All the world’s a circle?

Well a year ago this poster wouldn’t have been unusual because the Circle Line was what’s the word, a Circle! But then the most historic and iconic Underground line in London (and the first Underground Line in the world) will underwent a radical revamp in operations where the Line known as the Circle will became a T-Cup or Lasso depending on your preference! The Circle line was extended to Hammersmith from 13th December 2009 and which almost doubled the frequency of trains between Hammersmith and Edgware Road. On the Tube map the Circle line is shown as a single line. However it shares tracks with the District, Hammersmith & City (H & C) and Metropolitan lines and any disruption on these lines can cause delays to the Circle. As Circle line trains moved around the line without a fixed terminus any delays were compounded over time, and made it harder to offer a regular or reliable service.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/12/squaring-circle.html

From December 13th last year, Circle line trains now start in Hammersmith, run along the current Hammersmith & City line to Edgware Road and then do a clockwise lap of the Circle line and head back to Hammersmith. They then do the journey anti-clockwise. That was with the exception of last weekend when the Circle Line once again lived up to its name again!



The photo above and the truly wonderful one below are courtesy of The Fact Compiler on The Railway Eye Blog which is on my Blog Roll on the sidebar and is an invaluable source of fact and gossip from the UK Rail industry.

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com

For more on the Circle Line see;

THE GREAT CIRCLE LINE JOURNEY

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.htm



Willersley Tunnel (Northern portal), near Matlock Bath, Christmas Day 2010

All the world’s a circle?

Well a year ago this poster wouldn’t have been unusual because the Circle Line was what’s the word, a Circle! But then the most historic and iconic Underground line in London (and the first Underground Line in the world) will underwent a radical revamp in operations where the Line known as the Circle will became a T-Cup or Lasso depending on your preference! The Circle line was extended to Hammersmith from 13th December 2009 and which almost doubled the frequency of trains between Hammersmith and Edgware Road. On the Tube map the Circle line is shown as a single line. However it shares tracks with the District, Hammersmith & City (H & C) and Metropolitan lines and any disruption on these lines can cause delays to the Circle. As Circle line trains moved around the line without a fixed terminus any delays were compounded over time, and made it harder to offer a regular or reliable service.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/12/squaring-circle.html

From December 13th last year, Circle line trains now start in Hammersmith, run along the current Hammersmith & City line to Edgware Road and then do a clockwise lap of the Circle line and head back to Hammersmith. They then do the journey anti-clockwise. That was with the exception of last weekend when the Circle Line once again lived up to its name again!



The photo above and the truly wonderful one below are courtesy of The Fact Compiler on The Railway Eye Blog which is on my Blog Roll on the sidebar and is an invaluable source of fact and gossip from the UK Rail industry.

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com

For more on the Circle Line see;

THE GREAT CIRCLE LINE JOURNEY

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.htm



Willersley Tunnel (Northern portal), near Matlock Bath, Christmas Day 2010

Squaring the Circle

The Lasso or T-Cup Line

The most historic and iconic Underground line in London (and the first Underground Line in the world) will undergo a radical revamp in operations where the Line known as the Circle will become a T-Cup or Lasso depending on your preference! The Circle line will be extended to Hammersmith from 13th December 2009 and will almost double the frequency of trains between Hammersmith and Edgware Road. On the Tube map the Circle line is shown as a single line. However it shares tracks with the District, Hammersmith & City (H & C) and Metropolitan lines and any disruption on these lines can cause delays to the Circle. As Circle line trains currently move around the line without a fixed terminus any delays are compounded over time, and make it harder to offer a regular or reliable service.



The Circle line is to be extended to Hammersmith for commuters on one of the Tube's most unreliable routes. In the most radical change since the service was first created more than 120 years ago, trains will be redirected to create what Underground insiders are already calling the “T - Cup”. From December, Circle line trains will start in Hammersmith, run along the current Hammersmith & City line to Edgware Road and then do a clockwise lap of the Circle line and head back to Hammersmith. They would then do the journey anti-clockwise.


The "New" Circle

At present the Hammersmith & City line has only seven trains an hour. Under the new service, there will be a train every four minutes, or 15 an hour. Engineers believe the change will have a positive effect on the whole network, which is often jammed at peak times by the “backing up” of Circle line trains stuck in tunnels. The 14-mile line, which was created in 1884, carries 75 million passengers a year but its circular pattern means it suffers from crippling delays when a train breaks down or is hit by a signal failure. Unlike other lines, it lacks a maintenance depot on its route. By giving the Circle line a start and end point the Underground will be able to recover the service quicker if there is disruption on the Circle or any of the lines that it shares tracks with.


