Ryanair Talking Bollocks
10/01/07 00:03 Filed in: General
Nonsense
Ryanair have
been in the news a bit in the last week or so (when
are they ever out of it? you may ask.) Last week, the
company was singled out by a British politician,
criticising their environmental record. Today, they
came out against the Fine Gael idea of a second
airport for Dublin.
On both occasions, Ryanair spokesmen came on to The Last Word to bat for the company. On Friday it was Michael O'Leary himself, and today it was one of his underlings, whose name escapes me at this moment. As well as making their point about the main topic at hand, the discussion on both occasions got around to the issue of a rail link from Dublin city centre to the airport. You might think that Ryanair might support this proposal, but in fact they are quite trenchant in their opposition to it.
On Friday, O'Leary baldly stated that a rail link to the airport would be a waste because no-one would use it. The vast majority of people who come to Dublin airport arrive by car, he said. Today, his lackey said that international experience showed that rail links to airports are a waste of resources. Really? So no-one uses the Stanstead Express when they get off their Ryanair flight to London, then?
This is of course, utter bollocks, and reminiscent of the sort of nonsense we might have heard about air travel to and from Ireland in the days before Ryanair. Why build an airport in the bogs of Mayo, when no-one would use it? Why have flights to regional airports across Europe, when no-one would want to go there?
What are your options for getting to Dublin airport at present?
- Private car. Delays likely on the M50 or on the roads out of the city centre. Long term car park fees.
- Taxi. Expensive, and again you can get badly stuck in traffic.
- Aircoach. Probably the best option at present, and it now serves destinations well beyond Dublin city centre. But again, you are at the mercy of the traffic.
- Other buses. Second best option.
A fast rail link that would get you from the city centre to the airport in 15-20 minutes would be massively successful in my opinion. The Luas has shown us that if a good, reliable public transport service is built, people will use it.
A caller suggested that the reason why Ryanair oppose a rail link is because they get a cut off all the car-hire deals booked through their website, and that Dublin Airport has one of the biggest car-hire markets in Europe.
On both occasions, Ryanair spokesmen came on to The Last Word to bat for the company. On Friday it was Michael O'Leary himself, and today it was one of his underlings, whose name escapes me at this moment. As well as making their point about the main topic at hand, the discussion on both occasions got around to the issue of a rail link from Dublin city centre to the airport. You might think that Ryanair might support this proposal, but in fact they are quite trenchant in their opposition to it.
On Friday, O'Leary baldly stated that a rail link to the airport would be a waste because no-one would use it. The vast majority of people who come to Dublin airport arrive by car, he said. Today, his lackey said that international experience showed that rail links to airports are a waste of resources. Really? So no-one uses the Stanstead Express when they get off their Ryanair flight to London, then?
This is of course, utter bollocks, and reminiscent of the sort of nonsense we might have heard about air travel to and from Ireland in the days before Ryanair. Why build an airport in the bogs of Mayo, when no-one would use it? Why have flights to regional airports across Europe, when no-one would want to go there?
What are your options for getting to Dublin airport at present?
- Private car. Delays likely on the M50 or on the roads out of the city centre. Long term car park fees.
- Taxi. Expensive, and again you can get badly stuck in traffic.
- Aircoach. Probably the best option at present, and it now serves destinations well beyond Dublin city centre. But again, you are at the mercy of the traffic.
- Other buses. Second best option.
A fast rail link that would get you from the city centre to the airport in 15-20 minutes would be massively successful in my opinion. The Luas has shown us that if a good, reliable public transport service is built, people will use it.
A caller suggested that the reason why Ryanair oppose a rail link is because they get a cut off all the car-hire deals booked through their website, and that Dublin Airport has one of the biggest car-hire markets in Europe.