BELFAST (BHD) - 3
Join Date: May 2000
Location: In the Farm
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I really believe the local authorities should be doing everything in their power to keep Ryanair in Belfast.
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Greater Aldergrove
Age: 53
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EI to Amsterdam..a snap!
Mrs NWSRG is getting to go to Amsterdam courtesy of her work in January...so I priced a return flight to join her out there...£49 return!
Now, once the runway at BHD is extended, and FR offer Amsterdam for £3.50 (plus £10 for my bags, plus £5 check-in etc. etc), this may provide a dilemma...would I pay £49 to travel from a proper airport, on a proper airline, who assume that people would like to have a seat allocated to them, and might want to bring some luggage along...or would I pay somewhat less for the privelege of being treated like cannon fodder (the last time I flew FR out of DUB really was my last...a queue like a rugby scrum, hosties who had come straight from the KGB, and an airport which made Calcutta look calm and serene).
EI will get my vote every time!
...and I have to add, EZY would be my clear no.2. Just this time, their flight times aren't as good!
Now, once the runway at BHD is extended, and FR offer Amsterdam for £3.50 (plus £10 for my bags, plus £5 check-in etc. etc), this may provide a dilemma...would I pay £49 to travel from a proper airport, on a proper airline, who assume that people would like to have a seat allocated to them, and might want to bring some luggage along...or would I pay somewhat less for the privelege of being treated like cannon fodder (the last time I flew FR out of DUB really was my last...a queue like a rugby scrum, hosties who had come straight from the KGB, and an airport which made Calcutta look calm and serene).
EI will get my vote every time!
...and I have to add, EZY would be my clear no.2. Just this time, their flight times aren't as good!
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Ballymena
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Easyjet at belfast S08
The summer 08 routes are now on sale. I have had a VERY quick look at the times, they seem to point to 7 based units with 8 on a Thursday. I must stress I had a very quick look. Is my first impressions right? If there is to be 8, are further routes coming?
True Blue
True Blue
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Solihull
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Easy Summer 2008
It is very difficult to work out the amount based but at present
I make it six but others working through from other bases.
Outbound on weekdays
0615 STN, 0600 ALC, 0635 BRS, 0635 FAO* 0700 LPL & 0700 LUT.
* PMI on a Thursday
the 0735 AGP appears to be done by 0710 arrival from Bristol!!!
The 0700 LPL also appears not to come back until 15.00.
However aircraft 7 need to be based or at least work through from
another base as Berlin on Tuesday & Thursday departs at 0945 &
I can't find an aircraft in at that time but I could be wrong.
I couldn't find Prague bookable and the Stansted route ends at 1615,
I trust a Stansted based aircraft will operate the evening rotations.
All in all there seem to be a few gaps for possible new routes
but not an easy (sorry for the pun) pattern to follow.
Pete
I make it six but others working through from other bases.
Outbound on weekdays
0615 STN, 0600 ALC, 0635 BRS, 0635 FAO* 0700 LPL & 0700 LUT.
* PMI on a Thursday
the 0735 AGP appears to be done by 0710 arrival from Bristol!!!
The 0700 LPL also appears not to come back until 15.00.
However aircraft 7 need to be based or at least work through from
another base as Berlin on Tuesday & Thursday departs at 0945 &
I can't find an aircraft in at that time but I could be wrong.
I couldn't find Prague bookable and the Stansted route ends at 1615,
I trust a Stansted based aircraft will operate the evening rotations.
All in all there seem to be a few gaps for possible new routes
but not an easy (sorry for the pun) pattern to follow.
Pete
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Belfast
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The following review has been posted on carsurvey.org/air. It's self explanatory. Most Belfast travellers have had little experience of Ryanair. I've flown with them a couple of times from Dublin and this doesn't surprise me at all.
Of course passengers should be on time for their flights but an hour and a half to check in for the short flight to London should be perfectly adequate at an airport as compact as BHD.
Airport management take note. Chances are most of these passengers use BHD every time they fly within the UK.
All the Ryanair destinations currently on offer are also available from BFS with other 'loco' airlines and in the case of Glasgow the airport it uses is actually just outside the city as opposed to just outside Ayr.
Mr. Ambrose should make it clear to Mr. O'Leary he does not like users of his airport being treated this way.
