LUTON -8
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As I've said before, LTN seems a very strange airport for FR. They generally fly the routes from LTN that for whatever reason are not served from STN and routes that I tend to think of as "traditional" FR routes such as DUB, NOC, KIR, GRO, REU, MJV etc. In other words, routes to airports that have been on the FR route map for a very long time.
LTN looks a bit like a typical FR base 10 years ago. It hasn't really updated or evolved into the type of network FR would operate now, which from the UK mainly includes ALC, AGP, PMI, FAO and typically a number of Polish and Italian cities.
Given these points, its most likely a case that LTN is not somewhere they wish to expand (probably due to proximity to STN and large EZY presence) but the routes they do operate are profitable, so would make little sense to get rid of them. I think "stagnant" will probably remain the best way to describe FR's presence at LTN going forward.
LTN looks a bit like a typical FR base 10 years ago. It hasn't really updated or evolved into the type of network FR would operate now, which from the UK mainly includes ALC, AGP, PMI, FAO and typically a number of Polish and Italian cities.
Given these points, its most likely a case that LTN is not somewhere they wish to expand (probably due to proximity to STN and large EZY presence) but the routes they do operate are profitable, so would make little sense to get rid of them. I think "stagnant" will probably remain the best way to describe FR's presence at LTN going forward.
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Giles
Re Ryanair schedule and base at Luton yes there is a lot of strange things going on.Maybe they just signed a deal for x number of years and are committed for a while then will just move out to STN-who knows!
Rome has been in their booking engine for years but not operated.
Vilnius is no longer operating from Luton.
Their Irish routes are popular and even now there are extra weekend flights to Dublin FR6090 was added quite a few weeks ago with a DUB based a/c.
There is a large Irish community in and around Luton so you would expect that, hence the reason why so many couldn't understand why no airline stepped on to the Waterford route.
Big question is -if they did move out would Easy be tempted to take up the Irish routes-or is that why Ryanair are still here
Re Ryanair schedule and base at Luton yes there is a lot of strange things going on.Maybe they just signed a deal for x number of years and are committed for a while then will just move out to STN-who knows!
Rome has been in their booking engine for years but not operated.
Vilnius is no longer operating from Luton.
Their Irish routes are popular and even now there are extra weekend flights to Dublin FR6090 was added quite a few weeks ago with a DUB based a/c.
There is a large Irish community in and around Luton so you would expect that, hence the reason why so many couldn't understand why no airline stepped on to the Waterford route.
Big question is -if they did move out would Easy be tempted to take up the Irish routes-or is that why Ryanair are still here
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When you consider last weeks scheduled 777 service taking off from the intersection of taxiway B (as opposed to using the full length of runway available) on an easterly departure then I am sure there are many more medium to long haul routes viable that are yet to be discovered that do not necessitate long runways dependent on aircraft performance .
Scanning the schedules, El Al appear to be slashing flights to just 4 pw this coming winter. The seasonal frequency cut is not a surprise. The extent of it is. I'd have thought they could have justified at least 6pw. Perhaps they anticipate that the imminent demise of their codeshare with AA will free up substantial seat capacity on their LHR flights?
772 due in again Monday.
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Falcon666, you've hit the nail on the head. FR keep a presence at LTN to keep EZY out of certain routes and specifically finding the Irish routes very successful, despite having Stansted up the road, they are not likely to leave any gaps going west for easyJet. unlikely easyJet would take them up in any case.
Some selections of routes have been very Strategic, selecting Malta ex LTN keeps North London market to Malta sewn up, same for Morocco routes, easyJet were unlikely to follow FR onto these. So LTN in a sense is niche.
FR avoid EasyJet at LTN as much as EZY avoid FR at STN.
Some selections of routes have been very Strategic, selecting Malta ex LTN keeps North London market to Malta sewn up, same for Morocco routes, easyJet were unlikely to follow FR onto these. So LTN in a sense is niche.
FR avoid EasyJet at LTN as much as EZY avoid FR at STN.
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FR avoid EasyJet at LTN as much as EZY avoid FR at STN.
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Ryanair have openly stated they are focusing on their core market (and strengthen it) with business friendly times and frequencies. From Luton you could say it's the Irish market, hence the increase through the winter.
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Ryanair
I still think FR could make more of their Irish routes at LTN. NOC, KIR & DUB all do well and are all served from STN too. ORK & SNN could both probably sustain operations from both & could do well at LTN and I reckon DUB could work well at 4x daily
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Copenhagen
A week or two ago we were all saying Ryanair and easyJet at Luton avoid going head to head on routes, and now all of a sudden they couldn't be going more up against each other if they tried!
easyJet are flying daily LTN-CPH during this winter, but they will be flying twice daily too from next summer!
easyJet Schedule
LTN 07.15 ---> CPH 09.55
CPH 10.25 ---> LTN 11.20
LTN 17.10 ---> CPH 19.50
CPH 20.20 ---> LTN 21.15
Ryanair Schedule
CPH 06.45 ---> LTN 07.30
LTN 07.55 ---> CPH 10.40
CPH 16.35 ---> LTN 17.20
LTN 17.45 ---> CPH 20.45
Other than the Irish routes, it is rare to see Ryanair flying more than a daily service from the airport. Its a shame they didn't use the aircraft to fly another Scandanavian route from the airport, instead of going up against another carrier.
