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Charlie Roy
29th Apr 2009, 11:38
Isn't today D-day for Weeze.
If the judge's time restrictions aren't reversed then Ryanair pull the base? Any news on this?

_Woody_
29th Apr 2009, 14:25
Ryanair has announced there will be no decision before friday.

In german: Ryanair: Keine Entscheidung vor Freitag (http://www.nrn-forum.net/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7160)

Seljuk22
29th Apr 2009, 14:51
On Friday maybe more about NRN.

VanBosh
29th Apr 2009, 15:10
So if they do pull out they will have 6 aircraft doing nothing from next week?

Any talks on where these will go or will they just withdrawn until the winter schedule?

GoEDI
29th Apr 2009, 19:07
New route EDI-HAU 2x weekly from beginning of July.

EDI-BRE also reported to be increasing but can't see any change in the timetable yet.

airbourne
29th Apr 2009, 20:05
166 passengers on board a Ryanair plane were grounded in Dublin earlier...

Four school teens on the flight - from Nantes in France - had to be assesed after falling ill - it's believed they may have had food poisoning.

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara reckons the Dublin Airport Authority overreacted:

Source: Dublins 98 News

EGAC_Ramper
30th Apr 2009, 02:59
In my own opinion I think the whole flu pandemic is an over reaction but alas we'll see where it leads .......

pikkuprinssi
30th Apr 2009, 12:51
New routes from Spain

From Alicante to:
Bologna, Fez, Gdanks, Lille, Marrakesh, Santander

From Madrid to:
Almeria, Bologna, Granada, London Gatwick, Malta


Any news from Dusseldorf Weeze????

Seljuk22
30th Apr 2009, 12:52
from 15 June BRE-STN 12/7 > 19/7 (new flight operated by STN a/c)
New routes:
1st July BRE-GDN 3/7
1st July BRE-KUN 2/7
4th July EDI-HAU 2/7
7th July ALC-HAU 2/7

FR195W
30th Apr 2009, 12:58
Any news from Dusseldorf Weeze???? Still no news for NRN.

Greets,
fr195w.

Charlie Roy
30th Apr 2009, 15:42
New routes:
1st July BRE-GDN 3/7
1st July BRE-KUN 2/7
4th July EDI-HAU 2/7
7th July ALC-HAU 2/7

Also:
Reus - Marrakech
Madrid - Bologna
Madrid - Granada
Madrid - Gatwick
Madrid - Malta
Madrid - Almeria
Alicante - Bologna
Alicante - Fez
Alicante - Gdansk
Alicante - Lille
Alicante - Marrakech
Alicante - Santander

Voldermort
30th Apr 2009, 22:10
According to the Ryanair booking engine the EDI-NRN flight operates for the last time tomorrow (Fri 1st May) even though it was bookable for travel in the summer just a few days ago.Also noticed that NRN-LGW is gone and NRN-STN appears to be just one a day (I thought it used to be 2 or 3 a day) but I am not sure if these changes were already known?

FR195W
1st May 2009, 06:42
These changes refer to the new opening times (06:00 - 23:00) from tomorrow. All flights operating after 23:00 have already dissapeared from the booking engine a few days ago.

Ryanair will give a press announcement today if the base will be closed or not...let´s hope for the best...

Greets,
fr195w.

45989
1st May 2009, 10:10
Slightly off topic, but very interesting rant by the curiously named
Leo Hairy Camel re ryr and unions.
On Terms and Enderarment thread.
Bizarre....

More Prozac needed maybe??

RyanairGrad
1st May 2009, 14:41
Dusseldorf Weeze (NRN)
The bezirksregierung Dusseldorf has dicided that the general airport operating hours are:
06.00-22.00

But there are priviliges for Home Carriers (like FR):
Starts from 06.00-23.00
Landings from 06.00-23.30 (with an extra 30 min for delays)

Ryanair still has to respond,

Grad

JamTart
1st May 2009, 14:48
I see flights are back on sale again from Weeze....

MUFC_fan
1st May 2009, 15:19
Money Central - Times Online - WBLG: Twenty reasons never to fly Ryanair (http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2009/03/20-reasons-not-to-fly-ryanair.html)

No. 1 is incorrect to start with...:rolleyes:

Typical snobbery from The Times

Based
1st May 2009, 15:37
Hey RyanairGrad, thanks for the info. I'd suggest 'But there are priviliges for Home Carriers (like FR)' should just say 'especially to suit Ryanair's schedule':) Looks like the base is safe so.

Carmoisine
1st May 2009, 16:20
There is a Memo on the staff website today from our ever charming Dir of Flt Ops saying a new licence has been issued and the base has been saved.

davidjohnson6
1st May 2009, 16:24
..the base has been savedPhew ! The world can breathe easy, and the earth has permission to keep turning again !

Cue the rousing theme tune from Superman.... with MOL flying off into the sunset :}

FR-
3rd May 2009, 11:24
Carmoisine:
What is on crewdock should stay on crewdock, and should not be talked about on here. Dublin does keep an eye on these forums.

babemagnet
3rd May 2009, 13:31
FR- Where do you care about? are you from Ryanair police department?

pwalhx
3rd May 2009, 22:04
Its hardly top secret news is it, so why would it cause any problems

Shamrogue
3rd May 2009, 22:30
I hear Superman wears Michael OLeary pyjama's!

michaelknight
3rd May 2009, 22:51
FR- "Dublin does keep an eye on these forums"

Is that some sort of threat? Haven't 'Dublin' got better things to do than dossing away surfing the net?

MK

Seljuk22
4th May 2009, 16:12
from July BRE-EDI 5/7 (additional service on Thursday, op. by EDI a/c)

Charlie Roy
4th May 2009, 16:30
The soon to be opened airport of Comiso in Southern Sicily (a Catania West of sorts :}) could potentially become a Ryanair destination with a Charleroi route for starters.

R.T.M. News: Delegazione belga chiede il collegamento aereo Comiso-Charleroi (http://www.radiortm.it/Notizia.asp?Id=23107)
Il sindaco Alfano ha rassicurato gli ospiti del completamento dei lavori del nuovo aeroporto di Comiso che dovrebbe essere pronto a fine mese e si è impegnato a rappresentare la loro richiesta alla compagnia Ryanair, interessata a realizzare i collegamenti con l’aeroporto di Comiso.

And recently at a press conference to announce 3 new routes at Bergamo, Ryanair said they open to negotiation with Comiso, Catania and Naples.
md80.it - Archivio Blog - TRE NUOVI COLLEGAMENTI RYANAIR DA BERGAMO (http://www.md80.it/2009/04/15/tre-nuovi-collegamenti-ryanair-da-bergamo/)
Catania, Comiso e Napoli sono scali sicuramente interessanti. Loro ci chiedono traffico e noi siamo disponibili ad aprire una trattativa

In general I think Ryanair could do well on the following routes from Comiso:

Rome Ciampino
Milan Bergamo
Pisa
Bologna
Venice Teviso
Turin
Cagliari
Malta
Paris Beauvais
Brussels Charleroi
Eindhoven
Düsseldorf Weeze
Frankfurt Hahn
Bremen
Karlsruhe-Baden
Berlin Schönefeld
Memmingen
Basel
Barcelona Girona
Dublin
London STN/LTN/LGW
Birmingham / East Midlands
Liverpool / Manchester


Sorry, I'm getting carried away :ouch:

anna_list
4th May 2009, 21:21
Hi,

If anyone's interested in how MOL is reacting to the economic problems, here are the capacity figures for UK and Irish bases, comparing Jan - April 2009 with the same period last year. (By the way, there are no state secrets here - all this information is in the public domain, if you dig for it).

EDI and BHX: both up massively (not surprising, given that both were bases were opened last year). Incidentally, bmiBaby flights are down by 40% at BHX.
MAN: Not a base, but 3 times more FR flights than in the same period last year, also more FR flights than at BOH
BOH: up 69% - base opened last April
SNN: up by 7% - Jan, Feb and Mar were all up, but the axe fell in April when movements were down by over 20%
BHD: up 5%
LTN: down 3%
DUB: down 8.1% (EI short haul down by about 4%)
PIK: down 9.5%
BRS: down 9.8%, but with 2 more aircraft to come in July
LPL: down 10.1%
STN: down 12.4%
EMA: down 15.3% (bmiBaby down by about 17%). In April, BHX had almost as many FR flights as EMA

burble
4th May 2009, 22:54
yes, must concur that has been my experience, lots of space on the aircraft and no need to hurry on or off. Can't help but feel this can't be good for the bottom line.

The Real Slim Shady
5th May 2009, 09:13
Don't forget that Jan - Apr is the low season for all airlines.

Shed-on-a-Pole
5th May 2009, 11:50
True, but the comparison is made with the equivalent period last year.

racedo
5th May 2009, 12:51
True, but the comparison is made with the equivalent period last year.

Given they were 200,000 up in March V Easter 2008 plus launch of lots of new routes in April I would expect a decent April.

burble
5th May 2009, 13:51
Racedo,you're the man with the numbers, what was the overall percentage capacity increase over that period and how does this compare with an increase of 200,000 over the same period? Can only comment from experience but there are some very poorly filled flights on the network and I suspect that yield is down also. By what criterion are you expecting a decent April?

racedo
5th May 2009, 16:24
Burble

Have to wait until the numbers published however the reason why expecting a decent April are two fold.

1.) Easter in 2008 was in March and FR still managed a 200,000 increase year on year
2.) Number of new routes starting up in April

Definition of "Decent" is positive numbers v April 2008.

burble
5th May 2009, 17:09
Understood, however, my own caution to that is that FR have grown their capacity considerably year on year such that it would negate any increase in passenger numbers. Further I would add that aviation like every industry has reduced its yield on sales, I hope I'm wrong in predicting an alternate outcome.

racedo
6th May 2009, 13:41
April Passenger number

2008 4.7M
2009 5.3M

Increase 12%

Load Factor

2008 79 %
2009 82 %
Increase of 3%

In answer to Burble

Seats available
2008 5.95M
2009 6.46M

an increase of 8.6%

befree
6th May 2009, 14:36
Easter adds about 5% to ryanairs pax when it falls in April. looking at the last 3 months it looks like basic growth in seats sold is now around 7%. The average revenue per pax is likely to be down 5-10% so that total reveue is likely to be the same as last year. Costs excluding fuel will be higher due to greater flying programme. The results in June should be fun with a big drop in the value of Aer Lingus shares to write down in the books.

Looking at fares for the summer show FR are doing deep discounting in the peak holiday period. At some point they may need to admit that 2009/10 could be loss making.

Easyjet are selling off or returning lots of plane so the fleet will hardly grow at this hard time. They would be the main one to gain from BA.

burble
6th May 2009, 14:44
Thanks for the numbers Racedo. So its all down (as ever) to the yield, only time will answer this one.

Seat62K
6th May 2009, 17:19
I'd love to know how many of those 5.3million actually flew in April.....

Based
6th May 2009, 17:33
The results in June should be fun with a big drop in the value of Aer Lingus shares to write down in the books.

I wish people would stop making out that they're hiding their Aer Lingus investment. They've already recognised a €91.6 million balance sheet impairment charge on their Aer Lingus investment in their 2008 results. Up to their Q3 for this year, their results include a charge of €93.6 million to recognise Aer Lingus' €1.40 share price in June 2008. They also pointed out that there would be a further charge of €63.3 million in the Q4 results based on the share price being €1.00. Clearly it looks like it'll end up even higher than this but the point is they've already recognised a significant proportion of overall drop. O'Leary's gone as far as saying he'd prefer to be able to just write off the whole investment at this stage!

At some point they may need to admit that 2009/10 could be loss making.

Granted they're getting fuzzier with certain info (aircraft ownership details, number of planes in service, etc.) but the one thing they generally haven't done to date is give unrealistic profit/loss projections - but there's always a first!

befree
7th May 2009, 07:10
The full year results in early June will addup the writedown for the shareholdings in Aer Lingus for each quarter. It would be rougthly €200 million. They also may need to writedown the values of planes expected to be sold.
As Easyjet reported this week, it is a very hard time to sell planes and the airlines who are buying are having problems raising cash. Also the weak pound will reduce the income when converted into euros.

It is also very likely that may of the 5.3 million seats sold were dumped onto the market at near zero cost. many will end up in no-shows. See what happens on the 2nd June.

racedo
7th May 2009, 08:59
The full year results in early June will addup the writedown for the shareholdings in Aer Lingus for each quarter. It would be rougthly €200 million.Already known about and reflected within share price and they have stated their position so it should hold no surprises to anybody there. 4th Quarter write down is probably 130 M.


They also may need to writedown the values of planes expected to be sold.Again they have already taken write downs BUT have also taken deposits from future buyers.

I think most sold now were bought as part of the post 9/11 contract then original prices were pretty low but given you buy for $22M sell for $8M and have sweated them for 6-7 years then you have more than paid for it.



As Easyjet reported this week, it is a very hard time to sell planes and the airlines who are buying are having problems raising cash. Also the weak pound will reduce the income when converted into euros. As they buy Fuel in dollars and Aircraft in dollars so Sterling being weak is not really a problem as there is a greater benefit in a weak dollar.