Existing Circle Line C69 Stock at Royal Oak

Howard Collins, Chief Operating Officer of London Underground, said: “The changes to service patterns on the Circle line will come into effect in December 2009 and will improve the reliability of the line, enabling services to recover more quickly if there is a disruption. It will still be called the Circle line and shown as a circle on the Tube map but with the additional extended service out to Hammersmith.” This is the first phase of the Sub Surface lines upgrade, which will include a new fleet of air conditioned and accessible trains and a new state of the art signalling system.

Under the new plans, the service will double the number of trains running to Hammersmith. It will feed demand in west London, including the new station at Wood Lane near Westfield shopping centre. Residents in south-west London will benefit as the extra capacity will mean more District line trains from Wimbledon to the City. The East End will also get more trains as off-peak Hammersmith & City line trains will no longer start/terminate at Whitechapel but will run all the way to Plaistow or Barking – a consequence of forthcoming work to construct a new CrossRail station.


This way to Barking!

The Circle line’s operations are complicated by the domino effect of service disruptions on the parts of the H & C, District and Metropolitan Lines which run over its tracks and the fact that it seems to attract more than its fair share of "Passenger Incidents", suicide attempts, getting ill on train and security alerts. Hopefully after the changes customers will experience a more frequent, reliable and robust service. This is important as the Circle joins most of the London Mainline stations and is of particular importance for passengers in transit through London as well as the regular commuters. The next stage in making it user friendly will be complying with Phase 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act and tackling the very real access issues which limit the use of the line to many passenger groups. These are not just “disabled people” but passengers with children, mobility impairments and luggage. Just look at the number of passengers at Victoria engaging in hernia inducing manoeuvres with heavy luggage and you realise that this is not “World Class” access for the 21st Century!



Regular Blogistas will know that not only is the Circle Line the Sage’s favourite Underground Line but it is also one of the Great Railway Journeys of the World! There are many Great Rail journeys in the world but there is only one which begins and ends at Paddington Station, London, can be done in a day for the price of a TravelCard and brings you through 27 Underground stations and 13 Mainline Railway stations. So check out this link to this adventure in a Day as we make our way to probably the most historic railway platform in the world, platform 16 at London’s Paddington Station from where the world’s first Underground Train departed on 10th January 1863.

THE GREAT CIRCLE LINE JOURNEY

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html


London Underground's new comfort cooled and accessible Sub-Surface Stock

Squaring the Circle

The Lasso or T-Cup Line

The most historic and iconic Underground line in London (and the first Underground Line in the world) will undergo a radical revamp in operations where the Line known as the Circle will become a T-Cup or Lasso depending on your preference! The Circle line will be extended to Hammersmith from 13th December 2009 and will almost double the frequency of trains between Hammersmith and Edgware Road. On the Tube map the Circle line is shown as a single line. However it shares tracks with the District, Hammersmith & City (H & C) and Metropolitan lines and any disruption on these lines can cause delays to the Circle. As Circle line trains currently move around the line without a fixed terminus any delays are compounded over time, and make it harder to offer a regular or reliable service.



The Circle line is to be extended to Hammersmith for commuters on one of the Tube's most unreliable routes. In the most radical change since the service was first created more than 120 years ago, trains will be redirected to create what Underground insiders are already calling the “T - Cup”. From December, Circle line trains will start in Hammersmith, run along the current Hammersmith & City line to Edgware Road and then do a clockwise lap of the Circle line and head back to Hammersmith. They would then do the journey anti-clockwise.


The "New" Circle

At present the Hammersmith & City line has only seven trains an hour. Under the new service, there will be a train every four minutes, or 15 an hour. Engineers believe the change will have a positive effect on the whole network, which is often jammed at peak times by the “backing up” of Circle line trains stuck in tunnels. The 14-mile line, which was created in 1884, carries 75 million passengers a year but its circular pattern means it suffers from crippling delays when a train breaks down or is hit by a signal failure. Unlike other lines, it lacks a maintenance depot on its route. By giving the Circle line a start and end point the Underground will be able to recover the service quicker if there is disruption on the Circle or any of the lines that it shares tracks with.


