PRESTWICK
In many ways it's no different to the pull, in yield terms that LHR has over LGW, where you will undoubtedly know that when a carrier has the chance to get slots at LHR, they don't hesitate to transfer away from LGW. Sadly, it's simple economics.
In a capitalist system profit is king.
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London (Babylon-on-Thames)
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"Given the London market from PIK could no longer support low cost FR" ?
Their STN route performed alright, it's very ignorant to say it didn't. Would it still have performed with a GLA-STN route though?
Also used STN-PIK many times, however the evidence is that it was a classic bubble, much like PIK's growth in passengers. People fed the bubble up to 8-10 times daily then over time, gravitated back to GLA. This was partly Ryanair's own fault in using too big an aeroplane at a frequency which wasn't ideal once the B737-800 was introduced. Yields were also killed when APD was hiked upwards, remember FR also pulled STN-BLK as well, domestic loco was under intense pressure. Finally, GLA has a much bigger pull for inbound tourism as it's....in Glasgow (-ish).
In terms of supporing a bankers shuttle, the local Ayrshire economy is not a rich and wealthy one, I know, I grew up there.....and Glaswegians don't really want to hike to Ayrshire if they can avoid it, t'was ever thus. So London City....really?
So with Ryanair deciding they're better off at GLA, the notion that flybe, can step in to compete against BA, EZY and FR on a turboprop to LCY has no USP in this market, zero traction. If you want fast access to Canary Wharf use a jet from GLA with BA and claim AVIOs, LCY has a higher Gold Card holder % per flight than even LHR. If you want cheap and cheerful use any of the above and book in advance, if you want to fly for much cheapness in a slower aeroplane into an expensive airport, choose flybe on PIK-LCY. It's suicide, a mere talking shop IMHO.
The usual PIK bashers at there best!!
List of credible airlines likely to start flying passengers from PIK :
NOBODY
Someone give me a likely candidate and change my mind, serious question, because in all cold honesty, I don't see a future for passenger services out of that facility with a 1964 build long haul terminal draining costs for one or two narrow bodies per day. It's a money pit and it's bottomless, the "report" from last year was predicated on Ryanair expanding at PIK FFS.
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 22nd Apr 2015 at 09:48.
Join Date: Jan 2002
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I was a regular (frequent?) user of the Stansted - Prestwick route over the years it operated having completed an estimated 70 to 80 trips. In the early days I feared that it would not last long - I remember flying in a 737-200 with only 16 other passengers. But the loads improved and for many of the years I witnessed load factors of 80 to 90%. The drastic reduction in frequency during the final years reducing from a peak of 10 round trips to only one, made it unattractive to me as most of my journeys were same day returns. As I tended to fly on early and late flights I did notice a good proportion of business passengers. The fares were not an important factor for me just frequency and convenience. For most of the time the route operated (over 16 years) it had competition with EasyJet on the Glasgow-Stansted route. My guess is that there would be enough support for a sensibly timed service linking a London airport with Prestwick. The 737-800 was possibly just too big for the route and I appreciate that the escalating APD charges would have made considerable inroads to the economics of the route. I would certainly use any service that provided the faciliity of a day return.
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The STN - PIK journeys were incrementally replaced with journeys to the continent. I expect they could just make more money using the aircraft for those routes.
Until it went down to daily I used the route regularly and liked it, but if we are realistic, STN - GLA is just a better route for most people.
Until it went down to daily I used the route regularly and liked it, but if we are realistic, STN - GLA is just a better route for most people.
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PIK - STN was profitable right up until they changed the timings so you couldn't fly down in the morning and back in the evening. Same happened on the Beauvais flight.
Now they've moved to GLA, there's no hope of a London route working at PIK. The sooner FR are given the boot the better. Management are starting to focus on other types of traffic so maybe, just maybe there's hope.
Anymore cutbacks here and there'll be no one left to switch the lights on!
Now they've moved to GLA, there's no hope of a London route working at PIK. The sooner FR are given the boot the better. Management are starting to focus on other types of traffic so maybe, just maybe there's hope.
Anymore cutbacks here and there'll be no one left to switch the lights on!
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Some interesting news recently, flew in the other day and Air France cargo sat on the tarmac F-GUOC B777F AFR6739
Flybe
Flybe sizes up Prestwick to London flights - Daily Record
New body scanners
Glasgow Prestwick Airport to install new security scanner - BBC News
No Sh#t sherlock
ROUTES: Prestwick sees need to diversify customer base - 4/12/2015 - Flight Global
Flybe
Flybe sizes up Prestwick to London flights - Daily Record
New body scanners
Glasgow Prestwick Airport to install new security scanner - BBC News
No Sh#t sherlock
ROUTES: Prestwick sees need to diversify customer base - 4/12/2015 - Flight Global
If Prestwick becomes a Space Port how many movements will it generate? Are we talking 12 flights per year or 12 per month? What is the landing fee for a space ship going to be and will the income make the airport profitable or just more prestigious?
bb
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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Agree as a sunshine airport it does do well. Seguro did well out of the airport. What's needed is another airline to open up other destinations. Monarch did consider this some years ago but Ryanair saw to that.
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Agree as a sunshine airport it does do well.