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Ryanair CEO goes on tirade about frequent flyer loyalty

Chief executive Michael O’Leary is known to be a bit of a loose cannon.

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24 seconds ago

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Even more so than other industries, the aviation world is structured heavily around loyalty, hierarchy and seniority.

Routes with convenient layovers and to the most coveted destinations are assigned to employees based on how long a flight attendant has been with the airline while, on the traveler end, frequent flyer status is promoted as a “reward” for spending enough with the airline to earn it as well as the airline’s response to customer loyalty. That is why, in the fall of 2023, Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  found itself in the middle of accusations of being “disloyal” after cracking down on lounge access.

Related: Airlines are cracking down on lounge crowding in a way you won't like

The CEO of Ryanair  (RYAOF) , which was launched out of Dublin in 1985 and soon grew to become the largest carrier in Europe through its low-cost model, recently went against the grain and said that “loyalty” isn’t something the airline cares to reward.

A Ryanair passenger plane lands at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Photo by Thomas Banneyer/picture alliance via Getty Images.

picture alliance/Getty Images

Ryanair CEO says it offers low fares, not ‘loyalty’

“If you want something loyal, buy a dog,” O’Leary told an interviewer from The Independent when asked why the airline does not have frequent flyer status or even a basic points program. “If you want the lowest air fares in Europe, fly Ryanair.”

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O’Leary, and Ryanair in general, are known as loose cannons in the aviation space. The airline has taken on a unique social media strategy in which it posts videos and memes making fun of both itself and passengers — from trolling “White Lotus” star Sydney Sweeney to asking a traveler who complained about the service on social media whether she would prefer to spend “€19.99 or €136,000,000?” for a private jet.

O’Leary himself has been known to make fiery outbursts and “fight back” against critics; after getting pied in the face by protesters arguing that ultra-low fares like the kind Ryanair offers are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, he wiped off the cream and said “well done” to the protesters before heading off to have his meeting with the European lawmakers.

This is why Ryanair is so set against a frequent flyer program

When it comes to the question around loyalty programs, O’Leary said that he doesn’t expect it to win over customers in the way it does for mainstream airlines.

“I don’t understand why, if you’re already getting the lowest fares in Europe and therefore you’re already benefiting, saving money every time you fly with us, why do we need loyalty scheme?” he said.

Another airline that does not have a loyalty program is fellow European low-cost competitor EasyJet  (EJTTF) . EasyJet did briefly experiment with a semi-private, invitation-only “Flight Club” immediately after the pandemic but ended up scrapping it because any rewards it could offer did not impact how much customers flew.

Related: Delta Air Lines makes a baggage change that travelers will like

Many other low-cost airlines have some type of loyalty program but the perks are significantly smaller than traditional ones since they cannot offer things like lounge access and significant discounts.

“The only low-cost carrier that has a loyalty program in the true sense is the Spanish budget carrier Vueling, which offers Avios based on the price you paid for your ticket,” Mark Findlay wrote for Simple Flying in September 2023. “Avios can then be used for upgrades and flights with Vueling or Spanish national flag carrier Iberia.”

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Spread & Containment

The CEO of a major airline is a former flight attendant

Mitsuko Tottori’s unexpected appointment shook up the Asian aviation world.

Published

2 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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While the trope of a lowly employee climbing through the ranks to eventually become chief executive has fueled a number of Hollywood film plots, the aviation world has been shaken by this actually taking place over in Japan.

At the start of 2024, Mitsuko Tottori was appointed as the chief executive of Japan Airlines  (JPNRF)  — the country’s flagship carrier that has a market cap over $1.24 trillion. Tottori has been in the aviation world for nearly 40 years when she first joined ranks as a flight attendant for Japan Air System in 1985. (The two airlines would later end up merging in 2002.)

Related: How the CEO of a Low-Cost Airline Tries to Keep Prices Low

Tottori would steadily rise through the ranks to different management roles, including being made the director of cabin attendants for Japan Airlines in 2015, before being appointed CEO and becoming one of less than 1% of women who lead major companies in Japan.

A Japan Airlines A350-1000 is depicted. Japan AIrlines is the country’s flagship carrier.

Japan Airlines

‘I realize the public doesn’t necessarily see me like that’ 

As Tottori’s appointment shocked the industry by going against the list of 10 or so big male names that insiders predicted for the post, she quickly found herself in a media firestorm in which she was described as a “mutant” and an “alien molecule.”

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“I don't think of myself as the first woman or the first former flight attendant,” Tottori said in an interview with a BBC correspondent. “I want to act as an individual so I didn't expect to get this much attention. But I realise the public or our employees don't necessarily see me like that.”

