Compton3Bravo
 

The two MD-80s are to be operated by a new premium airline called Premjet which already have an office in Halcyon House. They are scheduled to operate from both Luton and Manchester to Mediterranean destinations such as Palma, Alicante, Malaga etc. with passengers paying a higher price for extra comfort, etc such as Silverjet. They have their own website called premjet.com. Regarding Alteon it is not only the Luton operation that is closing a number of other operations worldwide are also to close.

Premjet. Interesting website. 80 seat MD-80s! . Whether there would be a big enough market of punters, prepared to pay for this "High End" travel to the more usual holiday hotspots, I don't know.

I spy
 

I spy with my little eye!
The picture used in premjets website of their exclusive business lounge as being the same picture as harrods is using for their new luton FBO on their website!!

XL
 

The XL schedule seems to indicate a Larnaca based aircraft running W's into LTN 5 days per week. Morning arrival into LTN at 9/10am, departure to Paphos (3x weekly) or Sharm (2x weekly) arriving back at LTN around 9pm, then departing back to Larnaca.

So are we to assume they intend to utilise Harrods new facility ?. Seem to recall Silverjet's initial idea was to do this but then went and set up their own private terminal. A Premjet private terminal to follow ?.

700 bases, my error. I was told MedJet, but the idea seems to have moved on.

PremJet, great concept, if you include fees charge by the loco's, Monarch apart, there are plenty of folk willing to pay a fixed fee for a bit of good old fashioned comfort.

When airlines like Ryanair charge to check in, you have to accept that the 'Bucket & Spade market is saturated. Folk want an easy route to their holiday, something Ryanair and easyJet seem to have forgotten. Some are prepared to pay an addition for a bit of speed and comfort.

So what additional cost would the following add to a lo-co ticket?

Check in
Hold baggage in excess of 15-20kgs
Airport Lounge
30 min check in (not available)
Fast security and immigration (not available)
A meal on board?

Believe me, the UK lo-co bubble has burst, easyJet and Ryanair are not mostly low cost if you have a family.

How long before easyJet and Ryanair offer a sectioned off front cabin? Have I gone mad? Where there is a market innovation, the sheep will follow!

Andy Mitchell (I have no idea who he is) is the man behind it and Premjet are registered to a Croydon address. As stated previously that they are incumbent in Halcyon, this must be more than an A-Level project?

Infrequent visitor these days but popped on today, and suprised to hear an EZY 737 directed to stand 61 -where is that? Long accustomed to stand 56 but not this. Sorry mods if this a bit spotterish!

Is the radar head south of 26 ever used these days? Not seen it go round in ages.

Incidently licensed PPL using a licensed hand held to monitor!

Stand 61 is accessed off Taxiway Echo and has been in use for some years. If you also don't know where this is, suggest that you check out the AIP or Pooleys...

The on-site radar hasn't been used since February 2001 when Luton Radar transferred to West Drayton. The aerial plus electronics were allegedly bought by Bournemouth Airport some years ago (apparently, their primary radar is of a similar vintage) but rumour is that they're still saving up to pay for a 'white van man' to take it away. :hmm:

XL scheduled flights to LCA, PFO & SSH are now all bookable through to end of April 08, using LCA based aircraft.

PremJet???

Firstly, I think that the idea is poor. The Brits like it cheap and those that can afford a bit extra for short medium trips are unlikely to numerous enough to support a schedule. The market research might look good but I am astounded that anyone can put hard numbers together to make this work. In my estimation, the Brits want something cheap. Those that have the money and regularly go to these places have either sorted out high grade transport, or, there will not be enough of them.

Secondly, IF they think that they have found enough pax, I think they have the timing wrong. With interest rates going up, the stock market uncertain and no one knowing what is going to happen politically and financially???


In recent times, Blue Fox (if memory serves me right) got the right idea and the wrong timing, although 9/11 was really unfortunate. Afterwards, other companies used the idea on the upsweep of the market. I might be a doom sayer but this is not the time to launch any kind of an airline.

Maybe they will look to do a few deals with some tour operators although I also have to say that the idea does not seem to be a good one. I have been on many IT flights where the seats by the emergency exits have remained empty as no one can be coaxed to pay the extra £9 for the additional legroom. But many people do pay substantial supplements for flying from their local airport with a good flight time.

Would Harrods passengers really want to mix with holidaymakers wearing loud shirts and shorts, even those with a little extra cash to burn?

