Recently I wrote about how a heavy storm in Spain cancelled plenty of flights and meant that Portuguese Ryanair crew were forced to overnight in Malaga.
Ryanair said that there were no hotels available for their crew (given so many stranded passengers were trying to find hotels). Ryanair crew say that there were hotels but Ryanair didn’t look hard enough.
A photo surfaced however, of the crew, in full uniform, sleeping on the airport floor.
Ryanair came out publicly and initially said that there were no hotels available. While the crew was eventually given access to an airport lounge, from 1:30AM until 6AM they were left in a room that didn’t even have enough chairs for everyone to sit, which is when they staged the above photograph.
After then spending some time in the lounge they flew home as passengers the following morning.
I questioned the legitimacy of the photograph at the time, mainly because of the very close proximity the crew were lying next to their colleagues, when there appeared to be plenty of space around them.
Then Ryanair tracked down airport surveillance footage of the crew ‘sleeping,’ which showed that the crew did so only to stage a photograph.
Ryanair published this video to try and defend themselves, against public outcry that their cabin crew were subject to inhumane working conditions.
Ben wrote at the time how shameful this was for Ryanair to ‘defend’ themselves against their own cabin crew. Rather than improving the way they handle these bad weather situations (which is part of being a successful airline), they create a hostile ‘us vs. them’ environment for their staff.
Rather than supporting and looking after their staff, they publicly shamed them.
Latest development
Now the BBC is reporting that the six crew who staged the photo have been fired for ‘gross misconduct,’ as Ryanair put it. It’s crazy that Ryanair thinks this is the solution to this latest public relations nightmare.
Do they really think crew will do their best to represent the airline, knowing that trying to protest how Ryanair handles cancelled flights will lead to dismissal? Is fear the way to run an airline?
I definitely don’t condone the staging of the photo but I think it was done out of desperation to improve their working conditions and I think Ryanairs response (and refusal to fix the initial problem) was much worse.
The crew were forced to spend the night sleeping in the airport terminal that night, even if it wasn’t precisely as the photo showed.
They could have come out in front of this, turned a negative into a positive, and apologised to the crew for not having accommodation available that night, and promise to do better in future. Instead they are not only creating more negative publicity for themselves, but sending a warning to all staff that saying anything negative about the airline will have severe consequences.
Bottom line
Ryanair has had a horrendous year already.
Pilot strikes, hundreds of flights cancelled because of poor management of crew rostering, yet another incredibly confusing change to their hand luggage policy, and now publicly shaming their crew.
I can’t imagine how low cabin crew morale must be at the airline right now.
I’ve been a ‘satisfied’ Ryanair customer for many years, but I’m feeling far less interested in flying with them than I was six months ago, no matter how cheap the price.
Ryanair initially operated solely on price, with no regard to what passengers wanted (beyond cheap fares). Then a few years ago they changed their strategy and launched their ‘Always Getting Better’ strategy to try and attract different types of passengers, by launching fares for business travellers, as well as more generous hand luggage allowances, and lower fees for anyone who didn’t play by the rules.
I wrote recently about how I think their new hand luggage policy will cause them to lose customers, and this latest PR disaster to me also suggests the focus is no longer attempting to attract anyone who isn’t primarily looking for the absolute cheapest price.
EasyJet and Norwegian are much better options if you are looking for a European low cost carrier.
What do you think of Ryanair’s decision to fire crew who staged this photo?
Employees who lie SHOULD be fired!
@ Austin
“If their flight attendant contract did not require RyanAir to provide them accommodation, then RyanAir went above and beyond to get them lounge space.”
The airline claimed the reason that the crew was not accommodated in a hotel for the night is that the hotels were full.
In making that statement the airline clearly accepts it DID have a responsibility to accommodate them, regardless of what may or may not have been...
@ Austin
“If their flight attendant contract did not require RyanAir to provide them accommodation, then RyanAir went above and beyond to get them lounge space.”
The airline claimed the reason that the crew was not accommodated in a hotel for the night is that the hotels were full.
In making that statement the airline clearly accepts it DID have a responsibility to accommodate them, regardless of what may or may not have been in the contract of employment or what your personal perceptions may be regarding such responsibility.
The crew claims that hotels were available.
“the employees showed disdain and their ungratefulness towards the company.”
