Ruinair

The Low Fares Airline (3)

THE LOW FARES TAXI

A row over security at Stansted Airport has broken out after it was alleged an aircraft was flagged down ‘like a London taxi’ as it moved towards the runway for takeoff. The GMB union says a Ruinair plane was stopped by one of the airline’s employees, breaching safety and security rules. Ruinair has confirmed the incident took place, but says safety was not compromised. A GMB spokesman said the plane, with approximately 100 passengers on board, was flagged down as it taxied towards the runway. Ruinair denies the plane was taxiing but admits it had moved off its stand. In a statement the airline said one of its co-pilots had asked to travel home to Esbjerg as a supernumerary crew member. The airline’s statement confirmed that the co-pilot, who had a fully authorised air-side access pass and was wearing full reflective clothing, did board the plane. ‘He boarded after the aircraft had pushed back early from the stand, and before the engines had been started up. While it was unorthodox and the co-pilot was disciplined, there was no breach of safety procedures and no delay to the aircraft. The flight continued onwards on its journey and arrived 22 minutes ahead of schedule in Esbjerg.’

BBC NEWS

THE NO FARES TAXI

The head of Ruinair has come up with a novel way to beat Dublin’s notorious traffic jams – his own taxi licence. Tired of crawling through the capital’s frequent gridlocks, multi-millionaire O’Leery has bought a taxi licence, number MG99, which allows him to drive his luxury Mercedes S500 saloon in restricted bus lanes. Since the deregulation of the taxi industry three years ago, the number of licences in circulation in the city has tripled to around 10,000. A spokesperson for Ruinair confirmed the move by O’Leery. ‘To the best of my knowledge it’s true and what is reported in the papers is correct,’ the spokesperson said. While it is not illegal to use the licence, O’Leery would be obliged to pick up customers if hailed while driving without a passenger in his car, the papers said. O’Leery was quoted as follows: ‘Last time I checked this was a democratic republic. As long as I pay my taxes I’m free to do with my money what I like. It’s a black taxi registered in Mullingar. I have a driver who drives it for me. It appears to be alright if I rent a taxi but if I own a taxi there’s a problem. If you’re in Mullingar then give me a call. I’d be happy to look after you. If they want to amend the taxi regulations which says I’m allowed to pick up people in Dublin, I’ll be happy to pick up people in Dublin. And I’ll do it a lot cheaper.’ There is a meter in his taxi and it produces receipts. The fare from Mullingar to Dublin Airport is eighty euros. ‘We are a low-cost airline so we wouldn’t entertain mileage allowances like that,’ he added.