Throughout her career, Tottori has seen through numerous critical incidents including a 1985 JAS crash of a flight from Tokyo to Osaka that led to 520 deaths and Japan Airlines’ 2010 bankruptcy which the airline emerged from with the help of state backers and a complete restructuring of its board.

New Japan Airlines CEO says ‘it is not just about corporate leaders’ mindset’

Tottori is also not a graduate of the prestigious Japanese university from which seven of the last 10 men who led Japan Airlines before her appointment graduated and is a general wild card in what is now presented as a story of female achievement and changing times in a country known for its conservatism.

“It is not just about the corporate leaders' mindset, but it is also important for women to have the confidence to become a manager,” Tottori said. "I hope my appointment would encourage other women to try things that they were afraid of trying before." 

Related: Delta Air Lines makes a baggage change that travelers will like

Now that she’s had a few months in the job, Tottori told local media outlets that a weakening yen and multiple inflation-related pressures will require the airline to raise their prices eventually but will work on way to encourage more Japanese people to do more traveling both internationally and domestically.

“Although the number of passengers on domestic flights is returning (to pre-pandemic levels), it is not likely to increase any further, to be honest,” Tottori told the Japan Times. “We are thinking of downsizing our fleet a bit to maintain our domestic network.”

READ FULL BBC FEATURE ON TOTTORI HERE.

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International

Ryanair CEO goes on frequent flyer tirade: ‘If you want loyalty, get a dog’

Chief executive Michael O’Leary is known to be a bit of a loose cannon.

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 26, 2024

By

Even more so than other industries, the aviation world is structured heavily around loyalty, hierarchy and seniority.

Routes with convenient layovers and to the most coveted destinations are assigned to employees based on how long a flight attendant has been with the airline while, on the traveler end, frequent flyer status is promoted as a “reward” for spending enough with the airline to earn it as well as the airline’s response to customer loyalty. That is why, in the fall of 2023, Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  found itself in the middle of accusations of being “disloyal” after cracking down on lounge access.

Related: Airlines are cracking down on lounge crowding in a way you won't like

The CEO of Ryanair  (RYAOF) , which was launched out of Dublin in 1985 and soon grew to become the largest carrier in Europe through its low-cost model, recently went against the grain and said that “loyalty” isn’t something the airline cares to reward.

A Ryanair passenger plane lands at Cologne/Bonn Airport. Photo by Thomas Banneyer/picture alliance via Getty Images.

picture alliance/Getty Images

Ryanair CEO says it offers low fares, not ‘loyalty’

“If you want something loyal, buy a dog,” O’Leary told an interviewer from The Independent when asked why the airline does not have frequent flyer status or even a basic points program. “If you want the lowest air fares in Europe, fly Ryanair.”

More Travel:

O’Leary, and Ryanair in general, are known as loose cannons in the aviation space. The airline has taken on a unique social media strategy in which it posts videos and memes making fun of both itself and passengers — from trolling “White Lotus” star Sydney Sweeney to asking a traveler who complained about the service on social media whether she would prefer to spend “€19.99 or €136,000,000?” for a private jet.

O’Leary himself has been known to make fiery outbursts and “fight back” against critics; after getting pied in the face by protesters arguing that ultra-low fares like the kind Ryanair offers are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, he wiped off the cream and said “well done” to the protesters before heading off to have his meeting with the European lawmakers.

This is why Ryanair is so set against a frequent flyer program

When it comes to the question around loyalty programs, O’Leary said that he doesn’t expect it to win over customers in the way it does for mainstream airlines.

“I don’t understand why, if you’re already getting the lowest fares in Europe and therefore you’re already benefiting, saving money every time you fly with us, why do we need loyalty scheme?” he said.

Another airline that does not have a loyalty program is fellow European low-cost competitor EasyJet  (EJTTF) . EasyJet did briefly experiment with a semi-private, invitation-only “Flight Club” immediately after the pandemic but ended up scrapping it because any rewards it could offer did not impact how much customers flew.

Related: Delta Air Lines makes a baggage change that travelers will like

Many other low-cost airlines have some type of loyalty program but the perks are significantly smaller than traditional ones since they cannot offer things like lounge access and significant discounts.

“The only low-cost carrier that has a loyalty program in the true sense is the Spanish budget carrier Vueling, which offers Avios based on the price you paid for your ticket,” Mark Findlay wrote for Simple Flying in September 2023. “Avios can then be used for upgrades and flights with Vueling or Spanish national flag carrier Iberia.”