Assumming you contracted to buy a 737 for $22 M in 2003 for delivery in 2009 then in 2003 prices it was 20.9M Euros but if you paid on delivery it would have cost 15.5 M Euros (ok you pay a deposit and stage payments over the yearsand hedged) but clearly you will have enjoyed a huge benefit as the dollar has got weaker.


It is also very likely that may of the 5.3 million seats sold were dumped onto the market at near zero cost. many will end up in no-shows. See what happens on the 2nd June.Has no impact on profits announced in June as results are to 31st of March but airline does make a profit from no shows as tickets are non refundable and majority of people will have paid with debit / credit card.

jabird
7th May 2009, 14:46
"It is also very likely that may of the 5.3 million seats sold were dumped onto the market at near zero cost. many will end up in no-shows. See what happens on the 2nd June."

Am I right in thinking that FR still have a policy of no double-booking. Considering this observation, does this really make sense?

eu01
7th May 2009, 18:51
Are you a baggage handler? Ryanair do not seem to be your friends...
Ryanair is looking at the possibility of getting passengers to carry their luggage all the way to the plane, cutting out the need for baggage handlers. "We would say to passengers ... take your own bag down through airport security, leave it at the bottom of the steps, we put it in the hold and on arrival we deliver it to the aircraft steps and you take it with you," Chief Executive Michael O'Leary told a news conference on Thursday.

Ryanair's business is centered around cutting costs and the carrier is planning to eliminate check-in desks from October this year, saving up to 40 million euros annually.

An airline spokesman said the group would not pursue the luggage plan if it jeopardized their quick turnaround times. (Reuters)

Charlie Roy
7th May 2009, 20:14
An airline spokesman said the group would not pursue the luggage plan if it jeopardized their quick turnaround times.

More like: "An airline spokesman said the group would not pursue the luggage plan because it would jeopardize their quick turnaround times, however it's worth giving a press conference about it to get lots of free publicity" :p

jabird
7th May 2009, 20:58
CR,

Exactly, seems like the identical line as trotted our for the fat tax. Surprised it took them so long to do that.

Oh, and I see MOL has repeated that he might retire 'in 2-3 years'. Next, he'll be getting an award from Greenpeace for all the quotes he recycles.

chrism20
7th May 2009, 22:46
Exactly, seems like the identical line as trotted our for the fat tax. Surprised it took them so long to do that.


Have they now officially bedded this one? I never seen any response to it. Must have missed it.

racedo
7th May 2009, 23:02
More like: "An airline spokesman said the group would not pursue the luggage plan because it would jeopardize their quick turnaround times, however it's worth giving a press conference about it to get lots of free publicity"

Charlie Roy

They used the word IF which is the important one.

Two viewpoints on this
1.) Looking at cutting further down on cost which is the norm with FR

2.) Sending a very clear message to Airports and Agencies that longer term an Aiport with X million passengers may consist of
a building with a couple of check in desks because 95% of people don't travel with checked bags or check in
a building where few people work other than security / servicing plane

If an Airline (not just FR) follows this path then the Revenue earning opportunities for an Airport effectively vanish other than Landing charges, fuelling and some desk rental........that should give some Airport operators sleepless nights.

If that is not sending a clear message to Airports then not sure what is.

Investing millions in Airports is a waste of money especially when game has long since changed and you get Nil return.

There is the issue of security of checked in bags with prohibited items but thats not an insurmountable problem.

Icare9
8th May 2009, 08:34
Sorry, I tried a Search but too many pages to find it!
When did the cabin baggage allowance get cut down to 10kg?
I believed I'd seen this as 15kg when I booked the tickets, but now see that it's only 10.
Has it just changed recently or was I dreaming?

jabird
8th May 2009, 10:07
Icare,

I think it is 10k cabin, 15k checked, but size restrictions aren't so tough on checked bags.


If an Airline (not just FR) follows this path then the Revenue earning opportunities for an Airport effectively vanish other than Landing charges, fuelling and some desk rental........that should give some Airport operators sleepless nights.

Most people will still park their car at the airport, and there's always the retail / catering - I think MOL just wants to get his finger in these tills.

Charlie Roy
8th May 2009, 14:19
you'll know that both of these airports are glorified shopping centres

But I with my full 10kg carry on luggage, won't be buying anything in the shops, because Ryanair say I have to stuff whatever I buy in the shops into my carry on luggage. :cool:

racedo
8th May 2009, 14:45
But I with my full 10kg carry on luggage, won't be buying anything in the shops, because Ryanair say I have to stuff whatever I buy in the shops into my carry on luggage.

You of course miss the business opportunity here.

Agree with airline for a very small fee that passenger purchases made up to 30 minutes before departure are loaded onto plane as check in baggage / carry on handed to passenger at landing.

or

Purchases Air Freighted and delivered to customers door within 24 - 48 hours.

Charlie Roy
8th May 2009, 15:40
Agree with airline for a very small fee

Who pays this very small fee? The airport pays the airline to accept shop purchases? :confused:
No entiendo nada.

Just force the airlines* to let the passengers make purchases and bring them on board for free like before or like it is with other airlines... That's the best way airports can make money out of the shops.

* The EU should modify the existing duty-free-shopping law to stipulate that airlines are obliged to allow passengers transport goods purchased airside for free.

jabird
8th May 2009, 16:14
Ryanair say I have to stuff whatever I buy in the shops into my carry on luggage.

I'm confused about this one. IIRC, they had noticed plastered all over PSA last week saying the allowance was +duty free purchases (and as these bags aren't sealed, unlike at US airports, guess you could always stuff in an extra umbrella?).

I don't know the figures, but I would guess that a fairly large proportion of pre-flight in-airport spend is made up of consumables or currency, which wouldn't present such an issue anyway.

Steve, agree about DXB, but had never rated CGN as much of a shopping mall. Lovely design though, but in terms of revenue, there is always going to be an element of self-defeat when you have a flashy ICE station on site, so you effectively discourage people to park. I guess a decent public transport plan is effectively part of an S106 or equivalent for development, but in terms of ancilliary revenue, I would guess that airports would rather charge people to alight at their stations, rather than let in people by train who pay no extra fare (a la BHX etc). Perhaps JFK & EWR havethe right idea here - charge people to use the people mover to get to the terminal?

frfly
8th May 2009, 17:34
Lets just say some FR airports and agents are better at following the rules then others, makes it very difficult for some airports though who then face mroe arguments from angry PAX who said that this is not the way it is from their originating airport.

Personally, I think FR need to reassess this situation. Duty Free (one bag) should be allowed in addition to hand luggage. However - realisticly say 40% of the flight purchased duty free - think how much weight this going to add and more fuel that will burn?? Multiply that up to 68 million pax a year, thats got to be a lot of extra fuel burned due to that extra bottle of vodka from tax free shopping!

Jippie
8th May 2009, 23:19
Selling seats for 2,50 euros in July. Their yields must suffer:eek:

frfly
9th May 2009, 02:20
yields are becoming less important to FR - MOL wants to lower the average fare, they can do this, as they constantly keep lowering their cost base, ie reduced handling charges due to less check in desks/ramp agents etc. LF is more important to FR in this recession, and the cheapest seats will not be widely available on the peak routes ie alc agp pmi......

Charlie Roy
11th May 2009, 10:29
Ryanair's winter timetables are getting loaded to the booking engine as I type...
Shannon, Dublin, Charleroi, Bristol, Belfast...

EISNN
11th May 2009, 16:13
FR in SNN has nearly collapsed for the winter '09/10. Faro, Malaga and Tenerife once a week. Krakow, lodz and wroclaw, nantes, carcassone, girona, murcia, alicante, weeze, milan, palma de mallorca and treviso ALL gone. UK regional and London airports remain in tact more or less. Beauvais remains. There's very little in SNN to talk about now. SAA (aka DAA) will be licking their wounds a good bit unless they've got other operators up their sleeves.

racedo
11th May 2009, 16:32
FR in SNN has nearly collapsed for the winter '09/10. Faro, Malaga and Tenerife once a week. Krakow, lodz and wroclaw, nantes, carcassone, girona, murcia, alicante, weeze, milan, palma de mallorca and treviso ALL gone. UK regional and London airports remain in tact more or less. Beauvais remains. There's very little in SNN to talk about now.

MOL has warned what would happen if the Tax was introduced.

You don't have to like your biggest customer but pissing them off is not a good idea.

SNN will have to make severe cutbacks in manning levels.

EISNN
11th May 2009, 16:53
RACEDO. You're very right. However, I wonder though do SAA have other operators lined up to come in to operate some of the routes that are gone? Some of the UK regional routes are gone like LBA and others have been cut back. Perhaps Flybe with smaller a/c would better suit those routes and make some money.

I'm surprised at the Malaga, Faro, Murcia and Tenerife routes mind as I've been on some of those flights and they're nearly always full whether it was during the winter or summer. I'm up and down to FAO many times during the year and so are friends and family of mine and they say the same. I hear the same about Malaga too. So you can understand my utter surprise at this. Although MOL has been smart enough to not pull off these routes completely I do think he was foolish to reduce them to once a week.

Every airline is paying the taxes on these routes whether you're flying from DUB, NOC, ORK or SNN so he's talking through his hat. He's too many a/c and more to come and not enough pilots. As consumers we don't like the taxes but you'd swear that MOL was paying the taxes himself. The reason he's pulling out of SNN is that his agreement with SAA is drawing to a close this winter and he want the agreement to stay. Baby and rattle out of cot syndrome. The sooner there is a level playing field we'll hopefully see more operators coming back into SNN. Is it any wonder that BRAL and Flybe pulled off the UK regional?

Charlie Roy
11th May 2009, 16:53
Krakow, lodz and wroclaw, nantes, carcassone, girona, murcia, alicante, weeze, milan, palma de mallorca and treviso ALL gone.

The winter flights are still getting loaded, and it will be for the next few days, so it will be while yet before we can draw definitive conclusions...

Tom the Tenor
11th May 2009, 17:01
EISNN, you are such a scream - you should have your own comedy show on Clare FM with your looking for a level playing for snn and your wondering why FlyBe and BRAL left the midwest.

You are cracking me up, you really are! :D

EISNN
11th May 2009, 17:10
Tom I'm not looking for a slagging match. If you can't show some respect fair enough. but don't try to make a joke of me or some one who is trying to make a contribution to the thread.

What I'm saying is that SAA gave MOL and FR excellent and very attractive deals for landing aircraft into SNN. The deal was for 5 years. The deal is nearly over. In the last five or six years SNN has lost a load of operators who used to fly into SNN but the SAA/FR deal wasn't extended to them so they left. Flybe, Easyjet and BRAL as far as I can remember. What's left with SNN now is one large operator on nearly all routes and wants to pull off them cos he's not happy with the agreement that he signed and was delighted with 5 years ago. That's where I'm talking about a level playing field. There used to be one and now there isn't until perhaps the end of winter '09/'10.

Sorry if you find that amusing Tom the Tenor.

ALLMCC
11th May 2009, 18:10
"Ryanair's winter timetables are getting loaded to the booking engine as I type...
Shannon, Dublin, Charleroi, Bristol, Belfast..."

Little change at BHD except BRS up to 2X daily, a sensible move.

greatoaks
11th May 2009, 19:18
Can anyone tell me which frames are based at Liverpool at the moment
cheers

SFP
12th May 2009, 07:24
The NWAN Forum has a section on based aircraft which is up-dated by local enthusiasts
See: North West Air News - EGGP Based Airliners (http://derbosoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=eggpbasedairliners)

Hope this helps

Steve

ryan2000
12th May 2009, 07:55
It was obvious even in 2005 that the nature of the deal with Ryanair would drive the competition out and that's exactly what's happened. That's why Cork and Dublin will not offer a similar deal to Ryanair or any other low cost airline as they know it will simply undermine their existing business and revenue.

greatoaks
12th May 2009, 14:45
Steve

excellent site

cheers for that

Andy

Seljuk22
12th May 2009, 17:01
FR plans to double the number of passengers in Germany in the next 5 years (20m per year) and will add 4 more German destinations.

en2r
12th May 2009, 18:41
It was obvious even in 2005 that the nature of the deal with Ryanair would drive the competition out and that's exactly what's happened. That's why Cork and Dublin will not offer a similar deal to Ryanair or any other low cost airline as they know it will simply undermine their existing business and revenue.
Also, wasn't Cork Airport offered the Ryanair deal first and they turned it down. It was then that Ryanair offered it to Shannon. Surely it should have rung alarm bells in Shannon if another airport was after saying no to the deal!

ballyboley
12th May 2009, 19:33
Any more rumours on BHD? Ryanair1 was informing us all a while back they were getting another aircraft for more UK routes, same with BOH.. I guess no one really knows, although they do seem to be favouring expansion outside the UK/IRL at present

BFS101
12th May 2009, 19:38
en2r, totally agree,
and hopefully the management at Belfast City wont fall also, to cause a situation similar to SNN. The whole issue of the runway extension to allow FR to operate European routes. (Even though the routes mentioned by MOL to be served are already adequately covered by other airlines ex Northern Ireland).

Airports should see SNN and ORK as examples of FR business, especially those that already have half decent links such as BHD, (and the European routes from BFS).

Based
12th May 2009, 20:18
Nobody seems to be willing to accept that Shannon was punching above it's weight in terms of routes for quite some time recently. I'd argue that it's still doing so (and I'm quite happy to see this) in terms of destinations served.

