easyJet & Euromanx head to head on the Isle of Man?
 

According to the Isle of Man on-line easyJet are in discussions regarding possible services to the Island:

http://www.iomonline.co.im/ViewArtic...ticleID=977597

How might this affect Euromanx?

I would have thought that traffic to the Island is pretty much a static market. Would cheap routes to the UK and Europe actually generate new business and tourist travellers? Delightful place the Isle of Man may be but it is hardly a fashionable holiday destination these days. The modern tourist wants continental culture and sunshine !

To compete with Euromanx easyJet might have to concentrate on services to the UK before risking new routes to destinations previously not available from the Island. Low cost fares demand a pretty full aircraft. It might be difficult to fill a B737 on some business routes

Granted, of course, that Manx people would certainly enjoy cheaper travel.

So, are we going to see a head to head between easyJet and Euromanx?

Never happen. Ronaldsway is a very expensive Gov owned airport, there are no pax numbers for EZY.

Absolute b....s. If the locos were going to come to IOM they would have done so years ago. The existing operators cannot fill 50 seaters so what would you do with a 130 seat 737. As Hansol says, the numbers just do not exist. And where would easy fly to? LPL on a 73 - economic madness; LTN - BA can't half fill their RJ. No, its wishful thinking by the fairies again. The Manx still believe in this myth that the rest of the world is flying around on £5 fares. Some lucky individuals are but there are also people on the same plane paying £300.

The locals are always moaning about fares but you can get to LPL for £32 return (probably about the same as putting fuel in the tank if you were to drive it) and MAN for £45 return. There is a price to pay for living in the middle of the Irish Sea.

No - pie in the sky, IMHO. Easy cannot be that desperate but perhaps the airport authority is. As for the government, it doesn't know its rear end from its elbow as far as transport policy is concerned. :ugh:

Totally agree with San Expiry,the pax loads that EZY require are just not there.80% load factors do not exist ex-IOM.
All operators are fighting to carry half that number.
Manx Gov. and Press getting carried-away by their own enthusiasm for 'bigger aircraft'

I think you are absolutely right. However, the substance of the article (the link no longer works) is that the Manx Government approached twenty airlines to run services from the Island.

This suggests to me that they might be dissatisfied with the situation with Euromanx. I.e. they would prefer a dedicated airline for the Island rather than a hotch potch of wet leasing agreements.

Have to agree with you there CR. My guess is that they have suddenly woken up to the real world and are desparate to have a regular, stable service to and from the Island.

Still, we'll have to wait and see what happens eh?

Skiddy

No one would have said Newquay was a market, but Ryanair made it into one. Many years ago, IOM was a large market, particularly for summer holidays. No reason that with low fares Easy couldn't build a market to/from IOM.

Andy

Agreed. I did LTN~IOM~LTN last Saturday (delayed by the fog) and back today. Both at 50% load.

The problem that the island has is that they were thrilled to welcome new services to STN + LCY and are now wondering why the LTN + LGW routes are thin! There is, I suggest, a very clear limit on traffic to the South East. Those that need the charter and euro holiday routes have BHX + MAN + LPL at their disposal.

There is no way that EZY will be able to provide service and that has been known for years.

not big enough for easyjet
 

Lets face facts. The Isle of Man is just not big enough for Easyjet, How, with a 737 could they compete on domestic routes with the likes of Flybe/Emerald/Euromanx or BA. The operating costs would make the fares that expensive, who would use them. Dont forget, we are talking a catchment area of only about 85000 people, typically, easyjet serve catchment areas of hundreds of thousands of people. If they managed load factors of 50% i would be amazed, which we all know is nowhere near enough pax to be profitable on that size of aircraft on short hops. If they are looking at routes into europe, again there is not enough people travelling to warrant a daily schedule. The bottom line is the economics and practicalities dont add up to a viable operation

Easyjet have been very good at creating a market out of nothing. IOM might have a small catchment area but at LTN they have the UK’s second biggest catchment area of any UK airport. If the fare is right there are many people in the southeast who would venture there for short breaks.

Ryanair have been flying for years to places most people have never heard of so why not LTN – IOM for easyjet which is a place everyone has heard of.

But, LTNman, if easyJet hoped to create a 'Short Break' market on the rock where would all the visitors stay?

There is virtually no unemployment on the Island. I doubt that, with a bouyant local economy, there would be much local interest in increased tourism. A few more 'Short Breakers' in the summer maybe. Definately not in the winter though !

Indeed Ryanair have been flying to places not manyhave heard of, but, they fly there as an alternative to the main airport of the region.

There still isn't the population on the Island, nor the business/tourist travellers to support a regular medium sized aircraft like the 737 or A.319 on a constant basis.

About the only way that could possibly be achieved is by using IOM as a stopover from BFS or DUB, which wouldn't be economically viable I would have thought.

If the IOM Govt. were to aggressively market the IOM and invest in rejuvenating it's tourist status, then you may get a rise in visitors. However, this would take time and money and isn't guarenteed.

Anyway, no doubt we will see in time, along with more rumours!!

skiddy

If every ticket to and from the Island were £10 I doubt you would stimulate much more traffic then exists today. Air services to the IOM are an accident waiting to happen as the quality of the operators spirals down.

Precisely. How, with a diverse collection of pilot contacts, do you create a cohesive team with a common safety culture ?

Two years ago BLK DUB was flown with bandits. Now its a shiny 737-800. A similar story could happen on IOM LPL and IOM LTN. How long is the BHD GLA sector - which was operated by ATP's and now 733's!

Never doubt the ability of low cost carriers to at least double traffic on routes.

Oh, and if an A319 can land at LCY, it can land at IOM.

Copenhagen,

No one doubts the ability of a 319 to land on the IOM, just the ability to operate it in a commercially viable manner and successfully.

I would love to see larger aircraft here, it would certainly increase competition.


skiddy

CPH

A 319 can't land at LCY. Neither can a 318, yet.

COPENHAGEN

THE A319 IS NOT CERTIFIED TO LAND AT LCY DUE TO THE 5.5 DEGREE GLIDESLOPE (USED TO BE 7.5) AND OBSTACLE CLEARANCE - NOT A REAL PROBLEM ON THE IOM.

Dont get me wrong, i agree with skiddy, i would love to see larger aircraft operating out of IOM on a regular basis, thats why the Government are investing so heavily in the runway extension project. I just dont think we have the people to support larger aircraft on scheduled services.

Sorry Manxman, like a lot of people on the Island you are under the impression that the runway extension will allow larger aircraft to operate from the Island, the extension is in fact an extension of the safety "run off" area which is too short at present.
The airport has two options extend the run off area leaving the runway length the same, or extend the run off area and reduce the length of the runway, so the result of the current review could be a shorter runway.