Existing Circle Line C69 Stock at Royal Oak

Howard Collins, Chief Operating Officer of London Underground, said: “The changes to service patterns on the Circle line will come into effect in December 2009 and will improve the reliability of the line, enabling services to recover more quickly if there is a disruption. It will still be called the Circle line and shown as a circle on the Tube map but with the additional extended service out to Hammersmith.” This is the first phase of the Sub Surface lines upgrade, which will include a new fleet of air conditioned and accessible trains and a new state of the art signalling system.

Under the new plans, the service will double the number of trains running to Hammersmith. It will feed demand in west London, including the new station at Wood Lane near Westfield shopping centre. Residents in south-west London will benefit as the extra capacity will mean more District line trains from Wimbledon to the City. The East End will also get more trains as off-peak Hammersmith & City line trains will no longer start/terminate at Whitechapel but will run all the way to Plaistow or Barking – a consequence of forthcoming work to construct a new CrossRail station.


This way to Barking!

The Circle line’s operations are complicated by the domino effect of service disruptions on the parts of the H & C, District and Metropolitan Lines which run over its tracks and the fact that it seems to attract more than its fair share of "Passenger Incidents", suicide attempts, getting ill on train and security alerts. Hopefully after the changes customers will experience a more frequent, reliable and robust service. This is important as the Circle joins most of the London Mainline stations and is of particular importance for passengers in transit through London as well as the regular commuters. The next stage in making it user friendly will be complying with Phase 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act and tackling the very real access issues which limit the use of the line to many passenger groups. These are not just “disabled people” but passengers with children, mobility impairments and luggage. Just look at the number of passengers at Victoria engaging in hernia inducing manoeuvres with heavy luggage and you realise that this is not “World Class” access for the 21st Century!



Regular Blogistas will know that not only is the Circle Line the Sage’s favourite Underground Line but it is also one of the Great Railway Journeys of the World! There are many Great Rail journeys in the world but there is only one which begins and ends at Paddington Station, London, can be done in a day for the price of a TravelCard and brings you through 27 Underground stations and 13 Mainline Railway stations. So check out this link to this adventure in a Day as we make our way to probably the most historic railway platform in the world, platform 16 at London’s Paddington Station from where the world’s first Underground Train departed on 10th January 1863.

THE GREAT CIRCLE LINE JOURNEY

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html


London Underground's new comfort cooled and accessible Sub-Surface Stock

Tesco ASBO

The public pavement outside Tesco?

I have long complained of the anti social behaviour of Tesco and the stranglehold they now have in Westminster, the Borough which was run in a discreditable fashion by Dame Shirley Porter, the daughter of their founder Sir Jack Cohen. Dame Shirley Porter in 2004 paid £12m into Westminster Council's bank account in settlement of the surcharge for her role in the homes for vote’s scandal.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/tesco-supermarket-which-arte.html

The former leader of the local authority had played a key role in a scheme that sold off council homes to potential Tory voters. She originally faced a judgement debt of some £27m plus interest and costs, following a prolonged legal battle. But she was offered a deal to end the long running saga. The gerrymandering scandal relates to a decision in July 1987 by Westminster to sell 500 homes each year under a policy called "building stable communities".

District Auditor John Magill later accused Dame Shirley and a former colleague, David Weeks, of "wilful misconduct" and "disgraceful and improper gerrymandering" following an investigation. The issue went to the House of Lords and Dame Shirley and Mr Weeks were told to repay the losses claimed by the council. The Tesco's heiress then claimed she had assets of just £300,000 but Westminster City Council engaged in a long-fought legal battle to force her to pay. That included getting overseas assets frozen.


Tesco subcontracts its anti social behaviour to logistics companies who mainly employ non-UK drivers as in this truck; Reg. No; KE56FRC

Amongst the anti-social behaviour I’ve highlighted is the Tesco Local Store at the corner of Melcombe and Glentworth Street near Baker St. Station in Marylebone. Remarkably Tesco even converted this store and put up signage without even bothering to trouble local democracy with a planning application.

“2) As you are aware, the existing Tesco’s shopfront installed at the site is not lawful. You will therefore need to submit drawings showing the site before the installation of this shopfront.”

Email from Westminster Planning Officer Emily Wade to Tesco’s legal representative Tim Ryder of Allsop Verrill LLP, 25th January 2007.