Airports should see SNN and ORK as examples of FR business

All this Cork/Shannon Ryanair analysis in nonsense given that they're both operated by the DAA and not independent entities.

ryan2000
12th May 2009, 20:59
It's still a mystery how the DAA allowed Shannon do that deal with Ryanair.

Yields needed to be very low to attract traffic from outside the mid west.

Both Ryanair and Easy Jet came close to negotiating a somewhat less radical deal with Cork in late 2004 but it didn't materialise.

Cork prefered to have a portfolio of airlines rather than allow one dominant carrier emerge and so far they have stuck to that strategy.

en2r
12th May 2009, 21:05
Nobody seems to be willing to accept that Shannon was punching above it's weight in terms of routes for quite some time recently. I'd argue that it's still doing so (and I'm quite happy to see this) in terms of destinations served.
Shannon still punching above its weight??? Where have you been for the past few months? Ryanair pulled 2 aircraft at the start of April and there's at least another one (or 2?) going at the end of October! Nearly every Ryanair route from Shannon has been either reduced in frequency or axed! In terms of longhaul, Shannon to Chicago is widely rumoured to be axed.

cesare.caldi
12th May 2009, 21:17
There are rumors about the next Ryanair base? I think probably will be annunced soon some base starting this winter.

frfly
12th May 2009, 21:27
I cannot believe the winter schedule is slowing going on sale and as of yet the website hasnt been updated with phase two of 100% webcheck. Pax can now book flights in January and pay for airport check in however from October 1st there will be no airport check in desks you must check in online and drop a bag. Complete lack of thought in Dublin about this, and utter chaos on the ground come October!

Charlie Roy
12th May 2009, 21:41
Nearly every Ryanair route from Shannon has been either reduced in frequency or axed!

Not entirely true. The Ryanair cut to SNN passenger numbers won't be so dramatic this coming winter. A lot of routes will simply be operated by the aircrafts of other bases, rather than Shannon based aircraft.

en2r
12th May 2009, 21:50
Not entirely true. The Ryanair cut to SNN passenger numbers won't be so dramatic this coming winter. A lot of routes will simply be operated by the aircrafts of other bases, rather than Shannon based aircraft.
But most of them have had a reduction in frequency, as far as I can see, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Beauvais and Charleroi are the only routes that haven't been reduced compared to last winter, or axed.

davidjohnson6
12th May 2009, 22:16
While Shannon is in an area which by virtue of its distance from Dublin depends on aviation for transport..... I'm puzzled as to why people are quite so shocked that routes have been cut.

There are plenty of people from central Europe (e.g. Poland) who are finding the bright lights of Ireland and the UK losing their allure, thus reducing the need for direct flights.
Further, in winter, in-bound tourism to west Ireland is not hugely appealing to many in Europe - it's a bit grim being outside when it's cold and grey.

The business market and the VFR market to the UK should hold up pretty well but I struggle to see the economic rationale for flights from an essentially rural area like SNN, to the USA and all over Europe in the depths of winter. Yes, I know Limerick is close by, but the whole of County Limerick has less than 200,000 people. When the economy takes a tumble, that discretionary trip to a Spanish beach in January seems like one of the easy things people can cut in their spending.

Charlie Roy
12th May 2009, 22:44
FR in SNN has nearly collapsed for the winter '09/10. Faro, Malaga and Tenerife once a week. Krakow, lodz and wroclaw, nantes, carcassone, girona, murcia, alicante, weeze, milan, palma de mallorca and treviso ALL gone.

Faro, Malaga, Krakow, Lodz, Wroclaw, Girona and Alicante all now showing to be twice weekly for Winter 09/10.

Maybe anna_list knows exactly how many flights less Shannon will have next winter compared to last winter...

anna_list
13th May 2009, 06:59
Hi,

Ok, I'll accept your little challenge!

Here are the weekly frequencies from SNN for this winter, with the change from last winter in brackets (all figures are approximate):

ALC 2 (-1)
BIQ, MJV, NTE, PMI, TSF 0 (-) all seasonal
BHX 7 (-)
BRS 7 (-2)
CRL 3 (-)
CCF 0 (-2)
NRN 0 (-2)
EMA 0 (-)
EDI 7 (-)
FAO 2 (-)
GRO 2 (-2)
PIK 4 (-3)
KRK 2 (-2)
LPL 3 (-4)
LCJ 2 (-)
LGW 14 (-)
STN 21 (-4 or -5)
AGP 2 (-2)
MAN 4 (-3)
BGY 0 (-2)
BVA 7 (-2)
TFS 1 (-)
WRO 2 (-2)
SXF 0 (-3)
HHN 0 (-2)
LTN 0 (-4)
NCL 0 (-2)
GDN 0 (-3)
FUE 0 (-1: dropped Jan 09)
TRN 0 (-1) Could go on sale later?

Total W09/10: 92 departures per week, down by about 50 departures per week (about 35%) on last winter.

Compare this to EI's 35 departures per week from BFS for W09/10, or EI's 80-odd departures per week from ORK for W08/09 and it still looks like SNN has a lot of capacity on sale this winter. I wouldn't rule out MOL cutting further at SNN.

Epsilon minus
13th May 2009, 07:36
Ryanair pulls plans for fat tax... but shows us that money is all that matters
Ryanair will not implement the controversial idea to impose a 'fat tax', only because it cannot enforce it within the limits of its 25 minute turnaround, nor via its online check-in process.
It seems ludicrous that flyers would offer advice on how the airline could offer a poorer service, but more than 16,000 passengers voted in a Ryanair online poll to find a new way to cream money from customers in additional charges. Wonderfully of course, if the public chooses the charge, it must be okay for Ryanair to impose it. Surely? But then it was doubtful anyone was expecting the idea to charge a fee on extra body weight.
According to the results, 4.6 per cent voted to charge for every waist inch over 45in. (male) and 40in. (female); 3.11 per cent wanted to charge for every point in excess of 40 points on the body mass index; and 2.37 per cent wanted a charge for a second seat if a passenger's waist touches both armrests.
Ryanair's off-kilter Robin Hood mentality of robbing from a minority to give cheap seats to the poor, in this case amounts to little else than playground bullying. Did it really ever think that the way to satisfy its customers would be to embarrass them hideously, telling them the public has voted - they are too fat and will have to pay for the extra seat their rolls of fat bleed on to?
The interesting point here is that customer satisfaction, human decency and plain common sense seem never to have been part of the decision-making process for Ryanair. Nor was it during the airline's contentious suggestion to charge passengers 'a pound to spend to have a penny' - an idea which had the media, the public and trade bodies reeling. Yet while we expected an about-turn to appease the nation, Michael O'Leary dryly said: "All this pious stuff about if you're serving teas and snacks, you can't charge for entering the toilet. All right then.... we'll let you enter free, but you'll have to pay a pound to get back out again."
He told a UK newspaper that the charge would bring an estimated £15m per year and said: "eventually it's going to happen... The problem is Boeing can't come up with a mechanism on the toilet door to take coins. We're suggesting they go back and look at a mechanism where you'd swipe the credit card for a quid on the toilet door. They've gone off to look at that."
It’s doubtful that any aviation fair trade body would support either of these plans. Some have suggested that Ryanair are aware such proposals would never go ahead and that this is simply a publicity stunt to show just how cheap the airline is. It's a pity however, that O'Leary seems unable to recognise the difference between cheap and inexpensive. It seems unlikely that that this kind of cheap publicity will win favour with passengers.
What a joke the airline has become! But the customers of course, aren't laughing. Type 'Ryanair' into Google and there's a 2:3 ratio of Ryanair's own sites compared to the majority number of customer blogs and chatrooms discussing the pitfalls and poor service of the no-frills, no-thought airline. That's a 2:3 majority of bad press.
It's amazing that an airline so blase about its customer's wellbeing could continue to do well in this climate. Most would think that during these times it would have a more strategic fight to haul in the lion's share of a declining market, but if Ryanair's vote was an index of the public, it just goes to show - when a recession hits, all that matters is money.
- Mary-Anne Baldwin, Journalist, Airline Fleet Management

Based
13th May 2009, 09:31
Shannon still punching above its weight??? Where have you been for the past few months? Ryanair pulled 2 aircraft at the start of April and there's at least another one (or 2?) going at the end of October! Nearly every Ryanair route from Shannon has been either reduced in frequency or axed! In terms of longhaul, Shannon to Chicago is widely rumoured to be axed.

Thanks for that invaluable update en2r. For an airport like Shannon to have routes to Alicante, Birmingham, Beauvais, Boston, Bristol, Charleroi, Chicago, Edinburgh, Faro, Gatwick, Heathrow, Krakow, Liverpool, Lodz, Malaga, Manchester, Newark, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Prestwick, Stansted, Tenerife, Toronto, & Wroclaw (I've more than likely missed a few) is very impressive by my reckoning.

I certainly wouldn't imagine Ryanair basing any more than 2-3 aircraft there if it wasn't Ireland. Actually in terms of based aircraft, they don't seem to have been able to make up there minds on how many they'll base there for Winter 09/10 yet if their current schedule is anything to go by (which it isn't I presume!). I'm guessing it'll end up at 3 but there'll be a few time changes required in the mean time.

pee
13th May 2009, 11:12
It's a pity however, that O'Leary seems unable to recognise the difference between cheap and inexpensive. It seems unlikely that that this kind of cheap publicity will win favour with passengers.
What a joke the airline has become!
What a pity indeed! A very efficient airline, prompt and pretty reliable (yes!), whose impressive pace of development has been widely recognized. Yet it is LOSING CUSTOMERS AND YIELDS due to a complete lack of fineness and PR-related poor quality of service. The undervaluation of every other marketing tool than cheap prices and cheap publicity will take its toll. I sincerely regret.

Moreover, the carrier is still unable to win customers by means of better route planning. Deal-driven flying impairs the optimal network development and leaves many opportunities unused. A vaste potential hidden in the officially or even self-made connecting flights is also completely unharnessed. An example: while so many expatriate Finns live in Spain, FR do not offer even a simple direct flight between the two countries. No deal or something, never mind. Many would fly on its own, e.g. via Bremen. But how can you do it while nobody bothers to make some planning for such passengers? Some thorough planning could facilitate it. By offering, say, three weekly flights TMP-BRE in the morning, three in the evening and daily early PM flights BRE-GRO many self-made connections could be easily created. Would be good for pax, good for the airline (better fleet usage). But, as I said, nobody sees, nobody cares. A pity again.

ryanair1
13th May 2009, 13:26
UK expansion plans for the time-being are being reviewed in light of the economic situation which isn't showing any promising signs of firm or steady recovery.

BOH - extra aircraft will go in 2010 not 2009
BFS - cutbacks by Aer Lingus is tempting us to consider the extra a/c. This is now under review

Other bases - on hold or reducing. BRS will not be expanded. 2 a/c will be grounded this winter there. Other aircraft will be grounded across the UK bases this winter to avoid a complete f*@k up on the bottom line.

All will be well and restored once economy is back to its good ol' self.

Skipness One Echo
13th May 2009, 13:31
All will be well and restored once economy is back to its good ol' self.

Depends on how many new B737s you are forced to take between now and then as you'll have to give seats away for nothing to fill them and then raise other charges to make up the shortfall antagonising people even more.

The truth is that BA is often a better option. BA!!!! That's not supposed to be possible but frequently it is!

ssflyer
13th May 2009, 13:34
I copy my recent posting on this subject from TA for your indulgence.

"New check-in machines now installed at Girona airport.
You have to use these machines to check in and print your boarding pass, then go to any Ryanair counter (none are destination specific) to drop off your bags and show passports.
There seems to be 20+ machines and the system does work, however the are no clear signs asking you to use the machines and many passengers were going straight to bag drop and being then sent to the machines and having to then get back in line at the back of the queue.
All new bookings from 19.03.2009 have to use Online Check-In which is available from 15 days up to 4 hours before scheduled departure time but those before 18th March cannot check in on line, unless they have only hand luggage, and therefore have to use the machines such as now installed at Girona.
If used correctly the new system seems to speed up checking in - nothing could have been worse than the old system of 150+ PAX queuing, with the end of the queue out of the entrance doors amongst the guilty smokers outside.
Ryanair are being very strict on luggage weight and even more strict on hand luggage,both on size and weight and you have to put EVERYTHING in your one piece of hand luggage,including magazines,handbag and the food and drink you bought to eat on board.
Although I have not seen hand luggage being weighed air side I think it will be challenged if it will not fit in the "size gauge" and some were stopped at checkin and had to pay to put it through as hold luggage.
There were, as usual, PAX unpacking overweight luggage and redistributing items with some toiletries and suncream going in the litter bins.
Don't people read the rules!"

Incidentally-will these machines become redundant shortly when everyone has to CIOL?

Surrey Towers
13th May 2009, 16:50
This heading is in the Daily Mail to be published tomorrow.

Ryanair scraps check-in desks as it charges passengers £10 to print tickets at home (and a £40 fine if you forget)

I cannot think of anything more likely to infuriate passengers than a rip off like this one.

