After hearing the latest publicity disaster from Ryanair, it struck me just how much passengers are prepared to put up with all this nonsense as long as they can still get a cheap flight.
I'm not convinced there is any other sector where such a disliked and unresponsive business could survive. Yet, unbelievably, Ryanair continues to dominate our skies.
There was a glimmer of hope a couple of years back when boss Michael O'Leary appointed a new senior team and pledged the company was changing to become more "customer focussed." Not because it was proud to do so, but because it was "facing strong competition and had to up its game accordingly."
So, we all benefited from a more responsive website making it much simpler to book flights and a more customer-oriented airport experience. But it was not from choice but simply a grudging byproduct of fighting off competition from other low-cost carriers.
As far as I am concerned, sending out unsigned compensation cheques is scraping right at the bottom of the pond. What an insult to the customers who qualified for compensation in the first place and then had to pay out bank charges on the returned cheques.
The company mantra is "unfortunate clerical errors" caused this latest PR blunder but seriously, it just goes to show what a dog and pony show Ryanair is turning into.
Despite aircrew strikes, cancelled flights and unsigned cheques we continue to book flights. Why? Because despite the hassle, the terrible flight times, the baggage restrictions and that bloody trumpet when a flight arrives on time, we just want to get where we are going to for the lowest price possible.
While we still want to do this, Ryanair will continue to flourish. God help us.
