Ryanair v Easyjet

Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, today (11^th Feb) challenged easyJet boss Stelios to a “Chariots of Fire” race around Trafalgar Square to settle a dispute which has blown up over the last week with easyJet and Stelios’ expensive lawyers (Herbert Smith and Rachel Atkins) threatening Ryanair with legal action over Ryanair’s recent adverts (see attached) which confirm that:

1. easyJet is in fact a “high fares” airline, since their average fares (€66) are more than double those of Ryanair (€32) and,
   
2. easyJet is hiding its poor on-time statistics (which have not been published on its website for the last 40 weeks in a row) because (Ryanair believes) easyJet’s punctuality is so awful compared to that of Ryanair.
   

Michael O’Leary has promised to stop calling easyJet a “high fares” airline or an “always late” airline if Stelios wins the race, but if Stelios loses, then easyJet will admit that it is just another high fares airline (by comparison with Ryanair) and will agree to resume publishing its weekly punctuality statistics so that the travelling public can see just how poor easyJet’s punctuality is.

Laying down this challenge today, Ryanair’s Michael (Usain Bolt) O’Leary said:

“I am currently in rigorous training and believe that my daily regime of 40 cigarettes, 24 beers and extended sessions on the couch watching TV, leaves me in perfect shape to beat Stelios in a 21^st Century version of the “Chariots of Fire” race around Trafalgar Square.

“We believe this race will be a much better use of Stelios’ time rather than paying expensive lawyers to issue vacuous threats, when both Stelios and easyJet know they can’t compete with Ryanair’s prices and they can’t match our punctuality either.

“If Stelios is too “tired” to run, then I will offer him the alternative of a wheelbarrow race around Trafalgar Square, with the winner taking all. Win or lose, at least Stelios and easyJet will save a fortune on expensive lawyers fees. No expensive lawyers can alter the facts, compared to Ryanair, easyJet is a high fares airline, and an always late airline.


“See you in Trafalgar Square Stelios!


If MOL cannot make the race I will represent Ryanair... I am on the same training regime as he ..

easyjet quietly updated its website this month with a new gate bag fee and with its awful punctuality stats (for Oct –Dec 2011) which it had failed to publish (despite claiming punctuality is its ‘top priority’) since April 2009, when Ryanair’s punctuality outperformed easyjet’s on time performance every week from 2003.

after being confirmed as having worse punctuality than Air Zimbabwe, easyjet has now conceded to republishing their stats quarterly.
Ryanair now calls on easyjet to admit that they are a poor copycat of Ryanair but they can’t copy Ryanair’s low fares or our leading punctuality either.


http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/easyjet-quietly-sneaks-in-gate-bag-fees

What was that about an Easyjet gate bag fee? I just went through there booking system ( without buying obviously!) and didn't see it?

It's here :


http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Planning/baggage.html

• if you bring more than one piece of hand baggage we’ll check the extra into the hold. We’ll need to charge you for this – at check-in this fee is £25 due to higher handling costs at the airport if you don't buy the bag online and at the boarding gate this increases to £40 to ensure that we can bring you to your destination on time.

Another "pique" to EZY, after its announcement of a base opening at Southend-on-Sea (SEN) :
http://www.ryanair.com/ie/news/easyjet-flip-flops-low-fares-punctuality-and-nowhere-airports

easyjet:
•Used to be on time - then refused to publish its abysmal punctuality.
•Used to offer low fares – and is now targeting high fares business passengers.
•Used to fly only to primary airports – and is now flying to/from ‘nowhere’.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:
“In the past easyjet always harped on about flying to primary airports, while claiming that Ryanair takes passengers from ‘nowhere to nowhere’. However, now easyjet flip-flops again as it turns its back on leisure passengers in a bid to hike up fares by targeting ‘business’ travellers, and abandons its primary airports for ‘nowhere’ airports.
It is evident that easyjet is undergoing a huge identity crisis.

have you seen the new logos on the FR aircrafts? One of them is "bye bye easyjet"

Banana wrote:have you seen the new logos on the FR aircrafts? One of them is "bye bye easyjet"

Thats old haha =]

we only started seeing them about 2 months ago at FAO airport
that and "bye bye baby" too

a couple of years ago their was a "bye bye latehansa" no idea if it's still in the fleet. but with this plane i arrived half an hour late