Actually, no, the company failed in its duty of care towards the crew (by failing to provide accommodation – a task it accepts was its responsbiity per the argument above) and then went on a PR offensive making claims about no hotels being available and that the crew had only been in the crew room for a ‘short period” whereas the crew report being left for 7 – 12 hours and hotel rooms were indeed available.
“wanted to be put up for the night during irrops, then they should have interviewed with full-service airlines where such perks are included.”
Actually the airline has a duty of care towards its employees and to operate safely.
“Their termination was 100% with cause and good”
That conclusion can only be made by the relevant industrial relations tribunal / court.
In the interim, you might consider the hypocrisy of the airline inflaming the situation by making their response public through their own PR machine, whilst disregarding the legal rights to privacy of its employees and potentially defrauding its shareholders on its capacity to manage labour relations (see below)
“ good on RyanAir to focusing on the principals necessary to make them successful and competitive in the LCC arena.’
Actually Ryan Air is in considerable strife over the way it handles its labour relations.
Shareholders include pension funds. Some have sold their shares (three recently sold up USD340 million shares out about a year ago) over mishandling of labour relations.
In September 2018 at the AGM 30% of investors including the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum voted against the re-election of the airline’s chairman citing failures in management of human capital among other gripes.
There is now a court case in the US (Manhattan District Court) brought a by a shareholder pension fund claiming that the airline has defrauded investors by overstating its ability to manage labour relations and keep costs down.
The airline has had to accept unions as of December 2018 and that its employees’ rights may be determined under European Law under the local legislation in those countries were crew are based.
Its practice of putting employees onto third party employment agency contracts is also under challenge.
So…its business model isn’t exactly sustainable, is it?!
Certainly nothing to praise!
For everyone who feels it is acceptable to be in your uniform without a space for a real reprieve or sleep throughout the night, I'd say "let's see!"
Until you've spent time in someone else's shoes, you will not know how you will feel or behave.
Employers have a responsibility to make sure they provide a safe work space for their employees. For all flight crewmembers this includes a safe hotel room between...
For everyone who feels it is acceptable to be in your uniform without a space for a real reprieve or sleep throughout the night, I'd say "let's see!"
Until you've spent time in someone else's shoes, you will not know how you will feel or behave.
Employers have a responsibility to make sure they provide a safe work space for their employees. For all flight crewmembers this includes a safe hotel room between flights whether planned or unplanned. Please keep in mind all flight crew members are considered to be working for the duration of time/days spent at work, even while on a layover.
This responsibility to take-care of their employees certainly was not demonstrated by Ryan Airlines. Flight Attendants are not only safety ambassadors, but also security ambassadors of the airline they represent.
Being fatigued on the job is a real
hazard in this profession. When Flight Attendants are at work (whether "deadheading", or active duty) they are representing the airline and subject to rules of the FAA, DOT, and company policies.
While it may be against company policy to be in photos that show the company in a negative light, these Flight Attendants opened a conversation for how human beings should be treated, while at work.
Human Beings are not robots, even when meant to behave in that light by corporations that are single-minded in their quest for the all-mighty dollar. Wall Street is dictating how people are behaving towards each other in world. Why do we no longer have empathy for one another?
Deep in your soul, where a light is still flickering to be seen and expressed, we all know right, from wrong. These Human Beings should have been showed some humanity. And... still can!
The way this has played out has continued to make Ryan Air look worse and worse.
To brush the original photo off as staged is disingenuous. The crew did not leave some plush hotel room to lie on the floor and slander the company. They were not provided with beds, and simply illustrated the only way they could have attempted to get some sleep that night. The alternative was to sit awake in folding...
The way this has played out has continued to make Ryan Air look worse and worse.
To brush the original photo off as staged is disingenuous. The crew did not leave some plush hotel room to lie on the floor and slander the company. They were not provided with beds, and simply illustrated the only way they could have attempted to get some sleep that night. The alternative was to sit awake in folding chairs all night. This is hardly a "staged" manipulation.
Ryan Air disgusts me. I vowed four years ago to never fly them again. I even connect in Munich or Zürich to avoid giving this company my business.
To be honest, much as one loves to hate Ryanair, I imagine this would qualify as gross misconduct pretty much anywhere.
Procedures should be applied evenly across the board to ensure equity for all parties. The result of gross misconduct is always the same.
I'll do Easyjet, I'll do Vueling, I'll do Spirit, but Ryanair is where I draw the line.
