Why ‘shambolic’ Ryanair needs a complete attitude overhaul… and what to do if YOU’RE affected by flight cancellations

ENOUGH is enough. No more can we accept the relentless race to the bottom when it comes to taking to the skies.

Ryanair - the airline all passengers love to hate - this week ground to a shambolic halt, cancelling thousands of flights and ruining the holiday plans of 400,000 travellers.

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After first attempting to shift the blame on the WEATHER, its abrasive boss Michael O’Leary then finally admitted they had “messed up” pilot rotas and simply didn’t have enough staff to run all flights.

But what more can we expect from an airline that has relentlessly and recklessly expanded, ruthlessly cutting costs to offer flights at ludicrously low prices?

Those low-cost fares are now coming at too high a price.

For years we have accepted Ryanair’s confrontational attitude to customer service.

We fumed our way through their fiendishly complicated booking system that wanted to flog you unnecessary extras at every turn.

We accepted the fact we’d be charged for everything from the tiniest suitcase to a cup of tepid tea.

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We squeezed gratefully onto their planes, shrugged our shoulders at the surly service and learnt to refuse yet another cash-cow lottery card.

But the least we could expect for our low-price flight was to actually get from A to B.

We put up with Ryanair and rival EasyJet’s devil-may-care relationship with its beleaguered passengers because it transformed our lives and made flying possible for the masses.

But not now.

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As both airlines have aggressively expanded into almost every country in Europe, the wheels have suddenly sheared off.

Punctuality rates for Ryanair’s famously ‘on time’ flights have gone into freefall. Pilots - fed up with Ryanair’s poor working conditions - are abandoning the airline in their hundreds for better paid jobs with competitors like Norwegian.

EasyJet customers have seen flights this summer cancelled and delayed with alarming frequency. Some EasyJet customers  were shocked to find their plane was actually owned and run by a small, Latvian-owned airline called SmartLynx.

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If the low-cost giants can’t provide a simple service - getting us from A to B on time - then perhaps it is time for them to rein in their relentless expansion and concentrate on getting the basics right.

Already the traditional, full-service airlines are giving the low-cost upstarts a run for their money. British Airways abandoned free food and drinks on their short haul flights in an attempt to match the low prices of the no-frills airlines and are making ground, despite a rocky start.

The low-cost revolutionaries need to stop and think - we are only prepared to fly for less if we can guarantee we will actually be able to get to our destination.