Do we have any news on new routes / bases?

Santander-Paris is official.

BVA - Gutenburg City also announced

Still no mention of PIK-BGY and PIK-CIA for the winter?

think there pulled for the winter, unfortunately

The fact is that Ryanair will put its aircraft somewhere else at the first sign of a better deal, or if they don't fill them, or whatever. Just look at what happened in SNN; FR were paying well under the published rates and still couldn't meet their own promises.

Personally I feel that the government should scrap the travel tax, and instead put a 50% levy on all additional charges added to the base fare charged by airlines. It'd be interesting to see how Mick would react to that one :)

I have heard a rumour that Abertis Airports (owner of LTN, BFS & CWL and operator of others) may be looking at Barcelona El Prat, the basics of the info was that Abertis would be running the airport. This would replace AENA.

Lead on from this is that Ryanair are in discussions with BFS airport. So within the context of Ryanair now having a 5 aircraft bases at El Prat, is there some developments coming from BFS + Ryanair?

EI-BUD

That is one route BFS does not need - BCN. If EZY bring back Luton, BFS does not need FR.

Please cut out the politics! The drift from Ryanair is NOT acceptable and many posts have been deleted - and will be again if it continues. We might close the thread too so be warned. Stick to the topic.

does anyone think that after olearys comments that he will look to get int0 more primary airports, that ryanair at GLA is going to happen? even if ryanair have the main maintenence hangar and basically paying nothing to use the airport? handling, power units, landing fees, parking fees, baggage, its all for free, opinions please

I don't really see Ryanair moving to Glasgow. If they did, let's be honest Prestwick as a commercial passenger airport, dies (again!). Hence he can demand anything from PIK and assume he'll get it as he knows that BAA Glasgow will still want a commercial return in the mid term. PIK don't have the same business model.

What he might do, is start a couple of routes from continental bases into GLA to put the fear of God into the management at PIK.

I notice that there are no huge "Ryanair" titles on the hangars. Are they like the Polar hangar, owned by the airport and leased to Ryanair? If so, I wonder who is taking the risk on this.

Forgive my ignorance, but are you saying that PIK is not making money, or that PIK has lower costs per unit passenger and can therefore afford to charge its customers lower fees ?

Actually this is your opinion which is fine but it's not actually as simple and clear cut as you imply. What MOL and Ryanair say and do are not the same thing. I don't recall anyone seriously suggesting that I fly Ryanair on business to save money. If they were the most convenient then yes, but for price God no!

Let stewardesses land planes.
Passengers standing up.
Pay for the toilets.
etc etc

Sure Ryanair will move into new markets but in this particular case, there's nothing to be gained. PIK is already 45 minutes on a subsidised direct train service from Terminal to City Centre.

I think PIK will have a good future serving the West of Scotland and their never ending fascination with the same old places. Personally I am going to miss BHD and already miss ORK, SNN and BOH but if that's what they need to do for the base to be viable then excellent.

Second one I would say. They have to focus their whole operation in a way that supports the customer that allows them to survive. GLA adapt from Continental all the way to easyJet. Horses for courses!

Why should Ryanair move to GLA from PIK?

In the absence of a rail connection to Glasgow International, Prestwick is a grand alternative, the train from the airport leaves you right into the centre of Glasgow in 40 minutes and only costs £3.

The time for a GLA base has been and gone. Jet2s decision to get in their for April 11 suggests that there will be no FR competition. If anything, the GSM void will now be filled and it would be good to see Jet2 doing a good job at it. I believe summer 10 has been a success for FR at PIK, so if it isn't broken; don't fix it. EDI is achieving the main concentration of growth for FR in Scotland and will hold on to it's 6 a/c through the winter with possible further growth penciled in for Summer 11. If GLA get's anything, as Skipness suggests, it may be a few routes served from other bases. STN is dropping down to one a day from PIK (didn't there used to be 9 services per day at one stage); so maybe a route like this is better served from GLA where the majority of London business traffic resides.