If their flight attendant contract did not require RyanAir to provide them accommodation, then RyanAir went above and beyond to get them lounge space and the employees showed disdain and their ungratefulness towards the company. If the flight attendants hated their jobs that much and wanted to be put up for the night during irrops, then they should have interviewed with full-service airlines where such perks are included. Their termination was 100% with cause and...
If their flight attendant contract did not require RyanAir to provide them accommodation, then RyanAir went above and beyond to get them lounge space and the employees showed disdain and their ungratefulness towards the company. If the flight attendants hated their jobs that much and wanted to be put up for the night during irrops, then they should have interviewed with full-service airlines where such perks are included. Their termination was 100% with cause and good on RyanAir to focusing on the principals necessary to make them successful and competitive in the LCC arena.
It's as nonsensical as Southwest Airlines FA's complaining about not getting the same caliber of hotel as Emirates cabin crew.
@ Platy.
Agree they are in breach of privacy by publishing their images without consent
Mandatory Crew rest Therefore likely they were unfit and not rested for the next flight, and a possible threat to flight safety
@ Callum
Since you are so worried about "lies" perhaps you would like to comment on the following:
Ryan Air's claim that there were no hotels available (disputed by the crew who rang around and determined this was untrue).
Ryan Air's claim that they crew were only put in that room briefly (disputed by the crew who claim a 12 hour stay in the room without access to food or potable water).
Ryan Air's behaviour...
@ Callum
Since you are so worried about "lies" perhaps you would like to comment on the following:
Ryan Air's claim that there were no hotels available (disputed by the crew who rang around and determined this was untrue).
Ryan Air's claim that they crew were only put in that room briefly (disputed by the crew who claim a 12 hour stay in the room without access to food or potable water).
Ryan Air's behaviour in publishing a video without any due regard for the privacy of their employees.
You might also like to comment on where you draw the line between employees exposing exploitative and / or unlawful behaviour versus the need to keep silence to protect the lies of that company.
You might also consider Ryan Air's track record in making your assessment.
If you found out that the company you work for is corrupt or behaving unlawful would you become a whistleblower? What would it take?! Or would you become a de facto accomplice to bad behaviour by being one of the silent acquiescent ones...
...back to the case in hand...clearly if the Ryan Air crew were left for 12 hours overnight they were indeed expected to "rest" in that room...so just what exactly is the slander you are claiming?!
The event (being left in the room overnight) actually happened!!! So the company hasn't been slandered.
@ James
Your comment above states "I don't condone the staging of the video". It was Ryanair, not the crew, that published the video. The crew published a single, photographic image. You need to think more about what you write. That goes for your articles as well.
Christian - Working conditions are completely irrelevant. If the story was "Ryanair made us stay in a lounge overnight and should have gotten us a hotel" then I'd be sympathetic (though you only believe the claim that there were hotels available because you hate Ryanair).
These people LIED and slandered their company online. People in these very comments have stated they won't fly Ryanair because of this. If your staff are lying and causing your...
Christian - Working conditions are completely irrelevant. If the story was "Ryanair made us stay in a lounge overnight and should have gotten us a hotel" then I'd be sympathetic (though you only believe the claim that there were hotels available because you hate Ryanair).
These people LIED and slandered their company online. People in these very comments have stated they won't fly Ryanair because of this. If your staff are lying and causing your company financial damage then OBVIOUSLY you're going to fire them. They are absolute morons for thinking otherwise.
In fact, most large companies would discipline staff for posting 100% true negative things about them online.
Both you and Ben are beyond ridiculous. This is a clear cut case of gross misconduct - they LIED (why on Earth you both have little to no problem with lying is confusing to me) and slandered their employer, damaging it's reputation.
Almost any company would fire employees who do that yet you expect them to roll over and accept it? Pathetic.
Agree with wfb and platy.
Displaying the reality is not lying; odd how some try to misrepresent the situation - to what end?
Don't bite the hand that feeds you! 100% with Ryanair on this one!
“Staged” photo, that’s a cute euphemism for lying.
I read the article and was trying to figure out why the airline was being trashed and blamed when all they wanted to do was shed light on the real story and take action against those responsible.
I agree with the other readers who said that the employees deserved what they got because their intention was to make Ryan Air look bad. I never personally flew them but no matter how many issues a company...
I read the article and was trying to figure out why the airline was being trashed and blamed when all they wanted to do was shed light on the real story and take action against those responsible.
