Comments

"Personally, I hate flying Ryanair. But there are no prizes for guessing with which airline my wife and I have chosen to fly when we go to Spain for our summer holiday in three weeks' time."

A post about service that does not natter on and on about how important good service is.
In fact, good service just may not be that important if the price is right.
Good service just might mean getting you to your vacation spot safe and cheap. Who cares if no one does a tap dance while they run through the safety tips.
The first post with a fresh idea I've seen on this blog in a very long time.

Posted by thor at July 9, 2009 10:38 AM

"Cheap," if you can pull it off, is a market niche in itself. The problem is how to stay cheap AND stay in business for those customers that want cheap tomorrow.

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 9, 2009 11:00 AM

Thoughtful post, Rick. My first response is I love cheap, but I can only take it so long if I'm abused as a customer. That's why I will continue to be a cheerleader for "tap dancing" flight attendants on Southwest Airlines.

BTW, I'm not related to Ryanair's Michael O'L - at least not closely. (But maybe all O'Learys came out of the County Cork potato farms.)

Posted by John O'Leary at July 9, 2009 11:35 AM

My best post flight chest infection - Ryanair!

Posted by patrick at July 9, 2009 11:59 AM

The CEO of a formerly successful, now extinct discount retailer once publicly proclaimed that "you could throw your merchandise on the floor and if it was cheap enough, customers would scramble to buy it."

Ryanair is checking on the legality of standing room flights. Yippee. A sky-subway.

Posted by Red Island Rhodes at July 9, 2009 12:15 PM

Good post, Richard, and its good to see you posting here again. Did I read that you have to pay usage of the bathroom on Ryanair? Just the thought alone is offputting. It seems worse than paying for an extra bag. What about using the bathroom to change diapers? Can you even get in the bathroom without paying? Or, is it a per flush deal? I wonder how expensive it will be on a trip to Africa or Australia. Do they fly to such places?

Here's how one customer responded to poor service by United Airline:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 9, 2009 12:24 PM

"The CEO of a formerly successful, now extinct discount retailer once publicly proclaimed that 'you could throw your merchandise on the floor and if it was cheap enough, customers would scramble to buy it.'"

Excellent point, Red. But this is one of the reasons that I do not shop at outlets. The whole experience is not desirable. I prefer to pay more and go in and get what I want and not pick clothes off the floor as I shop, not being able to walk over them. Also, I must admit to not having a lot of patience in shopping through roles and roles of tightly fit marked down clothes. Give me the experience over the sale nine times out of ten. But I do wonder if there is a haughty air of entitlement that accompany some established airlines. We're British Airlines. We're Northwest Airlines. (The latter is not a favorite due to poor service even though their prices are typically higher.) They seem to sometimes say this is who we are regardless of who you are. So, their focus is themselves and not us.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 9, 2009 12:52 PM

I have flown Ryanair many times and it is essemntially what you all say it is. All of my flights were on schedule, which is more than I can say for the arilines I fly in the US. Being from Detorit, I am almost forced to fly Northwest, which is among the worst airlines on which I have flown. My expectations, due to my Northwest experience, is so low that Ryanair seems pretty good.

Posted by Jim Outland at July 9, 2009 1:17 PM

I've flown Ryan air many times in the past couple of months. I however found the customer service to be much better than other discount airlines in Europe like Whizz air.

Ryan air follows the one of the two first basic things you are taught about competition in business school; you either diversify yourself for price or for your unique difference. Ryan Air is doing a great job competing on price and is ahead of the pack.

I believe that Ryan Air is the better airlines for this economy. When people get back the money to pay for the extra comfortable frills when travelling they will begin to fly with United Air and some will leave Ryan Air. However, Ryan Air will still retain many of its customers because of the unbeatable low prices and the experience isn’t as horrible as everyone makes it seem. They have a great business plan and follow it to a T.

Good interesting article.

Posted by Evan Freed at July 9, 2009 1:22 PM

Ryan Air can't be competed with because of it's low price. My relative just got back from Studying Abroad in Europe for 5 months and traveled everywhere. His experience was exactly the same as yours. He could get flights for as low as $10, but complained that he hated the airline every time he flew it. He flew Ryan Air over 10 times while he was there.

