We’re all Going on a Term-Time Holiday

On Tuesday 16th January a large number of staff and students from our university found themselves getting free holidays to various places in Europe. Why? Not a charity giveaway but through a rogue email containing a link into the inner workings of the Ryan Air booking system.

The email found its way to a graduate student in Grizedale College. Not long afterward he was seen running down knocking on all the doors of his corridor shouting and subsequent flats yelling ‘Lets screw the bastards!’ It was not long until the majority of the occupants had booked themselves weekends away to Ireland, France and Spain with the only expense being the time spent deciding where to go. However, Ryan Air’s troubles did not end there as it was not long until the email was passed on to the next flat. And soon, through the power of the Internet a large majority of block 43 were browsing the Ryan Air website deciding where they wanted to go.

However, after deciding that it was cruel not to share this new found opportunity, the message was passed on to the college porters with instructions to pass the information on to security. Whilst this was happening, word was spreading about Ryan Airs problem as the email was being sent to various places around the country one going to Manchester and another getting as far south as Sussex, and to the east at Newcastle. The message was clear – pass it on. It was not long until word was leaving the world of universities as the email was soon sent out to parents who were then instructed to pass the email on to work colleagues. Soon employees of the NHS were asking for holiday leave so they could jet off round Europe for the weekend. This is not to say that the email stayed in this country. A few hours after the email had originally been received it was discovered that it had reached as far as Denmark, where university here invited there friends there to come and visit on the expense of Ryan air. It is unknown how far the email has reached (at the time of writing, 4 hours has expired from initially receiving email) and how many people find themselves on the receiving end of a free holiday.

A simple email has, at time of writing has so far been sent to around a one hundred people with the amount increasing quickly as the word spreads across the university and then all over the country. Between now and the beginning of February Ryan Air will be seeing a lot of students with some connection to Lancaster. (a lot)A day of great joy for members of our university, a day of great misfortune for Ryan Air, and particularly for one for one graduate student who is rubbing his hands with glee at having succeeded in spreading the word so widely.

Jonathan Starr