Surely the premium grade product is best suited to medium/long haul. I know it may be stepping on the toes of Silverjet, but Dubai would have been a better bet. Although not with an MD80 obviously. People with the money or dare I say "class" that would go for this product don't go on bucket and spade holidays to the Med. Or do they?

Wiggly

Why do you have to be rich to afford to fly in more luxurious surroundings?

The cost of flying in executive aircraft has tumbled and I know of a few folk who have flown this way that would never have been able to afford it, yet alone think about doing so 10 years ago.

The market is saturated so more lateral thinking is required. Some doubted Silverjet would work, so far, thay have benn proven wrong. I see no reason why you cannot fly business class from Luton in dedicated jets. I flew business class from Gatwick to Lanzarote a couple of years back with BA and was happy to pay the extra.

Having endured a 'scrum' at the Geneva airport gate for a flight back to Luton also a couple of years back, flying business class is less likely to affect my health!

With the number of private homes in Majorca and the Algarve, there are plenty of Brits that would like to avoid the drunken masses and pay extra for the privilage.

Will the concept work? I have no idea, but as a potential passenger, I will watch events quite closely.

I flew out to Palma a couple of weeks ago with dire warnings about delays at Spanish airports due to their passport inspectors now using machines to read passports causing delays. Well we got off the aircraft, had a pee and found that that there were no queues what so ever. We got to the baggage belt and 2 of our cases were already going around in circles. Within 30 minutes of touching down we were on the coach and on our way.

Contrast that with our return to Luton at 22.45. The queue for EU passengers seemed to stretch half the length of the new pier. When we got to the zig zag part we could now see the short queue for the non EU passengers. This queue never moved in the 15 minutes that I could see it, as the one and only officer was dealing with some issue with a passenger. We eventually got to the baggage belt and found that we still had to wait for our luggage.
As soon as we got landside a call was made for our lift that was waiting just outside the CTA to pick us up. We then had more delays due to traffic congestion in the central area. The whole inbound Luton experience was a major frustration although outbound it was quite good as the departure time was mid afternoon and between busy periods.

I am flying from Luton next week, I look forward to the experience on my return :eek:!

Maxjet rules out move to Luton
 

Maxjet consultant and former easyJet managing director, Ray Webster, says that the Stansted carrier is very unlikely to move from its Essex base to Luton – contrary to rumours.



Speaking to ABTN on the Maxjet inaugural flight from Stansted to Los Angeles yesterday (30 August), Webster said that it was very unlikely that the dedicated business class only airline would move to Luton.



Webster now acts as a consultant to Maxjet, while Paul Kehoe, the former Luton Airport CEO, is a non executive member of the airline’s board.



Webster made it clear that he acts as an adviser rather than a member of the airline’s management team. “I am here to run my rule over the airline in terms of efficiency and keeping costs down,” he said, noting that Luton was a non-starter with its short runway of 2,160m (7,087ft) as against Stansted’s 3,048m pavement.



This would rule out long-range operations such as the 11h Stansted – Los Angeles flight, and typically London – Singapore at 12h, a possible future destination.

Buster I have no doubt that there are some folks who will pay for a premium service but - enough to fill a schedule? I, for one, never doubted that Silver/Max/Eos would work. The template was established and proven by LH out of DUS (I think they were the first) and I am sure that this kind of carrier will continue to fill their a/c. In due course, there will be mergers but the category of travel will be around unless there is a truly considerable upset in the world.

The truly rich folks who have houses on the Spanish islands tend to go in their own a/c or boats, or shared/part ownership or even personal charter. Not forgetting that many legacy carriers still operate a biz service to these destination, which is what I think that those who will pay the extra for a special trip are too few and far between for a schedule.

If they wanted to start premium biz medium/long haul heading East from the UK, then they would take a market sector that has been set up by Silver/Max/Eos before those carriers can expand Eastwards themselves. But to play about in the Med????

Expanding a 'Premium' service from the UK to Europe might be one of the last 'untouched' markets left? The lo-co model is suffering from a stagnant market and poor forward bookings for next winter/summer!

An interesting concept considering the 'pain' the lo-co sector is about to endure within the UK market.

The next stage up from the old Monarch Crown service? With good yield management, fares might not actually be as high as one would expect?

http://www.abtn.co.uk/Maxjet_rules_out_move_to_Luton

Interesting piece from Aer Arann......

Waterford-London now the biggest cross-channel route for Aer Arann.


The Waterford-London Luton route carried 9,106 passengers in August 2007 – the first time any cross-channel route from Waterford has passed the 9,000 passengers per month mark.