Kenny Jacobs, chief marketing officer at Ryanair, insisted that despite the low-cost carrier having “some fun” over the bank holiday weekend on its social media accounts, the airline takes its IT own policy “very seriously”.
Ryanair sent a series of tweets poking fun at the problems which BA was experiencing, including a picture referencing the infamous Little Britain catchphrase “computer says no!”
https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/868806644200873985
Legal experts have estimated BA’s technology failure could cost the flag carrier up to £150 million.
BA flights were brought to a halt at Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday with 75,000 people affected by the three days of disruption blamed on a “power surge” by BA boss Alex Cruz.
https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/868784589199880193
Speaking to media in London today (May 30), Jacobs explained that Ryanair had its IT systems spread across three different locations, with each one ready to kick if a failure were to occur.
He conceded that Ryanair had a “slightly less complex [digital] footprint” compared with BA but he stressed: “We have never had a major outage in the time we have been online.”
David O’Brien, Ryanair’s chief commercial officer added that Ryanair had “not been shy” in investing in its IT capabilities to combat situations experienced by BA.
Jacobs described BA’s IT failure as a "disaster" for the airline, and said Ryanair “saw a surge in bookings over the weekend” which he attributed to the travel chaos caused to BA’s customers.
However Jacobs questioned whether the incident would herald any longer term impact to BA’s image and customer-base and likewise any new customer gains for Ryanair.
“BA is a strong brand with a strong heritage so [I don’t think] customers will be saying BA ‘never again’,” He said.