He found it amusing and reassuring how they announced the number of safe flights they've flown since the company was started after everytime they landed. The price is unbeatable, which outweighs there service in this circumstance. After all how great can your service be if your costs are so low that you can charge $10 a flight and still be profitable.

Posted by Ryan Freed at July 9, 2009 2:20 PM

Understanding what customers want to pay for versus what you want them to pay for is really the name of the game isn't it?

Posted by Fred H Schlegel at July 9, 2009 2:44 PM

BA's fault is that they have believed their press over the last few years and have made no attempt to improve or even go towards excellence. Flying to the middle east and africa on a regular basis and enjoying club or business class seats, I have been 'lucky' to experience several different airlines including BA. I am sorry to say that, as a brit, BA are not my favourite airline.

This is because of the little things always. Grumpy crew, behind the times entertainment systems, poor check-in facilities. They have never listened, they have been complacent and now they are asking their staff to take a pay cut.

This is an example of lazy business strategy and a typically arrogant attitude. Kuwait Air, Qatar Air, Etihad, Emirates, even British Midland (BMI) offer a far superior service at lower prices. The writing is on the wall for BA

Posted by Mark Haddad at July 9, 2009 2:57 PM

Supply and demand. The two paths intersect at a place we call "business." It all breaks down eventually if the two aren't in alignment.

I know people that have been involved in business their whole life and they still haven't come to terms with that simple concept.

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 9, 2009 2:59 PM

Hmmm, Ryanair seems to be the airline we love to hate. I fly Ryanair at least 5 times a year in preference to Easyjet, FlyBe, and BMIbaby (3 other 'low cost' UK airlines), as Ryanair are consistently the cheapest. They get me to my destination on time, the seats are comfortable enough, I can check in online and turn up at the airport up to 30minutes before the flight, and the service isn't really that bad. I'm thinking I would draw the line at paying for toilet use though!

Posted by Jonathan Fleck at July 9, 2009 3:11 PM

Do they charge you for using the barf bag? "Ladies and gentlemen, we are expecting to encounter some turbulence. Please have your credit cards ready for the stewardess..." If not, there MAY be an alternative to the pay toilet. I might understand charging the other way around (free toilet, fees-for-heaves.) Maybe I should not have said anything. They probably WILL start charging for that now. And a coin slot will also appear next to the oxygen mask door. Nah, better to put a "consumption meter" on it so the people who suck up more of the oxygen pay more. Hyperventilate and you'll end up buying the next plane in the fleet.

Humor aside, it sounds like they have found a niche and are successfully filling it.

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 9, 2009 4:15 PM

Reading Evan and Ryan's comments I immediately thought of the difference between college students and the rest of us. Constant traveling on this airline would probably drive me bonkers. But what are the differences in service? After first class what are the differences really? Thor's point about the nature of good service, simply getting from A to B, is worth considering too. I guess it's all about knowing your market.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 9, 2009 4:25 PM

The main thing is to fly away and never come back to beloved UK. Call it a "holiday to Spain" to throw the neighbors off your Madoffian scent. Shutter the house full of bills & fish & chip wrappers. Keep the lights on timers so the escape is staged elegantly & yet with finality. :>)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbyZjU5gHVQ

Posted by UK Love at July 9, 2009 7:51 PM

Do they scale the charges based on #1 or #2? or time in the tank?

Should extra large people be charged for taking up multiple seats? Even if their condition is caused by genetics or a whacked thyroid?

How about if the airlines begin to provide these measures as "incentives"; i.e., if you don't take a big growler on our airplane (use the bathroom), we'll give you a free movie pass on the next trip...or another bag pass. If you don't eat or drink anything, or bring a crying infant on the plane, we'll give you a 10% rebate on your next flight. If you just sit there and don't call on us for anything, we'll allow you to upgrade every fifth flight...bring your punchcard for good behavior stamps.

Posted by Scott Peters at July 9, 2009 7:56 PM

"If you don't...bring a crying infant on the plane, we'll give you a 10% rebate on your next flight."

Are you joking?

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 9, 2009 8:17 PM

Yes...I'm joking.

