# Ryanair introduce in-flight gambling



## pnh (1 Nov 2006)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4400676.stm

O'Leary says it may allow them do away with the neccessity for airfares.
Good/Bad idea??


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## MugsGame (1 Nov 2006)

"This is your captain speaking. Do you feel lucky?"


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## Cahir (1 Nov 2006)

It's bad enought that they wake you up every 5 minutes advertising scratchcards!


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## Firefly (1 Nov 2006)

Can't be too long now before a new pricing paradigm is introduced by Ryanair where they will pay you to fly with them in the hope of selling you ancillary services...

Firefly.


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## ClubMan (1 Nov 2006)

Cahir said:


> It's bad enought that they wake you up every 5 minutes advertising scratchcards!


Do they fly any routes long enough to allow you to get a kip?


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## liteweight (1 Nov 2006)

ClubMan said:


> Do they fly any routes long enough to allow you to get a kip?



We flew to Reus with them last week. It was my first experience of RyanAir. The flight took over two hours and as it was early morning I would have liked to sleep. The problem was that all their seats are locked in the upright position! I dread to think what a long haul flight would be like.


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## ClubMan (1 Nov 2006)

liteweight said:


> The problem was that all their seats are locked in the upright position!


Probably saves time with take off and landing. It never ceases to amaze me how many passengers seem to need cabin crew to remind them again and again about seats, seatbelts, seat trays etc.


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## liteweight (1 Nov 2006)

ClubMan said:


> Probably saves time with take off and landing. It never ceases to amaze me how many passengers seem to need cabin crew to remind them again and again about seats, seatbelts, seat trays etc.



Speaking of which, on the return flight the steward actually wagged his finger at a passenger and told him to pay attention while he was going through the safety routine! He was hilarious. 

They certainly save time wherever possible, as we approached the airport staff went around with a plastic bag to collect our rubbish. There are no magazine holders on the back of seats so people can't dump sweet papers in them. I thought that was a good idea.


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## Cahir (2 Nov 2006)

ClubMan said:


> Do they fly any routes long enough to allow you to get a kip?



Flight to Kaunas is just over 3 hours so I was hoping to have a bit of a snooze but couldn't.


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## ClubMan (2 Nov 2006)

€10 for a sleep mask and ear plugs? Another possible revenue stream...


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## Sunny (2 Nov 2006)

pnh said:


> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4400676.stm
> 
> O'Leary says it may allow them do away with the neccessity for airfares.
> Good/Bad idea??


 

This article is from a year ago. I know they have signed up to allow people play bingo on their website (Why would you want to?) but as far as I know they are not introducing inflight gambling (yet) apart from the very annoying sale of scratchcards as mentioned above.


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## pnh (2 Nov 2006)

Sunny said:


> This article is from a year ago. I know they have signed up to allow people play bingo on their website (Why would you want to?) but as far as I know they are not introducing inflight gambling (yet) apart from the very annoying sale of scratchcards as mentioned above.



Yes they are-saw a news report on ITV yesterday-O'Leary interviewed-he is very keen on fare free flights.
Still maybe its just a Pilot scheme


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## Sunny (2 Nov 2006)

pnh said:


> Yes they are-saw a news report on ITV yesterday-O'Leary interviewed-he is very keen on fare free flights.
> Still maybe its just a Pilot scheme


 

Would be amazed if it takes off!!


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## rabbit (3 Nov 2006)

Sunny said:


> Would be amazed if it takes off!!


 
25 to 30 years ago, in the era when some houses in the country were changing hands for 15 to 20 thousand pounds, and flights to England with Aer Lingus were £ 200.... say between one and 2 per cent of the value of a house ..... nobody would have predicted an enterpreneurial firm like Ryanair selling tens of thousands of flights for one cent or one euro or whatever....and still making a far healthier return to their shareholders than Aer Lingus ever did to the Irish taxpayer.