“It’ll be an evolutionary process,” he said. “When fares aren’t being reduced every year in 2013, 2014, 2015 there’ll be more of a focus on quality, service, customer satisfaction and all that, because the prices will be rising.

From the bloomberg article.

Its all well and good making a statement like that, but when you have been burned once by ryanair you go ok, twice, at a push but 3-4 times being burned, screwed in charges, cancelled flights, the general careless attitude that ryanair have about their passengers I find it hard to think that business travellers will move to them.

Let me ask you this, if Ryanair had a good level of customer service, treating the passengers and staff alike well, how many more people would travel with them. 73 million passengers a year, what is the number for those that just refuse to fly ryanair?

I have taken the same flights sometimes paying 2 cent, sometimes paying ¢100. Is there any difference in the service? NO, it generally average. Getting people to pay that ¢100 on a regular basis with no improvments wil be difficult.

airbourne - will the bean-counters in finance in most companies who are always looking for ways to cut costs ignore the possibility ?

Get the airport pair and timings right, make the fare a significant discount to traditional carriers, remove the cheap+nasty image, build a website for corporate travel management, and businesses may well take notice.

If easyJet can do it, then there's no reason as to why Ryanair can't do the same.

Nothing to do with inability to get any slots, useful or otherwise, at these airports then? :rolleyes:

Here we go again. MOL talking to Irish Times (in the Friday Interview):
No, thanks. This populist-style erudition can't get my attention, really. Neither the iteration of "charging for toilets" or "let's take out the co-pilot" issues. What could we filter out of the interview? Maybe this: “We don’t need to grow out of Dublin, thankfully,” or perhaps this: “Aer Arann will go bust . . . It’s a subsidy junkie airline that can’t make any money. They still got €13 million for the [PSO] routes and still can’t make money. The subsidies are insane”.

Another, somewhat intriguing subject could be found here:
Interesting indeed. In which country one has to sign a deal with the GOVERNMENT to open bases there? France perhaps? Poland?

Isn´t in France a judges decision due how they treat the long-running dispute concerning the payment of pensions and health care contributions for french based FR pilots? The topic that was threatening the MRS base?

If that is going pro RYR a couple of french bases are imminent!

FA10

Well well well. What a short memory MOL has. That's why he's at FKB ... instead of SXB, because AF objected to the golden hello and other sweeteners. I think that the French are not waiting with baited breath for FR to taint our overpressured airspace!

Reus & Girona Bases
 

Ryanair have threatened to close all routes from Reus & Girona if AENA don't reduce airport fees further. Both airports are holding talks with other airlines to operate from the airports.

In Spanish
Ryanair insta a AENA a rebajar las tasas para continuar en Reus y Girona · ELPAÍS.com

Mothballed Ryanair planes?
 

How many Ryanair planes are out of service and where are they?

Nothing mothballed - all are flying.
During winter there will be once again some aircraft be parked at various airports, but none of them for more than a couple of days until another one is taken out of the normal operation and the parked one is flying again. No mothballing.

FR-trip reports.
 

I am copying my trip report,posted on another forum,for your delight and,no doubt,dissection.

"Check-in for an FR flight at BHX is traditionally a nightmare – our check-in in June took 70 minutes for 165 PAX with only one desk open.So we arrived early for our flight FR9163 to GRO last week and to our delight there were 3 desks open, non destination specific, and we were through in 5 minutes.
Then BHX terminal 2 Security - what a joke, twenty minutes to get through with one X-Ray machine working and about 12 staff behind it!
However BHXT2 is well served for outlets so, having bought our Boots £3.49 lunch pack to take on board, we settled down at Wetherspoons.
Departures board then shows 15 minute delay, immediately countermanded by gate staff shouting “Girona flight,Priority Boarding” As usual at BHX they get departing PAX down the passages to the air-bridge before the incoming arrives, and this was the case as the “delayed” Reus flight had caught up, and landed pretty well on time.
We were the fifth group of PB PAX and as there was some delay with an slow walking person struggling up the front steps we boarded the rear steps and were in our favourite seats (trade secret, but better legroom than Club Europe) before she appeared up front.