Otherwise people travelling to Glasgow, Stansted and Liverpool might just find the trip to Aldergrove much 'easier' (The 300 bus is very frequent now) than queuing for an hour at BHD only to be told they're too late for their flight.
People travelling to East Midlands may also find bmibaby a safer bet while people travelling to Scotland may still opt to use BHD but will got there in a Dash 8 400 rather than a Boeing 737-800
'What a disastrous experience that I will not be repeating as long as I have air in my lungs.
I live in Spain and was visiting my family back in Ireland. I had taken an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, which was excellent and was returning Ryanair on their new route from Belfast. I was relaxed that they flew from Belfast to London where I could connect onto a flight to Jerez, my local airport near my house in Spain.
I arrived at Belfast city airport for my flight with Ryanair an hour and a half before the 12.40 flight. I was astonished to see that the queue for check in was past the main terminal doors. I soon discovered that they only had one check in desk opened for three flights, potentially 3 full 737’s. I had about over 100 passengers in front of me waiting to check in. Over an hour later I was tenth from the front when I heard the check – in agent tell the customer in front of me they were late and check in was now closed. You could imagine the scene. I wasn’t the only customer going to London in this slow moving line.
The options Ryanair gave me were, get a refund for my baggage fee, but not the ticket as they blamed me on arriving late, or pay £138 for a later flight, that would mean I would miss my connection to Spain. I explained that I was early for check in and that there was no way I could of checked-in within their allocated time given that one check desk was open for three flights. I was told there was nothing they could do about accommodating me on a later flight to Spain,, even if I had paid for a new flight to London.
No airline should be allowed to operate like this, it is the worst customer service I have even encountered in my lifetime. To me it was theft as there is little chance you could have checked in on time even if you got to the airport two hours beforehand. I dislike everything that Ryanair stand for and I hope the new routes from Belfast fail. This will save people the heartache of this sub-standard airline.
I ended up leaving from Belfast international airport with Easyjet who fly to Malaga, about 200 miles from my house, who’s fare was high as it was last minute, but still lower than the fare Ryanair wanted in order to re book me on two new flights. To add insult to injury Ryanair have not refunded my two baggage fees to my credit card, due to lost paperwork.'
Of course passengers should be on time for their flights but an hour and a half to check in for the short flight to London should be perfectly adequate at an airport as compact as BHD.
Airport management take note. Chances are most of these passengers use BHD every time they fly within the UK.
All the Ryanair destinations currently on offer are also available from BFS with other 'loco' airlines and in the case of Glasgow the airport it uses is actually just outside the city as opposed to just outside Ayr.
Mr. Ambrose should make it clear to Mr. O'Leary he does not like users of his airport being treated this way.
Otherwise people travelling to Glasgow, Stansted and Liverpool might just find the trip to Aldergrove much 'easier' (The 300 bus is very frequent now) than queuing for an hour at BHD only to be told they're too late for their flight.
People travelling to East Midlands may also find bmibaby a safer bet while people travelling to Scotland may still opt to use BHD but will got there in a Dash 8 400 rather than a Boeing 737-800
'What a disastrous experience that I will not be repeating as long as I have air in my lungs.
I live in Spain and was visiting my family back in Ireland. I had taken an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin, which was excellent and was returning Ryanair on their new route from Belfast. I was relaxed that they flew from Belfast to London where I could connect onto a flight to Jerez, my local airport near my house in Spain.
I arrived at Belfast city airport for my flight with Ryanair an hour and a half before the 12.40 flight. I was astonished to see that the queue for check in was past the main terminal doors. I soon discovered that they only had one check in desk opened for three flights, potentially 3 full 737’s. I had about over 100 passengers in front of me waiting to check in. Over an hour later I was tenth from the front when I heard the check – in agent tell the customer in front of me they were late and check in was now closed. You could imagine the scene. I wasn’t the only customer going to London in this slow moving line.
The options Ryanair gave me were, get a refund for my baggage fee, but not the ticket as they blamed me on arriving late, or pay £138 for a later flight, that would mean I would miss my connection to Spain. I explained that I was early for check in and that there was no way I could of checked-in within their allocated time given that one check desk was open for three flights. I was told there was nothing they could do about accommodating me on a later flight to Spain,, even if I had paid for a new flight to London.