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## pnh (4 Nov 2006)

rabbit said:


> 25 to 30 years ago, in the era when some houses in the country were changing hands for 15 to 20 thousand pounds, and flights to England with Aer Lingus were £ 200.... say between one and 2 per cent of the value of a house ..... nobody would have predicted an enterpreneurial firm like Ryanair selling tens of thousands of flights for one cent or one euro or whatever....and still making a far healthier return to their shareholders than Aer Lingus ever did to the Irish taxpayer.



Ah yes indeed-£200 to London -I remember it well-there was a wonderful cartel going on with Aer Lingus/BA at the time-and it was take it or leave it.
The only other option was a  boat/train via Holyhead-which was cheaper but about 12 hours in total if memory serves.
The good old days


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## Guest127 (4 Nov 2006)

around 1986 I was quoted some astronomical fare for two adults and a child aged 2to london. ( hospital visit so I know the year) british midland out of belfast was around £48 per adult and children under 3 were free as it was an internal flight. I dont recall the a/l fares but I do recall that it was over double the bm fare for the adults alone and also the condescending tone of the travel agent when I enquired about the cost of the flights ie something like ' the fares to london are £xxxxxxxx, £xxxxxx £xxxxxx £xxxxx £xxxxx - depending on the class and time of the flight' at least now we have at least 2 thing s to be grateful for  1) ryanair and choice and 2) the internet.


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## Meccano (5 Nov 2006)

cuchulainn said:


> around 1986 I was quoted some astronomical fare for two adults and a child aged 2to london. ( hospital visit so I know the year) british midland out of belfast was around £48 per adult and children under 3 were free as it was an internal flight. I dont recall the a/l fares but I do recall that it was over double the bm fare for the adults alone and also the *condescending tone of the travel agent* when I enquired about the cost of the flights ie something like ' the fares to london are £xxxxxxxx, £xxxxxx £xxxxxx £xxxxx £xxxxx - depending on the class and time of the flight' at least now we have at least 2 thing s to be grateful for 1) ryanair and choice and 2) the internet.


*condescending tone of the travel agent* ....Well you'd never hear the like of that from O'Leary ..... oh, sorry, yes you would.

Anyhow, I'm all for choice.Thank god for change, eh? Thats progress. I'm sure you support choice too, eh?

I guess that means we are both against Ryanair becoming the private monopoly in Irish air transport then!
A lot of people would rather walk or swim than be forced to fly cattle class. They deserve a choice too.
Don't you agree?


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## rabbit (5 Nov 2006)

Meccano said:


> *condescending tone of the travel agent* ....Well you'd never hear the like of that from O'Leary ..... oh, sorry, yes you would.


 
If anything, people were not condescending enough to the unions / Air Lingus monopoly of old.   We should, as taxpayers , and shareholders, and farepayers, have demanded and got more.   Then again, even now when you look at salaries and electricity prices in places like the ESB for example....

When Michael O'Leary is offering 10,000 flights for one cent each, or similar offers which he often does, he can talk in whatever tone he likes.  I always found his tone very agreeable and realististic, awake to the real world.   Give me his tone any day compared to the travel agents / Aer Lingus who charged 200 pounds a ticket.
Anyway, O'Leary is down to earth, not like the unions and many Aer Lingus hob nobs of old.  A friend of mine met O'Leary who was physically helping people check in to a Ryanair flight, before he himself ( O'Leary ) caught the same flight to England and who took out his own paperwork to do on the flight.


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## Meccano (5 Nov 2006)

rabbit said:


> ... he can talk in whatever tone he likes. I always found his tone very agreeable.....


Well ya know, some people actually pay to be abused verbally and physically - thats how they get their kicks. Each to his own I guess. 
Did you go to an English Public School rabbit?


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## rabbit (6 Nov 2006)

Meccano said:


> Well ya know, some people actually pay to be abused verbally and physically - thats how they get their kicks. Each to his own I guess.


