September 2, 2024, 4:14 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Flying is becoming increasingly expensive, but low-cost airlines such as Ryanair continue to offer extremely low prices. For just €14.99 from Karlsruhe to London – such tempting offers have already persuaded almost one in three Germans to choose the low-cost airline. How can the Irish company still make so much money every year? In a recently broadcast documentary by ZDF, employees reveal that their working conditions, in particular, suffer from Ryanair’s dumping prices.
Process optimization is necessary in almost every company in order to increase efficiency. Michael O’Leary (CEO of Ryanair) and his team have apparently taken this concept to the extreme. According to ZDF, their low-cost model generated an impressive annual profit of almost 1.4 billion euros in 2023. A ZDF documentary entitled “The Ryanair System” now shows the costs of this success. According to the documentary, it is above all the employees who suffer from poor working conditions and have to make a profit for Ryanair at all costs.
The Ryanair system – unveiling the tricks of the budget airline
In a promotional video, Ryanair entices new employees with breakfast in Paris, lunch in Rome, and dinner in London. “I thought it would be a dream job to travel the world,” says former flight attendant Sara in the ZDF documentary. “But this illusion was quickly shattered.” The working conditions at Ryanair are anything but good. Because what the low-cost airline saves on prices, it tries to recoup through its employees. The crew’s main aim is to sell as much as possible on board. “Ten minutes after take-off, we have to start selling sandwiches.”
On longer flights, it is quite normal for passengers to order coffee or snacks. But on a 45-minute flight, the staff have to actively persuade passengers to buy something. Sara reports: “We are under immense pressure to sell. The goal is to get passengers to spend as much money as possible.”
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Staff buy products themselves to meet sales targets
There are individual sales targets for each member of the cabin crew that need to be achieved. According to Sara, anyone who does not meet these targets is even contacted on days off and asked about their sales. At the same time, there is a rating system in which the best and worst salespeople are openly presented for all to see. The pressure is so intense that some employees even resort to purchasing items from the onboard shop themselves just to meet the quotas. “If you’re 20 euros short, you just buy a perfume,” reports former steward Joao in the ZDF documentary.
A former employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, also reports that they are “completely exhausted, overworked [and] underpaid.” There is obviously a method behind these poor working conditions at Ryanair. “Keeping people in line is like the military,” reports Felipe, a former cabin manager at Ryanair. This can also be seen in the attitude of CEO Michael O’Leary, who has been at the helm of the company since 1993.
During a lecture at an Irish university in 2015, the audience asked him whether he had to make an effort to increase his employees’ job satisfaction. O’Leary replied: “The human factor is very important to us. I’m often asked how I motivate employees – fear works great. Intimidating people can often be the most effective form of motivation.” Even if this statement was certainly meant ironically at the time, there is probably a grain of truth in it if you listen to the reports from Ryanair employees about their working conditions. TRAVELBOOK has requested a statement on the allegations from Ryanair but has yet to receive a response.