Tesco “Local” stores in Westminster don’t give much hope that they are good neighbours, indeed they seem to be engaging in anti social behaviour. At the corner of Melcombe and Glentworth Street near Baker St. Station in Marylebone a Tesco “Local” opened when they bought over Shepherds, a chain of neighbourhood stores. Along this footpath between 8 and 9 each morning 4,500 people walk the short distance from Marylebone to Baker Street. At the Tesco store a large delivery truck is always parked on a double yellow line directly on the corner, blocking off the ramp for disabled access at the corner and making it “blind” to turning traffic and adding to the danger by forcing pedestrians onto the roadway. To park in this space by the goods door for the shop these large trucks have to line up across the main road, blocking the traffic and reverse into the space across the pedestrian crossing. This they do without any “points man” to ensure the safety of pedestrians and turning traffic. Frequently there are other similarly sized trucks parked on double yellow lines waiting for their turn in the non “Loading Bay” causing further detriment to the area.



In addition Westminster Council have been attempting (Application 06/09798/FULL) to get Tesco to improve disabled access to this “local” store, but to no avail. Not only are they persistently blocking access to the disabled ramp on the public pavement on this busy crossing but they have refused to provided level access to the store as required under Phase III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 which applies to new and converted premises after October 2005.

"That conditional permission be granted subject to the informative on disabled access being considerably strenghtened to express the Council's concern at the proposed arrangements and to strongly encourage Tesco to improve arrangements within the boundary of the premises .............."

Planning Applications Sub-Committee 3
31 May 2007

If the Government wants to talk about a "Respect Agenda" let it talk about the disgraceful premise of the DDA that "the wobbly people" (You know, The Aged, The infirm, the economically inactive) can sue to enforce their "rights" under the Act. Contrast that with the "Accessible America" legislation in the USA where non-compliance is a criminal offence. Remarkably the same planning decision only restricts deliveries to this store before 7.00 am on weekdays and 9.00 am at weekends and bank holidays.

And then there is the lack of consideration for others, delivering during peak hours, using large trucks, delivering on 10 / 15 trucks per day because these are on multi-drops from different suppliers and only a few pallets come off each truck. The Tesco staff are “only doing their job”, the drivers are agency drivers from outsourced logistics companies and you’ve guessed it, they are “only doing their job”, and the vulture like parking wardens in Westminster who are anxious to fill their quota with tickets elsewhere come to an arrangement with the Tesco stores. Failing that the drivers leave their first ticket of the day on the windscreen so wardens think they have already been ticketed. Clearly “Green” Tesco could lessen the impact by delivering off peak, using smaller vehicles and doing single drop deliveries but clearly they feel no need to do this and equally clearly they are under no pressure from Westminster Council or the Metropolitan Police to change their ways. No danger then of Westminster Council looking for an ASBO in respect of Tesco’s expropriation of public property to private use.


Truck No; 614564 - There is nothing to tell you who operates this vehicle or a number to contact

Westminster Councillor Carolyn Keen has been a persistent critic of this peculiarly anti-social neighbourhood store;

“There have been long running problems with deliveries and servicing at this branch of Tesco. Any permission must restrict the number of vehicles at any one time and the times of delivery as well as the problem of cages being stored on the footpath and trundled back and forwards.”

Councillor Keen, Planning Report; 31 May 2007.

Contrast this with the situation when I (increasingly rarely) use the car park of my local Tesco branch which has been put on steroids and is now a Tesco Extra open 24 hours a day. A big yellow sign on the way in informs me that by using their car park I agree my car registration can be photographed, machine read and recorded and if I stay longer than 3 hours that they can issue me with that strangest of creatures, a “Civil Penalty Notice” for 70 pounds and I consent to them applying to the DVLA for my details if they need to do this. Consider the arrogance of this proposition, personal data I have provided to the Government out of a legal obligation will be provided to a mega Supermarket chain to charge me a "penalty" for staying too long in their car park. And I consent to this and much more by using “their” property.If this is not an unfair contract term, what is?


Tesco - Your corner parking shop

As the pictures show Tesco is still abusing public space, parking on a corner on double yellow lines, making pedestrians dangerously walk out onto a road at a blind corner and blocking a disabled ramp on the pavement.

Is it time for Westminster Council to consider a Tesco ASBO?


Tesco forcing pedestrians onto the road and blocking the disabled ramp

Tesco ASBO

The public pavement outside Tesco?

