FR BHX Expansion
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FR BHX Expansion
Michael O'Leary was on radio in Birmingham today talking about expansion from BHX, 2 new routes to Murcia and Girona and increased capacity on Dublin to 5 from 3. Further new routes for next year to be Pisa, Knock and Belfast
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So...
Thats the Murcia, Knock, Belfast and Pisa that My Travel Lite already fly to, and they also go to Barcelona ? Additional frquency on the DUB where My Travel Lite have decided to compete with Ryanair
Not sure what to make of this, not really suprised Ryanair have chosen to take My Travel Lite on (given the new competition to Ryanair on the BHX-DUB) but suprised there aren't any of the usual selection of Hahn's, Charleroi,s etc proposed?
We'll see.....
Thats the Murcia, Knock, Belfast and Pisa that My Travel Lite already fly to, and they also go to Barcelona ? Additional frquency on the DUB where My Travel Lite have decided to compete with Ryanair
Not sure what to make of this, not really suprised Ryanair have chosen to take My Travel Lite on (given the new competition to Ryanair on the BHX-DUB) but suprised there aren't any of the usual selection of Hahn's, Charleroi,s etc proposed?
We'll see.....
Join Date: Apr 2002
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Barcelona (Girona) and Murcia are both daily from 30.10.03 and on the same day BHX-DUB will increase to 5 daily.
30,000 free seats (exc tax) will be on sale shortly and must be booked by 03.09.03.
Looks like MOL was very happy with MYL going to DUB !
Ian
30,000 free seats (exc tax) will be on sale shortly and must be booked by 03.09.03.
Looks like MOL was very happy with MYL going to DUB !
Ian
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I'll believe the Belfast when I see it! - there have rumours about FR and Belfast for months, years even and still nothing has happened - can anyone confirm that it will be BFS - what about competition for Flybe from BHD?
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Here's the complete article from Ryanair's website. In addition, I have listed the new times and flight numbers (for the MJV and GRO services) at the bottom.
"RYANAIR - TWO NEW DAILY ROUTES FROM BIRMINGHAM TO SPAIN
AND INCREASES DUBLIN FREQUENCY TO FIVE DAILY FLIGHTS
BIRMINGHAM TO BARCELONA & MURCIA £FREE!*
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 low fares airline, today (20th August 03) announced two new daily routes from Birmingham to Barcelona (Girona) and Murcia with 30,000 Seats for FREE (excluding taxes). Ryanair also announced increased frequency on the Birmingham-Dublin route from 3 flights daily to 5 flights daily starting 30th October 03.
Speaking in Birmingham today, Ryanair’s Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary said:
Ryanair is Europe’s No.1 low fares airline. We have been flying from Birmingham for 10 years linking the West Midlands with Dublin at low fares that no-one else can match. This year, with increased frequency, we will carry 400,000 passengers on the Birmingham-Dublin route; That’s double what we carried last year.
The new daily flights to Barcelona (Girona) and Murcia, are Ryanair’s first low fares routes between Birmingham and Spain, and we expect to carry 100,000 passengers on each route annually. To celebrate we’re offering 30,000 for FREE (excluding taxes), but these seats must be sold before 3rd September next, so passengers should book today at www.ryanair.com. These low fares flights will commence on 30th October 03.
Ryanair is Europe’s No.1 for lowest fares, best punctuality and bestcustomer service!"
The flight times and numbers are detailed below:
FR9286 departs BHX at 0925, arriving into GRO at 1235
FR9287 departs GRO at 1300, arriving into BHX at 1415
FR9124 departs BHX at 1550, arriving into MJV at 1935
FR9125 departs MJV at 2000, arriving into BHX at 2140
For the DUB flights, visit its website.
"RYANAIR - TWO NEW DAILY ROUTES FROM BIRMINGHAM TO SPAIN
AND INCREASES DUBLIN FREQUENCY TO FIVE DAILY FLIGHTS
BIRMINGHAM TO BARCELONA & MURCIA £FREE!*
Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 low fares airline, today (20th August 03) announced two new daily routes from Birmingham to Barcelona (Girona) and Murcia with 30,000 Seats for FREE (excluding taxes). Ryanair also announced increased frequency on the Birmingham-Dublin route from 3 flights daily to 5 flights daily starting 30th October 03.