Posted by The Joker at July 9, 2009 11:18 PM

I meant 15%.

Posted by The Joker at July 9, 2009 11:20 PM

Whew!!! :-)

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 10, 2009 12:06 AM

I think the point here (neatly illustrated by "...I hate flying Ryanair") is that Ryanair's performance has little to do with their own approach, and everything to do with the approach of other airlines. I also hate flying Ryanair, because I don't enjoy being treated with contempt as a customer. Any number of forums around the web will paint the same picture for other customers. The point is that the competition is so poor, customers can't see the point in paying a higher price since they have no expectation of higher levels of service.

Posted by Stuart Bishop at July 10, 2009 4:00 AM

Ah, Stuart, brilliant! Thanks a lot for that!

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 10, 2009 4:41 AM

Just to relieve the tension for non Ryanair vets, the in-flight loos are still free, but watch out for developments there. And you can relax too Judith, Ryanair only fly short haul routes, so if they do put a £1 coin slot on the door, it shouldn't cost anyone a fortune.

Thanks for the small insight into the O'Leary family history, John. I have seen your namesake Michael interviewed so many times, and he finds a way to weave the words "Low Fares" into his rhetoric about every 30 seconds, even when he's talking about the Irish rugby team!

I admire Ryanair because of their obsession with improving execution and finding novel ways to fly more passenger miles with less airline resources than any of their competitors can. There seem to be no sacred cows, apart from safety. Their propensity to challenge the status quo is a clear example of business excellence and an example to all.

Posted by Richard King at July 10, 2009 4:44 AM

"There seem to be no sacred cows, apart from safety. Their propensity to challenge the status quo is a clear example of business excellence and an example to all."

Ah, here's another beauty. Thanks too, Richard! A "great example to all" indeed.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 10, 2009 4:49 AM

LOL, on the "1 coin slot" loo too! (What's up with my computer? Does it not have the Euro currency symbol?! I guess I would have to download it, eh? Whatever!)

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 10, 2009 4:56 AM

Good point, Judith. College students always take the cheapest route.

After first class what are the differences really?

The only airline I have flown that contradicts this statement is Midwest Airlines. Every seat is like a first class seat and they even bring you home made cookies. I was amazed at their superior service.

Posted by Ryan Freed at July 10, 2009 8:37 AM

"There seem to be no sacred cows, apart from safety. "

Safety is probaly the hardest to achieve and the most important to achieve, but never comes into a conversation about service when talking about airlines. Why? Becuse the safety problem is solved.

Suppose we could say this same sort of thing about health care.
Suppose we could say "There seem to be no sacred cows except to insure the best outcome" about the health care industry.

Posted by thor at July 10, 2009 8:43 AM

What everyone seems to be missing here is that love it or hate it, Ryanair is a private, for-profit business making a go of it in the marketplace, while BA is a government-run entity and is--in your own words--failing.

And yet you still want government-run auto companies (GM) and a government-run health system? (Sorry, Trevor, but I think the fact that the third largest employer in the world is the British NHS is just plain ridiculous and not something to be proud of. That stat alone should point out the gross inefficiencies of government-run enterprise.)

The only thing a government can run effectively is a military organization.

Posted by Red Island Rhodes at July 10, 2009 9:21 AM

Never mind Ryanair: EasyJet have just taken 22 hours to get me from Barcelona to my home 30 minutes from Luton, UK.

1 x delayed and then cancelled flight + 1 night at Barcelona airport + 1 delayed flight to an airport 80 miles from Luton + 1 train trip (I had to pay) to get to Luton + a bus from the train station back to the airport car park.

Why am I posting this ? Because EasyJet lied about the incoming plane (there wasn't one), treated us as cattle, were offhand and couldn't care less and generally went down a million miles in my estimation. When they're good they're good but when they're bad, they're diabolical. What I can't stand is the inconsistency. At least with Ryanair you know what you're signing up for.

Posted by Mark JF at July 10, 2009 10:03 AM

I wonder if they'd regard you as an 'idiot blogger' like they did a few months ago to others out there on the web.

http://www.mikeybee.com/ryanair-bloggers-are-lunatics-and-idiots/

Posted by Adi @ The Management Blog at July 10, 2009 10:44 AM

RI Rhodes, BA was privatised in the late 80s.

