A good deal for all concerned...
Roverman - spot on!
MO'L said a few months ago that FR needed to change their business model and start flying from some 'main' airports as well as the 'alternatives'.
Despite the impact of the recession, airports such as MAN don't handle 18-19M pax without a reason. And ask yourself - why did FR retain the DUB schedule if they were so set against MAN?
Likewise, MAG would be daft not to try to fill its quietest slots with some traffic, but not at costs that might prejudice its core business.
In addition, competition on some of the 'sun' routes might lead some based carriers like LS, ZB, EZY etc to 'sharpen' their pencils somewhat. In my view, on some routes these Lo-Cos are Lo-Cos in name only. I mean, £250+ to Rome with LS?
So yes, welcome back FR. A mutually beneficial arrangement at the present time.
But even if the rumours of based aircraft are true, I think that the business at MAN is diverse enough (which is one of the biggest strong points) to resist the siren calls of lots of FR based aircraft operating with sod-all margins for the airport.
The question is, what reaction / response will be forthcoming from LS, ZB and EZY?
We live in interesting times...