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

Read More

Continue Reading

International

‘For Your Own Safety’: USC Cancels Commencement To Avoid Pro-Palestinian Protesters

‘For Your Own Safety’: USC Cancels Commencement To Avoid Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Citing safety concerns amid nationwide campus protests…

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 26, 2024

By

'For Your Own Safety': USC Cancels Commencement To Avoid Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Citing safety concerns amid nationwide campus protests against Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, the University of Southern California on Thursday announced that its 2024 graduating class will not have the traditional main commencement ceremony that brings all graduates together:

"With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially. As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during a short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m."

This news comes on the heels of the university's controversial declaration that it wouldn't allow its Muslim valedictorian to deliver a speech to her classmates -- a decision that inflamed tensions and prompted an outcry against what was seen by many as an act of censorship and excessive deference to pro-Israel groups. 

More immediately, the cancellation also comes on the heels of mass arrests on USC's campus on Wednesday. More than 90 people were carted off as police cleared protesters from their "occupation" of Alumni Park. As at Columbia University and elsewhere, the protesters are demanding that USC divest from Israel, much as an earlier generation of activists sought similar divestments from apartheid South Africa. 

On a statement to the campus on Wednesday, USC Provost Andrew Guzman noted that protesters -- many of the whom "do not appear to be affiliated with USC"-- failed to comply with direction to remove tents from the property. He also said protesters “actions have escalated to include acts of vandalism, defacing campus buildings and structures, as well as physical confrontation."

Earlier this month, USC announced that its 2024 valedictorian is Asna Tabassum, a self-described first-generation South Asian-American Muslim who is a biomedical engineering major and resistance-to-genocide minor (details on that discipline here). Her selection sparked an immediate uproar from Zionist groups, including Trojans for Israel, which "advocates for the vitality of the US-Israel relationship," and We Are Tov, which also promotes support for Israel. 

Tabassum's detractors pointed to her social media history, with Trojans for Israel accusing her of "openly traffic[king] antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.” 

Her supposedly disqualifying expressions included:

  • Sharing a link to a slideshow on "what's happening in Palestine and how to help." The presentation called for "one Palestinian state" and "the complete abolishment of the state of Israel," according to the Times of Israel. 

  • Linking to a site that characterizes Zionism as a "racist settler-colonial ideology." 

Students and faculty protesting USC's cancellation of valedictorian Asna Tabassum's commencement speech (Alan Mittelstaedt via LAist)

USC promptly caved to pro-Israel outcry: On April 16, it announced it had canceled Tabassum's speech because "discussion related to the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tenor" and that "the intensity of feelings...has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks.” At the same time, USC also cancelled appearances by speakers and honorees that included Billie Jean King and "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon Chu. 

After the USC decision, Tabassum issued a statement noting that, via her resistance to genocide minor -- which emphasizes the Holocaust -- "[I] have learned that ordinary people are capable of unspeakable acts of violence when they are taught hate fueled by fear. And due to widespread fear, I was hoping to use my commencement speech to inspire my classmates with a message of hope. By canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred."

As for the commencement cancellation, USC's shut-it-all-down move echoes the excessive caution displayed by the American education system in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those echoes are all too loud for USC seniors -- four years ago, many of them were denied high school graduation ceremonies in the name of "safety."

Now, their college commencement ceremony has been similarly vaporized, only by a different set of quivering academics. 

"It is both enabling and irresponsible. Rather than protect students and their families at this important and well-earned event in their lives, the university is yielding to the mob. It is a feckless and feeble response to what should have been an easy decision for any administrator," said Jonathan Turley.

After hearing the news, one of those seniors, who goes by @gracieflynn12, took to TikTok to vent: 

"The seniors that are graduating college right now are the seniors that graduated in 2020, where we didn't have a high school graduation. A lot of us had drive-through fake graduations or no graduation at all. And now we are seniors getting ready for our first real graduation and it just got cancelled...

...I just had my last class ever, and just right after, should be celebrating. But we just got the new that we have no graduation, so now all my roommates are depressed, and we were all literally just sitting in the living room in tears."

...but at least one especially admirable voice against the Covid regime is being consistent: 

Jonathan Turley summed up the situation succinctly: "The problem of violent protests and threats on campus is not solved by removing the potential victims. To yield this ground is to surrender control over not just the campus but the academic operations of the school. Higher education has to aspire to be more than a mere mobocracy where threats not logic prevail. "

Tyler Durden Fri, 04/26/2024 - 11:25

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