Mark, I would put Ryanair and EasyJet in exactly the same category when things go wrong - neither of them gives a flying f*** for their customers.

Posted by RobCH at July 10, 2009 1:21 PM

An example of GOOD customer service...

I ordered a DVD from Hayhouse on June 26th. It was supposed to be available that day. Through no fault of Hayhouse, they did not receive the DVD's until a couple of days ago. Instead of charging me the $10.20 UPS ground shipping fee, they shipped it to me on Wednesday via priority mail without any shipping fee.

Even though the delay was not their fault, they went above and beyond -- without me asking for such -- which I call a "Wow!" I would have been willing to pay extra for 2nd shipping because they were so courteous about the whole matter when I called to check on the status of the order.

Cheers to Hayhouse!

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 10, 2009 2:13 PM

Red - I hear what you say and we all have our opinion - I respect yours. A few responses:

*I’ve always said on here and in many other places that the NHS has many faults. I am the first to admit that. I am not proud of the SIZE of the NHS (that's irrelevant) but I am VERY PROUD of its principles.

*I ask you the same question I’ve asked many times on here. Where is there a better UNIVERSAL healthcare system than the UK according to credible health care researchers? Don’t tell me about small pockets of healthcare excellence in the US – there are small pockets of healthcare excellence everywhere in the world. Just point me in the direction of a better UNIVERSAL system.

*It’s probably a matter of political opinion about whether the NHS is or is not a good system. I think it is. I also think there is room for private healthcare for those who can afford it and providing it is not at the expense of NHS government funding.

*You may like to read the views of a woman from the US who married an Englishman and has lived over here for 5 years. She compares her experience as a patient in the US healthcare system and the NHS here in the UK. You can read her views here - http://www.lifecoach.com/free/tip_week.htm Please note these are her views as a patient – not mine. This was written less than 4 months ago.

*As regards “private, for-profit business making a go of it in the marketplace” I think this is an admirable aspiration in healthcare …. Providing that the hugely important principle of free healthcare at the point of need; regardless of wealth or poverty, remains intact.

*As I have said many times, the guarantee a government gives to the frailest among its society is surely a very telling barometer of that nation’s priorities.

*I believe almost all “private, for-profit businesses” are not actually interested in the chronic end (hard work) of the healthcare marketplace.

I know I am in a huge minority in this community in my defence of a UNIVERSAL healthcare system .... But hey - why change the habit, of a lifetime? - I will now get on my protective armour and wait for the bricks and bullets! :-)

Happy for you to try and convince me I'm wrong Red.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 10, 2009 2:37 PM

Trevor and Red, I can see the various perspectives in this debate. Perhaps it is one that will never have a clear "winning side." I am not a staunch advocate of either privatized or government funded health care. Instead, I am all about equalizing the "access" aspect to high quality urgent health care. As for purely elective stuff, to each his own.

I do not want to see the poor denied access to the same quality of urgent care that the privately insured or wealthy individuals enjoy. As well stated above, it is obvious what a nation's priorities are when you look at such access for the poor.

Totally my theory here, but I think a hybrid of government funded (for people with low or no income) and privately funded (insured or able to pay) is a feasible model. I don't say that simply because it's the way we do it here in the U.S., but because when it comes to basic needs, it is a simple fact that all people "need" it and therefore the poor should not be left to die or suffer due to lack of care or substandard care.

My beef is that here in the U.S. we could and should be doing a better job of providing such access. There is a HUGE gap between those who can afford to pay (or afford/have insurance) and those who are deemed to have income low enough to qualify for Federal or State funded coverage. There is so much hoopla in the U.S. over the number of uninsured. The problem is that we have programs in place but they shut out far too many people.

If President Obama's administration can find a way to provide halfway decent health insurance and make it free for the lowest/no income folks and base it on income for others, I will be more than impressed.

It's doable. But will they?

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Posted by Dan Gunter at July 10, 2009 3:09 PM

Good points Dan and a great discussion with you and Red –it’s an important topic.

