Ryanair experiencing heavy turbulence
The budget airline Ryanair has cancelled over 2,000 flights scheduled for the coming weeks. Its failure to keep passengers abreast of the situation sparked outraged protest. The company then announced that the cancelled flights were in part due to a "mess up" in the planning of pilots' holidays. What consequences will the incident have for the profitable airline?
Customers will continue to fly with Ryanair
Ryanair's recent difficulties won't put a dent in the budget airline's popularity, The Irish Independent is convinced:
“Of course, most of us will continue to fly with Ryanair. Competitors like Aer Lingus may get a bounce in bookings and sentiment, but they simply cannot compete with its scale and resources in the long term. We love to hate Ryanair, but we know that no airline has broadened our horizons like it; that it is cheap, safe and its route network is second to none. Plus, we're suckers for flash sales.”
Passengers won't tolerate poor treatment anymore
L'Echo explains what Ryanair and other airlines can learn from the Irish airline's current problems:
“The era of low-cost pioneers is over. Gone are the days when cheap tickets justified any and every excess and passengers tolerated being treated poorly. What can we learn from the justified storm of criticism now beating down on Ryanair? The status of passengers has evolved. They can no longer be treated like cattle and they have a right to be respected. The airlines must be clear on the fact that when passengers are poorly treated, the social networks will go into overdrive, and that expensive PR campaigns aimed at polishing their image can be swiftly - and perhaps permanently - destroyed.”