Ryanair 2011 Annual Report Download - page 65

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SAFETY RECORD
Ryanair has not had a single passenger or flight crew fatality in its 26-year operating history. Ryanair
demonstrates its commitment to safe operations through its safety training procedures, its investment in safety-
related equipment, and its adoption of an internal confidential reporting system for safety issues. The
Company’s Board of Directors also has an air safety committee to review and discuss air safety and related
issues. Michael Horgan, a Company director, is the chairman of this committee and reports to the Board of
Directors.
Ryanair’s flight training is oriented towards accident prevention and covers all aspects of flight
operations. Ryanair maintains full control of the content and delivery of all of its flight crew training, including
initial, recurrent, and upgrade phases. All training programs are approved by the Irish Aviation Authority (the
“IAA”), which regularly audits both operation control standards and flight crew training standards for
compliance with EU legislation.
All of the Boeing 737-800s that Ryanair has bought or committed to buy are certified for Category IIIA
landings (automatic landings with minimum horizontal visibility of 200 meters and a 50 feet decision height).
Ryanair has a comprehensive and documented safety management system. Management encourages
flight crews to report any safety-related issues through the Safety Alert Initial Report reporting program or to
use the confidential reporting system, which is available online through Ryanair’s Crewdoc system. The
confidential reporting system affords flight crews the opportunity to report directly to senior management any
event, error, or discrepancy in flight operations that they do not wish to report through standard reporting
channels. The confidential reporting system is designed to increase management’s awareness of problems that
may be encountered by flight crews in their day-to-day operations. Management uses the information reported
through all reporting systems to modify operating procedures and improve flight operation standards.
Ryanair has installed an Operational Flight Data Monitoring (OFDM) system on each of its Boeing
737-800 aircraft, which automatically provides a confidential report on exceedances from normal operating
limitations detected during the course of each flight. The purpose of this system is to monitor operational trends
and inform management of any instance of an operational limit being exceeded. By analyzing these reports,
management is able to identify undesirable trends and potential areas of risk, so as to take steps to rectify such
deviations, thereby ensuring adherence to Ryanair’s flight safety standards.
In November 2008, a Ryanair aircraft suffered a multiple bird strike during its final approach to Rome
(Ciampino) airport. This incident caused substantial damage to the aircraft, which resulted in an insurance claim
being filed in respect of this aircraft. The damage that it suffered was such that the aircraft was not repaired. It is
scheduled as a “disposal” in the table on page 89, although Ryanair has retained ownership of it for certain parts
and for training purposes.
AIRPORT OPERATIONS
Airport Handling Services
Ryanair provides its own aircraft and passenger handling and ticketing services at Dublin Airport.
Third parties provide these services to Ryanair at most other airports it serves. Servisair plc provides Ryanair’s
ticketing, passenger and aircraft handling, and ground handling services at many of these airports in Ireland and
the U.K. (excluding London (Stansted) Airport where these services are provided primarily by Swissport Ltd.),
while similar services in continental Europe are generally provided by the local airport authorities, either
directly or through sub-contractors. Management attempts to obtain competitive rates for such services by
negotiating multi-year contracts at fixed prices. These contracts are generally scheduled to expire in one to five
years, unless renewed, and certain of them may be terminated by either party before their expiry upon prior
notice. Ryanair will need to enter into similar agreements in any new markets it may enter. See “Item 3. Key
Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Company—The Company Is Dependent on External Service
Providers.”
During 2009, Ryanair introduced Internet check-in for all passengers and also introduced kiosks at
certain airports for the provision of other payment services. The Company has these kiosks in operation at
Dublin, London (Stansted), London (Gatwick), Frankfurt (Hahn), and many of its other bases. The introduction