I am not saying the NHS system here in the UK should (or even could) be ‘imposed’ on another nation. We are starting from different places. We all have to start from where we are now. We are where we are as they say.

I will however defend the principles of the NHS. The principle that my 80 year old Mom gets the same right to free treatment, at the same quality standard in our healthcare system as a billionaire banker is fantastic and worth fighting for. It is based on clinical need and not on ability to pay. I remain very proud of that NHS principle.

I hope President Obama makes the changes you suggest are needed and I would certainly never be presumptuous or arrogant enough to say what those changes should be. That is clearly a matter for the citizens of the US.

In the meantime I will fight for the retention of the universal healthcare system that is ‘the good old NHS’ until I see clear evidence that a better universal system can be introduced.

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 10, 2009 3:46 PM

I'm going to steer back to Richard's original post and refrain from getting sucked into the political healthcare debate between Dan and Trevor...

Regarding RyanAir: I've never heard of them or flown them, so first, I'm curious about their performance before the economic downturn. It appears they have adapted to changes in the marketplace in an appropriate manner (good for them). The goal, I imagine is to not become extinct, right? It also appears they have an opportunity to really leverage their "cheap" positioning in a creative way to build a brand that resonates and can sustain itself after the recovery. I mean, if cheap is something they can get their staff to be proud of, they could be hugely successful. Delivering friendly service is FREE. "Smiles are free, but it'll cost you to pee" :)

Posted by Darci at July 10, 2009 3:53 PM

Oooops!! - Very sorry Darci! Got carried away there - Apologies to you too Richard (up the 'ammers by the way).... the best laid plans etc., :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at July 10, 2009 3:57 PM

Challenging the status quo, great. Forcing the likes of BA to pay attention to costs, great. Move heaven & earth to get the plane back off the ground again and earning money, great. Go out of your way to get the plane as full as possible, so it's not wasting money & kerosene carting empty seats around the sky, sensible.

But.

Treating passengers with contempt, and/or like cattle? Making a mean, hostile attitude to your passengers a core part of your brand?! Not good at all.

I very much doubt they'd actually implement the one pound toilet charge, as much as anything, because some passengers might see this as an opportunity to reflect Ryanair's contempt back at Ryanair and pee on the floor, and cleaning planes is expensive!. For one pound per customer (average?) Forgeddaboudit. It'll never get off the ground. However, TALKING about toilet charges is a way to strengthen Ryanair's brand, and is happily facilitated by the media picking up the story! It's cheaper than advertising. And by lunatic bloggers doing the same thing. Darn it, now I'M helping.

I remember reading some time ago that Ryanair, in the supposed interests of saving money, won't let their staff in offices plug in mobile phone chargers.

Pfft. That's not about saving money: it's about being staggeringly mean and unpleasant, and making a point of it. That IS their brand.

Darci -- "delivering friendly service is free"? That's plainly not what Ryanair is about.

And if you can't be cheap... cheat! Hide the cost! Put it down as a fuel surcharge, or a credit card payment surcharge, or a tax, or anything! Or pick on fat people. (If they get charged extra, do I get a discount for being fairly slim & lightly built? ... no, I didn't think so ... but concern about obesity makes fat people acceptable targets). (Again, all this is more about courting media coverage than anything they've actually done, so far).

Posted by Lunatic Blogger at July 10, 2009 4:57 PM

Ryanair: Modern Planes, top notch onboard magazine. I personally have never met a flight attendant or member of the check-in crew who was unfriendly. The prices of the food you can buy on the plane are actually ok-ish. I have seen much more horrenduous high prices in train stations in Germany or somewhere else.
Honestly: If I can get the same flight for the same price from Lufthansa or Ryanair, I'd prefer Ryanair. Lufthansa: unfriendly and almost always late, and old planes.

And I don't get why Ryanair gets bashed for the toilet thingy. How many people actually use the toilet on board? How many would need to if they would do it in the airport. Aren't you pissed when you have to get up from your seat to allow the guy at the window seat (why did he pick this seat?) to get to the toilet. And again when he comes back? If you can afford a euro for a snack, you can afford a euro for a pee.

