Ryanair boss says nervous 737 MAX fliers will be allowed to disembark and change planes
The chief executive of Ryanair has promised to give passengers the chance to disembark the 737 MAX before takeoff, and find them another flight, if they feel nervous about the jet’s safety record.
The model has been given the green light to return to the sky after it was grounded last year following two fatal crashes in six months. With Ryanair having ordered 135 of them, Michael O’Leary said he has no concerns. However, Telegraph Travel readers have expressed reticence to step on board the aircraft, with a poll suggesting 43% would avoid doing so. In response, O’Leary promised that worried passengers would be transferred free of charge to another available flight if they turn up at the airport to find they are flying on a MAX (now rebranded the 737-8200).
“It’s not possible to tell people they are flying on a 737 MAX when they book, as we only assign planes to various routes at short notice,” said O’Leary, who will be on board the first delivery flight from Seattle to Dublin. “If anyone gets in a MAX and then wants to offload we will create an opportunity and move them to the next flight. We won’t force anybody on.
“I understand there might be some nerves but it’s a great plane, the software issues have been fixed, and our pilots love them. People said the same about the 787 Dreamliner after the lithium battery problems but now people love them. We all need the 737 MAX to be a success, because otherwise Airbus will have monopoly, which will mean the cost of air travel will rise. There’s nothing worse for consumers than a French monopoly.”
The aviation veteran, speaking after the Government unveiled plans to allow arrivals from high-risk countries to escape quarantine after five days by taking a test, said the new policy would do little to help the beleaguered travel industry.
He also urged Boris Johnson to kickstart the travel industry’s post-pandemic recovery by scrapping Air Passenger Duty (APD) – and warned holidaymakers to expect higher fares next summer if he doesn’t.
“They’ve made a mess of it,” said O’Leary of the Test to Release scheme, announced by the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce on Tuesday. “It’s not very well thought out, and – particularly if you are travelling to see family – a test three days before departure, and then no quarantine, is a better option. This gives you more confidence to travel knowing you’re not infected, and, as we’ve already seen, people just ignore the quarantine. As with everything the Johnson administration has promised, such as the ‘world-beating’ Test and Trace, it simply doesn’t work in practice.”
The low-cost airline responded to the quarantine news in trademark fashion – announcing a seat sale – but O’Leary is not expecting a dramatic surge in bookings. Indeed, Ryanair is only adding a handful of extra services during the Christmas period to destinations in Italy, Spain and Poland. It will continue to offer just 30% of its previously planned December capacity, with planes likely to be only two-thirds full, but O’Leary was confident that the roll-out of Covid vaccines next year will herald a return to normality. However, he suggested one way the Government could make up for its “mismanagement” of travel during the pandemic.
“If the UK wants to recover quickly next year, and get tourism and travel moving, there’s a simple solution: it needs to scrap APD for two or three years. It’s the most regressive tax in the UK. We’re selling £29 tickets of which £13 is going on APD. Instead of wasting millions on lavish state aid, or Eat Out to Help Out schemes, get rid of APD to get families moving again next Easter and summer, once vaccines are here. It’s money that goes straight back into the pockets of consumers, not back to businesses.
“Travel can get hotels, restaurants and other businesses, especially in London, back on their feet, it can help fix high youth unemployment, and I think the volumes will return in 2021 – but only if prices are low and the Government scraps this tax.”
Given how hard airlines have been hit by global travel restrictions, many are predicting that the cost of travel will rise in 2021. Pent-up demand could be met with limited supply, particularly following the collapse of Thomas Cook in 2019 and a clutch of airlines this year. O’Leary claimed that Ryanair wouldn’t be raising fares, but suggested that peak season travel would be expensive.
He said: “I think long-haul flights are going to take another year to recover. You’ll see families wanting to visit the old short-haul favourites next summer, not take the risk of flying to the likes of Bali or Thailand. Even on short-haul routes I think capacity will remain restrained, so we should expect higher prices for flights to the beach and the main European holiday destinations. Midweek travel and shoulder season should stay quite low, but fares during the school holidays will be higher.”
As for the experience of flying next year, O’Leary expects facemasks to remain a requirement at least until after summer, but believes other travel restrictions, such as pre-flight testing, will be dropped soon after vaccines are rolled out. Of recent plans announced by Qantas to refuse boarding to unvaccinated travellers, he said: “That’s not the sort of thing that will be happening in Europe or North America. Once you’ve vaccinated the high-risk groups then requirements such as that will be pretty pointless.”
As for the next hurdle for the travel industry – Brexit – O’Leary believes Boris Johnson will “roll over” and announce a last-minute trade deal, with the only noticeable change for travellers heading on holiday to Europe the requirement to “wait for longer in the non-EU immigration queue, alongside all the Chinese and American travellers”.
