Ryanair - 7

[The Real Slim Shady]

Zippy

FR's "daft" demands are what keep it profitable and able to operate to marginal regional airports.

The great pity of it all, at EMA particularly, is that FR and EZ don't necessarily compete on every route.

If EZ can't make EMA viable the "competition" can't be cited as a reason as FR compete on only 5 out of the 10 routes EZ operated.

[Charlie Roy]

Basel

Ryanair face competition on 5 of their 6 Basel routes.

LONDON - Easyjet, British Airways, Swiss
CAGLIARI - Easyjet
PORTO - Easyjet
ALICANTE - Easyjet
MARSEILLE - Twin Jet
STOCKHOLM - n/a

Their competitors are obviously delighted with the news that [1] Ryanair are leaving Basel, and the consequent [2] Ryanair will not be expanding at Basel.
I think Ryanair could have successfully launched routes (from bases and doing W's) to Pisa, Venice Treviso, Bologna, Bratislava, Bremen, Brussels Charleroi, Eindhoven, Edinburgh, Girona/Reus, Zadar - to name but a few. So in a way it's a shame to see them leave a airport where there is so much potential for expansion. But I'm sure many are saying good riddance.

[Noxegon]

Reported this morning - I like it!
Company aims to take the sting out of Ryanair charge - The Irish Times - Tue, Nov 10, 2009

[flyzen]

Basel routes

Ryanair to close six routes to Basel, including from London Stansted Airport"

The East Herts Herald - Ryanair to close six routes to Basel, including from London Stansted Airport

[Zippy Monster]

Interestingly, STN-BSL is still available for booking... Is this a final decision, or is the airline just playing hardball?

[flyzen]

Basel routes

Is quite clear on ryanair website
Ryanair - News : Ryanair to Close Six Basel Routes

[apaul]

What is not clear on Ryanair's website is whether the customers it has let down in its usual cavalier fashion have any other option than to accept the refund. The ATUC site refers to either a refund within 7 days or

Re-routing to your final destination as soon as possible or, if you agree, at a later date. (If the airline flies you to another airport in your destination city then they must pay for the transfer to the airport you were booked for or to another close-by point of your choice)

[befree]

Giving less than 4 weeks notice of cutting flights will make a new group of people never book with Ryanair again. If effect when you book with Ryanair you have no way of knowing your will fly until a few weeks before. That makes planning a trip difficult as hotels & Cars could get booked up. Ryanair refunding you 30 euros is not much help if everything else has been booked.

I do hope some people who have planned christmas & new year trip sue.

All Airlines cut routes but they give people months notice and do it before the planes are booked up. Most also try to help those messed around by finding alterative flights. With ryanair its just your money back. The fact you will not need the carparking at Stansted is not their worry.

Fly with any other airline if possible.

[h&s]

If some people still haven't understand, I have to repeat again what I said many time: Ryanair whole business model is based on the economic exploitation of the weakest: airports (secondary, or even "main" during crisis) and cabin crew (by far the biggest part of salary cost).

There is absolutely nothing genious in that, and Ryanair is definitely again the low brain airline, which does not mean they are not making money.

It also confirms what I already said about the low brain airline, being brutal is the only think these guys are good at - look at how they are currently negociating with Boeing...

I am absolutely certain that Ryanair is not even able to make money in BSL not because of high airport charges, but as always because of their own rubbishes choices: choice of destinations, strategies, schedule, brand, revenue management etc. As always, they did silly job, and because of that just asked the airport to fix their problems, Ryanair usual easy way to make business.

Whereas as I said a long time ago, many airports are more and more annoyed by Ryanair "negociation". So after FUE, MAN, BLK, VLC, SNN (I am sure I forgot many), here is BSL, without spealing about tense discusions with DUB, CIA, CRL etc

Bye bye the low brain airline in BSL

[Centrefire]

"Reported this morning - I like it!
Company aims to take the sting out of Ryanair charge - The Irish Times - Tue, Nov 10, 2009"

Ryanair will love this. They do like people with boarding cards.

If the incompetent fools cannot print their own boarding cards at home then they will now have another chance to do so.

Why would anyone not print out a boarding card knowing that it will cost them money. After this they usually go on to berate FR about the high cost of their failure to print.

