Ryanair - 6
Join Date: Apr 2004
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RYANAIR and LOURDES
they must be desparate to take this on.Looking in the local paper for Lourdes this weekend it says that their airport is giving FR a 75% discount on all charges.No doubt STN are also giving a huge discount as well as a start up route incentive. BUT how can this be correct.There have been charters 3 times a week March to November on this route since the new airport opened years ago.
For the last couple of years it is quite usual Mondays and Fridays to see TITAN or JET 2 and an occasional Air Med with loads of less able slowly loading up.
So this cant be considered a new route. Also why should these airports be charging full wack to the existing flights, and then giving back thousands to
FR in subsidies, is that legal ?
If the charterer of the existing flights only cancels a few flights because of the loss of his income to FR then both airports have truly shot themselves in the collective foot !
So either the clever man in Dublin is about to change his operations manual ,and his whole scheduling policy,or just maybe just between him and the airports they have got this wrong.
they must be desparate to take this on.Looking in the local paper for Lourdes this weekend it says that their airport is giving FR a 75% discount on all charges.No doubt STN are also giving a huge discount as well as a start up route incentive. BUT how can this be correct.There have been charters 3 times a week March to November on this route since the new airport opened years ago.
For the last couple of years it is quite usual Mondays and Fridays to see TITAN or JET 2 and an occasional Air Med with loads of less able slowly loading up.
So this cant be considered a new route. Also why should these airports be charging full wack to the existing flights, and then giving back thousands to
FR in subsidies, is that legal ?
If the charterer of the existing flights only cancels a few flights because of the loss of his income to FR then both airports have truly shot themselves in the collective foot !
So either the clever man in Dublin is about to change his operations manual ,and his whole scheduling policy,or just maybe just between him and the airports they have got this wrong.
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cork
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Just to note that Aer Arann have replaced Ryanair on the Cork Prestwick route.
Everyone probably knows this by now anyway, but it hasn't been mentioned.
Another small point; as has been proven over the past few weeks, SNN is a low cost airport, and FR is a low cost carrier. They are made for each other. If I want to avail of a low cost flight, I can drive to SNN and if I want to go to a business destination, I can go from ORK.
If the CAA caves into FR, then in a few short months ORK would be in the same boat as SNN, minus the US military flights.
Everyone probably knows this by now anyway, but it hasn't been mentioned.
Another small point; as has been proven over the past few weeks, SNN is a low cost airport, and FR is a low cost carrier. They are made for each other. If I want to avail of a low cost flight, I can drive to SNN and if I want to go to a business destination, I can go from ORK.
If the CAA caves into FR, then in a few short months ORK would be in the same boat as SNN, minus the US military flights.
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Lourdes
Why get so hysterical about FR flying there once a week, on a Saturday?! It is a SKIING flight! The only likely wheelchair pax are those returning home after having taken a high altitude tumble!
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The Skiing isnt that good either.
Bareges one hotel 3 star , bus to the ski slope every 30 mins.
Cauterets not much better, La Mongie , no good hotel, at all.
Thomson Hols used to fly 500 every weekend into LDE but due to lack of investment in the ski resorts gradually reduced their programme and then killed it off. Dan Air did quite well on the route , but BA pulled it.
£3,000 per flight subsidy is what is being mentioned.
cheaper than leaving it parked at STN
Bareges one hotel 3 star , bus to the ski slope every 30 mins.
Cauterets not much better, La Mongie , no good hotel, at all.
Thomson Hols used to fly 500 every weekend into LDE but due to lack of investment in the ski resorts gradually reduced their programme and then killed it off. Dan Air did quite well on the route , but BA pulled it.
£3,000 per flight subsidy is what is being mentioned.
cheaper than leaving it parked at STN
Join Date: Aug 2005
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It seems odd to me, to only do one flight a week.
But, this is the desperate realisation that FR find themselves in. They cannot afford to develop a route, because the losses are not covered by massive gains on other routes anymore.
A 75% DISCOUNT in previous years would have been excuse for multiple daily flights and lots of fanfare.