From May 29th you will have to pay them a £5 booking fee for each flight the DM says. If you forget your ticket you will have to pay £40 for a boarding pass re-issue. That is plainly outrageous. They sack dozens and dozens of check-in staff, make massive savings paying BAA and others too - THEN have the temerity to charge a £5 booking fee to each passenger to do their work for them.

Let us get this straight now. I want a flight and I have to use my computer to print a ticket and pay them for the privilege. Not me mates. Instead of a trip to PIK I'll go direct to GLA where I want to go anyway.

It will do FR well to read what people are saying about their continuing exercises of taking passengers to the cleaners. They simply will not fly with them.

They do have some idiotic schemes emanating from the backsides of some of the seniors at FR. Time will tell.

MUFC_fan
13th May 2009, 16:59
Ryanair scraps check-in desks as it charges passengers £10 to print tickets at home (and a £40 fine if you forget)

That doesn't give you an option. Therefore it has to be included in the fee. DfT won't be liking this!:}

Skipness One Echo
13th May 2009, 18:30
What kind of logic do you use when you would go to PIK even though you really wanted to go to GLA ???

He means he's going to Glasgow and he'll use the main Glasgow Airport at Abbotsinch from now on rather than make the extended journey from Ayrshire. Essentially people know feel they are being screwed over on charges, especially since other airlines don't levy them.

Tis a step too far IMHO. Do we have to pay to use the many many machines at STN to print off the small bit of paper to get me on the plane I have a booking for. £40? Foxtrot Oscar you money grabbers!

BFS101
13th May 2009, 18:40
That doesn't give you an option. Therefore it has to be included in the fee. DfT won't be liking this!

It'll probably be that if you have some very obscure make of printer and can prove it, then they'll waive the charge lol.

"We give you the option of printing it for free, therefore it's not a mandatory charge" - wait for it...

allanmack
13th May 2009, 18:42
Most people will compare the various locos prices in total before deciding who to fly with. If FR beat the others on price despite the various add ons (and they are all at it) then that is who they will fly with.

Jippie
13th May 2009, 18:46
That doesn't give you an option. Therefore it has to be included in the fee. DfT won't be liking this!
Ryanair said OLCI will be free(what a privilege!) for promotional fares. Only normal fares will have an OLCI fee.

kingston_toon
13th May 2009, 19:43
OLCI will be free for promo fares, but only those which are free, £1 or £5. So does that mean the more common £10 and £15 fares will incur the charge?

Also, the press release on the Ryanair website doesn't make it completely clear that this includes people who only have hand luggage. It may yet not (we'll find out next week). What if you have no luggage at all? Maybe that will be free? :ugh:

Bengt
13th May 2009, 20:30
OLCI will be free for promo fares, but only those which are free, £1 or £5. So does that mean the more common £10 and £15 fares will incur the charge?

Any advertised price MUST include the compulsory charges. So any advertised fare must waive (?)or include the on-line chick-in charge.

chrism20
13th May 2009, 22:54
This link here

Ryanair - News : Ryanair To Go 100% Web Check-In From October (http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=gen-en-100309)

From March states that the web check in will apply to ALL new bookings except promo fares, which would of course suggest everyone will have to pay it, including hand baggage only.

The majority of pax who use checkin desks or check in bags are used to getting robbed of their hard earned. I would imagine that it will be quite a shock to some of the army of hand baggage only pax. This is one arguement that you wont see at the airport though (unless the boarding pass needs reprinted) as it will have to be paid at the time of booking.

davidjohnson6
13th May 2009, 23:11
Those of us in the army of hand-baggage only customers, will just see this as a price rise, and adjust our purchasing behaviour accordingly.

I can understand (if not approve) of this from FR's standpoint. When you have lots of people checking in online and not paying for airport check-in..... one begins to regard it as a subsidy of these passengers by those who checkin at airports and a lost opportunity to make a bit more cash out of the online checkin brigade.

I am unclear about one thing though. Will the online checkin fee be paid at the time of purchasing tickets, or will it not be payable until the time of checkin ? From a regulatory point of view, I can see it might be necessary to impose the charge at the time of ticket purchase. From a purely economic standpoint, it is presumably in the interests of FR to charge at the time of checkin rather than ticket purchase - this means that quite a few people who have already paid for a ticket are discouraged from flying, allowing FR to keep the full price for the ticket (the huge admin fee for a tax refund is pure business genius !) without having to pay any Govt tax / airport charges, making these customers exceptionally profitable.

BALLSOUT
13th May 2009, 23:14
You would be surprised to see how many on line check ins turn up at security with boarding cards that the scanner can't read the bar code. I supose they will now have topay the £40 then. Best make sure you have a good printer!

flying_shortly
13th May 2009, 23:22
Just as a point of interest do yous think Ryanair are disguising the recent 200 layoffs at Dublin airport saying they were due to recent economic developments rather than this new online check-in only policy? It's clear jobs will be lost through this new venture. What I will find interesting is how Ryanair will handle queues and inquiries after mass cancellation of flights due to weather or other such. Will they have the man power I wonder?

davidjohnson6
13th May 2009, 23:27
how Ryanair will handle queues and inquiries after mass cancellation of flights due to weather or other such

I am sure FR will handle this kind of event in their own unique way providing "excellent customer service" ! :}

greatoaks
14th May 2009, 06:07
You would be surprised to see how many on line check ins turn up at security with boarding cards that the scanner can't read the bar code. I supose they will now have topay the £40 then. Best make sure you have a good printer!


Well I for one will accept this happening just the once...... after that my choice of airlines will be changed..... I will not tolerate this attitude of ' you paid f&&k all for the ticket then should expect a complete lack of customer care and respect'

I dont think it makes a blind bit of difference if the FR chiefs read any of this forum and they probabably have a good laugh at the frantic posting that occurs following every new notice of intent to take more revenue.

Time for some serious competition ( after this financial mess is cleared up )

Whiskey Papa
14th May 2009, 09:12
It's simple really, I've just booked with Ryanair to fly to Perpignan. Total price £52.99 return, inclusive. I could go on the same dates with Fly-be, total price £287.17; or EasyJet, £107.88 (To Barcelona, with 2 hour car journey to Perp). Even if I pay £10.00 to print my own boarding ticket, it's still a no brainer!

Don't get me wrong, O'Leary's charges pi$$ me off as well, but I, and many others, cannot afford the luxury of saying "I'll fly with another carrier."

WP

flying_shortly
14th May 2009, 10:42
They're discussing this very issue on Working Lunch on BBC2 at 12.30. Or, at least they'll be dealing with comments from viewers having broached the subject on Ryanair's check-in fees yesterday.

virginblue
14th May 2009, 14:24
The 40 GBP re-issue fee will generate a lot of income for Ryanair. It is unrealistic that 100 per cent of all pax will show up at the airport with the printout. If only 10 pax per flight do not have their passes handy, each flight will generate an additional 400 GBP revenue. If Ryanair has 1.000 flights each day (pure guessing), we are looking at 400.000 GBP each day. For the whole year, this means approx. 150m GBP.

There are times when I wonder if Michael O'Leary is the Bernie Madoff of the aviation industry and one day his whole house of cards called Ryanair will collpase.

This heading is in the Daily Mail to be published tomorrow.

The comments section below this article makes some interesting reading.

davidjohnson6
14th May 2009, 14:51
I've tried to analyse why people are getting wound up over this..... and why the "Stop making a fuss" crowd should not simply ignore it.

Very few argue about FR's need to make a profit out of its customers which is what any business tries to do.

The point instead is that the FR are implicitly presenting the check-in fee as some kind of optional extra (even if this is not explicitly stated as such) when it is in fact a part of the non-divisible core product.

Ford might sell me a car with wheels being an optional extra for additional cost, allowing them to claim that the car is available for a cheap price - I could then choose whether to buy my wheels direct from Ford, or buy the wheels somewhere else (like a repair garage). While a car certainly needs wheels to be usable, I have the possibility of purchasing the wheels from some other company.

For a flight with Ryanair, only Ryanair can issue a boarding card for a flight - thus if I wish to fly I am compelled to also buy their own checkin product. The only possible benefit is if the checkin can be purchased at a time substantially after the ticket is purchased, thus allowing consumers to defer both expenditure and a decision as to whether or not to actually fly until later (e.g. booked on short weekend, but only want to go if the weather forecast is sunny). If checkin must be purchased at the same time as the ticket, then it's a swizz to try to present it as a separate product and pretend the ticket is available for a cheaper price.

In effect we have what is known as tied selling - generally bad news for the consumer as it distorts markets and competition and makes it more difficult for consumers to understand the product they are buying.

Until the 1990s, travel agents would often advertise in the window a 2-week package holiday for a cheap price. The catch was that this cheap price was only available if the customer agreed to purchase the travel agent's own-brand expensive travel insurance - even if you could prove purchase of higher quality travel insurance from a different company. The insurance provided was sometimes derisory in coverage and thus people often needed to buy a 2nd insurance policy to have a reasonable level of cover, but the travel agents could claim they were helping customers by ensuring they were protected in the event of accident. When challenged as to why insurance from a different company was not sufficient, travel agents would say "We are not familiar with their procedures or standards for accepting claims and therefore cannot be certain that their insurance policies are good enough for our holiday-makers", meaning "We don't care, you must buy our travel insurance or we won't sell you the package holiday". The UK Govt deemed this to be anti-competitive, and banned the practice.

smellster
14th May 2009, 14:57
This from the ever humorous Daily Mash regarding the subject: RYANAIR URGED TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP (http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1761&Itemid=59)

racedo
14th May 2009, 15:03
The 40 GBP re-issue fee will generate a lot of income for Ryanair. It is unrealistic that 100 per cent of all pax will show up at the airport with the printout. If only 10 pax per flight do not have their passes handy, each flight will generate an additional 400 GBP revenue. If Ryanair has 1.000 flights each day (pure guessing), we are looking at 400.000 GBP each day. For the whole year, this means approx. 150m GBP.

If you forget to take your boarding pass and pay extra then you will only do it once.

Idea that it would generate that much would have all the airlines doing it but reality is that it would be pretty small pretty quickly.

davidjohnson6
14th May 2009, 15:06
reality is that it would be pretty small pretty quickly

Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.

It may become a small amount fairly quickly, but it still represents hard cash revenue that companies rarely choose to ignore.

Stopend
14th May 2009, 15:12
Ryanair have already pushed the art of customer service back 50 years. Looks like we are now heading for the stone age!

BFS101
14th May 2009, 16:29
Now, maybe I'm being a bit stupid, however...

Didn't MOL criticize the likes of BA and Qantas regarding fuel supplements, that fuel prices had come down, yet the dinosaur carriers stilled charged their passengers extortionate fees, that they were simply ripping off their customers, that prices paid should reflect what they are allegedly for, ie, the fuel being used.

So how can MOL be so blatantly hypocritical??? From what it seems Visa charge something in the region of 3 per cent per transaction, FR charge a fixed amount per passenger journey!!!! Printing off a boarding card at home, free you would think, no FR will charge you £5!!!! These are two examples, I'm sure there are many many others.

Headline fares may be low, overall cost in certain circumstances may be competitive, but why these rediculous charges, and even with these charges, why be so so hypocritical??? Be open and honest, we rip you off on card fees (unless you pay by electron) to subsidise your flight, we rip you off on check-in, to subsidise the "low-fare".

mickyman
14th May 2009, 16:46
"Ryanair have already pushed the art of customer service back 50 years. Looks like we are now heading for the stone age!"

Remind me again how many passengers this struggling airline flies
around europe every year?

You all seem to mis-understand the concept of low-fly with your petty
moans about this and that.

Its a shame that the detractors of Ryanair on this thread have not
the earning potential to have their travel paid for by there company!

Such is life....

MM

davidjohnson6
14th May 2009, 16:54
Its a shame that the detractors of Ryanair on this thread have not
the earning potential to have their travel paid for by there company!

My employer pays me very nicely. When I need to go to the New York for work, my boss is happy to approve the travel spend. When I want to go to Rome for a fun day trip at the weekend to look at some of the art in the Vatican, my employer expects me to pay for it. I therefore am interested in how much FR will charge me for flights.

WelshHack
14th May 2009, 17:01
'Remind me again how many passengers this struggling airline flies
around europe every year?
'You all seem to mis-understand the concept of low-fly with your petty
moans about this and that.'

There's a big difference between charging for optional extras, and imposing hidden charges which are impossible to escape. Checking in is an unavoidable part of the process of getting from A to B - so why on earth should on-line check-in incur a fee?
Ryanair is very successful, no question. But it should beware of killing the goose that lays those golden eggs.

virginblue
14th May 2009, 17:19
Idea that it would generate that much would have all the airlines doing it but reality is that it would be pretty small pretty quickly.

There will always be people who forget it. Ryanair flights get bundled for package tours, there will always be first-time fliers, peope who leave the print-out at home by mistake, who will be travelling abroad for more than 15 days and have no access to a computer/printer, loose their print-out etc.

I would be very surprised if after a year or so every passengers will bring the boarding pass along. 10 out of 189 pax not carrying seems to be a rather conservative estimate. Even if it is only 5, the revenue is still massive: Ryanair now has 186 planes. If they have 150 in daily service and they do 4 rotations, that would make at 1.200 flights each day 90 million GBP extra in penalty fees if 2.5% do not bring the boarding pass - and if only half of all tickets sold are non-promotional tickets for which the fees are not waived, Ryanair will earn another 150 million for granting the privilege of self-check in online.