[wheelbarrow]

I believe Cityjet will launch rescue fares to Ryanair passengers for 30 euro oneway to Amsterdam or London.
Europes ERA favourite airline comes to the rescue of Ryanair (becoming) the worlds unfavourable airline.

Ha Ha

[Noxegon]

Why would anyone not print out a boarding card knowing that it will cost them money. After this they usually go on to berate FR about the high cost of their failure to print.

Any one of a myriad of reasons.

Broadband down and lack of printer ink being two obvious ones. And before you say don't leave it to the last minute, get real for a minute - it happens. Also, if you're off on a two week trip then you might not be able to do the return boarding pass until the last minute anyway unless you want to have to find an internet cafe in the middle of your holidays.

Personally I still don't get why you need to check in anyway. You've bought the damn flight after all; why can't you just enter all required passport details at that time and print your boarding pass on the spot?

[befree]

Ryanair are trying very hard to take an excessive fee from the people it should be trying to keep happy. In the past it was a small airline and still had lots of other pax who would replace those who were upset. Now keeping them is important.

[mickyman]

befree

It begs the question.....why are they doing it then?

Alienating your passengers would seem ,as you hint, counter
productive.

MM

[IJM]

I wonder what effect on consumer confidence this has for Ryanair - ie. cancelling routes to Basel with just over 3 weeks notice, and not long before Xmas / New Year. A lot of people's travel plans having to be reviewed (and new flights with different airlines possibly having to be purchased, maybe at higher prices?). I can imagine a lot of people cheesed off.

The image of an airline regularly "falling out" with airports (eg. Manchester) must be in some consumers mind?

At what stage was the original contract between Basle Airport & Ryanair - was it up for renewal, or was it in "mid-term"?

Centrefire said:

If the incompetent fools cannot print their own boarding cards at home then they will now have another chance to do so.

Why would anyone not print out a boarding card knowing that it will cost them money. After this they usually go on to berate FR about the high cost of their failure to print.

Although many passengers may have workplaces, fully operational computers / printers at home, or internet cafes to print off boarding cards, not all will do so - for example if you are on holiday in a smaller community without these facilities, and have to book a flight back at short notice. People's plans do have to change unexpectedly sometimes. I wouldn't class them as "incompetent fools".

Ryanair are always complaining about "rip-off" airport taxes / tourist taxes etc, but 100 Euros (currently 40) to print a boarding pass at an airport? Who's the "rip-off merchant" there?

[davidjohnson6]

With reference to flyzen's post
http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airpo...ml#post5308758

Assuming flyzen is correct (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), could I suggest pausing the discussion with respect to Ryanair at Basel until Wed lunchtime ? There is the possibility that Ryanair somehow had advance notice that EasyJet would announce plans at Basel on Wednesday and act accordingly on Tuesday to gain at least some sort of publicity.

[OltonPete]

Shannon

BHX, LPL, PIK EDI & BRS to name a few all not bookable from 26 or 27th
March but Gatwick is still bookable.

I assume will change to UK based aircraft in some cases if not all instances?

Pete

[Zippy Monster]

There is the possibility that Ryanair somehow had advance notice that EasyJet would announce plans at Basel on Wednesday and act accordingly on Tuesday to gain at least some sort of publicity.

If you mean publicity with respect to still operating routes from BSL in competition, then why would they make clear their intention to withdraw their services from there? Would they really announce to the world that they are withdrawing, denouncing it as a 'high cost airport', and annoy all their customers in the process etc. if they still had an agreement with BSL that some services would operate, and it was merely a publicity stunt? Strange thing to do - say "sorry, we're leaving" and then turn round and say "actually we're back again". It wouldn't encourage me to book with them.

From a conversation I had today at the airport, it seems that those in the know at Basel ATC also are under the impression that Ryanair are leaving.

[GayFriendly]

It wouldn't encourage me to book with them

I agree - FR starts, finishes, chops and changes routes and schedules seemingly as often as I change my pants

PS i'm a clean boy and theres nothing lo-co about my underwear.....

[racedo]

Funny that FR kills 6 routes gets abuse from usual suspects who never fly with them, BA cancels routes and everything is silent.