 
Sure.   I never would pay be be abused verbally or physically.   The nearest I was abused was being forced to pay 200 pounds to Air Lingus in order to fly to England in the eighties, when money was money and damn hard earned.   I suppose if you want to talk about abuse, you could say the unions and Air Lingus abused the general public then, their farepayers and shareholders.



Meccano said:


> Did you go to an English Public School rabbit?


No.   Did you ?


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## Murt10 (6 Nov 2006)

I think Michael O'Leary is shooting himself in the foot.

I was unable to log onto AAM from my work PC when it was hosted by the previous service provider. Now I am unable to log onto sites such as Skyfootball or Boards.ie at work. If I try to log on I get  blocked and a message comes up "Block gambling, bad language etc. Your IT unit has been notified."

I presume lots of people book/look up flights from work (on their lunch/tea break naturally). If these potential customers access to the Ryanair site is blocked and they are not  prevented from logging onto other airlines websites, AerLingus.Com, GO etc then I would imagine that, rather than wait until they go home, that these are the sites that they will book their flights through.

In work, you can get the ban on a particular site lifted if you contact IT section and request it provided you need it for work reasons. I think most people would find it hard to justify the need to log on to Ryanair.com for work reasons.

Murt


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## Meccano (6 Nov 2006)

rabbit said:


> No. Did you ?


Nope, I'm no masochist, which is why I don't fly Ruinair.
It's one thing to say 'it's cheap so I accept the abuse' but spare us the nonsense that its also a pleasurable experience!

The public know what they are buying when they take a Ryanair flight - and the facts are clearly stamped all over their marketing - it's called "No Frills" and thats exactly what you get.

Bleating on incessantly about how Ryanair saved the universe is pointless - its history. Markets evolve. The aviation market is no exception. Get over it.

You notably failed to address my question about competition. Would you like to try again and address that point? 

Let me help you by providing you with a simple analogy.

You read like the kind of person who enjoys McDonalds burgers hugely, because they're cheap. 

On the other hand I like a good steak. 

I have no problem with your preference for McDonalds. Knock yourself out if you like! 

What I do have a problem with is that you would dictate to me and all my fellow fine-diners that we must eat McDonalds too - just to please you and show our sincere thanks and appreciation to Ronald McDonald for making the best burgers in town.

The fact is though - I don't like burgers, and I don't like McDonalds, and I think Ronald is a clownish git. 
So do me a favour and stick to comparing McDonalds and BurgerKing - which is a comparison that might actually be relevant (to you burger munchers anyhow).

Now, why do you have a problem with that, huh? Does it bother you that I want to have more choice?
Why so???
Over to you.


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## Meccano (7 Nov 2006)

Murt10 makes an interesting point on the gambling issue. I wonder if Ryanairs IT people aren't at this very moment beavering away like madmen to try and dig themselves out of a great big hole.

Speaking of which - where's rabbit gone?
The choice and competition question has evidently stumped the little guy. 
For someone so stridently pro-Ryanair, one can only guess why he would prefer to remain silent on such issues. 
I'm sure the readership are by now drawing their own conclusions. 

The heck with burgers - anyone for rabbit stew?


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## rabbit (7 Nov 2006)

Meccano said:


> Let me help you by providing you with a simple analogy.
> 
> You read like the kind of person who enjoys McDonalds burgers hugely, because they're cheap.
> 
> ...


Rubbish analogy, and you are totally wrong yet again.    I actually prefer steak to McDonalds, not that it is any of your business.  I also prefer Ryanair to Aer Fungus, because they are friendlier and because they have a 100% safety record, unlike their smaller competitor Aer Lingus.    Ryanair also tend to take off and land on time.  
Plus they are less expensive than Aer Fungus....I would rather the money for myself than to end up in some bearded trade unionists already well padded pocket.


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## daithi (7 Nov 2006)

what's the deal with lefties and beards anyway?

d


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## rabbit (7 Nov 2006)

I do not deal with them.  Only the likes of Mecanno ...


