I know STN is LCC central, but the infrastructure is fundamentally good. It has good ground transport, on-site hotels, lots of parking, plenty of gates, long runway, spare passenger capacity, available slots and doesn't feel like a tin shed.
Do those factors substantially improve revenues though ?
I get the impression the LCC market at STN is dominated by a much more discerning and highly cost conscious clientele.
The couple who have found they can get to Pisa for a long weekend for £100are not going to then spend a further £100, on car parking , chauffeur pick ups, duty free, et al.
East European migrants heading home twice a year , not likely to spend anything in retail ?
Backpackers to London !
I'm sure Basil can help us out here re projections but if pax numbers hit 20m at STN as promised by RYR what is the revenue stream then ?
If its on a like for like basis and assumes costs are broadly similar and there are no hidden charges for investment etc then I feel it will be a much lower proportion than Manchester BUT I may be wrong !
OK Manchester has RYR, JET2, EZY but it also has a wide variety of passengers on AF, LH, SIA, EK , UA etc etc
I also get the impression that a significant number of passengers using our LCC flights have swapped from IT and whilst a number will indeed be "a bit tight", a further number will pay for higher privileges.
I'm still confused on landing fees as well as I thought the catalyst for RYR at STN was a decrease in these as routes expanded ?
With the announcement last week that MAG could reset these in the future IF they did crank them up would RYR not just walk away again !
There seems to be a lot of store set by MAG in terms attracting new airlines but as I have said before who on earth is going to jump into RYRs bear pit ?
On long haul re EK the MAN flight are booked out solid, would they take a chance on a new service out of STN which has been a graveyard for long haul and would cost a lot to set up when they can simply up frequency in a proven market ! Personally I think this is where the focus is getting somewhat blurred in terms of strategy.
Have we lost focus on MAN in a attempt to woo traffic to STN, don't know, cannot complain at SAUDIA, Flynas, AC Rouge, USAir but are these routes initiatives DRIVEN by MAG OR the airlines themselves ?
Another one for Basil, how do the proposed synergies work ?
There seemed to be a lot of talk that buying STN lowers overall costs, are you able to elaborate with an example or two ?
Last edited by Bagso; 22nd Jan 2014 at 11:30.