No airline should be allowed to operate like this, it is the worst customer service I have even encountered in my lifetime. To me it was theft as there is little chance you could have checked in on time even if you got to the airport two hours beforehand. I dislike everything that Ryanair stand for and I hope the new routes from Belfast fail. This will save people the heartache of this sub-standard airline.
I ended up leaving from Belfast international airport with Easyjet who fly to Malaga, about 200 miles from my house, who’s fare was high as it was last minute, but still lower than the fare Ryanair wanted in order to re book me on two new flights. To add insult to injury Ryanair have not refunded my two baggage fees to my credit card, due to lost paperwork.'
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: UK
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Check in should never be closed whilst the check in agents know there is a queue and have not made an effort to retrieve people for the closing flight from the queue.
I can't believe the BHD staff wouldn't have been walking up and down the queue calling for people to London?
I can't believe the BHD staff wouldn't have been walking up and down the queue calling for people to London?
Join Date: May 2004
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NWSRG
Ah well it'll save ya the hassle as FR don't fly to Amsterdam.
Just to note Dublin airport doesnt have anything to do with FR either..... so direct your complaints towards the Dublin Airport Authority!=.
Regards
Just to note Dublin airport doesnt have anything to do with FR either..... so direct your complaints towards the Dublin Airport Authority!=.
Regards
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: UK
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You arent really allowed to keep a flight check-in open longer than stated but these are usually bent if the flight is late.
If it is early or on time and you extend check-in - you will be in serious s**t with the Dispatcher!
If it is early or on time and you extend check-in - you will be in serious s**t with the Dispatcher!
Join Date: Apr 2007
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late check in
Check can be kept open for alittle longer if for example the baggage belt broke down (I know i've had a flight delayed because of a check in problem). I don't understand why passengers was not pulled forward. . . . . . .Maybe you should write to the base manager to find out why, might just be a mistake by the ground agents.
I personally don't know the reason why you wasn't brought forward, but if the agents knew you was in the q when the flight should of closed you should of been brought forward.
Lee
I personally don't know the reason why you wasn't brought forward, but if the agents knew you was in the q when the flight should of closed you should of been brought forward.
Lee
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Greater Aldergrove
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Ah well it'll save ya the hassle as FR don't fly to Amsterdam.
Just to note Dublin airport doesnt have anything to do with FR either..... so direct your complaints towards the Dublin Airport Authority!=.
Just to note Dublin airport doesnt have anything to do with FR either..... so direct your complaints towards the Dublin Airport Authority!=.
Have no fear, my ire is equally directed at both FR and DUB...a combination that I will never use again if I can help it...and further, I will do my best to avoid using either of them at all...
The comments above about FR using one check-in desk for 3 flights shows what a shower we're talking about...and I think BHD will regret selling their soul. FR may have a chance of damaging BE, which just puts BHD deeper into FR's pockets, but I suspect they won't hurt EZY, LS, WW or EI nearly as much. Ulster folk don't like being taken for a (cheap) ride, and the 3 current LoCos out of BFS have built up some loyalty. And EI look to be offering something a little more sophisticated for similar money...
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: EU
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Oh dear, 1 check-in desk for 3 737's. That was never going to work. Several possibilities here. Either RYR aren't paying enough to it's handling agent, the handling agent cocked up large or the there just isn't enough room to cope with another 3 aircraft in the terminal at that time. There should have been at least one desk designated for 'closing flights' and as previously stated, somebody should have been checking down the queue for people on flights that were closing. Unfortunately you have zero chance of getting anything back off Ryanair as they positively pride themselves on lack of co-operation in this field. If you're going to try, I suggest you do it through one of the consumer advice/rights agencies.
The City's quest for European routes has let a cuckoo into its nest. The Business Tele this week already has RYR threatening to pull out if they don't get their prized runway extension (did see that coming
). RYR wanted to be in BFS but BFS didn't want them. For all BFS's faults at least they got that right. Ironic that BHD as the 'Business' airport managed to net the scabbiest of all the loco's. Repent at leisure.
The City's quest for European routes has let a cuckoo into its nest. The Business Tele this week already has RYR threatening to pull out if they don't get their prized runway extension (did see that coming
). RYR wanted to be in BFS but BFS didn't want them. For all BFS's faults at least they got that right. Ironic that BHD as the 'Business' airport managed to net the scabbiest of all the loco's. Repent at leisure.