I have long complained of the anti social behaviour of Tesco and the stranglehold they now have in Westminster, the Borough which was run in a discreditable fashion by Dame Shirley Porter, the daughter of their founder Sir Jack Cohen. Dame Shirley Porter in 2004 paid £12m into Westminster Council's bank account in settlement of the surcharge for her role in the homes for vote’s scandal.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/tesco-supermarket-which-arte.html

The former leader of the local authority had played a key role in a scheme that sold off council homes to potential Tory voters. She originally faced a judgement debt of some £27m plus interest and costs, following a prolonged legal battle. But she was offered a deal to end the long running saga. The gerrymandering scandal relates to a decision in July 1987 by Westminster to sell 500 homes each year under a policy called "building stable communities".

District Auditor John Magill later accused Dame Shirley and a former colleague, David Weeks, of "wilful misconduct" and "disgraceful and improper gerrymandering" following an investigation. The issue went to the House of Lords and Dame Shirley and Mr Weeks were told to repay the losses claimed by the council. The Tesco's heiress then claimed she had assets of just £300,000 but Westminster City Council engaged in a long-fought legal battle to force her to pay. That included getting overseas assets frozen.


Tesco subcontracts its anti social behaviour to logistics companies who mainly employ non-UK drivers as in this truck; Reg. No; KE56FRC

Amongst the anti-social behaviour I’ve highlighted is the Tesco Local Store at the corner of Melcombe and Glentworth Street near Baker St. Station in Marylebone. Remarkably Tesco even converted this store and put up signage without even bothering to trouble local democracy with a planning application.

“2) As you are aware, the existing Tesco’s shopfront installed at the site is not lawful. You will therefore need to submit drawings showing the site before the installation of this shopfront.”

Email from Westminster Planning Officer Emily Wade to Tesco’s legal representative Tim Ryder of Allsop Verrill LLP, 25th January 2007.

Tesco “Local” stores in Westminster don’t give much hope that they are good neighbours, indeed they seem to be engaging in anti social behaviour. At the corner of Melcombe and Glentworth Street near Baker St. Station in Marylebone a Tesco “Local” opened when they bought over Shepherds, a chain of neighbourhood stores. Along this footpath between 8 and 9 each morning 4,500 people walk the short distance from Marylebone to Baker Street. At the Tesco store a large delivery truck is always parked on a double yellow line directly on the corner, blocking off the ramp for disabled access at the corner and making it “blind” to turning traffic and adding to the danger by forcing pedestrians onto the roadway. To park in this space by the goods door for the shop these large trucks have to line up across the main road, blocking the traffic and reverse into the space across the pedestrian crossing. This they do without any “points man” to ensure the safety of pedestrians and turning traffic. Frequently there are other similarly sized trucks parked on double yellow lines waiting for their turn in the non “Loading Bay” causing further detriment to the area.



In addition Westminster Council have been attempting (Application 06/09798/FULL) to get Tesco to improve disabled access to this “local” store, but to no avail. Not only are they persistently blocking access to the disabled ramp on the public pavement on this busy crossing but they have refused to provided level access to the store as required under Phase III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 which applies to new and converted premises after October 2005.

"That conditional permission be granted subject to the informative on disabled access being considerably strenghtened to express the Council's concern at the proposed arrangements and to strongly encourage Tesco to improve arrangements within the boundary of the premises .............."

Planning Applications Sub-Committee 3
31 May 2007

If the Government wants to talk about a "Respect Agenda" let it talk about the disgraceful premise of the DDA that "the wobbly people" (You know, The Aged, The infirm, the economically inactive) can sue to enforce their "rights" under the Act. Contrast that with the "Accessible America" legislation in the USA where non-compliance is a criminal offence. Remarkably the same planning decision only restricts deliveries to this store before 7.00 am on weekdays and 9.00 am at weekends and bank holidays.

And then there is the lack of consideration for others, delivering during peak hours, using large trucks, delivering on 10 / 15 trucks per day because these are on multi-drops from different suppliers and only a few pallets come off each truck. The Tesco staff are “only doing their job”, the drivers are agency drivers from outsourced logistics companies and you’ve guessed it, they are “only doing their job”, and the vulture like parking wardens in Westminster who are anxious to fill their quota with tickets elsewhere come to an arrangement with the Tesco stores. Failing that the drivers leave their first ticket of the day on the windscreen so wardens think they have already been ticketed. Clearly “Green” Tesco could lessen the impact by delivering off peak, using smaller vehicles and doing single drop deliveries but clearly they feel no need to do this and equally clearly they are under no pressure from Westminster Council or the Metropolitan Police to change their ways. No danger then of Westminster Council looking for an ASBO in respect of Tesco’s expropriation of public property to private use.