And regarding the stuff with the pilots: Pilots in general are horrendously overpaid. Driving a bus in London is a at least as difficult task. Not every plane pilot is a Sullenberger, and the majority of them would fail to do the right thing when it mattered.

Posted by Fire Snake at July 10, 2009 5:30 PM

"Smiles are free, but it'll cost you to pee..."

Darci, I hope you're applying for a copyright on that slogan. It's so good they just might want to use it. I agree with you that it costs a flight attendant nothing to smile versus being a grouch, thus it should not cost the customer extra for the customer perk it represents. On the other hand, if the employees are grouchy because they are getting treated like garbage, then it's likely that the whole operation will fail sooner or later due to costs and related problems.

I'll definitely be watching this one from a distance. To be honest, I was not at all familiar with them until reading about Ryanair on this blog today. I guess they ARE making an impression in a pretty tough market, are they not? And receiving favorable comments in this community is in itself a braggable. This is one tough crowd.

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 10, 2009 5:54 PM

Fire Snake - try Air Berlin. They're cheaper than Lufthansa and a bit more expensive than Ryanair. They have modern aircraft, great crews and a very good punctuality record. They're my favourite airline: not a budget airline, not a bloated flag carrier and - despite occupying the dreaded middle ground - they're very good value for money.

Posted by Mark JF at July 11, 2009 10:12 AM

Please ! stop dreaming. There's only one reason for such cheap prices : NONE is there when the problem arises ( and working on the limit, it'll surely be there ).

Ryaair : Last summer forced all passengers in Spain to leave baggage because Ryan could not take ( please, Google it )
Airberlin : I was stolen a complete brand new MP3 player fliying with airberlin. AirB's Answer : No liability accepted

Together with the price something very vaulable is also fliying with : decency, respect ...Provided that, I don't want to think that such companies are playing with security, manteinance, trainning ...

Posted by aa at July 12, 2009 6:03 PM

Digressing again briefly - Dan, your post from 10th July:

" I would have been willing to pay extra for 2nd shipping because they were so courteous about the whole matter when I called to check on the status of the order."

Not charging for shipping because of the late delivery - good, solid customer service. The "WOW" would, of course, have been if they had contacted you when they were aware of the late arrival, rather than you calling them! :)

Posted by Stuart Bishop at July 13, 2009 4:08 AM

Stuart, I can't actually fault them on that issue. The videos were due to arrive to them on June 26th and they intended to ship them. Then they thought they'd be there the next day, which is when I called them asking for a tracking number for the order (I'm obsessive-compulsive about tracking orders, LOL.) They apparently got a lot of orders for this item starting the day it was supposed to roll out (6/26.) If they Express Mailed all of them as they did mine, they absorbed a lot of postage expense. I think that overall they handled it pretty gracefully. It was a bit of a messy situation for them.

I was starting to wonder if the delay was because in the video ("The Shadow Effect," by Debbie Ford) mention is made of the alleged past activities of Michael Jackson. I understand Debbie Ford wrestled a bit with the coincidental timing of the video release and Jackson's death, but came to terms with it.

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 13, 2009 4:43 AM

Love 'em or loathe 'em, I'd humbly suggest that Ryanair have a very coherent strategy. The Service is exactly what it says on the tin - virtually non existent, but you pays your money etc. Some of the things he has done that exemplify this ruthless obsession with low cost include:

O'Leary removed reclining seats because it is a major reason for aircraft downtime and you cannot afford that.

When the Belgian authorities would not let him land in a particular airport, he set the President (or was it the King) a simple memo which consisted of just two words ... I believe one of them was 'off' viagra 50mg dosage online

He plans to charge for using the Toliet - which really takes the p ...

But, seem from a business strategist's viewpoint, its all consistent with being backed into the corner of low cost airline...?

Trouble is, where do you go from there? And what do you do if your customers like cheap prices but still demand good service?

Peter

Posted by Peter Cook at July 13, 2009 3:33 PM

I found the article very interesting, which you can see by my last post.

I wrote a review on my site about it hope you take a look at it.

Posted by Evan Freed at July 14, 2009 9:55 AM

I have flown with Ryanair several times. While they normally have some of the cheapest rates (if not the cheapest) in Europe, everything else about the airline is not so great. The planes are small, crowded, and usually have rough takeoffs and landings. Maybe that's why it's a tradition in Europe to give a standing ovation once the plane lands. I've seen it twice.

