Can we expect STN-Billund soon?

Also can it now be confirmed that FR have pulled HUY-DUB for the winter timetable?

Could not see Billund as a destination from STN, unless Esjberg dropped. they are only about 30 miles apart. Maybe Ryanair will play the two airports against each other and move all services to the one offering the best deal.

Billund is indeed right next to Legoland :E

I'm surprised that Ryanair don't make more of the fact that Forli (Bologna) is real near both Rimini and San Marino... :cool:

The as of yet unbuilt Don Quixote / Ciudad Real airport will undoubtedly be a Ryanair destination if the price is right, but it will not be promoted as a "Madrid South" sort of job, and will not cannibalise any of FR routes from the soon be announced new Madrid base.
It seems Ryanair are not going to adopt a Marseille-like base strategy here in Madrid. You know, launch a couple of routes first to see how they do, and make yourself known to the local population, before launching a base. I bet the Madrid base will be long announced before the first FR Dublin - Madrid flight ever takes off. FR simply know that Madrid is going to be a big winner for them :)

Aer Lingus route planners must have been very busy today studying the potential impact of FR's latest expansion :ouch:

I'm still not convinced that the Dublin winter timetable is fully finalised yet... Anyone do a full study of the FR aircraft usage for winter at the Dublin base?

If they don´t promote Don Quixote as "Madrid South", how are they going to promote flights to this airport? (It is, in fact, in the middle of nowhere -Ciudad Real is quite a small city with not much in terms of tourism or business). I think Ryanair is flying to MAD because they cannot find an aiport close to the city that fits into their business model.

When will be annunced new FR Madrid base?

FR have reserved slots at Madrid for a whole host of destinations for Winter 06/07, so if they are to launch the base within the next few months, I expect an announcement September 1st at the latest.

For that destinations have reserved slot at MAD?

I'm still curious about the logic behind moving into MAD. I can see the appeal of low-cost terminals at MRS, GVA, LYS etc, but MAD is one of Europe's largest airports - not just in terms of pax numbers, but also in terms of airfield size.

MOL has regularly pointed out how little he likes MAN compared to LPL - not just because of charges, but also because of the congestion around the aprons.

FR like small airports, but they also like high yields and good deals. Eventually, as they grow, they have to start more operations from busier airports - as much due to the impact of the traffic they generate themselves. Looking at the USA, Southwwest have a major presence at large airfields like LAS, PHX, etc.

Presumably, the opportunity to get into MAD, which is a huge market with relatively few loco flights, was just too good to miss?

According to an article appeared yesterday in the Spanish paper Expansión, Ryanair has applied for slots to fly domestic flights from MAD to Almería, Seville and Vitoria (all of them are already "Ryanair cities"). It also said that they are waiting to obtain from Aena (the State owned company that operates all Spanish airports) slots to flight from Madrid to London (Stansted?). The article (sorry, only Spanish):

http://www.expansion.com/edicion/exp...lo/678888.html

jabird

I completely agree with you. We have to take into account that taxes in Spanish aiports are quite competitive. In fact, a return ticket to Dublin from Madrid just comprises a total of 24 euros in taxes. For a return ticket to Hahn you would have to pay 34.58 euros, 39.85 euros if the ticket is to Ciampino or 44.38 euros if it is to Stansted.

The article only points out how Dublin will be linked to Almeria, Vitoria and Seville. There is no talk of Madrid routes to these Spanish cities.

From the heap of news articles I have been compiling on the new FR Madrid base, the list of routes for which slots have been applied for stands at:

Granada
Canary Islands
Rome
Milan
Brussels
Eindhoven

Anyone hear any rumours about other Ryanair destinations from Madrid?

My apologies. You are right, Charlie, nothing is said in the article about flights from Madrid to those Spanish cities. Thanks for you correction :ok: .
It has been rumoured that Ryanair might be interested in flying from Gerona to Madrid. Apparently the Catalonian regional government would be considering some sort of subsidies to open this route. Spanair is also said to be interested and apparently has already applied for slots.
In any case, during the presentation of the route between Dublin and Vitoria, the sales representative of Ryanair, Caitriona Beggan, announced that they are to start domestic flights in Spain in 2007.

Bremen base?
 

From another International forum - Bremen will be announced next week
as Ryanairs next German base?

Anybody out there to confirm or deny?

Not sure I if I have heard this rumour before but seems a reasonable fit
compared to their current network.

Pete

Erm, about 30 posts previous

Bremen
 

:ugh: Missed that one, back from hols that day and I must admit I don't
bother with the FR thread usually due to their rather awkward
relationship (to say the least) with my local airport.

It sounds like the announcement could be sooner rather than later
and as all the talk has been about Madrid I was wondering if this is
a credible rumour.

Pete

Ryanair protests over increased security
 

How delightful to see the FR business model being screwed up by new security measures - particularly their tacit encouragement of pax to carry as much hand luggage as possible - and it's clearly hitting MOL right in the pocket, from all the whingeing.

I for one will be hoping the proposed legal challenges goes down in flames...:ok:

Ryanair issues luggage ultimatum
 

Just found this whilst trolling the news sites.

Ryanair has issued the government with a seven-day ultimatum to restore airport security measures to normal or risk being sued for compensation.
The budget airline says a larger cabin baggage allowance and fewer passenger body searches would avoid handing "extremists an enormous PR victory".

The "no frills" airline prefers to put less luggage into plane holds to maintain its low prices.

The government said it would not pay compensation or "compromise security".

A spokesman at the Department for Transport said the government does not believe it has to pay compensation under the law.

The DfT said on Friday: "The security regime in place at UK airports is necessary because of the level of security threat and is kept under constant review.