I agree with the other readers who said that the employees deserved what they got because their intention was to make Ryan Air look bad. I never personally flew them but no matter how many issues a company has, those crew members should have quit if they didn't like the treatment, talked about the issue professionally and with objective and not resort to a childish staging activity. I firmly believe they got what they deserved.
@ Johan / @ Donna
Yes, in principle, they should have gone to their employer / union / government body - and maybe they have done that! And yes in a well run company you'd expect such a process to be followed and then actioned by management.
But this doesn't always happen.
And maybe labour relations have descended too far for reasonable approaches to be effective at Ryan Air!
You need to look at such...
@ Johan / @ Donna
Yes, in principle, they should have gone to their employer / union / government body - and maybe they have done that! And yes in a well run company you'd expect such a process to be followed and then actioned by management.
But this doesn't always happen.
And maybe labour relations have descended too far for reasonable approaches to be effective at Ryan Air!
You need to look at such matters in the context of the airline's behaviour.
Ryan Air refused to even recognise unions until last December. They are coming off a period of very sour IR.
They are now being sued by a shareholder (an Alabama pension fund) in the Manhattan US District Court for defrauding investors and inflating the share price on the grounds of over stating their ability to manage labour relations:
"Unbeknownst to investors, the company's historical profit growth was built on an undisclosed and unsustainable foundation of worker exploitation and employee turnover,"
So you expect the unions / employees to get any sort of a reasonable response from management in such circumstances?!
The airline's response to this situation was to further the public shame game, not to defuse it!
So you think a unified (employee and employer) response to such situations is gonna happen - pigs might fly!
@ Donna
The airlines (the employers that hold the power in the employer-employee dynamic) themselves publicly shame their employees as part of the industry relations publicity game.
Are you going to be consistent and call out the airline CEO / executive for such behaviour?
Don't you expect your boss to comply with labour laws - unions claim Ryan Air breached labour laws by threatening to strip productivity bonuses to enter workers from striking.
Similarly, Qantas CEO trumpets annual staff bonuses publicly, but fails to reveal that they are withheld from employees that don't agree to the company's IR agenda.
Remember also, it is up to the company to set the tone - if the company takes an aggressive and contrarian and adversarial position, they are going to get a similar response back from their workforce by necessity.
It would take the company (employer) to drive the cultural change to positive labour relations.
What you are witnessing is a symptoms of poor leadership by the likes of Alan Joyce (Qantas) and Michael O'Leary (Ryan Air).
Now a major shareholder (not a union or employee in this new legal case) is complaining about worker exploitation and employee turnover at Ryan Air!!!
...scratch the surface and use a little common sense...
@ Donna
To me you provided the only logical argument for why they were rightfully fired: they made an internal affair public.
THAT is their wrong doing. Not lying, because the essence of that photo was correct, the “staging” therefore irrelevant.
That doesn’t change the fact though that the world would be a better place without Ryanair. They are a terrible, terrible company and will treat their guests just as badly as their employees. I flew them once - never again!
The employees staged a photo on social media to publicly shame their employer. And they were fired. I can’t imagine publically shaming my boss and NOT being fired. Their grievance should have been handled internally and not in the court of public opinion.
People need to take a deep breath and stop before posting every single thing on social media sites. You don’t air out your angst with your boss over social media no matter...
The employees staged a photo on social media to publicly shame their employer. And they were fired. I can’t imagine publically shaming my boss and NOT being fired. Their grievance should have been handled internally and not in the court of public opinion.
People need to take a deep breath and stop before posting every single thing on social media sites. You don’t air out your angst with your boss over social media no matter how justified you feel in doing so unless you are not concerned about losing your job and livelihood.
The lied and were disloyal to their employer. That's grounds for dismissal even in super-socialistic Sweden, where I'm from. If they had issues they should have taken it up with their managers, their union, or filed a complaint with a government body.
Posting staged photos like that is *not* okay. Ryanair, believe it or not, was in the right here.
Whether or not they actually had to sleep on some floor, or had access to some VIP lounge is irrelevant.
@ James
I'm 100% behind you on this one.
To the many misguided posters herein who are basing their responses on the logic that the employees were lying - in essence they were not: the employees were left for the night in a room and whereas they shouldn't have staged a photo to make their point, the fact that they did does not erase the reality of the airline's choice to leave them in that...
@ James
I'm 100% behind you on this one.
To the many misguided posters herein who are basing their responses on the logic that the employees were lying - in essence they were not: the employees were left for the night in a room and whereas they shouldn't have staged a photo to make their point, the fact that they did does not erase the reality of the airline's choice to leave them in that room for the night.
