Ryanair 2010 Annual Report Download - page 107

105
EMPLOYEES AND LABOR RELATIONS
The following table sets forth the number of Ryanair’s personnel at each of March 31, 2010, 2009 and
2008:
Classification
Number of
Personnel at March
31, 2010
Number of
Personnel at March
31, 2009
Number of
Personnel at March
31, 2008
Management
...............................
99 99 99
Administrative
............................
276 271 259
Maintenance
................................
180 202 201
Ground Operations
......................
297 384 485
Pilots................................
...........
2,032 1,852 1,599
Flight Attendants
........................
4,284 3,808 3,277
Total................................
............
7,168 6,616 5,920
Ryanair’s pilots, flight attendants and maintenance and ground operations personnel undergo training,
both initial and recurrent. A substantial portion of the initial training for Ryanair’s flight attendants is devoted to
safety procedures, and cabin crews are required to undergo annual evacuation and fire drill training during their
tenure with the airline. Ryanair also provides salary increases to its engineers who complete advanced training
in certain fields of aircraft maintenance. Ryanair utilizes its own Boeing 737-800 aircraft simulators for pilot
training.
IAA regulations require pilots to be licensed as commercial pilots with specific ratings for each aircraft
to be flown. In addition, IAA regulations require all commercial pilots to be medically certified as physically fit.
At March 31, 2010, the average age of Ryanair’s pilots was 37.8 years and their average period of employment
with Ryanair was 3.8 years. Licenses and medical certification are subject to periodic re-evaluation and require
recurrent training and recent flying experience in order to be maintained. Maintenance engineers must be
licensed and qualified for specific aircraft. Flight attendants must undergo initial and periodic competency
training. Training programs are subject to approval and monitoring by the IAA. In addition, the appointment of
senior management personnel directly involved in the supervision of flight operations, training, maintenance and
aircraft inspection must be satisfactory to the IAA. Based on its experience in managing the airline’s growth to
date, management believes that there is a sufficient pool of qualified and licensed pilots, engineers and
mechanics within the EU to satisfy Ryanair’s anticipated future needs in the areas of flight operations,
maintenance and quality control and that Ryanair will not face significant difficulty in hiring and continuing to
employ the required personnel. Ryanair has also been able to satisfy its needs for additional pilots through the
use of contract agencies. Ryanair had 1,147 such pilots from these agencies as of March 31, 2010. These
contract pilots are included in the table above. In addition, Ryanair has also been able to satisfy its needs for
additional flight attendants through the use of contract agencies. Ryanair had 2,255 such flight attendants as of
March 31, 2010. These contract flight attendants are included in the table above.
Ryanair has licensed IAA-approved organizations in Sweden and the Netherlands to operate pilot
training courses using Ryanair’s syllabus, in order to grant Boeing 737 type-ratings. Each trainee pilot must pay
for his or her own training and, based on his or her performance, he or she may be offered a position operating
on Ryanair aircraft. This program enables Ryanair to secure a continuous stream of type-rated co-pilots.