Join Date: Aug 2002
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See BFS had a nice shiny Embraer in last night.
(Makes a change from Dash 8's I suppose)Strange that BHD had to close for FlyBe yet Ryanair can swing late late extensions....
(Makes a change from Dash 8's I suppose)Strange that BHD had to close for FlyBe yet Ryanair can swing late late extensions....
Join Date: Jul 2006
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I have just been reading the above posts on Fr at Bhd.
I have flown Easyjet probably hundreds of times now since they arrived in Belfast 9 -10 years ago. In all that time I can only think of 1 serious delay and I've never had an experience where i felt a need to write to them in serious anger. I would say that 90%+ of my flights have been on time or early. I feel that their fares are quite good, I have flown to london for little over £20. I often wonder what people want and what more they think Ryanair will offer? All this talk about Fr bring loads of tourists to belfast. I'm afarid i don't buy that. By now, we should all know what fr stand for and all here should have a fair idea that Bhd are not really equipped to handle them. So if you book Fr at Bhd and it all goes wrong, then I say tough. If I have one negative to make about easy is the lack of allocated seating and boarding policy.
I flew easy to gatwick on saturday morning, 9.05am flight and hardly stopped in my way as I passed through the airport including security.
BTW, I have no connection to either easy or Bfs.
True Blue
I have flown Easyjet probably hundreds of times now since they arrived in Belfast 9 -10 years ago. In all that time I can only think of 1 serious delay and I've never had an experience where i felt a need to write to them in serious anger. I would say that 90%+ of my flights have been on time or early. I feel that their fares are quite good, I have flown to london for little over £20. I often wonder what people want and what more they think Ryanair will offer? All this talk about Fr bring loads of tourists to belfast. I'm afarid i don't buy that. By now, we should all know what fr stand for and all here should have a fair idea that Bhd are not really equipped to handle them. So if you book Fr at Bhd and it all goes wrong, then I say tough. If I have one negative to make about easy is the lack of allocated seating and boarding policy.
I flew easy to gatwick on saturday morning, 9.05am flight and hardly stopped in my way as I passed through the airport including security.
BTW, I have no connection to either easy or Bfs.
True Blue
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Just as True Blue mentioned,I flew to Bristol on the 7am on Wednesday, I was expecting long queues for the first flights of the day, went into the check in hall and to my surprise there was no queue at all. Last time I flew from the City, queue was almost out the front door.
Join Date: Aug 2001
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I have just been reading the above posts on Fr at Bhd.
I have flown Easyjet probably hundreds of times now since they arrived in Belfast 9 -10 years ago. In all that time I can only think of 1 serious delay and I've never had an experience where i felt a need to write to them in serious anger. I would say that 90%+ of my flights have been on time or early. I feel that their fares are quite good, I have flown to london for little over £20. I often wonder what people want and what more they think Ryanair will offer? All this talk about Fr bring loads of tourists to belfast. I'm afarid i don't buy that. By now, we should all know what fr stand for and all here should have a fair idea that Bhd are not really equipped to handle them. So if you book Fr at Bhd and it all goes wrong, then I say tough. If I have one negative to make about easy is the lack of allocated seating and boarding policy.
I flew easy to gatwick on saturday morning, 9.05am flight and hardly stopped in my way as I passed through the airport including security.
BTW, I have no connection to either easy or Bfs.
True Blue
I have flown Easyjet probably hundreds of times now since they arrived in Belfast 9 -10 years ago. In all that time I can only think of 1 serious delay and I've never had an experience where i felt a need to write to them in serious anger. I would say that 90%+ of my flights have been on time or early. I feel that their fares are quite good, I have flown to london for little over £20. I often wonder what people want and what more they think Ryanair will offer? All this talk about Fr bring loads of tourists to belfast. I'm afarid i don't buy that. By now, we should all know what fr stand for and all here should have a fair idea that Bhd are not really equipped to handle them. So if you book Fr at Bhd and it all goes wrong, then I say tough. If I have one negative to make about easy is the lack of allocated seating and boarding policy.
I flew easy to gatwick on saturday morning, 9.05am flight and hardly stopped in my way as I passed through the airport including security.
BTW, I have no connection to either easy or Bfs.
True Blue
The overall experience is much easier with BFS and their residents, and EI will hopefully only add to that...