There are several perspectives apparently not covered in this debate:
1. In deciding whether the airline has a legitimate reason to dismiss the employees you should all be considering the operant industrial relations (IR) laws and the workplace contract: for example, many corporations will include a clause attempting to stop any unauthorised contact with the media by employees.
The airline may have legal grounds to invoke to defend their decision if challenged in the relevant IR tribunal / court, which police IR matters (here in Australia, for example, the Fair Work Commission), whereas the employees may have grounds to claim unfair dismissal.
Ultimately, this would be a legal matter (in the event the employees take the airline to court for unfair dismissal) and with an outcome would be determined therein and not by the simplistic knee jerk response of most on this thread.
Remember, though, that there is a great power imbalance between employer and employee, which is why we need IR tribunals/ courts and unions to protect our interests.
2. Airlines themselves shamelessly use the media to bully their employees publicly to force for favourable IR outcomes, in an attempt to solicit public opinion to drive "negotiation" of renewing workplace contracts. Qantas has already restarted this game as recently as a few days ago funneling their PR spin about imminent "union chaos" through our one national newspaper, the Murdoch right wing rag, The Australian. The underlying issue - the airline not wanting employees to be able to negotiate collectively (a basic workers' right). So rather than negotiate the airline stirs up the usual hornets nest with the suppliant;iant media (themselves riding around on free flights for so-called review articles whilst proselytising Murdoch's decrepit right wing agenda).
So those of you being self righteously high and mighty about the employees behaviour should put that into the perceptive and consider that airlines go public with PR spin and uses their media contacts to run their staff relations.
3. Safety. We all know that the cabin crew are there principally for our safety rather than pour our glasses of wine and juice: all passengers / customers should be genuinely concerned about an airline that would engages in a practice of denying its crew sufficient resources to maintain a restful state (there is mention of the employees pax'ing back - it is unclear whether they were supposed to be rostered on the day after).
4. Airlines "stage" photos themselves in the interest of positive publicity and positive branding / image.
I challenge all those respondents who have their knickers in a twist about the employees "lying" to find photos airlines have released into the public domain, which have NOT been staged! Groomed happy passengers, seats with impossibly large legroom taken with a camera with a wide angle lens, manicured crew, spotlessly clean lounges, etc., etc.
5. Whereas we cannot verify the facts in this case, airlines will say that local hotels are all full when in fact they are not: what they probably mean is that they have an allocation drawn from local hotels / chains that provide favourable rates to the airline. As an example, QF downgraded a friend on missed connection on an evening flight rom business to low lost Jetstar and refused the option of an overnight and business class the next day on the excuse that all hotels in Brisbane were full. A minute on a travel website showed that they were not.
6. And so to the argument about putting the airline in negative light. Well folks, the airline IS in negative light because THEY did something dumb, unprofessional, inappropriate, unsafe, etc., and got called out for it! That isn't a confection.
So you are defending the airline because you want them to have the right to hide a truth which is commercially inconvenient, but nonetheless true! So you no longer believe in accountability, transparency, clarity, or fair / honest relations with customers, employees and suppliers?!
Apparently, facts are no longer a focus in the modern world. It's all spin...a very sad state of affairs...and only becoming more normalised in the current political milieu...
I'm with James on this one. The staged photo merely illustrated the crew's poor treatment from Ryanair. Given the choice between resting uncomfortably in a hard chair versus trying to get some sleep in a somewhat natural position on a (not too dirty) floor, I might choose the latter. So, even though the photo was staged, it still shows that they had limited options.
Interesting. And divisive. I agree that Ryanair could have done more to provide suitable sleeping accommodation for their staff. But the crew lied which caused negative publicity for the company that they work for. Unfortunately I agree that they should be dismissed.
I'm agreeing with RyanAir and feel kinda gross about it. BRB, gotta shower.
One of those things where I neither support the crew or the airline.
If they were off duty the crew should not have been fired and I hope hope they pursue legal recompense.
They may have been exercising their free speech right to protest company policies. Do you want to sleep on the floor? It is the same as employees picketing when they are not on duty. It is their right. They can say whatever they want when they are not on duty. And what did the crew...
If they were off duty the crew should not have been fired and I hope hope they pursue legal recompense.
