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Ryanair and KIDS attract criticism over charity calendar 8

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 18 Nov 2009

Ryanair’s charity calendar has sold thousands of copies within five days despite coming under attack from women’s rights advocates.

The controversial 'Girls of Ryanair calendar', which features female cabin crew in bikinis, has sold 2,500 copies since going on sale and more than 100,000 people have viewed the ‘making of’ video on YouTube.

But the calendar, which this year aims to raise €110,000 for disabled children’s charity KIDS, has attracted criticism from women’s groups and politicians. Labour MEP Mary Honeyball, a long-time critic of the Ryanair’s annual fundraising calendar, has also criticised charities for aligning themselves with the product.

“My concern is the message that charities, which align themselves with this calendar, are sending to their supporters. Charities are based on values and aim to improve people’s lives, but by accepting donations of this kind and inadvertently supporting the cause, they risk jeopardising their reputation,” wrote Honeyball on her blog.

“Charities like KIDS must measure the damage it could do to its reputation against the monetary value of the donation it will receive.”

Honeyball’s criticism was backed by the National Women’s Council of Ireland which called the calendar "irredeemably old-fashioned”. The council also said Ryanair “shows a serious lack of imagination presenting women as sex objects".

But the company has dismissed its critics as party poopers and couched its calendar as a campaign for women’s right to undress for charity.

“The National Women’s Council clearly don’t like fun or charity,” Stephen McNamara, a spokesman for the airline said. In an official statement the airline also referred to Honeyball as “Mean Mary”.

“It is unfair of the anti-fun, anti-charity, brigade at the NWCI to accuse Ryanair or our people of a ‘lack of imagination’ when we have produced one of Europe’s most popular calendars while raising €300,000 for charity in just three years,” he said.

McNamara said the airline was pleased with the interest in its calendar and would "campaign to defend the right of girls to take their clothes off for charity".

“What boring women’s groups and dotty MEPs fail to acknowledge is that this calendar is a voluntary effort by our brilliant cabin crew and that the entire proceeds of each calendar will go directly to the KIDS charity,” he said.

More than 200 charities had applied to be the beneficiary of Ryanair’s 2010 calendar this year, more than twice the number of applications the company received last year.

Kevin Williams, chief executive of KIDS, said told Civil Society that "Ryanair is a reputable airline, used by millions of people, including disabled people". 

He said the charity's chief concern was that the airline provided good services to disabled people and that those participating in the calendar shoot were doing so on a voluntary basis.

"Many other charities would wish to have the opportunity [of receiving the money from Ryanair]", said Williams. "The way they raise the money is entirely up to them."

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