Speaking in Birmingham today, Ryanair’s Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary said:
Ryanair is Europe’s No.1 low fares airline. We have been flying from Birmingham for 10 years linking the West Midlands with Dublin at low fares that no-one else can match. This year, with increased frequency, we will carry 400,000 passengers on the Birmingham-Dublin route; That’s double what we carried last year.
The new daily flights to Barcelona (Girona) and Murcia, are Ryanair’s first low fares routes between Birmingham and Spain, and we expect to carry 100,000 passengers on each route annually. To celebrate we’re offering 30,000 for FREE (excluding taxes), but these seats must be sold before 3rd September next, so passengers should book today at www.ryanair.com. These low fares flights will commence on 30th October 03.
Ryanair is Europe’s No.1 for lowest fares, best punctuality and bestcustomer service!"
The flight times and numbers are detailed below:
FR9286 departs BHX at 0925, arriving into GRO at 1235
FR9287 departs GRO at 1300, arriving into BHX at 1415
FR9124 departs BHX at 1550, arriving into MJV at 1935
FR9125 departs MJV at 2000, arriving into BHX at 2140
For the DUB flights, visit its website.
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Shock and awe, Ryanair style
Seems to me a fairly clear message from FR : "compete with us head-to-head anywhere and we'll kill you."
No evidence on the FR booking engine as yet of the promised 5x Dublin flights in November, only a particularly bad 3x daily schedule (last departure from Dublin 1430, first departure from BHX 1340!).
A couple of possibilities here:
- they just haven't finished loading the DUBBHX schedule (hmmm...)
- they've screwed up the schedule load;
- they are waiting to see if their "shock and awe" tactic vs MYL delivers results.
It looks as though one aircraft is doing DUB-BHX-GRO-BHX-DUB starting in the morning and another's doing DUB-BHX-MJV-BHX in the afternoon/evening. However there's an arrival into BHX from MJV at 2140 and no corresponding departure - I assume that sooner or later we'll see a 2205 departure from BHX to DUB?
Jetstream7: you were wondering why there are no Charlerois, Hahns etc? IMHO it's because this is simple competitive response on FR's part, not because they've chosen BHX as a new target city or anything (landing fees far too high for them, for a start). If MYL backs off and (for example) signals that they're going to come off Dublin after a decent interval, I wouldn't expect any of this supposed FR expansion at BHX to happen.
No evidence on the FR booking engine as yet of the promised 5x Dublin flights in November, only a particularly bad 3x daily schedule (last departure from Dublin 1430, first departure from BHX 1340!).
A couple of possibilities here:
- they just haven't finished loading the DUBBHX schedule (hmmm...)
- they've screwed up the schedule load;
- they are waiting to see if their "shock and awe" tactic vs MYL delivers results.
It looks as though one aircraft is doing DUB-BHX-GRO-BHX-DUB starting in the morning and another's doing DUB-BHX-MJV-BHX in the afternoon/evening. However there's an arrival into BHX from MJV at 2140 and no corresponding departure - I assume that sooner or later we'll see a 2205 departure from BHX to DUB?
Jetstream7: you were wondering why there are no Charlerois, Hahns etc? IMHO it's because this is simple competitive response on FR's part, not because they've chosen BHX as a new target city or anything (landing fees far too high for them, for a start). If MYL backs off and (for example) signals that they're going to come off Dublin after a decent interval, I wouldn't expect any of this supposed FR expansion at BHX to happen.
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MTL press release response:
20th August 2003
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Ryanair flatters MyTravelLite by trying to copy its low fares and service.
MyTravelLite, Birmingham’s No1 low fares airline, today commented on Ryanair’s decision to imitate MyTravelLite, which already offers unbeatable flights to Dublin, Barcelona, Murcia and 8 other destinations from Birmingham.
Vanessa Lenssen, Managing Director MyTravelLite said: “We’re the biggest in Birmingham with 11 routes and we know that we’ve been getting it right. Our passenger figures and customer satisfaction surveys have been telling us that customers love our low fares, our service, our big choice of destinations and flying on our state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft. Not to mention the convenience of direct routes to some of the biggest tourist hotspots in Europe – not secondary airports like Ryanair’s Girona which is miles away from Barcelona.”
