Ryanair Flight Scare

Ryanair has suffered its second flight scare in less than a month as a Stansted bound plane was forced to return to Dublin airport after its tailskid touched the runway on takeoff.

The first scare occurred last month on a Bristol to Barcelona flight when a loss in cabin pressure forced an emergency landing in Limoges. 16 people were brought to hospital and there were claims that the oxygen system didn't work properly. The claims were fiercely denied by Ryanair's Michael O'Leary. Full details of the first incident can be found here. 

This latest incident could prove very embarassing, and potentially expensive, for the airline. O'Leary admits that the one thing the airline could never recover from is a poor safety record. Following many years with no reported incidents the last two occurrences happening in such close proximity may make passengers wary of the airline. This is a perception that no low fares airline can afford to carry, as it is only as safe as public perception deems it to be. 

This last scare must have been bad, apparently Ryanair offered 'free' refreshments to the passengers from the flight when they returned to Dublin airport. What is the world coming to?

The story on the latest scare can be found from BreakingNews.ie here and there is a slightly more in-depth report from RTE here. 

Ryanair Full Year Results

For those interested in what the future may hold for the price of flight tickets based on the rising cost of oil then the announcement of Ryanair's end-of-year results yesterday may prove interesting, if not entirely uplifting.

All you need, as usual, is Mick O'Leary's comment: "I've now come to the view that I hope oil does stay at $125 or $130 a barrel during the winter because I think that will bankrupt half of the airlines flying today, in which case we'll still be the lowest-fares airline in Europe, bur our fares won't be €40 a passenger, they might be a little higher."
I suspect they may be not a little, but quite a lot higher Mick. I doubt very much if you're going to sit and watch your airline make no profits while travellers still avail of low fares. Less competition changes the game for everyone and those left standing can name their price.

You can find the full article here.

Aer Lingus' decision to hike fuel surcharges to the US again today will not fill the market with much cheer either. See full story here.

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