i think that bhd should stick to the old domestic stuff and bfs should concentrate on the international routes. bfs will always be the main airport and I do agree that it does need a revamp and the fact that there is no rail link doesnt help but on the other hand, i agree that belfast is still a relatively small city and yet we hav 2 airports!

Ryanair are not a wet week in the place, and the relationship is great with the airport, so they wont be storming out on the basis of poor airport operation etc, as in the case of some other closures. What other excuse would they have? the Ryanair that I know usually builds a case in the public eye eg Valencia, local gov didnt deliver on promises, or in the case of other airports fees etc before they axe a route/base. So highly unlikely I would say!

Perhaps some cut backs but I would bet big that they wont pull out as that would be an admission that the model does not work in Belfast. Besides all that they could cut some STN frequencies and do flights to other UK bases, so until all these avenues have been explored be quite confident that Ryanair will be around for some time to come.

Why not a Bristol rotation as this route is not served from the city airport, or Luton?

As to the Ryanair RUMOUR of Belfast base closure I'd see it yes with them closing the base BUT still operating into out off the airport from the other bases.


Regards

EGAA v EGAC
 

Much fun to be had from following this heated debate!

Sadly, our two airports are actually robbing us of choice. I'd rather use either than go to Dublin, but I'm sure there are passengers using DUB because it offers direct services that neither BHD or BFS can offer at present. Combine the two airports passenger numbers, and we must be around 6 or 7 million per year...if that was in one place, the major airlines would be having a real look...

As it is, I generally prefer BFS...easier access from where I live, cheaper car parks, and smaller security queues (although BHD has improved drastically)...but I'll happily use either.

And whatever the debates...we're stuck with two from here on anyway. The recent sale of BHD shows that it is here to stay...and maybe the runway extension will open it up to widebodies! :E Burghers of North Down beware!

I reckon that every major town in NI should have their own international airport. We will soon have 3, a few more won't hurt. And the govs seem to have plenty of dosh to spend on local egoes.

True Blue

So where did this rumour come from. I don't think that the BHD/FR marriage has been roses all the time, I think that Mr Ambrose will have been on the phone a couple of times telling FR to wise up with some of the statements MOL has come of with. BHD have nothing to lose in standing up to MOL, yes their passenger figures have went up massively since FR's arrival, but BHD has been making money all along, do you want to have to invest in extra terminal size, apron space, parking area's, maybe upsetting BD/BE business customers in the process, a runway extension as well, and what if FR don't come up with the goods. All this for a few bucket and spade routes. BHD has another business plan-to build a multi-storey carpark and hotel complex, which went into planning a couple of weeks ago. Who knows!!!!!!! with FR anything can happen

On a serious note re Fr at Bhd. The Pik route from Bhd has not exactly been a roaring success at about 50%lf. With the introduction of the winter timetable, they go to up to 3 flights a day. This I don't understand. Do they expect a massive increase in pax, if so where will they come from as they are not there at the minute? Who are they going after, the ferries? Or is this another example of bad planning from Fr, they seem to have done that before? Will the extra flights be pulled soon? And why do they think Pik can support up to 3x daily when they are cutting Stn to 3x daily? Lpl is only 2x.

Any views?

True blue

The interesting thing for me is that Ryanair has not went in head to head with Flybe on any specific route pair. In the south Ryanair have jumped in with many competitors but they seem to avoid Flybe I think. Prestwick takes passengers from the boats, and the schedule is no match for Flybe's Glasgow offering. FR need to adopt a Bologna/ Forli approach to this one. Serve Glasgow international where people mainly want to go. I mean the flight is so short. THey should try. London is saturated with flights and deals. Manchester and Birmingham are big markets and FR with a reasonable schedule could capture some of the market...

