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-   -   LUTON - 7 (https://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/496665-luton-7-a.html)

pabely 13th Aug 2013 23:53

Are, the Tarom Il-18's would be nice.....3 at once a few years ago now!

davidjohnson6 14th Aug 2013 00:05

pabely - I think you're *really* pushing it to expect Il-18s any more - even airlines in places like Somalia have finally ditched their Il-18s now. I can't think of any airline anywhere in the world which uses Il-18s in ordinary commercial passenger service any more.

Face it, sad though it is to say, when Tarom turn up at Luton, it's going to be with a B737 or (if you're lucky) an A318

pabely 14th Aug 2013 00:58

Sorry, just flew down memory lane of them sitting on the ponderosa (as it was called then). A school/student charter if memory serves me right? I have a pichure as I'm sure others do as they came in on a few saturdays I think.

Buster the Bear 14th Aug 2013 17:12

I was told today that Sólyom (Falcon) Hungarian Airways will commence ops from Luton in October.

pabely 14th Aug 2013 17:18

So that's 6 flights to Romania by Wizzair, 2 by Blue Air, 1 by Tarom (maybe more to come), have EZY & RYR missed the boat with new EU members?

pabely 14th Aug 2013 17:24

Sólyom (Falcon) Hungarian Airways
 
Obviously Luton will be a feeder for the 1M passengers to China they say they will fly in the future:E

pabely 14th Aug 2013 17:33

Tarom
 
No-one took the bait..

YR-IMG Ilyushin Il-18V Tarom Luton, UK - 11th February 1989 Back in May 1975 three LOT Il-18's arrived in Dublin on football charter flights as Poland were playing Ireland. Unfortunately I didn't own a camera at that time but this scene at Luton 14 y

Dannyboy39 14th Aug 2013 17:57

So to summarise...

New Routes - Winter 2013-14
Venice - easyJet (A319/A320)
Sharm el Sheikh - Monarch Airlines (A320/A321)
Iasi - TAROM (B737)
Skiathos - Thomson Airways (B737?)
Craiova - Wizz Air (A320)
Kosice - Wizz Air (A320)
Donetsk - Wizz Air (A320)
Budapest - Solyom Hungarian Airlines (B737) - To Be Confirmed?

Terminated Destinations (not including seasonal routes)
Thessaloniki - Thomson (B737?)

Net Routes (+7) - That does seem bloody good in the current financial climate, the London airport competition, the taxation and the 'holiday airport' tradition Luton seems to have. The airport certainly shouldn't rest on its laurels; plenty more markets can still be served.

Anything I've missed? Any more rumours?

pabely 14th Aug 2013 18:27

I do hear of more to come next year, but not from UK based airlines, but isn't that what Luton needs....

LGS6753 14th Aug 2013 19:16

It's interesting that two recent arrivals - Tarom and El Al - both continue with their LHR operations alongside LTN.

Presumably they are looking for London slots at (much) lower costs than LHR, fewer ATC delays, quicker turn-rounds, and are not bothered about interlining traffic. They get good surface access, and slots are available outside peak times.

Makes one wonder if anyone else is thinking along the same lines....

LTNman 14th Aug 2013 19:20

El-AL fares usually don't seem that much different from Heathrow compared to Luton.

Buster the Bear 14th Aug 2013 20:45

Just remember that AENA factor! And the good folk within marketing at Luton that strive to deliver and maybe now might get some parental support?

AENA Vs MAG is going to be an interesting battle!

The Falcon Hungarian info came from a reliable source. At Hurn today a 737 in their colours was towed out after paint minus the engines.

LGS6753 14th Aug 2013 21:00

From an FT blog:

Hungary: Wizz takes aim at new airline | beyondbrics

Solyom Hungarian Airways, the new Hungarian airline that is promising to serve 96 destinations with a fleet of 50 jets by 2017, has barely launched its website, let alone a fully loaded aeroplane – before coming under attack.

And from an unusual source: Wizz Air, a low-fare airline in Central and Eastern Europe, is normally a low-key player when it comes to commenting on rivals – certainly it eschews the headline-grabbing verbal fireworks associated with Ryanair. But a statement by Wizz on Thursday was a little more spiky than usual.

Despite it’s position that it “usually does not comment the activity of competitors…. as the development and the future of the Hungarian civil aviation is important for the airline, we decided to share the thoughts of our experts with the public,” Wizz declared, stressing that, with Solyom still firmly on the tarmac, it preferred only to discuss “general questions raised in connection with the current initiatives.”