Truck No; 614564 - There is nothing to tell you who operates this vehicle or a number to contact

Westminster Councillor Carolyn Keen has been a persistent critic of this peculiarly anti-social neighbourhood store;

“There have been long running problems with deliveries and servicing at this branch of Tesco. Any permission must restrict the number of vehicles at any one time and the times of delivery as well as the problem of cages being stored on the footpath and trundled back and forwards.”

Councillor Keen, Planning Report; 31 May 2007.

Contrast this with the situation when I (increasingly rarely) use the car park of my local Tesco branch which has been put on steroids and is now a Tesco Extra open 24 hours a day. A big yellow sign on the way in informs me that by using their car park I agree my car registration can be photographed, machine read and recorded and if I stay longer than 3 hours that they can issue me with that strangest of creatures, a “Civil Penalty Notice” for 70 pounds and I consent to them applying to the DVLA for my details if they need to do this. Consider the arrogance of this proposition, personal data I have provided to the Government out of a legal obligation will be provided to a mega Supermarket chain to charge me a "penalty" for staying too long in their car park. And I consent to this and much more by using “their” property.If this is not an unfair contract term, what is?


Tesco - Your corner parking shop

As the pictures show Tesco is still abusing public space, parking on a corner on double yellow lines, making pedestrians dangerously walk out onto a road at a blind corner and blocking a disabled ramp on the pavement.

Is it time for Westminster Council to consider a Tesco ASBO?


Tesco forcing pedestrians onto the road and blocking the disabled ramp

(U)Ryanair

The Mouth of the West

Checking into Ryanair Flight FR118 at Dublin to London Gatwick the other evening I noticed a familiar face in the security line in front of me at Dublin Airport. It was none other than Michael O’Leary the outspoken Chief Executive of Ryanair, widely known as “The Mouth of the West” in Ireland. I asked him where the bodyguard was and he smiled and said he could look after himself. I don’t doubt it and there he was going through the ordinary line in jeans, check shirt and leather jacket having his luggage x-rayed with all the other passengers. The flight to London he was on (he sat in the front row and was first off the plane) had a number of innovations, namely it was enabled for mobile use in the air at “only” £3.00 a minute and you could get a “Ryanair Flame Grilled Cheese Burger” for only 9 euros. Strangely I resisted both temptations and the Sage’s zero purchase on Ryanair policy was maintained.

Now Ryanair gets a lot of knocking copy (sometimes from me) but those of us with longer memories remember what a restrictive cartel European air travel was before Ryanair. BA and Aer Lingus operated a cartel on the Dublin / London route and charged £230 return for a trip 20 years ago. Cheap fares could only be bought with stupid restrictions like being re-endorsed by a travel agent (What! Why!) for the return leg which led to British Airways stranding me in Dublin for 3 days and don’t even get me started on how exploitive Aer Lingus was with its so called “Compassionate air fares” designed to "help" customers travelling for bereavements or family emergencies. I remember in 1987 when Dublin / Oslo cost £564 (£2,000 in today’s terms) and Dublin / Geneva cost £380 in 1976. What a contrast when In 1999 I flew London / Lubeck for £5.00 return all in and laughed when I saw Ryanair fly in with a plane with “Aufwiedershen Lufthansa” on the side. Well, nobody is laughing today as Ryanair is the biggest and most profitable European airline with 170 Boeing 737-800’s in the air.

So I do admire what Michael O’Leary has achieved and his simplification of the business model and operation will be thought to Business Course drones for many years to come, no doubt to O’Leary’s great amusement. However Michael has the same problem as Oliver Cromwell had in Ireland, he doesn’t explain his mission too well and sometimes he revels in going too far. For the next morning he was at it again, pissing off his customers, if you’ll excuse the pun; “One thing we’ve looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting in a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in the future,” Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said in a televised interview with the BBC. His comments were confirmed by the carrier.



Ryanair may charge passengers to use toilets on its planes, adding to fees already imposed for beverages, stowed baggage, airport check-in and preferential boarding. Ryanair generates about 20 percent of revenue from so-called ancillary income, the money it makes aside from ticket sales. The Dublin-based company this month introduced technology allowing passengers to use their own mobile phones on aircraft.

Mr O'Leary said this would not inconvenience passengers travelling without cash. "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound," he added. "We're all about finding ways of raising discretionary revenue so we can keep lowering the cost of air travel."