Good safety briefing, and good information from the Captain, as is always the case with BHX based aircraft. On GRO based aircraft the opposite is the norm-are they dumb or shy up front?
Trolly sales seemed to be mainly hot drinks-not much food or booze appeared to be sold as many PAX had brought their own. The usual smokeless cigarettes and scratch cards were offered but on neither leg did I see any purchases.
Smooth flight, landed on time to the Ryanair on time tootle fanfare.GRO is dominated by FR (for the moment but MOL is threatening to move to BCN#) and the handling is efficient, and inspite of 4 aircraft in, we had our luggage in 15 minutes.

After 8 glorious warm days the weather broke throughout Iberia on the last day with many storms so we set out early, aquaplaning on the autopista, to check-in for our return flight FR9162 GRO/BHX.As usual there our check-in (and security) were a doddle - 5 check-in gates open, non destination specific and four X-Ray queues at Security. We were through the lot in 8 minutes.
UK take note.
We noticed that the FR Stanstead flight was just departing, an hour late and the next flights before ours were FR internal flights (Malaga,Palma and Seville).
At GRO,they announce the gate an hour before departure which does mean a lot of queuing and this was made worse for our flight by an announcement of a 30 minute delay and the gate allocation of number 2 - the only gate that does not have the split queue of PB and nonPB.So a queue starts at 19.50 for a flight not expecting to board till 21.15 at the earliest.

In the meantime the skies darken and rain and lightening starts. Aircraft in unusual liveries for GRO start to land with no PAX disembarking - Easyjet,Vieuling,Air Berlin etc and a further announcement is made that our incoming from BHX is 75 minutes late. It eventually arrives and the bedraggled and ill dressed PAX disembark wading the 200m from the aircraft-
Welcome to Sunny Spain.
By this time the boarding staff have announced “Priority Boarding Only” to looks of thunder from those at the front of the queue watching us who have been sitting in the cafe, in the know, waiting for the signal to stride to the front.A quick sprint in the rain, tiny brolly’s up, and we were third to board and into our “usual” seats.

It was a full aircraft and the FA’s really did work hard to get everyone out of the rain and boarded.
Captain then apologises for the delay-“we have had a terrible week as the French ATC have been playing up, and that combined with the storms and all these diverted aircraft has caused the delays-I have a takeoff slot in 25 minutes and will get you out of here at best speed then”As he predicted he started engines and we made our way the runway for take off to the North-and we waited, and waited with all the sky around us lit by lightening and the rain bounced off the wings. A few PAX had white faces and a few held their heads in their hands but eventually we took off & although I am no expert I felt he had full power, with no noise abatement, till we cleared the thunder tops. Surprisingly little turbulence but loads of lightening all around.
At a cruise of 38,000ft there was the usual trolley service (suspended briefly for some CAT) which was cheerful and efficient from again a BHX crew.A delighted Captain came on to say how pleased he was to be on his way home, and with an unexpected tail wind, our flight was 10 minutes shorter than normal.
Cold and dry in Birmingham and as the aircraft was parked for the night we were bussed to Arrivals and again, unusually for BHXT2, there were 3 Border desks open for a quick(ish) passport check and an unusually short wait for luggage.(30+minutes average for us at T2)

We paid for our tickets in March, £97 return each to include hold luggage and PB, HALF of what we would have paid 8 years ago on BA-BHX/BCN.

FR has many detractors and many fans.However they are a highly succesful business model and are very profitable although the pathetic headline grabbing spouting that comes from MOL does,in my opinion, detract from the good work of the employees.
For my part it an airline of necessity as it is the only one that flies from my local airport to where I want to go to.
Follow their rules -hand luggage/hold luggage weights and sizes, pay for PB if you desire and check in on line and at the airport on time.
If you don’t want to pay their F&B prices, or as we do, don’t want to wait for it to get to us, then take your own on board."