It's a losing game for FR I'm afraid. I believe we haven't seen the worst yet either. Their figures will be shocking this winter.
The game is over for their existing business model. The punters no longer have any money, and FR are no longer cheap.
And that's all they ever had. MOL had better think up a plan and quick.......
p.s. Tommyc2005: I thought people go skiing on other days other than Saturdays??? I thought that was the whole FR principle... open up options....
But, this is the desperate realisation that FR find themselves in. They cannot afford to develop a route, because the losses are not covered by massive gains on other routes anymore.
A 75% DISCOUNT in previous years would have been excuse for multiple daily flights and lots of fanfare.
It's a losing game for FR I'm afraid. I believe we haven't seen the worst yet either. Their figures will be shocking this winter.
The game is over for their existing business model. The punters no longer have any money, and FR are no longer cheap.
And that's all they ever had. MOL had better think up a plan and quick.......
p.s. Tommyc2005: I thought people go skiing on other days other than Saturdays??? I thought that was the whole FR principle... open up options....
Last edited by stansdead; 8th Sep 2008 at 19:52. Reason: spelling
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Charlie Roy,
Well, see my comment about 75% discounts.
In the old days, FR would have put a route on properly, i.e. multi weekly flights at least, if not daily... or multi daily.
Now, the case cannot be made, even with 75% DISCOUNTS.
Do you see a trend? I do.
The model is broke. FR can't lose money on a route now, as others cannot subsidise it's losses. Hence, once a week.......
There may be trouble ahead.......
Well, see my comment about 75% discounts.
In the old days, FR would have put a route on properly, i.e. multi weekly flights at least, if not daily... or multi daily.
Now, the case cannot be made, even with 75% DISCOUNTS.
Do you see a trend? I do.
The model is broke. FR can't lose money on a route now, as others cannot subsidise it's losses. Hence, once a week.......
There may be trouble ahead.......
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Lourdes - it's just an example
Does it really warrant so much discussion?
The model is broke. FR can't lose money on a route now, as others cannot subsidise it's losses. Hence, once a week.......
They can fly once a week from London... because it's a big city.
They can fly once a week from Dublin... because there lives an active Catholic population (in case of LDE).
They can fly once a week from Madrid... because there lives (ditto).
AND
They can fly daily from, let's say, HHN.
What? Why on Earth should HHN be better than STN or anything else? How could it succeed?
Well, here we go again:
The game is over for their existing business model.
Having such a central hub, FR could fly to LDE daily, because:
- Catholics from Milan and Rome could fly to Lourdes via HHN
- Catholics from Wroclaw and Gdansk coud fly to Lourdes via HHN
- Catholics from Budapest coud fly to Lourdes via HHN
- tourists from Scandinavia coud fly to Lourdes via HHN
- and so on, and so on.
Times are changing, some principles of the low-cost flying should be re-evaluated and changes made. To be competitive and get more passengers, to get better yields (same subsidies, if necessary, more paying passengers).
Forgive me Lourdes (and Catholics) for using you to colour this example. I claim there are still money to be made in the low-cost sector and even more potential, just there is a need to re-think the strategies. It concerns mostly FR as using some minor airports, give it a try.
Join Date: Feb 2005
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From the news:
But it's not the incident that prompted me to citing the news. "The Ryanair flight was met by police and security staff, who spoke to 18 passengers".
Just 18 passengers aboard this flight or they just choose 18 passengers to talk to. Was the load as bad as it seems?
THREATS allegedly made to passengers on a flight to Stansted led to an emergency response.
Police were called after reports that travellers had been threatened on a flight from Dublin to the Essex airport.
The Ryanair flight was met by police and security staff, who spoke to 18 passengers about the alleged incident.
...
Ryanair confirmed that the incident, on Saturday evening, had taken place.
Police were called after reports that travellers had been threatened on a flight from Dublin to the Essex airport.
The Ryanair flight was met by police and security staff, who spoke to 18 passengers about the alleged incident.
...
Ryanair confirmed that the incident, on Saturday evening, had taken place.