Mr O'Leary has a reputation as a cost cutter, expanding Ryanair by offering low headline fares and charging extra for items such as additional luggage. The move has been criticised by air passenger groups. James Freemantle, industry affairs manager at the Air Transport Users Council, said while they supported some charges to drive down ticket prices, a lavatory fee was a "step too far".


One pound to spend a penny?

He said: "There's a limit on these extra charges and they shouldn't be putting them everywhere." Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said: "While this has been discussed internally, there are no immediate plans to introduce it. Passengers using train and bus stations are already accustomed to paying to use the toilet, so why not on airplanes?" True but they don't pay ON trains and once asgain Ryanair is not thinking how this would impact on older and disabled passengers and families or indeed the dignity of all passengers - I pay to travel, not to enjoy ritual humiliation? Last week, Ryanair announced it was to shut all its European check-in desks by early next year and have passengers check-in online.

Now Michael O’Leary has the same weakness as Oliver Cromwell had, he is very bad at bringing the public with him for the simple reason that he is too confrontational and travelling with Ryanair can become a hassle filled obstacle course with the carrier waiting in a predatory manner to bite your bum financially! The result is it alienates a whole section of passengers, including older flyers, those with children and those who have impaired mobility. Other carriers do it differently, for instance, if you miss an Easyjet Flight and are at the airport within two hours they will put you on the next flight for £40. By contrast I have seen a Portuguese family at Stansted when they missed their flight by minutes because the so called Stansted Express had a signal failure being in tears after being quoted £220 for a one way leg to Oporto on the next Ryanair flight.



Similarly toothless regulators have allowed Ryanair to laugh in the face of British and European Disability legislation by playing “trick or treat” by only allowing 4 people with mobility impairment or special needs on each flight, and these have to contact an impossible to contact Call Centre (at a cost) the same day and take the risk of being bounced off the flight. 10% of the population is in the mobility impaired category but 4 out of 186 seats on a Ryanair plane equates to 2.15% availability of seats for these vulnerable people. Altogether apart from the moral and legal equations it makes little sense to turn your back on such a large pool of customers. So Michael stop doing a Cromwell and work on making the Customer Interface less confrontational and more friendly and inclusive. Who knows the Business School drones of the future could be doing a module on how Ryanair transformed its image, rediscovered its customer and became “The Friendly Skies of Europe.” Not a bad way to go in a recession?

Ryanair on December 2nd. 2008 raised its net income forecast for the year ending March 31 to 50 million euros, saying the falling price of oil has more than compensated for the lower fares it’s offering to stave off a traffic drop. Passenger numbers rose 11 percent in January from a year earlier. Ryanair was trading up 15 cents, or 0.5 percent, at 3.02 euros as of 12:26 p.m. in Dublin. The stock has added 1.5 percent this year, giving a market value of 4.44 billion euros.

See also; “Ryanair, The European Airline?”

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/ryanair-european-airline.html

(U)Ryanair

The Mouth of the West

Checking into Ryanair Flight FR118 at Dublin to London Gatwick the other evening I noticed a familiar face in the security line in front of me at Dublin Airport. It was none other than Michael O’Leary the outspoken Chief Executive of Ryanair, widely known as “The Mouth of the West” in Ireland. I asked him where the bodyguard was and he smiled and said he could look after himself. I don’t doubt it and there he was going through the ordinary line in jeans, check shirt and leather jacket having his luggage x-rayed with all the other passengers. The flight to London he was on (he sat in the front row and was first off the plane) had a number of innovations, namely it was enabled for mobile use in the air at “only” £3.00 a minute and you could get a “Ryanair Flame Grilled Cheese Burger” for only 9 euros. Strangely I resisted both temptations and the Sage’s zero purchase on Ryanair policy was maintained.

Now Ryanair gets a lot of knocking copy (sometimes from me) but those of us with longer memories remember what a restrictive cartel European air travel was before Ryanair. BA and Aer Lingus operated a cartel on the Dublin / London route and charged £230 return for a trip 20 years ago. Cheap fares could only be bought with stupid restrictions like being re-endorsed by a travel agent (What! Why!) for the return leg which led to British Airways stranding me in Dublin for 3 days and don’t even get me started on how exploitive Aer Lingus was with its so called “Compassionate air fares” designed to "help" customers travelling for bereavements or family emergencies. I remember in 1987 when Dublin / Oslo cost £564 (£2,000 in today’s terms) and Dublin / Geneva cost £380 in 1976. What a contrast when In 1999 I flew London / Lubeck for £5.00 return all in and laughed when I saw Ryanair fly in with a plane with “Aufwiedershen Lufthansa” on the side. Well, nobody is laughing today as Ryanair is the biggest and most profitable European airline with 170 Boeing 737-800’s in the air.