So today's announcement means - conservative estimate - a quarter billion GBP revenue from fees alone. Add to that costs saved for third party handling as passengers now will pay for something Ryanair had to pay handling companies for before.

Noxegon
14th May 2009, 17:20
Indeed, and I'd really appreciate if people could stop pontificating about the credit card fee being avoidable. It might be in some countries, but it is not avoidable in Ireland because no Irish banks offer a Visa Electron card.

mickyman
14th May 2009, 17:38
Davidjohnson6

That was a very funny post - my belly is aching!

MM

racedo
14th May 2009, 18:47
Ryanair flights get bundled for package tours,

Ryanair - News : Ryanair Exposes Thomas Cook Overcharging (http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=feb&story=gen-en-240209)

Oh you mean like those honest and above board people like Thomas Cook.

Not like package tour operators to rip customers off......................MUCH.

looot
14th May 2009, 19:49
use an Entropay card

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cmorris04
15th May 2009, 22:49
There will always be people who forget it. Ryanair flights get bundled for package tours, there will always be first-time fliers, peope who leave the print-out at home by mistake, who will be travelling abroad for more than 15 days and have no access to a computer/printer, loose their print-out etc.


Indeed. I recently went on a trip with three RyanAir flights. Printed off the first two boarding passes before I left. The third was beyond the 15 day limit, and I spent a silly amount of time finding an Internet cafe that I could print off boarding pass at. That was just another "cost" that RyanAir's policies impose on me, both in terms of my time and what the Internet cafe charged me for access and printing.

I've flown RyanAir several times in the past and had no issues with them. Although I will probably fly them again, this trip will make me much more selective about when I will use them, and make me pay much closer attention as to the likely true cost of RyanAir's policies. Other costs that I hadn't bargained for:

- out of the three flights, departure times of two were changes subsequent to my booking of them. My Beauvais departure was brought forward 5 hours to 9:20am, causing me to have to take a not exactly cheap taxi across Paris to get the Beauvais bus.

- Bag was (just) under the weight limit on first flight. Removed several relatively heavy items for second/third flights to be on the safe side, but bag weighed in 2.1kg and 2.5kg heavier. Weighed bag when I got home and it's under the 15kg limit. Hmm...

And it's not just a monetary issue. It's things like the fact that I couldn't pay their excess bag charge at the checkin desk but had to join another - looong - line to pay. Post 9/11 travelling has become stressful enough without RyanAir's policies and (lack of) service adding to it.

racedo
16th May 2009, 00:23
And it's not just a monetary issue. It's things like the fact that I couldn't pay their excess bag charge at the checkin desk but had to join another - looong - line to pay.

Sorry but thats a basic control procedure with any airline as having people pay at checkin disrupts checkin and holds up the line, additionally staff accepting cash at checkin is open for abuse. Standard control procedure with most airlines to protect revenue.

Surrey Towers
16th May 2009, 06:29
Ryanair's rip-off culture is obscene. Its downright greed and they would do well to listen to customers as they get more and more fed-up.

It is not difficult to imagine MOL and his minions finding new ways to fleece his customers. The cheap fares they started with are no longer cheap. The added charges, or the services they have taken away, amount to quite a lump. MOL acts with impunity with little regard to the customers he is ripping off. His latest wheeze in getting people to print their own tickets and charge them £5 in the process is another example of a Ryanair rip off - so is the £40 pound charge if they forget to bring it. There can NO justification for that except that he knows people WILL forget because it is in the human psyche. If it wasn't so blatant it would be clever.

One day, the bubble will burst.

A.Agincourt
16th May 2009, 18:44
CMorris04 wrote:- Bag was (just) under the weight limit on first flight. Removed several relatively heavy items for second/third flights to be on the safe side, but bag weighed in 2.1kg and 2.5kg heavier. Weighed bag when I got home and it's under the 15kg limit. Hmm...

Now I am pleased you mentioned that. I have had similar experiences on three separate occasions. However, after my first suspicion [which did result in my having to pay] I deliberately made sure that I noted the weights on my scales and those at both ends of my trip. I remain convinced that this is one area that thy are ripping people off

Best Wishes

The Real Slim Shady
16th May 2009, 19:44
That isn't down to Ryanair, but the handling agents.

greatoaks
16th May 2009, 20:28
under whose instruction ?

davidjohnson6
17th May 2009, 00:08
I deliberately made sure that I noted the weights on my scales and those at both ends of my trip. I remain convinced that this is one area that thy are ripping people offAgincourt / cmorris04 - this kind of thing happens from time to time at airline checkin desks - American Airlines landed themselves in hot water for having incorrect scales at checkin desks - I believe the FAA decided to get involved and American quickly implemented new procedures to avoid reoccurrence of the problem.

While there will always be the very occasional mistake (no machine is completely immune from being faulty), it is certainly possible that some airlines get their scales wrong more often than others.

If you suspect this is the case, I would *strongly* recommend you contact your local trading standards office. While they are often reluctant to get involved with minor cases involving a single person, the UK Weights and Measures Act means that if they have grounds to believe a business is flouting the law and failing to test their weighing equipment properly on a regular basis, they will act.

The next time this happens at an airport to which other airlines fly, if you have the time available, you might perhaps like to ask at a checkin desk from another handling agent / airline to validate the weight. Weighing things yourself also can play its part. Even better, if you can get the record of your independent weighing on camera / video on your mobile phone, this will give trading standards greater incentive to act.

If the issues are occurring at airports outside the UK, you might like to ask trading standards for details of the similiar legislation in the respective country, and send an email to the relevant Govt body. I've made complaints about this in the past in the UK to trading standards (a major reputable UK supermarket in a branch were selling 250 gram packets of grapes labelled as 500 gram and the store manager didn't want to know - probably just an accidental labelling screwup at a warehouse), and they have been acted upon.

racedo
17th May 2009, 08:34
Many airports have separate scales where you can dump the bags to see the weight before check in.

Even unattended desk have scales which have seen many peiople use.

Seljuk22
17th May 2009, 08:46
cesare.caldi:

There are rumors about the next Ryanair base? I think probably will be annunced soon some base starting this winter.
BRI and BDS!?

A.Agincourt
17th May 2009, 09:41
racedo: Even unattended desk have scales which have seen many peiople use.

None that I am familiar with. They are electronic and are switched off when the desk is not manned.

Best wishes

lplsprog
17th May 2009, 12:52
They do at LPL. I've seen unattended desks being used to weigh bags frequently.

pikkuprinssi
17th May 2009, 13:27
BRI and BDS are the most rumoured destinations to become new FR bases at the moment and it seems there is going to be the official announcement soon (bases starting from October).
At the same time MOL is negotiating with other airports as well around Italy so unexpected surprises might come up in the end.

cmorris04
17th May 2009, 19:14
That isn't down to Ryanair, but the handling agents.

I wonder how much pressure - explicit or implicit - those handling agents are under to "generate" income for RyanAir?

cmorris04
17th May 2009, 19:20
Sorry but thats a basic control procedure with any airline as having people pay at checkin disrupts checkin and holds up the line, additionally staff accepting cash at checkin is open for abuse. Standard control procedure with most airlines to protect revenue.


Then only accept credit card transactions at the checking desk... I reckon my eventual card transaction much have taken all of a minute to process - about the same length of time the checkin agent had to spend arguing with me about the need to join another long line in order to pay.

cmorris04
17th May 2009, 19:29
It is not difficult to imagine MOL and his minions finding new ways to fleece his customers. The cheap fares they started with are no longer cheap. The added charges, or the services they have taken away, amount to quite a lump. MOL acts with impunity with little regard to the customers he is ripping off. His latest wheeze in getting people to print their own tickets and charge them £5 in the process is another example of a Ryanair rip off - so is the £40 pound charge if they forget to bring it. There can NO justification for that except that he knows people WILL forget because it is in the human psyche. If it wasn't so blatant it would be clever.
Or they get charged £40 because the boarding pass they've carried around on vacation for two weeks got damaged and can't be scanned when they're flying home... I'm all for efficiency and in many respects I admire a lot of what RyanAir's done in this regard. The problem is that they are now far down the road of not only introducing efficiences, but also of structuring every efficiency primarily to raise revenue to offset the supposedly low fares.


One day, the bubble will burst.
I'm not so sure. I think people are generally pretty gullible in not looking further than the supposedly cheap fares. I think RyanAir's done a masterful job of judging the decision making processes of its customers.

racedo
17th May 2009, 19:50
Then only accept credit card transactions at the checking desk... I reckon my eventual card transaction much have taken all of a minute to process - about the same length of time the checkin agent had to spend arguing with me about the need to join another long line in order to pay.

Right so therefore you need a card machine at every desk and ensure that the people at the desk know how to use them, then there will be the people who can't find their cards because its in one of their pockets or rucksacks or they forget the pin or it just doesn't seem to want to work while passengers who comply with the T and Cs stand behind waiting and waiting.

bmaviscount
17th May 2009, 19:59
How can Ryanair survive charging for on line check-in at the same time as withdrawing airport check-in- surely this is one step too far?
Have passengers really been reduced to these low expectations?

OliWW
17th May 2009, 20:18
It is a nightmare all the extra charges! But at the end of the day if you don't want to pay them, dont fly Ryanair :bored:

cmorris04
17th May 2009, 21:14
Right so therefore you need a card machine at every desk and ensure that the people at the desk know how to use them, then there will be the people who can't find their cards because its in one of their pockets or rucksacks or they forget the pin or it just doesn't seem to want to work while passengers who comply with the T and Cs stand behind waiting and waiting.


Right, so they will instead stand behind people repacking suitcases when they discover the 15kg weight limit can't be pooled so their toddler's bag must carry more weight. Sorry, the idea that Ryanair's policy on this is to minimise the wait of passengers who "comply with the T and C's" is comical. Let's be honest here: RyanAir's policies are designed to maximise the amount of fees they can extract from passengers to balance out their supposed low fares, whilst at the same time incurring as little cost as possible themselves. They actually want passengers to turn up with overweight bags and fall foul of other restrictions. That's the whole point.

Stopend
18th May 2009, 00:53
Got it in one !:D

valexfly
18th May 2009, 08:12
RYANAIR WILL OPEN NEW 2 BASES IN PUGLIA

Insiders reported fr it's gonna open new bases in Bari and Brindisi, they just positively concluded an agreement with the Puglia region politicians, who are controlling those two regional airports.

Figures given are 1 million of pax every year trasported in puglia then the relative jobs, money ecc.

CIAO!

valexfly
18th May 2009, 08:15
RYANAIR WILL OPEN NEW 2 BASES IN PUGLIA

Insiders reported fr it's gonna open new bases in Bari and Brindisi, they just positively concluded an agreement with the Puglia region politicians, who are controlling those two regional airports.

Figures given are 1 million of pax every year trasported in puglia then the relative jobs, money ecc.

CIAO!

racedo
18th May 2009, 08:48
ng suitcases when they discover the 15kg weight limit can't be pooled so their toddler's bag must carry more weight. Sorry, the idea that Ryanair's policy on this is to minimise the wait of passengers who "comply with the T and C's" is comical. Let's be honest here: RyanAir's policies are designed to maximise the amount of fees they can extract from passengers to balance out their supposed low fares, whilst at the same time incurring as little cost as possible themselves.

Ryanair's policy is to make money.........they are an airline not a charity. Their T and Cs are on the website and you have to click you understand them when you book. Additionally their Travel Questions tab is pretty visible. If people just click the T and Cs and assume then who is at fault ?

Apart from their major bases the people on the desks are contracted staff to a ground service handler who don't want the extra cost of people paying at the desk.

Dysag
18th May 2009, 09:08
WOW. One million pax a year corresponds to 14 full 737-800s PER DAY.

PENKO
18th May 2009, 09:40
14 full 737...

1 737= 8 flights a day
2 737= 16 flights a day

There you go, more than a million with just two little aircraft!

Dit
18th May 2009, 09:40
Which would mean they were both probably 2 a/c bases... not that unrealisitic.

valexfly
18th May 2009, 10:08
La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno on the web (http://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/GdM_dallapuglia_NOTIZIA_01.php?IDNotizia=241585&IDCategoria=1)

pee
18th May 2009, 12:48
@pikkuprinssi. Your location is Italy, but your nick strongly suggests some connections with Finland ;).

Do you have any idea why FR while achieving very good LFs and yields on its BGY - TMP route is so reluctant to rise the amount of flights on this route and/or to start some similar routes between Italy and Finland? It does not seem very logical to me :confused:.

racedo
18th May 2009, 13:38
A newspaper article suggested it would bring in 200 million for them in revenue per year.


That would suggest that 2/3 of passengers are paying normal NON promotional fares.

No chance. I reckon promotional fares are at least 2/3 of the business.

dominic.kane
18th May 2009, 18:14
Anyone know whether any more routes between Italy and MAN are planned? :confused:

Charlie Roy
18th May 2009, 20:02
So a figure has come out about >> 2 << new Italian bases.
Rumoured: Bari and Brindisi (both in Puglia).

Note though that Ryanair have recently been in negotiations with Comiso and Catania (both in Sicily).