“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We only launched our Dublin route less than two weeks ago and we’re flattered that we’ve been able to force Ryanair to react so quickly. Today’s news shows that Ryanair is so desperate to try to grab a piece of the Birmingham market that it is breaking with its usual business model of using secondary UK airports in favour of expanding its existing routes at Birmingham International Airport.
MyTravelLite’s fares are consistently low with lead in fares of £1 one way excluding taxes for flights to Dublin, Barcelona and Murcia. Flights can also be booked through www.mytravellite.com website for MyTravelLite’s new Tenerife and Almeria winter routes.
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20th August 2003
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Ryanair flatters MyTravelLite by trying to copy its low fares and service.
MyTravelLite, Birmingham’s No1 low fares airline, today commented on Ryanair’s decision to imitate MyTravelLite, which already offers unbeatable flights to Dublin, Barcelona, Murcia and 8 other destinations from Birmingham.
Vanessa Lenssen, Managing Director MyTravelLite said: “We’re the biggest in Birmingham with 11 routes and we know that we’ve been getting it right. Our passenger figures and customer satisfaction surveys have been telling us that customers love our low fares, our service, our big choice of destinations and flying on our state-of-the-art Airbus aircraft. Not to mention the convenience of direct routes to some of the biggest tourist hotspots in Europe – not secondary airports like Ryanair’s Girona which is miles away from Barcelona.”
“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We only launched our Dublin route less than two weeks ago and we’re flattered that we’ve been able to force Ryanair to react so quickly. Today’s news shows that Ryanair is so desperate to try to grab a piece of the Birmingham market that it is breaking with its usual business model of using secondary UK airports in favour of expanding its existing routes at Birmingham International Airport.
MyTravelLite’s fares are consistently low with lead in fares of £1 one way excluding taxes for flights to Dublin, Barcelona and Murcia. Flights can also be booked through www.mytravellite.com website for MyTravelLite’s new Tenerife and Almeria winter routes.
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From a consumer's point-of-view, this competition is good: it reduces prices even lower.
Let's compare BHX-MJV departing November 4 and returning November 5.
MTL's total fare, including tax and charges but minus credit card/debt card fees, is £109.50. FR's is £20.45.
Let's now compare BHX-GRO with FR and BHX-BCN with MTL on the same dates.
MTL's total fare, including tax and charges but minus credit card/debit card fees, is £59.59. FR's is £20.45.
I wonder for how long FR will offer these unbelievably good fares. When they disappear, I wonder what the 'normal' early booking fares will be.
Let's compare BHX-MJV departing November 4 and returning November 5.
MTL's total fare, including tax and charges but minus credit card/debt card fees, is £109.50. FR's is £20.45.
Let's now compare BHX-GRO with FR and BHX-BCN with MTL on the same dates.
MTL's total fare, including tax and charges but minus credit card/debit card fees, is £59.59. FR's is £20.45.
I wonder for how long FR will offer these unbelievably good fares. When they disappear, I wonder what the 'normal' early booking fares will be.
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Plane happy,
Watch out. FR launched BOH-GRO last wednesday and the cost of a seat one way over Xmas and at easter is £89.99. Not the £1 from BHX. Normal lead in on the route is £28.99.
Competition is good for the consumer but FR's plans here must be to push MyTravel off certain routes.
Watch out. FR launched BOH-GRO last wednesday and the cost of a seat one way over Xmas and at easter is £89.99. Not the £1 from BHX. Normal lead in on the route is £28.99.
Competition is good for the consumer but FR's plans here must be to push MyTravel off certain routes.
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"FR's plans here must be to push MyTravel off certain routes."
Nothing wrong with that, so long as the competition is not deemed by the regulatory officals to be unfair. In fact, this preditory pricing might keep prices down for longer. Let's hope so, anyway!
With direct competition on the MJV route and indirect competition on the GRO service, FR might indeed offer lower prices than MTL for longer. These loss-leading flights will attract price-conscious travellers whilst hopefully securing a solid passenger base of loyal and frequent travellers.
In short, FR is rightly seeking to reduce MTL's market share on both routes, thereby ideally resulting in the carrier withdrawing from them both. If FR can do this without abusing its position, then good. If it cannot, i.e. by offering absurdly and unbelievably low prices because of its size which MTL cannot match (on the routes on which both carriers operate) then it must be stopped.
"all very well but how much does it cost for a taxi or bus from gro to barcelona centre??? and how long is the journey???"
