Originally Posted by
mwm991
I just listened to the committee.
... snipped
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Thanks for the summary... very informative, if not slightly troubling!
A brave owner would oust FR immediately and then attract a mix of short-haul, holiday sun and a long haul to North America. Whilst FR are there none of the above will happen.
You make it sound so simple! I think you are massively overestimating the impact of Ryanair! How exactly are Ryanair putting off an airline starting service to North America? And just who would want to run a flight to North America from PIK, when Glasgow is just up the road? I'm surprised PIK hasn't been able to attract a few chart flights to the sun - Ryanair does well on those kind of flights from PIK.
I still believe there could be a market for passenger flights from PIK. Ryanair are managing to fill their sun flights, showing people are prepared to travel to PIK if the price is right. With Ryanair now cutting capacity out of GLA, we might see additional flights added from PIK in future. Given the right incentives, additional airlines could be attracted too - Wizzair did well enough for a few years, it would be interesting to see how the move to GLA has impacted their profits.
Closing the terminal and abandoning passenger flights is a big step, and something that is difficult to come back from. If they can grow passenger numbers, they will eventually turn a profit. With air travel continuing to grow, and GLA/EDI approaching capacity, PIK may still be in a position to attract some of the overspill.