Paolo,

I think the point is that having extra fuel as a reserve increases the weight of the aircraft, therefore increasing the amount of fuel used during the flight, even though the reserve fuel itself is never burnt.

Stephen, London,

I was wondering, if it is extra fuel and it is not used, it should remain in the planes' tanks and than you don't have to pay again for the same amount of extra fuel; otherwise it is not extra fuel and the amount of fuel normally loaded is never enough.
Am I wrong?

Paolo, Southampton,

@ peter c, Devizes, Wessex

"business is about taking risks and making profits"

risks with your biz's capital and resources, not with the LIVES of your customers !that's called "criminal".
Ryanair's planes are filthy,crammed and creak.in no way worth the price ("secretly" hiked up here & there)

Sarah, London,

Every kg of fuel gets burnt eventually but needs more fuel to ferry it around until it does. Less fuel up = less fuel burnt. Ryanair is not the only airline doing this. Is it safe?
Just one safety-attributed prang and the airline is done for, they have no margin for error, such is their reputation

Paul M, Puerto Cabras, Spain

The Ryanair spokesman protesteth too much, methinks. I think that I'll give them a wider berth than their seats.

Bill Peter, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

its standard business practice shave a bit off here and there a the bits add up to more profit- you take arisk with safety but business is about taking risks and making profits

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

This is simply scaremongering. Ryanair's fuel policy is in compliance with European regulations and far less draconian than, for example, easyJet's. Carrying fuel far in excess of the requirement costs up to $150 000 per ac per year; with 166 aircraft the waste and environmental cost is huge.

John, Nottingham, UK

If a plane is behind schedule the pilot can make up time if necessary by gping faster - which consumes more fuel. Presumably ryanair wants to stop this.

Douglas Bader, London,

James in Dublin, you are playing right into O'Leary's hands, using his tired old 'anti-Irish' accusations towards anyone who criticises Ryanair's business practices.

Paul, Coventry,

I do not know why Ryanair attracts such dubious probably inaccurate reporting- is it cos the punters like it? They also get substandard treatment from the authorities- why when they fly the most modern planes and have the best safety record bar none.

john, whitehaven, uk

Where are all the Ryanair staff posters. Normally they descend like locusts on critical sites slagging off everybody who dares
comment adversely on thiscorporate example of
terrible customer relations. They need to look at Easyjet-much more civilised because like Stelios and don't like O'Leary

JD, London, UK

Whenever I see moans about cheap airlines I think that you get what you pay for. But surely clowns flying the aircraft is taking it a bit far.

anthony, Cluses , France

Air Legislation in the UK places the responsibility onto the Commander of the aircraft (otherwise known as the Captain). If Irish legislation is the same I wonder why the Irish Aviation Authority hasn't demanded that the letter is withdrawn on threat of removing their Air Operators Licence.

Dee, Bournemouth, England

Rather than weigh the fuel,they should weigh the passengers and get accurate loadings.
In that way, they can accurately guage how much fuel they need.

Danny, Ashford, Kent

"...as these clowns claim.... I have nothing to do with ryanair but if I worked for them I'd be furious with this sort of comment. It shows a lack of respect for their staff.

Mark, St Albans,

Don't be silly James. It's nothing to do with British/Irish. I'm Irish and when I go back to Ireland I would never again go with Ryanair. I always fly Aer Lingus. The last time I flew Ryanair years ago I noticed how filthy the plane was and haven't used them since. Now safety issues as well!!

Maire , Edinburgh, Scotland

Mark, Plymouth - I think you must mean passenger safety. Do you regularly complain about how bad the NHS has become under this government?

Chris, Aylesbury, England

We all know who is behind this mandate, and the company is not where it is to-day without the the touch of genius from the driving force, but maybe this is just one step too far,safety does cost I know, but he cost of an accident is incalcuable.

paul, christchurch, u.k.

If you pay 50pence for your flight, surely you don't expect your airline to provide:
a. Oxygen in the masks
b.Extra fuel for contingencies
Be realisticas to why the price is so low!
Never flown them and never will.

andrea, london,

Reassuring to know that Ryanair regard some of their pilots as 'clowns'. I'm afraid it was the clowns at the top of management who were responsible for me choosing never to fly with Ryanair. Never mind the £1 seats, I wouldn't fly with them, if they paid me.

