SC New Member

Fantastic insight, Ben. Thank you for understanding and reporting on the bigger picture here. RyanAir is a horrible company on the customer and staff side. Unfortunately, I cannot say easyJet is much better, I spent 11 months fighting them to reimburse me the train ticket I was forced to buy after a cancelled flight from AMS>SXF. Norwegian is the only "budget" airline which has a transparent and user-friendly refund policy. I for one vowed to never fly Easy or Ryan after my last incident, and have maintained that promise for nearly three years now. Good post.

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