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Old 30th Jul 2015, 17:32
  #2573 (permalink)  
Shed-on-a-Pole
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
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Shed, are you thinking of pier B exclusively for FR, or for all the no-frills carriers who want the arrangements you describe? Would there be room for all of them?
Frank - Such is the demand for no-frills travel that I suspect Pier B on its own would be wholly insufficient to accommodate all the competing brands.

The reason I propose Pier B as ideal for a single-airline operation for Ryanair relates to its exact niche in the marketplace, and MOL's past pronouncements of what his ideal airport operating environment should look like (ie. a glorified bus station). Whilst there are other no-frills carriers in the market, my impression is that only Wizzair of size (not a MAN customer) occupy the ultra-budget niche alongside Ryanair at this point.

My perception of EasyJet is that they have evolved more towards the mid-market space to compete with legacy short-haul for business travel (as well as leisure). FlyBe's model is becoming increasingly dependent on interline travel, and offering connections to codeshared high-end long haul carriers they simply cannot offer an ultra-budget experience. Jet2 has evolved into a leisure player competing directly with Thomson and Thomas Cook; they require an ambience commensurate with the package holiday market. And Monarch ... well, they have always pitched themselves as the 'Waitrose' option for the leisure traveller.

Vueling and Iberia Express are linked with BA and will likely benefit from connecting opportunities over MAN to BCN and MAD. Norwegian Air Shuttle is also pitched more towards the middle market in terms of cabin experience. Germanwings serves a high proportion of business travellers and must accommodate connecting passengers. However, these carriers' MAN operations are not of sufficient size to have facilities custom-designed to their needs anyway. If that changes in the future, great!
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