Pilot who crossed Michael O'Leary resigns from Ryanair

international | anti-capitalism | other press

Friday December 24, 2010 11:00

by CEO - (former Cabin Crew) - Safety - not profit - is the bootom line

Sent to 'Siberia'

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1207/presswatch-business.html

PILOT WHO CROSSED O'LEARY RESIGNS - The Ryanair pilot who said the airline should replace Michael O'Leary, the low-cost airline's chief executive, with a junior flight attendant to save money has quit after being reassigned from southern France to the "Siberia" of a base in Lithuania, says the Financial Times.

Captain Morgan Fischer was one of almost 30 Ryanair pilots working at Marseilles who had to move after the airline announced in October that it was closing the base following a disagreement with French authorities. The pilots were asked to bid for new bases. Most did so and were offered work at bases in Spain, Italy, Portugal and elsewhere, including some a few hours' drive from Marseilles, where many live with their families.

Captain Morgan Fischer - standing up for Ryanair passenger safety - forced out

Capt Fischer, who had worked for Ryanair for almost five years and had spent almost a year resolving a contractual dispute with the airline, said he wanted to discuss any move first, according to a close colleague. This was because he was concerned the low-cost carrier could treat a request to shift bases as an agreement to a new - and possibly inferior - contract. The 41-year-old American, who lives with his family in the pretty town of Aix-en-Provence, was then offered a transfer to Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city.

Pilot who crossed O’Leary resigns
By Pilita Clark, Aerospace Correspondent
Financial TImes: December 6 2010

The Ryanair pilot who said the airline should replace Michael O’Leary, the low-cost airline’s chief executive, with a junior flight attendant to save money has quit after being reassigned from southern France to the “Siberia” of a base in Lithuania.

Captain Morgan Fischer was one of almost 30 Ryanair pilots working at Marseilles who had to move after the airline announced in October that it was closing the base following a disagreement with French authorities.

The pilots were asked to bid for new bases. Most did so and were offered work at bases in Spain, Italy,Portugal and elsewhere, including some a few hours’ drive from Marseilles, where many live with their families.

Capt Fischer, who had worked for Ryanair for almost five years and had spent almost a year resolving a contractual dispute with the airline, said he wanted to discuss any move first, according to a close colleague.

This was because he was concerned the low-cost carrier could treat a request to shift bases as an agreement to a new – and possibly inferior – contract.

The 41-year-old American, who lives with his family in the pretty town of Aix-en-Provence, was then offered a transfer to Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city.

“That was a fairly considerable kick in the teeth for him,” said the colleague. “Kaunas is considered Siberia for Ryanair pilots. It’s very unpopular to be sent there. It’s the back of nowhere with a completely different language. You’re in eastern Europe and the money is dreadfully bad.”

As a result, Capt Fischer resigned. He declined to comment but, speaking from France, his colleague said the pilot had the option of going back to work for a US airline.

Capt Fischer’s resignation comes two months after he offered a cheeky riposte to Mr O’Leary’s comments that airlines could save “a fortune” if flight attendants replaced co-pilots on aircraft now so sophisticated that “the computer does most of the flying”.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Capt Fischer suggested his own idea to shave costs: replacing Mr O’Leary with a “probationary cabin crew member currently earning about €13,200 net a year”.

Stephen McNamara, Ryanair’s head of communications, said the airline could not comment on individual employees or their contracts for confidentiality reasons.

But he said fewer than 10 of the almost 30 pilots at Marseilles had not said where they would like to be transferred, “and so these have been offered transfers to other bases in Spain, Italy, the UK and Lithuania, according to where we have pilot vacancies”.

He added: “All of our Marseilles pilots have been offered positions at other Ryanair bases, and the vast majority have already accepted these offers.

“Should some pilots choose not to, and resign, then much as we would regret such a decision, we would respect it and wish them every success with their future careers.”

Get cabin crew to replace Ryanair CEO
Financial TImes: September 13 2010

From Captain Morgan Fischer.

Sir, I would like to share with you a cost-saving suggestion I have proposed to the Ryanair board (“Ryanair’s talk of spree on aircraft casts cloud over dividend hopes”, September 8). I write in my capacity as a B737-800 line training captain assigned to Ryanair’s Marseilles, France base. My primary job responsibility involves the line training and checking of co-pilots and captains on both an initial and a recurrent basis.

As a Ryanair employee, I am aware of the company’s desire to reduce costs whenever feasible, and, in so doing, pass on these lower costs in the form of lower fares to the travelling public.

I would propose that Ryanair replace the chief executive with a probationary cabin crew member currently earning about €13,200 net a year. Ryanair would benefit by saving millions of euros in salary, benefits and stock options. Further, there will be no need to petition either Boeing or governmental aviation regulators for approval to replace the CEO with a cabin crew member; as such approval would not be required.

Finally, the position of CEO could, in fact, become a source of ancillary revenue for Ryanair. Currently, Ryanair’s contract cabin crew providers charge new recruits for the cost of their training – €3,000 in fact. Ryanair could similarly charge €3,000 for the training required to become chief executive.

Captain Morgan Fischer,
LTC, Ryanair/Marseilles,
Aix-en-Provence, France

Ryanair plan to axe co-pilots raises safety issue
Financial Times: September 13 2010

From Captain Evan Cullen.

Sir, I refer to “Ryanair’s talk of spree on aircraft casts cloud over dividend hopes” (September 8) where Michael O’Leary is quoted as saying that the risk of pilot incapacitation does not merit the presence or cost of a qualified co-pilot.

Mr O’Leary is notably skilful at obtaining publicity by means of outrageous statements that the media find newsworthy. However, his misrepresentations in this case demand clarification. His claims that there was only one such incident in 25 years and that the pilot “landed the plane” are incorrect.

In fact, there have been at least two significant events in Ryanair involving crew member incapacitation. In the reported event, the physicians who eventually reached the cockpit determined the captain to be clinically dead. (While he was revived following strenuous efforts he subsequently died.) The captain did not land the aircraft, as was claimed by Mr O’Leary. However, the safety outcome was well within tolerances expected in such rare events. This testifies to the key role played by the co-pilot. In the second incident, the incapacity of a captain gave rise to potentially grave consequences that exceeded acceptable safety tolerances. The safety implications are obvious, as is the reason for having two qualified pilots in the cockpit.

In respect of Mr O’Leary’s comments, members of the deceased captain’s family wish that these matters be clarified. I therefore write to you on their behalf as well as that of my organisation. The family note that the official accident report contains references to failures of training in pilot incapacitation provided to the cabin crew, as well as the elapsed time prior to providing the captain with oxygen and medical assistance. In fact, this most unfortunate event evokes for them unpleasant memories that go beyond the immediate operational consequences of pilot incapacitation. Their appreciation of all the events and circumstances surrounding the incapacitation event is very different from that represented by Mr O’Leary.

Mr O’Leary has been on the board of Ryanair since 1988 and chief executive since 1994. That he is prepared to make such statements while, apparently, not being fully briefed on these important safety matters is entirely consistent with Ryanair’s “innovative” approach to staff relations, safety, pilot fatigue and related matters.

Evan Cullen,
President, Irish Airline Pilots’ Association,
Dublin, Ireland