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## Meccano (8 Nov 2006)

rabbit said:


> Rubbish analogy, and you are totally wrong yet again. I actually prefer steak to McDonalds, not that it is any of your business.


Do you find abstract thought difficult? Maybe its all the burgers. Touch of CJD?



> I also prefer Ryanair to Aer Fungus, because they are friendlier


 Not if you're in a wheelchair.

I heard he put a memo out to the staff - "Ze beatings vill continue until ze morale improves! Yawol!



> ...and because they have a 100% safety record, unlike their smaller competitor Aer Lingus.


In life dear rabbit - *accidents will happen*.

Aer Lingus has been operating for 70 years. Ryanair for about 16 in its current format. Ryanair has had plenty of 'near things'. 
You know the difference between 'a near thing' and an accident? 
*Luck.*

You're playing a dangerous game rabbit when you boast about ************************* safety records - fate has a way of levelling such hubris. The Boeing 737 aircraft that Ryanair use have the 5th worst crash record of all aircraft makes.
Not to worry though - unlike you O'Leary is rather more aware of the risk and has publicly stated he believes Ryanairs financial health can weather 'a couple of hull losses'. 
Thats 2 X 180 dead people. 
Very comforting. Nice sentiment. What a guy.



> Ryanair also tend to take off and land on time.


Premier airlines operate into busy major hubs like Heathrow where passengers can link into long-haul services or choose multiple other services to medium and short haul destinations. 
A necessary *service*, and important *choice* - I'm sure you'll agree. 

But such busy airports unfortunately suffer from *traffic delays*. 
Taxi times in Kennedy Airport can be over 1 hour. Heathrow has regular holding for arriving aircraft of over 20 minutes in busy periods, and slot restrictions for departure.

If Ryanair flew into such destinations then their track record on punctuality would be rather different. 
But of course - they *never will*. 
Which could prove rather awkward for those who need that *service* and that *choice *if Ryanair was the monopoly carrier in their country. 
You evidently don't understand the most elementary basics of the business, so you persist in wrongly comparing 'a McDonalds burger' with 'a good steak in a 5 star restaurant'. They are different products.

Or maybe you understand very well, but want to pull the wool over peoples eyes? Just like Mr.O'Leary does when he pushes meaningless punctuality statistics down the publics credulous necks.



> Plus they are less expensive than Aer Fungus....I would rather the money for myself than to end up in some bearded trade unionists already well padded pocket.


Like I said before - if you like burgers - knock yourself out.
And I see the beardies are revolting all over europe now!
[broken link removed]


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## ludermor (8 Nov 2006)

And we are back to using bold type. It really does get your point across much better


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## rabbit (8 Nov 2006)

Meccano said:


> You read like the kind of person who enjoys McDonalds burgers hugely, because they're cheap.
> 
> On the other hand I like a good steak.
> 
> I have no problem with your preference for McDonalds. Knock yourself out if you like!


 
You did not get it the first time. Let me repeat : "Rubbish analogy, and you are totally wrong yet again. I actually prefer steak to McDonalds, not that it is any of your business." 

Seeing as you have continued with the McD anology, which you introduced ....If you like McDonalds - but paying steak prices - Meccano, that is your problem. If you want to fly an airline with a 100% safety record , unlike Aer Lingus, then fly Ryanair. If you want a more punctual airline than Aer Lingus, fly Ryanair. If you want a more efficient, friendlier service, fly Ryanair. If you want to fly with a bigger, more profitable airline than Aer Lingus, fly Ryanair. If you want to fly between airports in European mainland, fly Ryanair. If you want to eat burger, then eat burgers. I do not eat burgers, but if you want to eat burgers or fly Aer Lingus it would be none of my business. Just remember the steak money you pay goes to the pockets of the bearded ones, who most certainly do not eat the food of the masses.


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## delgirl (10 Nov 2006)

(Tonight) Friday 10th November, 8pm, ITV, 'Life of Ryan' - Investigating the low cost airline Ryanair as it attempts to takeover Aer LIngus.


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