"We have no intention of compromising security levels nor do we anticipate changing our requirements in the next seven days."

Full details..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5261908.stm

:hmm:

It is not so ironically amusing that; were Ryanair successfully to sue the government; the taxpayer would foot the amount of damages awarded the airline.:ugh:

Amazing that a foreign airline thinks it can dictate security issues at British airports to the British Government.

I say "Go RyanAir". Gotta love those discount carriers...:ok:

He is only saying what the others are thinking.

Thats seems a very bold statement by the company considering a recent verdict in the courts against Ryanair where the judge said the executives gave "false evidence" under oath. Would a foreign government really take this ultimatum seriously?

Ryanair has built a business and revenue model on a given set of rules. Those rules have now been changed, and it's no doubt costing them money. Seems to me they're simply trying to get back what they once had. If they fail to win this fight, the passengers will simply be charged more for their checked bags.

Exactly. Low-cost operators in the cut-throat space have very different business dynamics they have to follow in order not to plunge into red ink.

Inevitably, EZY, FR and the like - I guess even Shamrock with their recent announcement on bag policy - if the current situation doesn't change will look to pass on costs to the customers - and then they find the business model that made them money is no longer tenable, and they are in the market space of more traditional carriers....

MoL might be bombastic, and not to everyone's taste (including mine) but he's out there, calling a spade a shovel. In his chair, I'd do the same...

My opinion personally is...................tell em F*** off and take away any licences the company need to operate. but then i am a C***:mad:

Another classic example that O'Leary could not give a S**T about passenger safety! The only thing that counts is money. That is certainly the message i'm getting from him. Out of Interest did Ryanair drop charges for checked bags like Flybe did last week? I would'nt be suprised if they did'nt!

Here here, cant stand Ryanair's arrogance sometimes.

Foreign = Irish just to rub it in :}

Love him or hate him, Michael O'Leary is absolutely right in what he says. Having experienced the mess at Heathrow this week and the BAA incompetence one wonders why things are so laboured going through security when people are going through with less cabin baggage.

Checking boarding cards so that 12-year olds cannot get through security without one might be a good idea. Profiling passengers is a must now no matter how some minorities might complain. It is non-sensical to single out a 65-year old grannie travelling to Palma and confiscating her shampoo and wrinkle cream!

The British & US Governments are going over the top to substantiate their war in Iraq and pro-Israeli foreign policy. MOL is right when he says the latest UK government security measures add not one jot to security.

Ryanair seems to have reduced both TRF-LPL and TRF-NCL to 4 times a week!
Any idea on what route(s) they will start instead ex LPL?

BALPA has now come out in agreement with Ryanair over the UK Government's stance on security issues.

Also, although Ryanair is a "foreign" airline they contribute an awful lot of money to the UK economy in the way of APD to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and boosting local economies in Essex, Liverpool, East Midlands and Ayrshire.

After seeing the Channel 4 documentary on Ryanair and now Mr Leary wanting planes away ahead of security I refuse to even consider or recommend them for travel. Low Cost means cutting corners and that's why Mr Leary is up in arms. Ryanair - cheap, very cheap.

The Channel 4 documentary was sensationalist and typical tabloid type journalism with a lot of inconsistencies and scenarios that were not even filmed on Ryanair aircraft.

Michael O'Leary is not asking for aircraft to depart ahead of security, he is merely saying that the UK Government are going way over the top and that they and the BAA are incompetent.

I have just flown around Europe on Ryanair and all bar one flight were on time, the one that was late was only so by 30 minutes. The aircraft were clean and smart and the staff very professional in their duties. A lot of anti-LCC sentiment is based on snobbery you only had to see Newsnight last night for that to be confirmed. The inference was that too many of the lower classes were travelling and should be stopped to save the economy.

One presenter said that families are separated on low-cost flights. This is just not true as both Ryanair and easyJet pre-board families so they can sit together. Whilst some highly regarded charter airlines charge for this "privilege".

bags over weight,were the scales working right!!!!!!!
As for the old lady did she ask for help or a wheel chair to the plane,checkin staff or boarding gate staff are not mind readers.
Any airline will charge you mad money for a last minute seat,
phamtom charges see small print on your printout or ref form,
free seats were brought in for quicker passanger seating!!!!!!!!!!!!
and last but not least you will still see the same people traveling with fr
if you looked hard enuff but there still there!!!!

You must be joking! All the C4 documentary showed was that safety at FR must be pretty darn good: after months of investigating all those girls could find was a bit of sick on the floor!

girona
 

can anyone shed any light on when or if fights will continue to girona from blackpool next year looking to book for march o7 and sayin no flights available, can book up to 31 jan and thats it!

Girona
 

All Girona routes operated by Girona based aircraft are only bookable up to the end of January. I expect that a new aircraft will arrive in Girona at the start of February and they will use this opportunity to review all routes, reschedule some, and of course introduce new ones :E

Wouldn't expect that we have long to wait before this February Girona expansion is announced, at which time the flights will be bookable for February and March.

THey must have cancelled it, I would have thought nearly all the routes going to Gerona would be more succesful from everywhere?

Or else people have discovered that Reus is closer.

maybe the sudden expansion of jet 2 from blackpool has made ryanair pull the route , for a long while it was the only spanish route out of blackpool ,until the arrival of monarch ,and they have pulled out what with jet2 announcing the same routes, and future routes to be announced... just a thought , im no expert thou...

Girona to Düsseldorf, Paris, and a whole load of other destinations (including Blackpool) are not bookable after January 31st either! So it's simply the case that we should expect the Girona based aircraft to follow a different schedule after this date.

i.e. It's not that Blackpool is suddenly not bookable after January 31st, but most Girona routes operated using Girona based aircraft are not bookable after January 31st.