Tim T, Exeter, UK

The company is not asking them to take less than the described minimums for fuel as mandated here by the FAA. If I recall correctly thats fuel to the alternate airport plus another 20 minutes. No one is going to decline a flight expedited landing in the event of a low fuel emergency.

Murph, Madisonville, Kentucky

It is only a matter of time until a "budget" airline suffers a major fatality, either physically or financially.
The business model of "cheap air travel for all" is dead. You don't get anything for nothing.
You won't catch me in a budget airline queue. Fasten your seatbelts for a turbulent ride.

Vincent Powell, Guernsey, Channel Islands

Geff should be a script writer. I roared with laughter. Its probably not so far fetched

JD, London, UK

What will it save? If they have more fuel at take-off they'll have more left when landing. A bit more will be used during the take-off phase due to extra fuel, but if 300kg is £180 the gain from less fuel is only going to be a miniscule proportion of that.
Hardly worth it.

Paul Sykes, Mansfield, UK

Seems a very good reason not to fly with Ryanair. Plus it thinks its own pilots are clowns...

Chris Jackson, London,

I would always fly easy-jet very good pilot training and safety margins

nicky, nottingham,

I have only had bad experiences with Ryan Air and do not use them since 2004. I was already told that they allegedly keep a minimum of fuel on board although this is not the reason that I stopped using them because they must follow civil aviation rules in this matter and I believe they are safe.

karen, Tonbridge,

If the pilots are limited to only 300kgs extra fuel when the European winter is approaching with its fogs and snowstorms then my decision is easy, I will not be flying with Ryanair. The airline must have internal problems if a company spokesman calls it's pilots clowns.

LB, BRACKNELL, UK

Actually I think its a great idea. And then just before take off Ryanair can extort more money from its passengers insinuating that just to be on the safe side and not crash at the other end maybe they'd like to have a whip round for another 5 galloons of unleaded!

Geff, london, uk

Graeme M: That was my first thought, but presumably the aim is to reduce weight

Allan Richardson, Halver, Germany

The seems ridiculous to put patient safety at risk, why dont they just put up prices!!

Mark, Plymouth,

"He said Ryanair had suffered one Mayday in the past three years caused by fuel shortages."

One too many in my opinion

Pat, Nelson,

Horrible airline, horrible attitude towards customers and now unsafe.

Tim, London,

The whole idea seems ludicrous from the outset in that any unused extra fuel can be used for future flights - surely?

Hopefully pilots aren't up there performing aerobatics, and having burn-ups with their fly-boy mates, and using fuel unnecessarily - or are they..?

Graeme M, London ,

No matter how cheap the ticket, after speaking to a couple of pilots I won't be getting on another Ryanair flight again.

paul, nottingham, england

Lets hear the opinions of the mouthy owner of Ryan Air on this one then ?

ian payne, WALSALL,

I am not interested where an airline is based - my key concern is is it safe?

Chris, Swindon, UK

Interesting that James in Dublin has to defend this company citing the same tired anti-British sentiments.

Seems the blind "Buy Irish" mentality excuses even despicable companies like Ryanair which treats its customers with utter contempt.

Veeran, Dublin, Ireland

This is the problem for the regulators these days. Fragile airlines cutting corners often complain the regulators are wrong and there is no safety issue. Take a look at the Southwest Airlines / FAA case or the Australian CASA and the senate inquiry regarding CASA being too close too industry.

Kylie, Melbourne, Australia

About time this airline was grounded.

David Short, London, UK

it's not a good experience flying with them now,...sounds like it could get even worse!

Dennis, Richmond, Richmond,

And herein lies the problem - Ryanair operate mainly out of the UK, but are 'regulated' (if that's the word) by the Irish IAA, which in the industry is widely seen as a joke.

Chris, London,

Interesting to observe the concerted efforts by the British media to deride Ryanair with shocking headlines and flimsy substance.

James, Dublin, Ireland