Posted by Kye Swenson at July 16, 2009 11:03 AM

Ryanair is for those scrooge-like philistines who are penny-wise and pound-foolish. Anyone who goes to the trouble of arranging a nice foreign vacation, but then uses such an 'airline,' invariably arrives home needing another vacation or therapy, just to get over the nightmare that was their return journey.

It is clear evidence that, just as some people wouldn't know a Chateaubriand from a Big Mac, many have no idea of the difference between Virgin, Lufthansa etc and Ryanair.

It's a sad reflection on our current attitudes towards what's important.

Posted by Andrew at July 21, 2009 5:27 AM

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Thanks for breathing new life into the Ryanair blog, Andrew. I'm smarting a bit about being branded a "scrooge like philistine" but, like 5.8 million others did in June, I will be getting on a blue and yellow liveried 737 at Stansted next Monday and flying off to sunny Murcia. I agree it is a reflection on current attitudes, but whether it's sad or not is a matter of opinion. Same goes for whether Ryanair is an excellent business or not? One last topical thought from me. The legend of CEO Michael O'Leary grew a little bigger today as he publicly confronted UK PM Gordon Brown's £10 tourist tax due to be imposed in the Autumn. All the airlines think it is an ill considered extra tax from Mr Brown, but it's Mr O'Leary who gets the profile.

Posted by Richard King at July 21, 2009 9:42 AM

Seems to me Gordon Brown better approximates the image of a Philistine. Or Zaccheus (See Luke 19:1-10.) Mr. Brown, hurry and come down...

Posted by Dan Gunter at July 21, 2009 10:31 AM

Bravo, Andrew. Thank you for that distinction and for that very real scenario.

Posted by Judith Ellis at July 21, 2009 12:50 PM

Richard,

I thank you as I would like to share these leadership/management slides with you and the wiser member of this splendorous forum at: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/8777027/10-EASY-BUT-NON-CANONICAL-STEPS-FROM-BUSINESS-ANARCHY-TO-GRANDIOSE-PREVALENCE!-By-?-Copyright-Andres-Agostini-Andy-in-Arlington-Virginia-USA--}-}

Posted by Andres Agostini (Andy) at July 21, 2009 9:46 PM

Richard, thank you for this wonderful blog entry. I can see a great deal of wise postings all the way.

Tom, the bloggers keep on offering great insight on leadership and management. I want to share with you what I came up and wrote last night:

1.- You can’t be a manager and/or an entrepreneur if you aren’t a Century-21 leader FIRST.

2.- You are not capable of being a Milleniium-3 leader if you not exude and electrify hope. Furthermore, Napoleonic cosmosvision must be espoused to said hope.

3.- To instill and disseminate and contaminate hope everywhere, one must be endowed with the arts and sciences of the greatest strategist. A ‘competitiveness waging’ practitioner needs to have an ample historic view interfaced with an immensurable determination to conceive and practice many insights and far-sights well in advance. For those insights and far-sights, readily actionable contingency planning must be taken into ‘beyond unthinkable’ precautions. Here is urgently called for to “think extramurally and sinuously,” further away from any system limits, dogma, or doctrine.

4.- To cohesively and coherently conjugate the PAST and the FUTURE ? along with the ever increasingly creative tension throughput-ted in said PRESENTS ?, you have to use an extended (by far) version of the scenario method, an advance non SHELL’s scenario method (limited the future practiced to a minutia of 3 scenarios) that deals with 20% (let’s say) of KNOWNS (THINKABLES BY PREPARED MINDS) and 80% (so to speak) of UNKNOWNS (UNTHINKABLES EVEN BY THE MOST EMINENT PREPARED MIND). If you do scenarios but you don’t sequester the “covert” and “subtle” mathematical patterns, you’re sub-optimal. Got it become an extremely function patternist, both with your BIO computer and your still in silico computer.

5.- You cannot be a scenarist if you are not first a consummated risk manager driven by the applied omniscience mental view and NEVER EVER by the impious financial system.