# I see an earlier posting has picked up on this
SSF

RTÉ Business: Ryanair cuts Kerry-Dublin service to 1 flight

So Ryanair have finally caved in and handed back their government subsidy contract for flying between Dublin and Kerry. It was only a matter of time before they would find some excuse to terminate this service, blaming it on government, airports and anyone else they feel will distract attention away from one of their worst ever business decisions.

If I recall correctly, they bid low for the Kerry Dublin PSO a few years ago and won it from Arran and crowed about how they were saving the taxpayer money with such a low bid. They very quickly realised their model was all wrong for it and ended up flying flights with regularly less than 20 on board, frequently less than ten. For an airline that always looks for full aircraft, this one must have ranked at the bottom of their network by a pretty big margin.

Absolutely no doubt 'saving the government 2m euros' by handing back the contract will actually save Ryanair a helluva lot more.

Why is anyone surprides at Ryanairs move at EIKY. They did the same at SNN, built a fortress then locked everyone out and disapperaed overnight. They will do the same at every Irish airport yet but given enough rope they may hang themselves in the process. I doubt that operating a 737 from Kerry to Dublin will work either now that its a commercial operation. The route was ideal for an ATR.

The fees at Dublin Airport have nothing to do with the route been cut. Ryanair are carrying less that 50 passengers on each flight from Kerry. As Ryanair will be operating the route without any PSO funding they will pay Kerry Airport the same fees as they pay for the other routes. With the PSO they pay higher fees.

The times on the route from Oct 31 are:
KIR 06:30 - DUB 07:20 (should depart 07:00 arrive 07:50)
DUB 21:30 - KIR 22:20 (should depart at 18:00 arrive 18:50)

Departing at 06:30 is to early and returning at 21:30 is way to late.
The aircraft will operate from DUB during the day. LTN, STN and HHM will be operated from there bases.

It's not in the bag that they will still be on the Dublin route. The Irish Government might seek out another airline and offer the them the opportunity to operate the balance of the PSO to June 2011. That means that they will be off the Dublin route ....they can't be on it as well as a PSO operator.

The Governement really p*ssed off with them. First BFS, then SNN and now KIR....MOL is pushing it and politicans are keen to see their bluff.

I love the the Minister's quote (using Justice Kellys famous quote)
"....Ryanair and the Truth make uneasy bedfellows..."

Classic!!!

The early morning departure to Dublin and late flight back to Kerry are ideal for travelers catching connecting flights at Dublin airport.

But the times are ridicoulous! Thats nearly 16 hrs from leaving Kerry in the morning. Not everyone is catching international flights....most are doing a days business in Dublin / in Kerry and need say a decent 6-8 hrs to do so.

I can see people only doing one-ways .i.e out on plane , back on train!!

The times need to be the same as the ORK - DUB route.

main airports
 

The policy of shifting to bigger airports will not necessary make life easier for Ryanair. There are gains achieved in terms of big airports they already fly to (like Madrid and Girona in Spain), but the situation elsewhere might become much more complicated. Ciampino's existence as civil airport is uncertain in a long term, moving e.g. from Bratislava to Schwechat didn't help others in any way (as in the Sky Europe case), now the clouds are gathering over Berlin as well.

The Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit will start the official consultation process with airlines and associations on 5 October, but there are substantial fears the capital of Germany could in 2012 face an exodus of low-cost airlines anyway. Although differentiated according to the services required, all fees at the new BBI Schönefeld are going to rise substantially and the airlines will have to pay probably twice as much per passenger as today. "If it stays as expensive as previously announced, we will not fly there in the future any more," said O'Leary in his interview with "Wirtschaftswoche".