They may have been exercising their free speech right to protest company policies. Do you want to sleep on the floor? It is the same as employees picketing when they are not on duty. It is their right. They can say whatever they want when they are not on duty. And what did the crew actually say, if anything. Was there a statement from the crew with the photo? What was the crews original purpose for the photo? Humor? We do not have enough information to say. Did Ryanair even do an investigation of the circumstances or just knee-jerk fire them all? It looks to me like the photo here may not have been posted directly by a crew member.
I have never belonged to a union but I can now see why Ryanair employees would want and need one for protection.
This is like people who fake hate crimes to prove that hate crimes are a real problem. Of course they should be fired.
"You're wrong. I'm right."
"No, YOU'RE wrong, and I'm right."
It's nice to a see a civil, meaningful discourse happening in the comments sections of TPG articles nowadays.
Even though I understand the intention of the Ryanair employees and do agree that the airline should take better care of their employees, I still believe that Ryanair has the right to fire them. When you work for a company, you are not supposed to publicly shame them on social media. If you don't like your employer to the point where you will talk bad about them on social media, then find another job!
The absolutely should have been fired.
Ryanair is the one airline I would actually avoid even if it means paying more. What an abysmal attitude... as though the employees are the problem here.
@Ray - I’m not sure we need the politics inserted, but it does seem like the airline is responding. Having read this blog for many years, I’ve never seen such a suspiciously large number of comments backing a company with a terrible history of employee relations.
@Anonn, employees are protected by law in a lot of European countries, also in cases like this.
The crew is not lying. They're showing Ryanair's overnight accommodations. Obviously, it's more uncomfortable lying on the floor than sitting in a chair. So they chose to sit & not sleep.
Ryanair showed little concern for its staff. I'll not fly them again.
I can't think of a company who would keep employees who deliberately stage a PR stunt aimed to shame their employer, regardless of who's fault it is.
In other words, for once I am with James on this one
So why doesn't Ryanair have a standing arrangement with a lounge that they can contingently take it over any night at need? Why don't they have a stock of blankets? Delays happen. The particular dates might be unpredictable but that delays will happen is entirely foreseeable. So why didn't Ryanair plan for the eventuality? That's where they are being let off the hook.
Ryanair is a B.S. airline. I encourage all of their employees to strike.
Sorry but this crew deserved to be fired. They engaged in a fraud with the specific intent of damaging their employer's reputation. Stop with the whataboutism and trying to distract from the fraudulent actions of these former employees.
Did all the republicans decide to comment on this blog to make themselves feel better about losing the House this morning? I've never seen such huge boners for companies with enormous leverage and profits mistreating their employees anywhere else. Next thing you know people are going to write about how the government should raise taxes so that they can give the money to CEOs so they can grow the economy.
I’m not surprised. At the end of the day, they deliberately staged a photo to denigrate their company and posted it to social media. I’d have more sympathy if it were unstated, but I expect the outcome would be similar.
Dear James, I like your posts.
But on this one I think you are completely wrong.
Any airline should’ve and would’ve fired those employees for lying about things, which directly affects the company, this has nothing to do with Ryanair being a so called “bad employer” (even though they do actually pay quite well and the majority of employees are happy).
And to suggest that Norwegian and EasyJet are better (to fly with) is...
Dear James, I like your posts.
But on this one I think you are completely wrong.
Any airline should’ve and would’ve fired those employees for lying about things, which directly affects the company, this has nothing to do with Ryanair being a so called “bad employer” (even though they do actually pay quite well and the majority of employees are happy).
And to suggest that Norwegian and EasyJet are better (to fly with) is quite interesting at the least.
Both are more expensive to fly, EasyJet’s average price is a whopping 38% above Ryanair’s.
And Norwegian is extremely loss-making and would not be able to survive a financial downturn. And it’s prices are significantly higher as well.
I think you are wrong on this one and seeing all the comments a post should come where you acknowledge all the comments and explain your point of view.
Lastly, I really have enjoyed all your other posts and can’t wait to see more!
As I mentioned before, once you have to lie, stage things, etc. to make someone look bad you lose all credibility. Obviously the writers here don't seem to understand that. The moment a witness starts lying, then the rest of his/her statements are discounted/ignored.
Ryanair may be horrible but this isn't the way to make your point.
I can't believe people are actually taking Ryanair's side. After a long day's work Ryanair left their crew in a room with only a few plastic chairs. This is a company that time and time again proves that they don't give one iota about employees rights.
