where do you see this?

Looks like they've managed to remove them from their website, for the time being.

So quietly here. Aren't you waiting for the FR press conference on Thursday? I know MOL could be in a bad mood after "celebrating" the launch of a revamped "revolutionary" website, but it will be a new base announcement after all...

Thursday now?


Its getting like a singles club.............one date after another

Was it at 10:45 or 11:45 AM? Anyway, my source is a reliable one, I believe.

If they are basing great! - they aren't my favourite airline. But if there is news to announce lets get on with it

DUB - moving into EI territory
LTN - moving into U2 territory
LPL - moving into U2 territory
MAD - moving into IB territory

The list goes on...

GSM are NOTHING to FR. I don't think MOL will take much notice of the airline as he tries to take over the spine of the UK.

Ryanair are not launching Dublin-Edinburgh, they have been on the Dublin-Edinburgh route since 2001, when they launched it as a response to Go launching a service on the route. They drove Go off the route within months. Go (and their later purchaser Easyjet) were so scared off that they've never been back to Dublin since then.

en2r,

I don't think you understand my thread. I was meaning their bases. When they first launched from DUB all those years ago as a very small airline they took on the big boys of EI and BA on the LON route and if they weren't bothered about who they were competing with then, then I don't really think MOL is going to take note of any other airline that stands in the way...maybe EZY.

Ryanair operated their first FR5579 to ALC today, loads out about 149, so not bad considering its only march and that's primarily a holiday desination. I wonder how GSM will suffer on this route, considering their ALC left before FR's and arrived an hour later due to a stop in GLA!

The other non based routes start up between now and june, will be interesting to see how the German routes do.

Being totally honest and upfront here...

Jet2 and GSMs days are numbered. Even a merger would struggle to compete with Easyjet and Ryanair and to a lesser extent, flybe.

ALC with FR started today... Let the games begin!

GSM should concentrate on EDI long haul leisure flights
like SFB and the Caribbean, their Eygpt flight looks stable,
I doubt they would be bothered by competitors?

As you say Joe Curray, GSM are best to conentrate on long/medium haul flights where EZY and FR currently havn't ventured.

However, I don't think Jet2's 'days are numbered.' LBA is a huge base for the airline and is always going to get bigger. They have pulled alot from MAN but they still have a big presence there along with BFS and NCL - two U2 bases. They also have profitable ops at both BLK and EDI.

Don't count these carriers out. Jet2 is not a stand alone company, it is supported by a major firm that deals with other matters aswell as aviation.

Joe, your right to a point. They should concentrate on more longhaul destinations, but the number of flights needed to justify the investment, and the number of pax needed to fill the aircraft simply isnt there, and when you look at GSMs recent history - forget it. You can fly from EDI to just about any other European country and connect on from there ie MAN and LGW to Sharm with EZY now. Egypt is hardly shorthaul. (I know GSM fly to Sharm from EDI) but now EZY is in on the act (albeit inherited from GBAirways) its the start of more destinations to come - and new routes from EDI are being looked at even as we speak from all current and prospective airlines at EDI.

MUFC, right too, BUT EDI is now full to the brim with low-cost operators, and only the fittest will survive. It aint gonna be JET2 and certainly not GSM...

MAN will very soon be 'orange all over', causing yet more issues for Jet2. LBA is only an hour away and to be honest, people will make that journey if the price from MAN is right. People do it in Scotland already, to go from PIK.

One final point. Look at the German aviation scene. Massive consolidation to tackle over capacity and rivalry. This will make them leaner and more competative, not only internally, but Europe-wide also.

tristar500

Totally agree but look at the German market. It is fair to say that the GB/EIRE airlines dominate Europe.

We can see that alot of airlines within Europe operate from mulitple airports in different countries. ie) FRA, DUS, HAM, MUC, SXF etc. whereas foreign airlines serving the UK (except the massive airlines) only serve LON and not too many regional airports (MAN and maybe BHX/GLA/EDI). This is probably due to the size of airlines such as FR and EZY who offer a product unmatchable on price due to their size.

In Germany, AB seem to be making alot of the buying. An airline that was never a true 'LCC' has now expanded into the long haul by buying other airlines. Can anyone see EZY buying up BMI and Virgin to get their long haul up and running?! No. AB and LH will become the two only majors in Germany over the next couple of years but BA don't have the power of LH in their own market alot due to FR and U2 etc. The UK will never have two majors and little else. VS, BMI, BA, U2, FR, BE and others are going to be around for along time. Yes, there will be some consolidation just as there currently is (U2&GB/BE&BACON&LOGANAIR). The UK is alot more of an open market thankfully.

I just hope it stays that way....

Don't forget Jet2 have the highly profitable Royal Mail contract at EDI, which requires 2-3 based aircraft to operate it at night alone. Before they started pax ops those aircraft used to sit on the cargo apron doing nothing all day.
They've been doing a good job of filling in the gaps in EDI's route network that other operators have been ignoring eg PRG. Yet unfortunately they always seem to be the ones who get bullied off a route when the big guys sit up and take notice of how well Jet2 are doing on the route eg EZY to Milan, Ryanair to PSA and MRS.

As for GSM, I think they'd now be better concentrating on their flight+hotel packages that they do that the likes of FR don't offer as that's the only way they can take the fight to them on routes like ALC, AGP and PMI unfortunately. Otherwise they're going to be killed. They should also be looking to the likes of Cyprus, Greece, more Egypt and Canaries, ORLANDO!!! for expansion. The sort of places where due to sector lengths EZY and FR and very unlikely to venture.

Noticed a few weeks ago one of the F27s (TC-MBG) parked on the cargo ramp seemed to have run into a GPU.

Anyone have any details?

yeah apparantaly the pilot taxied off stand with the GPU not removed out the way of the a/c. 2 airway guys we're treated for shock. lucky escape, could have been a lot worse.


on another note, sad to see Delta have now cancelled their Atlanta service, no news on why, although I would presume poor demand. JFK is still going daily from May, although demand was poor back at xmas, with some flites only having 7 pax booked!

DL197 to Atlanta still bookable oddly enough though I too have heard it's being axed.

frfly
yeah apparantaly the pilot taxied off stand with the GPU not removed out the way of the a/c. 2 airway guys we're treated for shock. lucky escape, could have been a lot worse.


I agree it could've been tragic, but perhaps we should wait for the report rather than blaming the Captain for taxiing into a GPU.
I've been told by ramp people that the Captain had no brakes. Perhaps checking hydraulic/air pressure prior to requesting chocks be removed might've saved the day, but let's wait for the report eh.