So I wouldn't be surprised if we get one Puglian base and one Sicilian base, in a situation where Ryanair are playing Brindisi and Bari off against each other, and Catania and Comiso off against each other.
Wait and see I suppose. It would indeed be interesting for either of the afore mentioned Sicilian airports to become a base without having even been a Ryanair destination beforehand...

pikkuprinssi
19th May 2009, 15:21
I see Ryanair much more interested in CIY (Comiso) rather than CTA.
Smaller airport, no other airlines...that's why FR is not gonna blow up this chance and it is gonna start flying there soon (though i dont really know if the whole structure is ready to start getting used yet).

It seems that BRI and BDS have already been chosen... actually I've heard Ryanair just wanted BRI as a base but the "Puglia airports company" (AdP) forced the hand until they both (MOL and AdP) got what they wanted.

@pee I'm italian...just fond of your motherland/tongue ;)
Ryanair nowadays seems more interested in setting bases/routes where there's someone willing to pay for them.
It's clear that it makes a higher revenue to sell seats for £1 and fly with empty planes if you've got (well) payed to do that.
And recently MOL is putting up those fights around Italy which I guess has become his personal cash cow.
So most of the times it's not really a matter of how full planes are/how brilliant LFs and yields are, it's more about how much money he is given...and probably TMP is not worth having those raises of frequency.

danielson81
19th May 2009, 17:57
There interested in a base in Malta as long as they have an incentive:

timesofmalta.com - Ryanair seeking Malta base, requests volume incentive scheme (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090519/local/ryanair)

and Ryanair - News : Ryanair Pledges 1M Pax p.a. & 1,000 Jobs with Malta Base (http://www.ryanair.com/site/MT/news.php?yr=09&month=may&story=gen-mt-190509)

ExpatChris
19th May 2009, 18:25
Government here are talking about opening up old Hal Far base as 2nd airport so reduced costs etc for Ryanair.

If it happens island will explode as no langauge problems and vitually year round sun.

Hope it happens

danielson81
19th May 2009, 19:11
Hal Far? Thought it had been turned in to a industrial estate and a drag racing strip. Some of the comments on that Times of Malta article suggest opening up the old air terminal for Ryanair. However it is currently used by Air Malta Cargo.

ExpatChris
19th May 2009, 19:34
Hal far is only available area as old WW2 airfield at Ta Qali is no good but large jet is parked at HalFar and the drag strip is not part of the runway etc also no prob as ind est is close as is tented village for immigrants.

Hope this happens as Malta needs a shot in the arm

boeing767
19th May 2009, 20:17
Hi all,

Does someone know if Ryanair is still planning to open a base at EIN (Eindhoven Apt, Netherlands)

Kind regards

Jippie
19th May 2009, 21:54
AFAIK, their opinion is still the same. Ryanair will open a base at EIN when the opening times are less stringent.
They seem to be fairly happy with the performance of Eindhoven.

Charlie Roy
19th May 2009, 22:31
They seem to be fairly happy with the performance of Eindhoven.

Indeed, and with the eco travel tax now abolished they have said they are eager to add new routes to EIN, but as stated, no base with the current opening hour restrictions.

Jippie
20th May 2009, 11:18
Ryanair said they had no problem with a base at both Eindhoven and Weeze. Don't forget, a lot of airports but also a lot of people!

boeing767
20th May 2009, 17:16
Hi all,

Thanks for the answers. The biggest problem why EIN doesn't expand their opening hours is because the people living around the airport don't agree. I think this is just silly, because when you don't want to have noise of planes around your house, just don't start living near an airport.

Seljuk22
21st May 2009, 11:27
Ryanair will announce three or four new bases in July, including one in Germany, the CEO said.


Discouraging bag check-in may save €50m - O'Leary - The Irish Times - Wed, May 20, 2009 (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0520/breaking35.htm)

Sikpupi
21st May 2009, 13:06
How many airports charge Ryanair on a 'Check-In Desk Fee' basis?

I would presume he is charged either

1. Per Departing / Arriving Passenger OR / AND
2. Per Aircraft Landing / Departing (Landing / Handling / Ramp Parking) Charge AND / OR
3. Some sort of ALL-IN charge

So....where is this €50m saving going to come to him????

I presume Airports will just move check-in staff off the check in desk (they still need a Drop-Bag staff member) and use him/her in dealing with the problems of Travel permits, Gate Bag Payments, Baggage Size , etc. Stopping pax checking in bags will just create other problems down the Boarding Line that need dealing with!!!

Sikky

positive
21st May 2009, 14:10
Rental charges at Dublin are

Check in desk €25,000 per annum or €30 per hour

area for SSK €1,200 per annum

all of the above from the DAA website

Sikpupi
21st May 2009, 14:31
..but even then he could only have maybe say 10 x Airports that charge on this basis. If we round to say average €50,000 per desk x 10 desks x 10 airports = €5m. He is only going to save probably 1/2 the desks and so only save only €2.5m.

He couldn;t be paying these rates at most airports ???

Flitefone
21st May 2009, 17:50
Don't forget on top of desk rental, are handling agent/staff costs and often either Common Use, (CUTE) or other system charges and maintenance... It all adds up to a big number quite quickly.

The desk rental is usually only a very small portion per pax of the overall costs related to the check in service. MOL is right to have a crack at these.... and he will make some progress.

How long I wonder before ATC is the next focus of LCC cost scrutiny, beyond a few ELFAA words..

Even Willie Walsh was having a pop at these while he was still at EI.

FF

danielson81
21st May 2009, 18:14
re: Malta base.

Malta International Airport hits back at Ryanair over claims they have expensive landing fees etc.:

Malta International Airport (http://www.maltairport.com/page.asp?n=newsdetails&i=9641)

Dinis1970
21st May 2009, 20:53
Does anybody know if one of these new possible bases is Porto (OPO)?
FR is negotiating for a very long time for a base in Portugal.

Sober Lark
21st May 2009, 21:42
"Strictly one item of cabin baggage is permitted per passenger (excluding infants) weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm (your handbag, briefcase, laptop, shop purchases, camera etc. must be carried in your 1 permitted piece of cabin baggage). "

On a typical flight if everyone complies with this would there be enough room in the overhead compartments to accommodate the stated 1 piece of cabin baggage plus say a coat for all passengers?

daz211
24th May 2009, 15:54
I dont know why Ryanair did'nt feel the need to look at some safe
[bums on seats] winter SUN destinations ...

In the summer they have PMI, AGP, IBZ, GRO, REU, ALC and FAO but for winter they offer TFS.

WHY have Ryanair not looked at this :confused:.

Jippie
24th May 2009, 23:19
According to local TV station Omroep Brabant, Ryanair is talking intensively with Eindhoven Airport about more flights.
It even says: "According to Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary it could be a very considerable expansion"
Source: Omroep Brabant: Ryanair wil meer vliegen vanaf Eindhoven Airport (http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/?news/118520572/Ryanair+wil+meer+vliegen+vanaf+Eindhoven+Airport.aspx)

Probably some new destinations for the winter. Don't expect to much from it because of the ever stringent noise regulations.

AMS flyer
25th May 2009, 08:07
EIN is, as far as I know, still interested in new Ryanair routes. However, they're looking at some specific business destinations and new 'leisure' destinations don't have the highest priority.

According some well informed insiders, EIN will expand this year with additional airlines instead of numerous new Ryanair destinations.....

Charlie Roy
25th May 2009, 09:42
Malta
INDEPENDENT online (http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=88205)
Although a press conference addressed yesterday by Ken O’Toole, head of Route Development at the airline, did not mention the new possible routes, a slide presentation they showed pointed out what the Ryanair officials called ‘possible’ destinations: Bournemouth, Paris, Birmingham, Stansted London, Brussels, Krakow, Turin, Bologna, Naples, Milan, Seville and Valencia. Some of these routes are at present served by Air Malta.
Interesting to see the mention of Naples. Ryanair are eager to open the new base from this winter.

Birmingham
Birmingham Post - Business - Business News - Other UK business news - Ryanair aims to create 700 jobs in Birmingham in next financial year (http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/other-uk-business/2009/05/25/ryanair-aims-to-create-700-jobs-in-birmingham-in-next-financial-year-65233-23703564/)
Budget airline Ryanair plans to create 700 jobs in Birmingham in the next financial year by almost doubling passenger numbers at the city’s airport.
I expect doubling passenger figures implies more aircraft / routes / higher frequencies? That is, it will ot already be so with current routes/frequencies?

Eindhoven
I suppose Eindhoven can hope for routes at least from new bases like Bari, Brindisi, Malta. And existing bases like Birmingham, Alicante, Bologna, Edinburgh...

anna_list
25th May 2009, 10:08
Thanks for posting those links.
The article about BHX mentions the (almost) doubling of passenger numbers from 900,000 last year to 1.6M this year.
With the summer schedule, FR are already operating an average of about 18 departures per day from BHX, which is more than sufficient for 1.6M pax without any additional aircraft, routes or frequencies.

However, you never know with FR - they could always decide to base more aircraft at Birmingham. Indeed, they will need to if they are to reach the target that they mentioned when the base was launched last year: 5M pax per year and 10 based aircraft by 2013.

Cyrano
25th May 2009, 11:01
Budget airline Ryanair plans to create 700 jobs in Birmingham in the next financial year by almost doubling passenger numbers at the city’s airport.

The Ryanair spokesman quote in the Birmingham Post article said:
“We aim for one person per 1,000 passengers so our aim is to get to 1.6 million passengers which would mean that we would create an additional 700 jobs in the 2009 to 2010 financial year.”

Mr Tamas said Ryanair sustains 1,500 jobs in the West Midlands and brings £150 million in tourism revenue to the Birmingham region.

I don't think he's suggesting that the 700 new jobs will be with (or for) Ryanair, just that Ryanair magically :rolleyes: cause 1 new job to be created in the region for every 1000 passengers they transport (this has been a topic of debate in these forums in the recent past!).

Charlie Roy
26th May 2009, 09:34
According to this article Ryanair will start flying from Brussels South Charleroi and Milano Bergamo to Figari (Corsica) from July 6th.
Both routes will be 3 x weekly.

Ryanair arrive à Figari Sud Corse - Corse-du-Sud - Porto-Vecchio - Corse - corsematin.com (http://www.corsematin.com/ra/Porto-Vecchio/190938/corse-du-sud-ryanair-arrive-a-figari-sud-corse)
Voilà déjà plusieurs années que la compagnie à bas coût Ryanair s'intéressait à la Corse et plus particulièrement au plus sudiste de ses aéroports, à savoir Figari Sud Corse. Cela sera chose faite à partir du 6 juillet prochain, trois fois par semaine, depuis Milan et Bruxelles, soit six rotations hebdomadaires avec la Belgique et l'Italie.

flying_shortly
26th May 2009, 11:08
Ryanair targets credit card customers with new offer - Irish, Business - Independent.ie (http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ryanair-targets-credit-card-customers-with-new-offer-1750583.html)

The Flying Bank...

sitigeltfel
26th May 2009, 19:38
"Strictly one item of cabin baggage is permitted per passenger (excluding infants) weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm (your handbag, briefcase, laptop, shop purchases, camera etc. must be carried in your 1 permitted piece of cabin baggage). "

On a typical flight if everyone complies with this would there be enough room in the overhead compartments to accommodate the stated 1 piece of cabin baggage plus say a coat for all passengers?


Speaking from experience, on a number of occasions, the answer is NO! If you are amongst the last on and there is no more space in the compartments then your bag goes in the hold. You might be lucky and have it handed to you when you disembark, but there is a chance you will have to wait for it at baggage reclaim.
There are varying standards of enforcement at airports. At Prestwick they enforce them with fascistic zeal while at Marseilles I was behind a guy carrying a backpack, sports holdall and a laptop case. He went through without a murmur.

AMS flyer
27th May 2009, 07:09
Ryanair (http://www.theairdb.com/airline/ryanair.html)

New:Brussels, Charleroi Brussels South (CRL) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/CRL.html) to Ancona, Falconara (AOI) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/AOI.html)
New:Brussels, Charleroi Brussels South (CRL) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/CRL.html) to Figari, Sud Corse (FSC) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/FSC.html)
New:Figari, Sud Corse (FSC) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/FSC.html) to Bergamo, Orio Al Serio (BGY) (http://www.theairdb.com/airport/BGY.html)

source: The AirDB

scr1
29th May 2009, 20:34
is the EMA-INV geting axed as it seams you can not book after middle of july?

MARKEYD
30th May 2009, 11:27
Same is happening with the Bournemouth Prestwick route from mid July unable to book this route , was also showing available throughout the winter but also gone from the booking system at the moment

burble
31st May 2009, 08:34
A lot of RyanAir 737's parked up at Dublin this week. Where else are they being laid up?

Skipness One Echo
31st May 2009, 18:32
Seems PIK is losing Krakow in addition to the self inflicted loss of Bournemouth which was screwed when they introduced the super early timings. Looking more like the base is losing a based B737.....

anna_list
2nd Jun 2009, 06:22
2008/09 Full year results can be found in the investor relations section of the FR website.

Result: A loss of EUR 169.173M, including exceptionals of EUR -222.537M write down on the Aer Lingus stake and EUR 51.589M depreciation.

