ashes to ashes

I find it hilarious that people are complaining about the fact that airlines were banned from flying through the ash cloud. Across Europe business are shouting the odds about the ineffective governments whose attempts to deal with the ash cloud were a 'shambles'. Surely commerce would have faced far worse a disaster were planes to fall from the sky?

A pilot who flew through an ash cloud and lived to tell the tale was on sky news about 20 minutes ago. He boasted that airline pilots regularly flew through the remnants of ash clouds when flying over Java. Hmm, seems to be a valid enough point doesn't it? This pilot decreased altitude and managed to re-start his engines and safely land the aircraft. But what if he hadn't? Now I'm no Nostradamus, doomsday isn't my speciality, but just because he managed to re-start his engines doesn't mean every pilot who wandered into an ash cloud would be so lucky.

Don't get me wrong, I can't even begin to understand the frustrations of being stuck abroad for days on end with no idea as to when I'd get home. I'd be devastated were it to happen and most likely feel the frustration. However, I'd rather be safe and frustrated and eventually make it home than risk my neck flying through a cloud of molten rock particles. Pyroclastic clouds and Pompeii, Pinatubo and plummeting temperatures evidently mean little to the masses. Get me what I want, even if it might kill me.

For the first time in my life I find myself AGREEING with Michael O'Leary. It's blasphemous I know, but I have to say, the man has a point. Now I know Ryanair is a bit of a pain at times, but all they're there to do is fly you to your destination. It's the public transport of the airline world if you will. You pay about €30 for a flight, or occasionally for a return (thank you Europe), you break the bank on the hotel and then a tongue-twister of a volcano in Iceland goes boom. Should O'Leary cover your hotel costs? No. Not in my opinion anyway.

Fair enough if he cancelled your flight for no reason, or Ryanair was just being the proverbial pain the backside that it generally is, but for God's sake, you get what you paid for. You book a budget flight because you know it's not first class service, it's just supposed to get you there. O'Leary is not a God (he and I may differ on this point), he cannot stop the volcano (a clever soul on Facebook advocated the most attractive means of doing so - chucking Justin 'it's past my bedtime' Bieber as a sacrifice. roflcopter). If he's refunding your flight be happy. It's more than he'd usually do.