Can't have a PSO on a route that is already being run commercially.

..They can only be on the route 'commercially' as from 1st November. A one flight a day flight is not the basis of the PSO and if the Government get another airline to run the PSO - he won't be allowed to run his 1 x flight a day. He will not be allowed to cherry pick to screw up the PSO.

EU Law won't allow PSO on Commercial routes.

I doubt there is a huge worry in Irish Govt regarding PSO routes given the state of their finances.

Actually they are worried about it raceco, Its a long trip in a bus or a train and with Kerry being one of the highest tourist areas in the country the people deserve better for business and personal travel. Infact I'm sure alot of ministers use the route. Ryanair need to grow up a little and stop wasting share holders money. They blame everyone but themselves, It would be nice to see MOL make a statement on the French ans Spainish ATC strikes, have a go at them for a change.See how it works out. Heres an article about how the minister of transport see it.
ANNE LUCEY

THE MINISTER for Transport Noel Dempsey yesterday said the subsidised Kerry to Dublin flights being discontinued by Ryanair were available, and the Minister strongly hinted that Aer Arann, should apply to fill “the vacancy”.

Mr Dempsey also made a strong attack on Ryanair’s model Europe-wide in which he said the airline “squeezed” regional airports and squeezed competition out. He speculated that its approach in tendering for the Kerry public service obligation (PSO) had been “predatory” in the first place and they had got their sums wrong.

Aer Arann, which operates a number of other PSO routes between Dublin and other regional airports, had operated the routes from Kerry until undercut by Ryanair when they were last tendered for.

Aer Arann is in examinership having lost about €6 million for each of the last three years. At least 14 groups have expressed interest in investing in the airline which also operates regional routes on behalf of Aer Lingus.

Mr Dempsey said it was Ryanair’s “unilateral decision” to pull out of Kerry. He said the press statement issued by the airline announcing it was pulling out of the PSO scheme was “incorrect, inaccurate and untruthful”.

Mr Dempsey was speaking yesterday on Radio Kerry in the aftermath of Ryanair’s announcement on Thursday that it would no longer operate the PSO flights out of Kerry, but would operate one return flight a day, from October 31st, on a commercial basis.

In a statement yesterday Ryanair pointed to the increase in charges imposed on the route including a €4 tax on return tickets, a 40 per cent increase in airport fees and a 25 per cent increase in Irish Aviation Authority charges.

It pointed to a clause in its contract which required the Minister to have due regard when setting compensation to developments impacting the cost of operation which “could not have been anticipated by the company”.

Ryanair took over the PSO Kerry to Dublin route in 2008 with a tender which required a subsidy of €1.75 million. Aer Arann had been operating the route at a subsidy of over €3 million. The contract runs until July 2011.

Mr Dempsey said: “Ryanair contracted for this PSO and from what I can see either they got their bid hopelessly wrong or they made a predatory bid and under the PSO contract now can’t [fulfil] it. They got their sums wrong. It’s either one or the other. But typical Ryanair, they decide they’ll blame everyone else except themselves.”

Assummed that PSO's were only to be used to serve areas where no one would serve not as a business subsidy.
If just being used by business then suggests not really warrants a PSO route as business can pay for itself.

...you keep going on about commercial routes. 1 x flight a day is not what this route needs - hence the need for a PSO to subsidise the losses on an airline to operate according to the needs of the area. The PSO was not set up to get a 9am and 5pm flight up and running....a dog on the street could make money on that scenario. PSO are set up to give support for the non- profitable routes that woudl be needed to make business interests in a designated area viable vis-a-vis access to the main Capital.

This PSO is not EU monies and hence they do not have a say in it - it is Irish Tax Payers who fund this. Also - Galway Airport have already tested thsi out as far as the EU courts and the EU has no objection in The Irish Gov allocating PSO as it wishes.

WRONG

EU has a big say on it to prevent Govts channelling support to airlines on PSO routes and preventing commercial operations.