They are forecasting a profit of EUR 200 to 300M for 09/10.

EISNN
2nd Jun 2009, 06:32
anna list I think if you look at that report again you'll see that it's a LOSS that they're projecting and not a profit. Certainly according to the Irish Times report at 07h10 today. It's possible that this might have something to do with aircraft that they have received and have many more to come and don't have anywhere to put them. Perhaps a bit of a f**k up in the short term but I can't imagine it will be in the long term. Sure Ml O L will blame the usual suspects on this - fuel, airport charges, aer lingus share hold, airport charges, ombudsman, airport charges, downturn in the market, airport charges, recession ............ Did I mention airport charges??

allanmack
2nd Jun 2009, 07:11
Actually MOL does predict a PROFIT for 09/10. From the BBC

"Mr O'Leary said the carrier expected to report profits of between 200m and 300m euros for its current financial year, as its continues to attract more passenger through cutting ticket prices."

befree
2nd Jun 2009, 07:18
Ryanair lost £169million

Each plane sold was over £3 million below book value. That means the current 181 airframes are worth over £500 million than book value. The expect income per seat to drop to around 30 euros. They are stuffed. The oil price has gone up sharply in the last few weeks. They are hedged till december and will then get a big shock.

Akrapovic
2nd Jun 2009, 08:17
Link here from Bloomberg . . .

Ryanair Reports Loss on Rising Fuel Costs, Aer Lingus Writedown - Bloomberg.com (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a2JkkE_tl6EQ&refer=europe)

looot
2nd Jun 2009, 08:56
"RYANAIR ANNOUNCES FULL YEAR NET PROFIT OF €105M FARES FALL 8% AS TRAFFIC GROWS 15% TO 59M PASSENGERS"


from ryanair.com

F14
2nd Jun 2009, 09:02
Seems to be a bit of smoke and mirrors regarding the drop in price of the FR Aer Lingus shares.

I think traffic is still up and the fuel hedge this time is good looking forward.

Not sure if the whole Aer Lingus thing is Irish internal politics or part of a long term strategy (I think the former). If FR don't get them next time, Aer Lingus are surely sunk, forcing FR to write of the remaining value of the AL shares in 2010,11 and maybe 12 if the stagger on that long?

bluepilot
2nd Jun 2009, 09:09
LONDON (ShareCast) - Heavy write-downs on its stake in rival Aer Lingus (LSE: AERL.L - news) sent Ryanair (Dublin: RY4.IR ADVERTISEMENT


- news) deep into the red last year, with underlying profits also sharply lower.

The Irish no-frills carrier posted a loss of €180m after taking a €222m hit of its stake in Aer Lingus. Underlying profit came in at €105m in the year to March, down 78%. Revenues rose by 8% to €2,942m as air fares fell 8% and traffic grew 15% to 58.5m.

Ryanair blamed substantially higher oil prices during a year in which fuel costs rose by €466m (+59%) to €1,257m.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary forecast a better outcome in 2009/10, however. "In fiscal 2009/10 we expect to grow traffic by 15% to 67m. Significantly lower oil prices has encouraged us to restart hedging and Ryanair is now 90% hedged for the first 3 quarters of the coming year at much lower prices than competitors," he said.

"On the basis of these fuel and yield expectations (which carry a heavy health warning) we currently expect that after tax profits for the coming year will at least double to a range of between €200m to €300m," he added.

VanBosh
2nd Jun 2009, 09:17
Befree,

They lost 169 overall but their operating profit was 105 million PROFIT. Considering most other airlines had operating losses this isnt bad, so to suggest they are stuffed is incorrect. They are the best placed airline out there.

Your comment re oil is again strange as all airlines are in the same boat and they are hedged at favourable rates until December so I fail to see how this is a negative.

whatdoesthisbuttondo
2nd Jun 2009, 09:19
Don't worry the crew will cover losses by working harder for less and by paying more for their uniforms/sim assessments/accommodation during training etc etc etc.

racedo
2nd Jun 2009, 09:28
Each plane sold was over £3 million below book value. That means the current 181 airframes are worth over £500 million than book value.

Book value is NOT purchase price. It can be but in the majority of cases it wouldn't be as changes and improvements made to airframes over life of asset will enable it to be revalued. The write down includes planned disposals over the next year because as soon as you have an clear idea of resale prices if its less than book value you have to show the loss.

They sold 16 Aircraft for net proceeds of €314M or a shade under €20M per plane. Best estimates were that post 9/11 they were paying around $22-25M a plane. Looking at todays exchange rates then €20M is $28M, ok over last year it would be a lot less but even getting close to that after using for 6-7 years is a good result.

Flightlevel001
2nd Jun 2009, 09:29
Thats right Ryanair, push that one out whilst the media is pre-occupied with a major news story - might not even get noticed at all. :yuk:

flyingmig21
2nd Jun 2009, 09:33
That means will be a £5 surcharge for using toilets on board now!!:ok:

racedo
2nd Jun 2009, 09:41
Seems to be a bit of smoke and mirrors regarding the drop in price of the FR Aer Lingus shares.


Afraid its normal as you can't show the value of an investment you bought at its value if the share price has collapsed, I believe it is to prevent a company looking like it has great investments when they are worthless.......something which all the pensions funds holding shares in banks have found out over the last 6 months.

racedo
2nd Jun 2009, 09:47
Thats right Ryanair, push that one out whilst the media is pre-occupied with a major news story - might not even get noticed at all.

You are a bit cynical :) but all these dates are booked many many months in advance so there is no way of knowing what story will make the headlines on the day.

befree
2nd Jun 2009, 09:52
The rise in oil price and the end of easy credit will hit all airlines hard. The problem ryanair has is that it must expand to use up all the airframes that are coming which means it needs to cut fares. The 2nd hand value of airframes drops quickly when the whole industry is downsizing.

The main way they can adjust to the down turn is to sell planes and reduce the rate of growth. Their planes are very young and getting 20% less for each will hurt. They were making a profit from seling planes 2 years ago.

F14
2nd Jun 2009, 11:07
Born Free,

I don't think you understand the model. Ryanair are agressive players, they don't only expand into new markets. ie Poland,Slovakia,Latvia. They are currently gaining market share in mature markets. Italy,Spain and UK. Normally at the expense of Legacy carriers and the Charter operaters.

At the moment the albatross around there neck appears to be the Aer Lingus shares. Not the availability of new machines.

d71146
2nd Jun 2009, 11:14
Yes, I watched MOL perform on Sky News this morning I have to say that he was in his usual chirpy mood.
He did put to bed a rumour that overweight people would be charged more at the moment but, was always on the lookout for more ideas to enable the airline to be more efficent.
When challenged over the idea of charging folk for the toilet he said that they should go before boarding.

EISNN
2nd Jun 2009, 11:37
anna my apologies for earlier. :\ my mis interpretation of article that I was reading in Irish Times.

Skipness One Echo
2nd Jun 2009, 11:48
The new routes to Poland from the UK are dying already as the labour market changes. Low fares need to be balanced by an increase in ancillary revenue so the high cost alternative ends up being a good deal as well. We shall see....

EchoIndiaFoxtrot
2nd Jun 2009, 12:58
Young Micheal was doing the rounds this morning as he pitched up on BBC Breakfast just after 8am and was indeed, in fine form there too.

While FR may be reporting a loss, you get the distinct impression that MOL is looking on this latest piece of news as falling into the 'all publicity is good publicity'.

I'd expect him to send a shot across the bows of EI and / or the DAA before the week is out to deflect the story even further.

airbourne
2nd Jun 2009, 15:28
Anybody calling for the CEO's head on a plate?

EchoIndiaFoxtrot
2nd Jun 2009, 15:31
Doubt that anybody who matters is calling for it.

Sure wasn't there free tea, coffee and biscuits at this years Ryanair AGM to keep everyone happy !!

paully
2nd Jun 2009, 15:54
but there would surely have been a charge :=

EchoIndiaFoxtrot
2nd Jun 2009, 16:02
Not even to use the toilets as I'm led to believe from someone who was there.

Nice location (Great Southern), free drinks and biccies, Micheal did a turn from the top table and kept all the (mostly pensioner) shareholders rolling around the aisles.

The people that matter, the shareholders, love the man and won't hear a bad word said against him. Even todays news is unlikely to upset them too much as I'm sure FR and Mick have worked their hedges out better.

BC2300
2nd Jun 2009, 16:29
Mr O'Leary would not have gone on BBC Breakfast & Sky News Sunrise if Ryanair wanted to hide this story.

Good news for Ryanair because the underlining business is profitable despite difficult trading conditions.

eu01
2nd Jun 2009, 18:43
Despite the drop in demand it has inflicted, the present economical crisis has given Ryanair together with its cheap-fares model some additional time. The dramatic drop in fuel prices has made ”free-flights” viable once again, that's what folks are waiting for, presumably. At least for a while it will be possible to continue that way, to break-even next year or so, but in a longer run it's a very short-sighted policy.

The oil prices now are already twice as high as in in mid-February and even good hedges will not last forever. This additional time could and should have been used by FR to re-think and re-shape its business model. The "given" time could have been used to create a new approach to customers, to gain some independance from the ”buy because it is cheap” policy.

For many years, Ryanair has rejected any need to create a better brand, to attract other customers than the most sparing and stingy ones. As if it didn't matter that people could buy flights not only due to their cheapness, as it was unthinkable somebody could choose Ryanair also to get the most suitable connections with them. Instead, Ryanair has educated many people how NOT to pay for flights, how to AVOID charges, how to be SMARTER than FR want pax to behave.

Well, it's really funny to be able to get something for free from time to time, everybody likes it. But to make it possible, one has to care for those who actually want to PAY, it's not very wise to neglect them.

Thus, while many airlines pray for the end of the economical crisis, I'm not sure if it brings the solution to Ryanair's problems. Once the fuel prices are sky-high once again, FR will not be in a position to offer many free flights without further loss of the profitability. To cope with such a scenario, they should have already introduced some diversification of their offer, should have made in-depth analysis and should have created a different, consumer-centered system. As nothing happened yet, I dare to say FR is losing this relief time brought by the crisis. They simply do not see any need for change, bad for them, I'd say.

ardpro
2nd Jun 2009, 21:22
Two new 737s flown in from Seattle on Sunday I think. Delayed from last year due to strike at Boeing plant over there.

colegate
3rd Jun 2009, 06:45
eu01,I am baffled as to why you are so negative about RYR, unless you happen to work for Aer Lingus. RYR made an operating profit last year and has a strong cash position. It carries more pax than any other airliner and is expanding rapidly. I am a regular RYR passeenger and have to tell you that the principal customer service feature of the entire industry (punctuality) is excelllent in RYR.

I have flown on EIN in the last few months. Ground handling was hopeless at DUB and the flight was late without any apology.

Bengt
3rd Jun 2009, 06:53
eu01 is not negative to FR. he is just suggesting another strategy that he believes would be more successful in the long run.
I would agree with turning FR a bit more customer centred. On the other hand I would suggest that this has partly (although on a small scale) already been done with better (up from nil) service for rebooking as well as several reports about expenses actually reimbursed by FR to passengers when flights have been cancelled.
Still the connection bit is totally against the current strategy for the point-to-point airline.

anna_list
3rd Jun 2009, 07:55
Hi,

Slide 14 of the presentation of full year results caught my attention:

By September 2010, Ryanair's fleet is due to grow from 181 (Mar 09) to 258. This includes disposals of older aircraft (only 3 disposals appear to be planned, according to the slide). This is a net gain of 77 aircraft over an 18 month period. The slide suggests that they have secured financing for all but 7 of these aircraft. Now all they have to do is work out what to do with them all!

Depending on the scale of capacity reductions by other european airlines and the size of the deals that FR may or may not have secured with their existing and new airports, this is either an absolutely brilliant or a completely idiotic and suicidal plan ...

potkettleblack
3rd Jun 2009, 08:09
Yeah but where are they going to get the aircraft from and at what price? Airbus has already said they are not willing to do tango given that MOL screwed them over at the last minute and signed with Boeing. There is no incentive for Boeing to give him any significant discount. Will take lots of his most famed 9.99 fares to cover this one.

anna_list
3rd Jun 2009, 08:34
For clarification, the aircraft mentioned in the slide have already been ordered (from Boeing, oddly enough) under exisiting contracts.

As I recall, the talk of 200+ new orders was for 2012 onwards, when the existing contracts run out.

no slot
3rd Jun 2009, 09:08
"This is a net gain of 77 aircraft over an 18 month period." Quote, Anna List.

If each aircraft cost approx 30million US dollars, 77 x 30mUSD =2.31 BillionUSD

As of yet, no work for these machines.

What are Ryanairs cash reserves?

Is the emperor wearing any clothes?

AndyH52
3rd Jun 2009, 10:05
To some extent Ryanair's cash reserves are irrellevant. Company's generally prefer to use someone else's money to invest and buy assets. What matters is whether they have sufficent revenue coming into the business to service that borrowing....

Ryanair does, I believe, have some serious thinking to do in the coming 12-18 months - a point eu01 made earlier. As Anna List has pointed out 77 aircraft are due to join the fleet by the end of 2010. They have to go somewhere and when they do they need to be pretty full of pax to generate that revenue. Ryanair has been burning as many bridges as it has been building in the last 12 months and IMHO that can only go on for so long before they run out of options for new bases, or before booking a flight with them becomes such a tedious experience people will look elsewhere and even pay a bit more to avoid much of the hassles involved.