It is positive to see a new route being flown by an aircraft from another Ryanair base.
I wonder if they are testing out the route before maybe launching it from Stansted or maybe STN is slot restrained in the morning, as it is pretty jammed with Ryanair in the morning peak periods!
I think Naples route is a similar example... No one was flying it a few years back, and now we have Monarch, Thomson and easyJet operating the route!
easyJet are flying daily LTN-CPH during this winter, but they will be flying twice daily too from next summer!
easyJet Schedule
LTN 07.15 ---> CPH 09.55
CPH 10.25 ---> LTN 11.20
LTN 17.10 ---> CPH 19.50
CPH 20.20 ---> LTN 21.15
Ryanair Schedule
CPH 06.45 ---> LTN 07.30
LTN 07.55 ---> CPH 10.40
CPH 16.35 ---> LTN 17.20
LTN 17.45 ---> CPH 20.45
Other than the Irish routes, it is rare to see Ryanair flying more than a daily service from the airport. Its a shame they didn't use the aircraft to fly another Scandanavian route from the airport, instead of going up against another carrier.
It is positive to see a new route being flown by an aircraft from another Ryanair base.
I wonder if they are testing out the route before maybe launching it from Stansted or maybe STN is slot restrained in the morning, as it is pretty jammed with Ryanair in the morning peak periods!
I think Naples route is a similar example... No one was flying it a few years back, and now we have Monarch, Thomson and easyJet operating the route!
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Obviously FR think they can drive EZY off the route. Based on price they probably will.
But then if EZY were to move CPH back to STN then surely FR would just do the same, bit of a difficult one for EZY.
I think this surely has to be time now where EZY need to get their act together and stand up to FR rather than the having the whole 'oh the flag carriers are our competition now' attitude whilst they've been giving growth opportunities away to FR.
But then if EZY were to move CPH back to STN then surely FR would just do the same, bit of a difficult one for EZY.
I think this surely has to be time now where EZY need to get their act together and stand up to FR rather than the having the whole 'oh the flag carriers are our competition now' attitude whilst they've been giving growth opportunities away to FR.
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Good to see Ryanair showing a commitment to grow at Luton though I wonder why they've chosen Copenhagen as the route to go head to head with easyJet with? I am surprised that Ryanair didn't try to compete by flying the route from Stansted.
I suppose it's too much to hope that both services could survive and thrive in which case it will be interssting to see who comes out on top of this battle.
The flights of both carriers ex CPH offer great flexibility through the day, it's just the ex LTN flights which are less flexible. It'd be great if both could make the route work
I suppose it's too much to hope that both services could survive and thrive in which case it will be interssting to see who comes out on top of this battle.
The flights of both carriers ex CPH offer great flexibility through the day, it's just the ex LTN flights which are less flexible. It'd be great if both could make the route work
Last edited by wallp; 29th Oct 2014 at 21:38.
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I think it's pretty clear they have gone for LTN purely because EZY are starting the same route. If EZY weren't moving I dare say FR would be doing CPH-STN.
With FR opening a base in CPH, they obviously see it as a good opportunity to try and push EZY off the route altogether by going straight into direct competition with them just as they move the route to a different airport.
EZY clearly thought the route would perform better at LTN than STN or else they wouldn't have moved it. That's possibly now not going to be the case. FR have a lower cost base and will probably price EZY out, like I think they may do to an extent with GLA and EDI.
The problem seems to be that FR is up for a fight, whereas EZY seem to have this mentality of quite quickly giving in and going elsewhere. As I say, EZY need to get a grip as and when FR penetrate into more of their routes.
RAK seems to be a good example. FR will operate from LTN 5x per week and from STN daily next summer. From 30 May 2015, EZY will axe their STN-RAK route. Could CPH go the same way?
With FR opening a base in CPH, they obviously see it as a good opportunity to try and push EZY off the route altogether by going straight into direct competition with them just as they move the route to a different airport.
EZY clearly thought the route would perform better at LTN than STN or else they wouldn't have moved it. That's possibly now not going to be the case. FR have a lower cost base and will probably price EZY out, like I think they may do to an extent with GLA and EDI.
The problem seems to be that FR is up for a fight, whereas EZY seem to have this mentality of quite quickly giving in and going elsewhere. As I say, EZY need to get a grip as and when FR penetrate into more of their routes.
RAK seems to be a good example. FR will operate from LTN 5x per week and from STN daily next summer. From 30 May 2015, EZY will axe their STN-RAK route. Could CPH go the same way?
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I hope it isn't just a ploy by Ryanair to oust easyJet from the route before shifting it to Stansted leaving Luton with no flights to Copenhagen. We've waited a long time for this Scandinavian link and I hope it's just the beginning of services to this part of Europe.