Uncle Monty - Style over substance? Or is that just a throwaway phrase? An 18 Boeing airline making sustainable money after less than 4 years. Looks pretty substantial to me.
Nobody ever claimed the figures were full year and I don't imagine many pilots were enlightened by you pointing out that airlines make most money during the summer.
Are easyJet and Ryan load factors in the mid 80's? Maybe they are but they weren't the last time I looked. Would you check for me?
As for offering advanced booking for next summer this is largely down to the fact that there a significant numbers of satisfied pax who complain that they want to book next year but can't. Brand loyalty is going to be very important as the sector matures and the product is bascially the same.
Why do you view internet sales as being some kind of negative issue? Not everyone has the web you know. I see aircraft jam packed with old crinklies off down to the Villa in Alicante/Faro/Malaga et al. I am convinced that they booked using the very slick call centre. Yes there is a cost with a call centre. Is it a premium on the ticket price that the customer is happy with? Looks like. Just like Go sends out a ticket when easy and Ryan don't.
As for getting a hammering on the Ireland Scotland routes would it not be equally fair to say that easyJet and Ryan are taking a hammering from us? I don't think anyone is making money up there at the moment. Which is a real shame for the airlines but good news for the pax.
Personally I would prefer the low costs to focus on bringing low cost to new regions rather than fight each other in areas where low cost already exists.
But what do I know.
Cheers,
WWW