Ryanair record tumbles

PUNCTUALITY:Ryanair has blamed the "remarkably hard winter" for a significant fall in the airline's punctuality.

A total of 81 per cent of Ryanair’s flights were on time in January, as against 89 per cent for the same period last year.

Ryanair takes great pride in its punctuality and never misses the opportunity to call itself “Europe’s number one on-time airline”, while taking repeated digs at rivals.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said the airline had to contend with snow and ice over the long winter, especially during the big freeze in late December and early January, which saw the closure of several European airports.

The bad weather has also led to a near threefold increase in passenger complaints, albeit from a low base, up from 0.88 complaints per 1,000 passengers in 2009 to 2.12 per 1,000 in 2010.

McNamara said: “After a cold spell like we’ve had, we always end up getting letters from passengers. In some respects they are not even complaining. When they are seeking a refund, we treat that as a letter. It is quite a big job for the boys and girls over in customer care.” The company claims to answer 99 per cent of complaints within seven days.