A Very Civil Pilot
3rd Jun 2009, 11:21
Ryanair passengers to load their own bags (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/5430226/Passengers-may-have-to-load-their-own-bags-onto-Ryanair-flights.html)

(telegraph.co.uk)

EchoIndiaFoxtrot
3rd Jun 2009, 11:36
Currently passengers are charged £10 to put a bag into the hold.
Passengers who are willing to do this would see the cost of checking in a bag reduced, but the airline was unable to say by how much.

Only get charged £9.99 to put it in the hold yourself then.

jet2impress
3rd Jun 2009, 12:16
Removal of 2 of the toilets on the 737??? MOL said in the telegraph article that if 2 toilets could be removed, he could add another 6 seats! Are the FR 737's not already configured with 189 seats? I thought this was the maximum that the aircraft was certified to carry?

Seljuk22
3rd Jun 2009, 12:58
FR will get 77 a/c but I think they'll sell alot of them, too. Crazy if their fleet will be 258 by September 2010.

May statistics:
passengers: 5.51 m (5.06) +9%
load factor: 81% (80%)

VanBosh
3rd Jun 2009, 14:06
"Removal of 2 of the toilets on the 737??? MOL said in the telegraph article that if 2 toilets could be removed, he could add another 6 seats! Are the FR 737's not already configured with 189 seats? I thought this was the maximum that the aircraft was certified to carry? "

Have people not learned not to take everything this guy says seriously yet?

stormin norman
3rd Jun 2009, 15:06
What sink ? :-)

ORAC
3rd Jun 2009, 15:07
Queen's £13 Ryanair trip to London (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/03/queen-s-13-ryanair-trip-to-london-115875-21410726/)

Queen Sofia of Spain has joined the budget jet set - by taking a £13 flight to London.

The thrifty 70-year-old travelled with Ryanair from Spain to Stansted, on Sunday. Her frugal flight was to see her brother Constantine, the former King of Greece, who has just had heart surgery.

Yesterday, the Spanish Palace said: "Members of the Royal Family regularly travel on scheduled flights."

It is in marked contrast to our Royals. In April, Prince Charles and Camilla chartered a jet for a five-day tour of Europe, at a cost of £80,000.

eu01
3rd Jun 2009, 15:46
eu01, I am baffled as to why you are so negative about RYR.
To be clear. I'm not generally negative about FR, not at all. There are some reasons why I might consider myself as their supporter, albeit a very cautious and an attentive one.

To begin with, I appreciate the modesty in human behaviour, the individuals' ability to act in an unpretentious way, without prodigality. These values are probably typical for Ryanair customers, they are also kind of smart people, it's a positive thing. Secondly, Ryanair has been very effective economically. Even if some deals behind the scene might bother, the firm's efficiency has been impressive indeed. I also support the travel industry, tourism in general – and FR makes a great job in facilitating it.

What I criticize, is Ryanair's ill approach to marketing. "We are the cheapest" message is a very convincing one especially as the statement is mostly true. Unfortunately, for FR it has been the one and only marketing tool, paired with some more or less irritating publicity to promote it. It's not enough. The lack of marketing diversity is, in fact, the factor hampering their own development. The enormous potential they have created so far could (and should) result in further growth, the pace of it seems essential for them to thrive (and... on some stage to survive???) in the future as well. Should we blame solely the present crisis that they are being unable to sustain the speed?

MOL has been extremely successful in creating his low-cost model's phase one, ”creation and fast spread”. Anybody in doubt? Considering the one-sidedness of their marketing approach, it's a great achievement. The carrier, however, has become so satisfied with its own past results that it didn't notice any need to change the model and create something different for the phase two "get even more customers, keep pace with the objectives". The new vision is not there, not a hint of any innovative moves. If anything is annoying me, it's just that. My criticism is not a negativity, though. Having myself many improvements in mind, I'm just curious why don't they even try to improve the "old" business model, that's all.

jamesp
3rd Jun 2009, 16:45
so is ryanair charging for use of toilets, if so when. just need to know how much i should drink (or not) before my flight in august

stormin norman
3rd Jun 2009, 17:02
You certainly won't need the toilet after sweating buckets lugging your bags on board.

looking more like the Pound Shop of the air every day !.

SAM-EMA
3rd Jun 2009, 17:41
MOL says not for 12 months. Apparently they are in talks with Boeing about modifying the toilets on board. I assume this would just be the addition of some kind of lock in which you insert a coin. This is just what I heard during an interview with MOL on either the BBC or ITV news yesterday, can't remember which.

SAM-EMA

0523 cov man
3rd Jun 2009, 17:53
only if ryan air are still here next year

Bengt
3rd Jun 2009, 19:20
The toilet charge is mentioned again....
Just ignore it, it is just a cheap (as anything related to Ryanair) trick to get free publicity. Same with the possibility of FR buying LH...
It would be more interesting to learn about the difference in second hand value for the 737 FR has sold lately compared to those sold a year ago...

kingston_toon
3rd Jun 2009, 20:27
Interesting someone mentions the sandwiches... on my flight back on Sunday, the crew were advertising a special offer - half price sandwiches! Well, as Ryanair's sandwiches generally aren't that bad (just overpriced) I went for one. Hmmmm... seems they have a new supplier, and their new sandwiches are... wait for it... FROZEN! On May 31st, my sandwich had a "use by" date of June the 18th, and a warning to store below -18 degrees and to use within 36 hours of defrosting. It was soggy, mushy, and the chicken just tasted wrong.

Has anyone else ever tried frozen sandwiches?! Even at half price (and probably half the cost to FR) I won't be trying them again...

chrism20
3rd Jun 2009, 20:34
Have never tried an FR sandwich, although I have wondered on a few occasions how the packaging of a sandwich from an aircraft based in say BHX carries the same brand of 'fresh' sandwiches as an aircraft based in HHN.

Now I know.

Frozen bread tastes bad enough, never mind frozed filled bread.

leeds 65
3rd Jun 2009, 21:06
In defence of FR - there on board Coffee , is really good.Saile and sagba is the name,something like that anyway.

I get it when i forget mine !

OliWW
3rd Jun 2009, 21:12
Instead of having to equipt aircraft with coin holders etc... why dont they just charge everyone £1 when booking the flight, which will enable them to use the toilet, or passengers can choose to book the toilet online for £1, and then pay £2 to use it without booking in advance by giving money to cabin crew :E:ok:

uklad007
3rd Jun 2009, 21:27
i thought i read somewhere - probably untrue - they were working with Boeing to have a credit card swipe rather than coin operated........although if you dont use Visa Electron will they charge the mandatory bank card charge in addition to the £1

OliWW
3rd Jun 2009, 21:57
£1, I doubt that, £15 seems more reasonable for MOL!

captplaystation
4th Jun 2009, 00:16
ASFKAP, for the avoidance of doubt/conflict of interest, could you tell us all your previous employment/connection with Ryanair, in which case we could perhaps establish your "viewpoint" as a bona.fida customer, or perhaps a slightly more "tainted" category. By all means be bitter and twisted towards them ( and Hell, lots of people have good reason to be) but are you really such a Saddo as to spend the rest of your life pushing your opinion on the rest of us ? You know the phrase " the record is stuck" ? :hmm:


BTW the aircraft type B737-800 is certified for 189 plebs. When the plebs realise that Dear Michael just loves you to give him free publicity and desist from doing so, at that moment he may desist from spouting newsworthy (to the mindless :rolleyes: ) bullsh1t. But certainly, not before :=

lonkmu
4th Jun 2009, 10:12
FROM "THEDAILYMASH"

As the Irish-based carrier unveiled plans to penalise customers £40 for choosing to fly with them, mental health experts said it was now vital that friends of the company stage an immediate intervention.

In a statement released yesterday Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "Cock-a-doodle-do! Everyone pay attention. These are my new rules.

"You will print out your own boarding pass and pay me for the privilege of doing so. If you do not have a printer you will pay me £40 for not having one and you will then wear a paper hat that I will make for you. The hat will cost £40.

"You will complete a quest. Probably involving a rare gemstone. You will bring me the gemstone wrapped inside a cheque for £40.

"Luggage is a sin and you will be punished for it. Therefore your holiday will last no longer than 14 minutes. If it does I will kidnap your goldfish and charge you £40 a leg to get it back."

A spokesman for the British Psychiatric Institute said: "Ryanair is no longer something to be hated, it is something to be pitied. It's as if Mr O'Leary has suffered some kind of severe mental trauma. Perhaps he has finally flown on one of his own planes.

"He needs to be sedated, isolated and subjected to a twice-daily programme of powerful electric shocks. If that doesn't work we will have to carve out a hefty chunk of his frontal lobe.

"In the meantime we would urge other airlines to step in and start flying to Ryanair's destinations as soon as possible. For the love of God, please."

pee
4th Jun 2009, 12:57
I travel quite a lot and have used Ryanair in the past, but I now avoid them, not because of any particular incident but rather an accumulation of the whole experience.
There are many pax FR could possibly regain (get them flying again), but under some conditions (many ifs and whens to consider). As mentioned:a relaxing and stress free flight is more important than a 99c ticket
Something MOL just doesn't want to acknowledge.

Myself - I could use their services even more than maybe once a year. But how many times can I fly to Frankfurt Hahn, Riga or Bremen again and again (not much else to pick from Finland)? Without any connecting flights and other destinations on offer - it's boring.

mickyman
4th Jun 2009, 13:34
Pee

50 odd million people would seem to disagree with your
sentiments.......just a thought based on logic.

MM

Sober Lark
4th Jun 2009, 14:52
"50 odd million people would seem to disagree "

Surely an individual who takes 20 flights a year isn't 20 passengers but still 1 passenger??

mickyman
4th Jun 2009, 18:02
Soberlark

That person still has 20 chances of flying with another
operator perhaps ?

MM

eu01
4th Jun 2009, 18:47
"50 odd million people".

I bet FR need them no matter if they are unique or not. The problem lies elsewhere. Ryanair need them also next year. Are they being cherished enough to stay loyal and come again? In addition to that, FR need also a few million more pax every year to fly with them... not every potential customer will react to the "no taxes" campaign. And yet again. The airline needs also a few million people willing to pay clearly more than the "special offer" price. What has been done to woo them? The ridiculous discussion about WC fee will rather scare many away, not because they were too poor to find a coin or two. It shapes the opinions... and prejudices too.

mickyman
4th Jun 2009, 21:09
eu01

A decent post .

ASFKAP

Sad to say your post tailed off to the usual Ryanair bashing -
even though you would never fly with them.Why do you insist
on mentioning costs (optional extras)of Ryanair when you are
a businessman who travels at your companies expense?

MM

davidjohnson6
4th Jun 2009, 21:51
and cost never comes into it whether I'm travelling business or pleasure....

ASFKAP - you appear to be in a rather more fortunate position than many other people !

racedo
4th Jun 2009, 22:43
As I mentioned earlier I travel a lot on business and I hold three loyalty cards with major airlines, two of which are big competitiors of Ryanair

And how are the airlines relying on business customers doing ?

BA down massively and realising its going to stay that way for least another year.

Problem with someone else paying is the person using the service doesn't value it and makes buying decisions which are more designed to up his or her Frequent Flier benefits than the financial good of the company.

racedo
4th Jun 2009, 23:13
I'm not saying they should rely on business travellers but they should at least acknowledge them....

Like what ? Loyalty schemes ? ....No chance as too expensive to run.

The consumer market at the moment is focused on price and forgetting everything else.

One only has to look at the retail food market where price is the key determinant, this however will change when the economy starts to recover but you have to get there in good shape for to be able to benefit.

Grabbing market share at the moment is the key as those who do will be in the position to benefit from the upturn.

I have said it before that when Ryanair get to a certain level and market becomes more mature then they will operate with a different model where price will be important but not the key determinant, I think the market is minimum of 5 years away from that and will probably be post MOL.

Skipness One Echo
4th Jun 2009, 23:35
Grabbing market share at the moment is the key as those who do will be in the position to benefit from the upturn.

That's conventional thinking but Ryanair have been unconventional in that they create new markets and allow people to fly to places they would never have gone to before at unheard of prices. The market from Stansted to QWERTYUIOP International tends to be a Ryanair monopoly (!) The main city that QWERTYUIOP serves may be across an international border and hence the merket is ill defined. Is it city to city or airport to airport?

London - Dublin is easy. Some of the others are from clear cut.

Not disagreeing with you ( for once, I know.... ) just never really been here before I think. This is the first major post loco, economically driven, slump. ( as opposed to post 9-11 )

racedo
5th Jun 2009, 00:58
Skip

True but was only thinking in that regard of city to city as in an upturn thats where competition will want to fly to. It is not economical to do a Stansted to Bari because they don't have economies of scale to do it, where as FR have numbers of flights in and out of there which pay for itself.

Post 9/11 FR tackled the fear of flying by doing mega sales for free and overcome people's fear because they were going for nothing.
This probably saved many companies skin because doing this the sentiment was the US was a one off and confidence returned.

It was betting the farm on this and it worked.