GRO is about 12kms from the centre of Gerona, quickly reachable by taxi or bus.
There are 12 buses per day between the centre of Barcelona and GRO; these take about 1 hour 10 minutes.
You could, of course, take a taxi or a bus into the centre of Gerona and then a frequent train from there to Barcelona. This would, I believe, take longer.
Let's not forget that GRO does indeed serve the entire Costa Brava, not just Barcelona. As such, if you're staying somewhere in Northern Spain or further north along the coast, it might be easier, quicker and cheaper to fly into and out of GRO rather than BCN.
Nothing wrong with that, so long as the competition is not deemed by the regulatory officals to be unfair. In fact, this preditory pricing might keep prices down for longer. Let's hope so, anyway!
With direct competition on the MJV route and indirect competition on the GRO service, FR might indeed offer lower prices than MTL for longer. These loss-leading flights will attract price-conscious travellers whilst hopefully securing a solid passenger base of loyal and frequent travellers.
In short, FR is rightly seeking to reduce MTL's market share on both routes, thereby ideally resulting in the carrier withdrawing from them both. If FR can do this without abusing its position, then good. If it cannot, i.e. by offering absurdly and unbelievably low prices because of its size which MTL cannot match (on the routes on which both carriers operate) then it must be stopped.
"all very well but how much does it cost for a taxi or bus from gro to barcelona centre??? and how long is the journey???"
GRO is about 12kms from the centre of Gerona, quickly reachable by taxi or bus.
There are 12 buses per day between the centre of Barcelona and GRO; these take about 1 hour 10 minutes.
You could, of course, take a taxi or a bus into the centre of Gerona and then a frequent train from there to Barcelona. This would, I believe, take longer.
Let's not forget that GRO does indeed serve the entire Costa Brava, not just Barcelona. As such, if you're staying somewhere in Northern Spain or further north along the coast, it might be easier, quicker and cheaper to fly into and out of GRO rather than BCN.
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The booking engine now has 5 flights a day including Cyrano's predicted 2205 BHX-DUB!!
Here are the timings:
DUB - BHX
0640 - 0745
0805 - 0900
1220 - 1315
1430 - 1525
1820 - 1915
BHX - DUB
0810 - 0905
1340 - 1435
1440 - 1535
1940 - 2035
2205 - 2300
Here are the timings:
DUB - BHX
0640 - 0745
0805 - 0900
1220 - 1315
1430 - 1525
1820 - 1915
BHX - DUB
0810 - 0905
1340 - 1435
1440 - 1535
1940 - 2035
2205 - 2300
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Interesting - and quite good - flight times, for both the business person and the tourist.
It would be possible to depart in the morning from either DUB or BHX and have a full day doing business before returning to the respective city in the evening. Whilst this is possible regardless of your starting city, this is especially possible for the BHX-DUB-BHX traveller. Sadly, it is not as good for the DUB-BHX-DUB traveller: the first evening flight is at 1940. Nevertheless, pretty good times.
It would be possible to depart in the morning from either DUB or BHX and have a full day doing business before returning to the respective city in the evening. Whilst this is possible regardless of your starting city, this is especially possible for the BHX-DUB-BHX traveller. Sadly, it is not as good for the DUB-BHX-DUB traveller: the first evening flight is at 1940. Nevertheless, pretty good times.
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stevobeevo: FR's plans here must be to push MyTravel off certain routes
PlaneHappy: so long as the competition is not deemed by the regulatory officals to be unfair
But Ryanair couldn’t leave it at that because they know that MyTravelLite might actually be able to give them a run for their money on a straight BHX-DUB scrap. So they take it to the next level and jump on two routes served by MyTravelLite out of its home base.
So what’s the next step? Scenario 1: Capitulation MyTravelLite makes a behind closed doors deal with Ryanair to drop DUB if Ryanair drops BHX-MJV and BHX-GRO; Scenario 2: See you and raise you MyTravelLite launches an operation out of DUB. Say maybe DUB to BCN, FAO and AGP to choose three destinations at random
. Using the DC10-10s 
. Scenario 3: Doomsday MyTravelLite drops DUB but Ryanair keep its new BHX services anyway (or even launches more) to destroy MyTravelLite and really drive its point home.
PlaneHappy: From a consumer's point-of-view, this competition is good