So I do admire what Michael O’Leary has achieved and his simplification of the business model and operation will be thought to Business Course drones for many years to come, no doubt to O’Leary’s great amusement. However Michael has the same problem as Oliver Cromwell had in Ireland, he doesn’t explain his mission too well and sometimes he revels in going too far. For the next morning he was at it again, pissing off his customers, if you’ll excuse the pun; “One thing we’ve looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting in a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound to spend a penny in the future,” Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said in a televised interview with the BBC. His comments were confirmed by the carrier.



Ryanair may charge passengers to use toilets on its planes, adding to fees already imposed for beverages, stowed baggage, airport check-in and preferential boarding. Ryanair generates about 20 percent of revenue from so-called ancillary income, the money it makes aside from ticket sales. The Dublin-based company this month introduced technology allowing passengers to use their own mobile phones on aircraft.

Mr O'Leary said this would not inconvenience passengers travelling without cash. "I don't think there is anybody in history that has got on board a Ryanair aircraft with less than a pound," he added. "We're all about finding ways of raising discretionary revenue so we can keep lowering the cost of air travel."

Mr O'Leary has a reputation as a cost cutter, expanding Ryanair by offering low headline fares and charging extra for items such as additional luggage. The move has been criticised by air passenger groups. James Freemantle, industry affairs manager at the Air Transport Users Council, said while they supported some charges to drive down ticket prices, a lavatory fee was a "step too far".


One pound to spend a penny?

He said: "There's a limit on these extra charges and they shouldn't be putting them everywhere." Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said: "While this has been discussed internally, there are no immediate plans to introduce it. Passengers using train and bus stations are already accustomed to paying to use the toilet, so why not on airplanes?" True but they don't pay ON trains and once asgain Ryanair is not thinking how this would impact on older and disabled passengers and families or indeed the dignity of all passengers - I pay to travel, not to enjoy ritual humiliation? Last week, Ryanair announced it was to shut all its European check-in desks by early next year and have passengers check-in online.

Now Michael O’Leary has the same weakness as Oliver Cromwell had, he is very bad at bringing the public with him for the simple reason that he is too confrontational and travelling with Ryanair can become a hassle filled obstacle course with the carrier waiting in a predatory manner to bite your bum financially! The result is it alienates a whole section of passengers, including older flyers, those with children and those who have impaired mobility. Other carriers do it differently, for instance, if you miss an Easyjet Flight and are at the airport within two hours they will put you on the next flight for £40. By contrast I have seen a Portuguese family at Stansted when they missed their flight by minutes because the so called Stansted Express had a signal failure being in tears after being quoted £220 for a one way leg to Oporto on the next Ryanair flight.



Similarly toothless regulators have allowed Ryanair to laugh in the face of British and European Disability legislation by playing “trick or treat” by only allowing 4 people with mobility impairment or special needs on each flight, and these have to contact an impossible to contact Call Centre (at a cost) the same day and take the risk of being bounced off the flight. 10% of the population is in the mobility impaired category but 4 out of 186 seats on a Ryanair plane equates to 2.15% availability of seats for these vulnerable people. Altogether apart from the moral and legal equations it makes little sense to turn your back on such a large pool of customers. So Michael stop doing a Cromwell and work on making the Customer Interface less confrontational and more friendly and inclusive. Who knows the Business School drones of the future could be doing a module on how Ryanair transformed its image, rediscovered its customer and became “The Friendly Skies of Europe.” Not a bad way to go in a recession?

Ryanair on December 2nd. 2008 raised its net income forecast for the year ending March 31 to 50 million euros, saying the falling price of oil has more than compensated for the lower fares it’s offering to stave off a traffic drop. Passenger numbers rose 11 percent in January from a year earlier. Ryanair was trading up 15 cents, or 0.5 percent, at 3.02 euros as of 12:26 p.m. in Dublin. The stock has added 1.5 percent this year, giving a market value of 4.44 billion euros.

See also; “Ryanair, The European Airline?”

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/ryanair-european-airline.html