The problem with new airlines is that the vast majority “never take off or go bankrupt within a few years. Bankruptcy may occur when these companies are not able to pay their bills and one of the critical service providers decides to pull the trigger,” said Wizz.

Indeed, Wizz Air itself needed “tens of millions euro in equity or equity-related financing forms to financially handle the initial period” and this was “at a time when the European economy soared and the oil price was half of the price of today.”

In the current economic climate, and with higher oil prices, and with “much stronger competition” between airlines, the need for start-up capital is even more acute. “Those who do not have the sufficient capital investment have no reasonable chance of being one of the few that won’t go bankrupt within a few years,” and many have done so, intoned Wizz.

Then there is the question of leasing older aeroplanes – Solyom has said it plans to lease six Boeing 737-500 aircraft in August, planes described by one aviation consultant as “old, noisy and very fuel thirsty. ”

Wizz Air argues that what it termed “an outdated fleet” raises questions in relation to “operational reliability and efficiency. A 20-30 year old aircraft has much higher maintenance costs than a new aircraft,” which in turn “further weaken competitiveness.”

So far, so fair? Perhaps. But was the rival carrier not going too far with this final salvo?

True, Solyom has been cagey about its financial backers. It says has concluded agreements with two strategic investors, an unnamed “tourism enterprise,” registered in Oman, and a “well-capitalised investor with extensive international relations,” registered in the United Arab Emirates.

But is it just “protecting the interests of passengers” when Wizz puts pressure on the national airline authorities to dig into Solyom’s finances? Wizz Air is hardly a neutral third party in all this – it will face increased competition if, and when, the new carrier takes to the skies.

Solyom Hungarian Airways didn’t comment on the Wizz Air statement. Beyondbrics also put this question of impartiality to a Wizz Air spokesperson, who replied:

“We have been inundated for two weeks with statement requests on Solyom. Over the past few days most of these requests morphed into queries related to general policy, general market dynamics and general industry expertise, yet clearly we could see the motivation behind these queries was Solyom. To satisfy the media, we decided to draw a bottom line on this issue and share an expert opinion, of which I am sure that it is equal to expert opinions that can be collected from other sources… [this] remains the same regardless if you have Solyom in mind, or TAP or Tarom.”

davidjohnson6 14th Aug 2013 21:14

In October 2012, OLT Express began flying from Southend. Southend management actively promoted Easyjet, but did not seem keen on OLT Express and seemed to make great efforts to minimise any public association with OLT Express. In January 2013, OLT Express went bankrupt.

There has been much comment on the web as to whether Solyom is likely to be credible. Given that so many commentators seem to doubt Solyom's plans, is it really a good thing for Luton airport if Solyom starts selling tickets from a hill in Bedfordshire ?

LGS6753 14th Aug 2013 21:40

mmmmm...

who can forget Sky Europe, Debonair, Ciao Fly, Silverjet, etc.

The comments I've read are very skeptical about the credibilty of Solyom. Apparently they intend operating a "premium service" (non-loco) on 20-year old 737-500s.

Of course they won't get into LHR (or even Gatters at the times they want) so I wouldn't be surprised to see them up on the hill.

Buster the Bear 14th Aug 2013 21:55

Ex (ages ago) Braathens in full Falcon livery at Hurn today. Mind you, no engines, but they can be added later. Been sat there for over two years looking for a new operator, so maybe lease deals from Aircraft | BBAM Aircraft Leasing and Management are good value?

FRatSTN 14th Aug 2013 22:00


Of course they won't get into LHR (or even Gatters at the times they want) so I wouldn't be surprised to see them up on the hill.
Yes because we all know that Stansted couldn't possibly be an option don't we?:rolleyes:

Buster the Bear 14th Aug 2013 22:05

Only stating what I was told from a reliable source.

London Luton is known as the arrival airport for the London area by Wizz passengers (and we know how long their operations lasted in Essex!).

pabely 15th Aug 2013 01:21

I suspect Luton is the choice of East European operations because of RYR in Essex. This is something MAG will need to address if it hopes to attact new airlines.

LTNman 15th Aug 2013 05:01

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/1128/dz55.jpg

Looks like they are looking to replace Malev with 110 seats in two cabin classes, 12 in business, 98 in economy. I would have thought Gatwick would be a big contender for the London route as they are looking to squeeze more aircraft movements into their airport.


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