6.- To be the aforementioned risk expert (a management go-getter, as warfare-trained Doberman, in seizing sustainable and increasing fiscally sound UPSIDES while — way in advance — mitigating, modulating, terminating, and controlling DOWNSIDES. “DOWNSIDES” here equates to potential disruption (existential or not, especially when leaving them untouched). This potential disruption countermeasure-r does not bring about some savings. He / she brings (make it happen) about a wealth of revenues out of incredibly disruptive, lucrative perils. He / she transforms RISKS into immediate, short-, mid-, long-term CASH, cash that engenders growth, innovation, and sustainability.

7.- To secure optimally the UPGRADING (qualitative condition) and UPPING (quantitative status) of the UPSIDES while stewarding the DOWNSIDES, you must be 150% immersed with science, technology, history, philosophy, theology, and jurisprudence just to briefly cite a fraction.

8.- Being absorbed with a constellation of facets concerning knowledge — both with a theoretical and empirical geneses —, you now need to have a lucid and emotionally over-charged vision.

9.- In order to make your lucid vision into a cashable breakthrough — and paraphrasing the Oxford Dictionary’s preface —, you must be an executable / applied “omniscience monster,” so that you can navigate the northeaster-ed unchartered waters in the Dom of Terra Incognita with a plethora of abstractions, intricacies, subtleties, “hidden” / “ignored flank” patterns and interrelationships, paradoxes, beloved phenomena, predicaments, so forth into concrete, specific, counterintuitive, and palpable realities from intangibles and intangibles and more and more intangibles. INTANGIBLES will rule the world ruthlessly à la Tudor Family!

10.- To transform impossible realities into crystallized, eco-friendly, and fruitful, increasing outcomes, you must first conceive and develop the FUTURE, quite oft (99.9%) many FUTURES. If you also wish to become truly serious at in-sourcing the distressed PRESENTS with the maximum novelties from the intruding, voyeuristic, pre-clashing FUTURE, that FUTURE that is always besieging the PRESENT, you must over-discipline your mind, body, spirit, and soul to the utmost (in extremis indeed), thus turning into unimpeachable futurologists or futurist.

NB_#1: Nothing will ever function with sustainability if morality and ethics don’t take precedent over anything and/or everything else.

NB_#2: If you don’t do your risks à la Gestalt (all-encompassing indeed) optimally, you will not capture your lucrative goals and a sustainable growth for said goals. Remember: Discern wholly and extramurally and sinuously!

NB_#3: To have material wealth, you must first have spiritual wealth (religious or not). To have spiritual wealth, you must have an insidious appetite for ?always dynamical and increscendo? womb-to-tomb intellectuality, that intellectuality that is brought in to the business battlefields staged in the global marketplace. Subsequently, in parallel (simultaneously) you must always nurture all types of wealth to gain critical mass to suffice the inputs for sustainable growth. NOW: “THINK GLOBAL AND ACT GLOBAL.” By 2009 Andres Agostini (Andy).

NB_#4: If your corporate/organizational strategy is not absolutely ancillary to a GRANDER RISK MANAGEMET PROGRAM AND STRATEGY, your Business Plan will make your enterprise defunct without a fail (s.i.c.). The Organization of "STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT" is another infamous, unfashionable subchapter of the GRANDER RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM STRATEGY (embedded within holism and applied omniscience perspective.) When mentioning the term "Risk Management" I am only referring to my own, proprietary methodology: "Transformative And Integrative Risk Management" at www.slideshre.net/AndresAgostini. I’m not sorry to speak in first person since I am not backing off from my sole responsibilities. I will never attribute my correct or ill conceptions to any third party whatsoever. I LOVE LOTS OF CLARITY, CLARITY, AND ENLIGHTENED CLARITY. ANDY AND? ?MRS.? ?KATHARINE? ?HEPBURN UNDER ABSOLUTE AGREEMENT:? “?Nature? … ?is what we are put in this world to rise above.?”

Posted by Andres Agostini (Andy) at July 22, 2009 12:22 AM

Many wonderful thoughts there, Andres. Thank you for these--much appreciated.

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Posted by Andres Agostini (Andy) at July 22, 2009 11:07 PM