Just 18 passengers aboard this flight or they just choose 18 passengers to talk to. Was the load as bad as it seems?
Join Date: Apr 2004
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Lourdes flights
Most Catholics travel to Lourdes on Charter flights and pay rip off prices to tour operators to do so. Ryanair would be a lot cheaper but many pilgrims wouldn't like the idea of being left starnded at a so called Ryanair hub due to a missed connection or a last minute cancellation etc.
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Tommy, almost all the passengers who travel to Lourdes go there to visit the shrine of the Virgin Mary. There will be many 'mobility challenged' people and their helpers travelling.
They are most certainly not interested in skiing!
They are most certainly not interested in skiing!
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Lourdes
We have very few Roman Catholics here in Finland, so I can be 99.9% sure we'll never have direct flights to Lourdes. Nevertheless, I could be interested to fly there, with Ryanair too. In this regard, the idea of a central hub somewhere in Central Europe is obviously worth considering. It would require early morning flights to this hub and late evening returns [from/to TMP] with the connecting flights [to/from LDE] around mid-day. With some efforts the route planning could be tailored to achieve that goal, it doesn't seem very difficult. By allowing 2-3 hours for the flight change I could imagine over 99% of such connections would fully succeed. The core issue is elsewhere, though. In order to get not only those unbiased like myself 
but many other people from Finland to fly to Lourdes and to dozens of similar destinations via this Ryanair Central Hub (wherever it were created), the carrier would have to adjust the system. Namely, they would have to start selling tickets from the starting point until the final destination. There is no other way to tempt the "average" customers, none of my neighbours would accept two separate point to point tickets travelling anywhere (I've already tried to persuade them, no way).
Before FR would be able to sell any connecting flights, the carrier SHOULD START TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY for the passengers on those remaining 1% of connecting flights that wouldn't succeed (if the connection is lost regardless of the reason). And THIS is probably the most difficult issue here. Having to take some care.
There is perhaps a solution. Ryanair could continue its usual business selling point to point tickets. And, to be more versatile / better fill the planes, they might consider selling those connecting flights in a totally different (higher) price range. And accepting the responsibility at least for those passengers. N'est-ce pas?
but many other people from Finland to fly to Lourdes and to dozens of similar destinations via this Ryanair Central Hub (wherever it were created), the carrier would have to adjust the system. Namely, they would have to start selling tickets from the starting point until the final destination. There is no other way to tempt the "average" customers, none of my neighbours would accept two separate point to point tickets travelling anywhere (I've already tried to persuade them, no way). Before FR would be able to sell any connecting flights, the carrier SHOULD START TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY for the passengers on those remaining 1% of connecting flights that wouldn't succeed (if the connection is lost regardless of the reason). And THIS is probably the most difficult issue here. Having to take some care.
There is perhaps a solution. Ryanair could continue its usual business selling point to point tickets. And, to be more versatile / better fill the planes, they might consider selling those connecting flights in a totally different (higher) price range. And accepting the responsibility at least for those passengers. N'est-ce pas?
Join Date: Feb 2005
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A group of Dublin teenagers who fell ill on a flight home from England were rushed to hospital when their plane landed, turning a fun day trip into a horrid nightmare.
...
"It was a miracle that there were six doctors on the flight, and they said that it was safer to get the kids home."
...
"It was a miracle that there were six doctors on the flight, and they said that it was safer to get the kids home."
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Astonishing
From the Times Online
Ryanair pilot learns: You were fired – six weeks ago - Times Online
Ryanair pilot learns: You were fired – six weeks ago - Times Online
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Yea, I was wondering about that exact point after I heard about this on the radio last sunday morning...!
Actually, couldn't ryanair somehow use the wheelchair wheels to their advantage thereby saving on tyres. And if they carried electric chairs they might not even need the use of a tug and would save on fuel in the taxi!
Actually, couldn't ryanair somehow use the wheelchair wheels to their advantage thereby saving on tyres. And if they carried electric chairs they might not even need the use of a tug and would save on fuel in the taxi!
Last edited by tingtang; 9th Sep 2008 at 15:47.