Ryanair publicity stunt

[rhialto]

They are trying to convert bad news into publicity.

News Release
12.03.09
Passengers to Suggest Next Discretionary Charge
€1,000 CASH PRIZE FOR BEST SUGGESTION
 
Submit your ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com
 
Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (12th Mar) invited passengers to suggest 
the airline’s next ancillary revenue idea after Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, confirmed 
that the company is examining the possibility of passengers paying to use the on board 
toilets in a drive to keep costs down and lower Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares 
even further.
 
This Europe wide competition invites passengers to submit their most ingenious, wacky 
and creative ideas to Ryanair via the www.ryanair.com website to be in with a chance of 
winning a €1,000 cash prize.
 
Launching the competition, Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;
 
“Ryanair is Europe’s largest low fares airline and we plan to continue to reduce costs 
and fares by stimulating ancillary revenues. We have always provided passengers with choice, 
if you don’t want to pay for food – don’t buy it, if you don’t want to pay checked in 
bag charges – don’t bring checked in bags, if you don’t want to pay handling charges – 
then just use Visa Electron entirely  free of charge. 
 
Since we confirmed that we are considering a toilet charge we have received a huge number 
of ancillary revenue suggestions from passengers and we want more. We are asking passengers 
to submit their ideas with the most creative winning €1,000 cash. Some of the best suggests 
to date are:
 
·        Charging for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it,
·        Charging €2.50 to read the safety cards,
·        Charging €1 to use oxygen masks,
·        Charging €25 to use the emergency exit,
·        Charging €50 for bikini clad Cabin Crew. 
 

Passengers can submit their ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com to enter their idea 
before the 30th March 2009. The winning idea will be chosen by Ryanair and our decision 
will be final.”

My suggestions are as follows:

- now that you have no more check-in desks at several airports, you
  should abolish the charge for airport checkin. At least for those
  airports.

- since hardly anyone can realistically use an Electron card, you should
  adjust the credit/debit card charge to conform to reality. As I have
  been informed, this would be less than EUR 0,50 per TRANSACTION,
  rather than EUR 5,00 per PERSON per FLIGHT.

- also you should get rid of the stupid "no liquids" rule, so that
  people can realistically travel with only hand luggage. In fact,
  people bring already so much hand luggage (even within the small
  limits) that you really need space in the hold to actually store it.

- how about paying ME a late fee, for the flight FR3258 (STN -> NRN) on
  tuesday 3 February, which was delayed so much that we were diverted to
  Frankfurt Hahn, and arrived 6 hours late at NRN after an all-night bus
  journey. That cost me a whole working day.

Comments

[moem]

*applauds*