I would hazzard a guess that BHD will not permit FR to compete on any route already served from the airport, unlike BFS. Example FR announce base at BHD serving PWK, EMA & LPL. Several months later Air Berlin withdraw STN/BHD. At this point FR ask BHD if they could now operate that route. Bhd think about it and then go okay. The problem is for me that you cannot think rationally about FR in BHD. 1. It would appear that they are not making a lot of money if any at all. 2. The airport just does not fit into the FR model. 3. The EI at BFS announcement last year element to the whole situation. Basically mix this all together and analysis is difficult.

NWSRG

BHD will never handle widebodies. The runway and apron PCN values are not high enough and unless a widebody parked out in the middle of the car park it wouldnt get its tail under the 1:7 transition slope.

Sorry, 'never' is a long time. If they relay the runway and aprons and move the terminal building and car parks then it would be a possibility:)

ROSEMOUNT,

My comment was only intended to be mischievous! Why don't we see if we can get the rumour into the Belly Telly or East Belfast News..."new Airbus giant jet to terrorise Sydenham...double-deck disaster looms!" :}

All BHD needs is the runway extension and build another stand capable of handling a 757 and get conti down from the ice age era which is BFS!

In regards to comments bout FR, bums on seats don't really give a good sense of profit margins. Just because a flight operates at %50 capacity doesn't mean the fares charged a low. The ancillary revenue helps support the flights big time, and simply saying FR will pull out soon, its not profitable doesn't really stand.

Im willing to bet the farm on this one, FR are doing quite well at BHD, the LPL flights will be high earners on a SAT morning due to the crappy prem league teams over there!!!! :}

"...the LPL flights will be high earners on a SAT morning due to the crappy prem league teams over there!!!!"

Not unless there's an evening return flight, they won't!

There used to be, then somebody rescheduled the flight back to Saturday afternoon.....now most of our members use easyJet again.

:rolleyes:

Im willing to bet the farm on this one, FR are doing quite well at BHD, the LPL flights will be high earners on a SAT morning due to the crappy prem league teams over there!!!! (super737)

There used to be, then somebody rescheduled the flight back to Saturday afternoon.....now most of our members use easyJet again.(ESCNI)

Oh dear super737 you have potentially just lost all your assets by gambling on, FR are doing well at BHD. I am not going to gamble on it but checking flight prices, looking at stats and weighing up, I would say they are losing money at BHD. (it is almost a wild guess)

I will second Gate 22.

True Blue

Do any of us really know how well or badly FR are doing at BHD? While we're on the subject of new bases, one wonders how EI are doing at BFS. If the media reports are to be believed, not too well.

If FR are closing their BHD base, will that be before or after EI close their BFS base?

"The ancillary revenue helps support the flights big time, and simply saying FR will pull out soon, its not profitable doesn't really stand."

On such short routes, ancillary revenue will not be making much of a positive impact on the base. All the flights are under an hour so less people will be checking in bags, using the check in desks, purchasing priority boarding or buying snacks on board the flight. If Ryanair is selling seats at such low fares they are relying on ancillary revenue alone.

Ryanair won't be leaving anytime soon though, they're just waiting for flights to Europe where they can make more money.

Regarding Aer Lingus, I wouldn't pay to much attention to press reports. There are very weak routes that I'm surprised Aer Lingus are still operating, AMS, CDG and FCO are a few that come to mind. On the other hand stronger routes include FAO, APG, LHR, ACE and BCN. Hopefully Milan and Munich will perform well as they take off next week.

Outrage at Ryanair City Airport ad - News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Runway extension by next autumn-there may be a few obstacles in MOL's plans, if one reads between the lines in this article.

He probabaly wouldn't have any interest if there weren't obstacles! That's pretty much what the airline has been founded on - challenge everything!

Todays Continental still on stand 22 , not sure why, possibly a combination of a shortened runway 25 ( due to work in progress at 07 end ) plus wet runway compounded with high winds ? Just a guess, similar probs in Dublin; BD129 diverted to BFS after go-around on 16 one of many today.