A great article. Shaming the people who bring up an inconvenient point, then firing those people, is a public relations catastrophe. I was actually considering flying them before this timely information. Now I know better.
I am glad Ryanair fired the crew. I’d like to see more airlines stand up to their employees; like Delta should fire the crew of that flight where the passenger had to sit with the feces!
Interesting sleeping habit of the person who is in between the 2 printers - his head appears to be in a plastic bag-lined waste basket......
Good. Lying Idiots.
Vote with your money. Dont fly Ryanair!
Good.
No place for workplace socialist policies BS. If they are unhappy about something they should settle it in a civilized manner. The way angry white men in the USA prodded on by the scum of a president do. Pick up a gun.
"Murderers are better than socialists" - said all white republican males
@ all - I don't condone the staging of the video but I think it's worse that Ryanair both couldn't organise hotel rooms for the crew in a bad weather event, and then rather than turning a negative into a positive PR event, both by shaming the crew by circulating the video and then firing them.
I believe the crew only staged the photo out of desperation to improve their working conditions.
They'll continue to...
@ all - I don't condone the staging of the video but I think it's worse that Ryanair both couldn't organise hotel rooms for the crew in a bad weather event, and then rather than turning a negative into a positive PR event, both by shaming the crew by circulating the video and then firing them.
I believe the crew only staged the photo out of desperation to improve their working conditions.
They'll continue to be the cheapest flight most times but the culmination of the terrible year they've had is making me look elsewhere and pay a bit more.
Not only do they deserved to be fired, Ryanair should sue these employees for possible financial loss due to negative public images created by these goons.
Like i said in the original post, this staged photoshoot was grounds for firing. And those employees don't stand a chance in any court of law!
And any chance they had to get better work conditions went out the window the minute someone thought of that idea and the rest of the dimwits went along with it.
The story died the minute the revealing vid came out. Don't underestimate unhappy customers who now doubt...
Like i said in the original post, this staged photoshoot was grounds for firing. And those employees don't stand a chance in any court of law!
And any chance they had to get better work conditions went out the window the minute someone thought of that idea and the rest of the dimwits went along with it.
The story died the minute the revealing vid came out. Don't underestimate unhappy customers who now doubt that Ryanair has very bad working conditions.
@James, i don't see why you support this as any other company would have done the same. Completely justified. But i guess you know this post will lead to rage, many page views & comments.
Yeah you have never worked for a major company. If you stage a photo making your company look bad and post it online; you are going to get fired. My company has a social media policy, as do most Fortune 500 companies ( I am assuming it’s the same in Europe), that prevents me from posting negative things about my company online.
The firing seems completely justified to me....
Ryanair probably sucks to work for, but I'm with @RCB. Many companies would fire or at least take disciplinary action for such a stunt. It wasn't like the crew were on-duty flying the next day. And from what I recall reading, there was a possibility that there simply weren't rooms available (though I don't know if that was ever confirmed) so it may or may not have been the company's fault. To stage a stunt photo like that wouldn't go over well in most corporations.
I have to agree with RCB here, a photo of "sleeping" crew where not even one face is visible? Taking this grievance to social media first was wrong and I would have also have fired them for participating in and/or posting this.
I applaud Ryanair for firing these lying, conniving crew members , and wish that more airlines would take a harder stand against bad employees!
are you seriously defending the employees?? They didn't protest against the airline, they lied! had they tweeted out about the situation truthfully and were fired i would be backing them 100%. However they lied and now there is no trusting them. They had to be fired
Employees staged a negative photo and lied to make their employer look bad, why shouldn't they be fired? I'm not sure why OMAAT is choosing to die on this hill, but that crew was NOT in the right here.
RE: (from BBC) "The crew spent a short period of time in the crew room before being moved to a VIP lounge, and returned to Porto the next day," the company said after the image circulated.
Why is no one questioning how the crew slept in a VIP lounge? I have to assume this means they were moved from an office to the "Sala VIP Lounge" which does have couches. Does that mean there...
RE: (from BBC) "The crew spent a short period of time in the crew room before being moved to a VIP lounge, and returned to Porto the next day," the company said after the image circulated.
Why is no one questioning how the crew slept in a VIP lounge? I have to assume this means they were moved from an office to the "Sala VIP Lounge" which does have couches. Does that mean there was a couch for all individual crew members (to use as beds)?
Also they were moved to the lounge when it opened at 6 am. How well were they able to rest in a public lounge with the usual numbers of travelers accessing the lounge?