RYR have previously been operating these routes with EU registered a/c, presumably on a temporary dispensation from the CAA which has expeired or been withdrawn.

Without wanting to stray too far into Jet Blast territory, another "Brexit bonus" :rolleyes:.

I suspect this a case of Ryanair being their characteristically bombastic selves and assuming the UK CAA would just turn a blind eye because, well, they're Ryanair - God's gift to British air travel.

I imagine one carrier quietly happy if indeed the CAA has chucked a spanner in Ryanair's works is Jet2 on the Moroccan roures. Who knows, perhaps it was they that were the catalyst?

is there really much cost in just re registering a few more aircraft or is it more of a logistics issue that they can't swap aircraft as and when needed

Perhaps one of the issues might be finding CAA licenced crews and line engineers to work for them. Post the event that shall not be mentioned an EASA licence is as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle when it comes to piloting a G- registered aircraft.

Well that's my travel.pkans well and truly cocked up by the B gift that keeps on giving. First world problems and all that but very frustrating and I'm not impressed with FR at all. The same thing happened to Wizzair when they launched BHX-TIA, it went on sale before being taken off sale without a single schedule operating for the same reason. I guess FR thought they were above the law. As always, it's the customer that pays the price.

I don't think Jet2 are the catalyst. They have set up flights to RAK and AGA for package holiday travellers, their flight only prices are not wallet friendly at all. I have flown FR on numerous occasions to Morocco and all flights have had a very high proportion of Moroccan residents and Moroccans living in the UK visiting family for whom the FR flights would have been ideal.

WIth around 10 weekly flights lost at BHX from April as a result of this, will FR increase frequencies on other routes or introduce a new destination or simply keep the base at 7 aircraft instead of increasing to 8?

Let's hope easyJet have noticed and consider operating their BHX-RAK route year round instead of winter only.

Ryanair have today revised their forecasts for S25 downward, due to 737max delivery delays. And have also said that growth this year will now be reallocated to focus on Poland/Sweden/Italy for tax/financial incentive reasons.

More likely with constrained growth this summer, they're using the EU aircraft as outlined above to maximise return. Brexit may be a red herring here. But the UK government are definitely not incentivising airline traffic growth currently.
Ryanair Financial Update 27 January 2025

But the Brexit related changes certainly impose operational constrains, and increased complexity adds costs.

There are also the potential ownership % rules - Brexit and differing markets is absolutely not a red herring!

RYANAIR CLOSES 2 AIRCRAFT BILLUND BASE IN RESPONSE TO GOVT’S HARMFUL AVIATION TAX

DENMARK LOSES 1.7M SEATS, 32 ROUTES, AND 2 AIRCRAFT FOR SUMMER 2025 AS RYANAIR SWITCHES CAPACITY TO COMPETING EU COUNTRIES WITH NO HARMFUL AVIATION TAXES

Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Fri, 31 Jan) announced that it will close its 2 aircraft Billund base (a loss of $200m investment) and cut all routes to/from Aalborg from the end of March, in response to the Govt’s short-sighted decision to introduce an aviation tax of up to DKK 50 per departing passenger from Jan 2025, coupled with Billund’s failure to agree a competitive long-term agreement.

Denmark is one of the few EU countries that has yet to recover its pre-Covid traffic at just 95% of 2019 levels. This harmful aviation tax will further damage Denmark’s connectivity, tourism jobs and economy by making Denmark (particularly regional airports) hopelessly uncompetitive compared to competing EU countries like Sweden, Italy, and Hungary who are abolishing their aviation taxes to promote connectivity, traffic, jobs, and economic growth. In stark contrast, Denmark has bizarrely introduced an aviation tax, which has resulted in the loss of over 1.7m seats, 32 routes and 2 aircraft, as well as associated investment and jobs.

Can someone at FR clarify if the announcement of BOH-FNC yesterday was an error as some are suggesting?

Must be like making a deal with the devil for most airports. Believe the saying goes.....Ryanair here today, gone tomorrow

From Travel Mole:Budget carrier Ryanair says it wants to be the first airline flying to Ukraine again.

The airline has been planning for when a ceasefire eventually happens.

If that does transpire, Ryanair says it is able to quickly restart routes to Kyiv and Lviv.

We want to be the first airline back into Ukraine,” said Michael O’Leary.

It wants to fly from as many as 25 cities across Europe to Ukraine, including the UK.

Ukraine air travel effectively **** down overnight when Russia invaded nearly three years ago.

If a ceasefire can be agreed, Ryanair says it could set up airport bases within weeks.

“We have a plan to pivot five of our aircraft at bases all over Europe. We will cancel a route, say, from Stansted to the Canaries and we’ll send that aircraft instead to Lviv or Kyiv,” O’Leary the Independent.

“We have about 14 million Ukrainians dispersed all over Europe.

:}
https://dailynewshungary.com/wizz-ai...st-to-ukraine/

Haven't Wizz Air still got a couple of Airbuses "based" in Ukraine, since the invasion?

New destination: Dakhla, Morocco. Flights from MAD and ACE.

Had too GOOGLE DAKHLA, not heard of the city before.....

Dakhla (Arabic: الداخلة, lit. 'The Peninsula', Hassaniyya:[ˌəd.daːχlə]ⓘ; formerly known as Villa Cisneros) is a city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara,[2] currently occupied by Morocco.[3][4] It is the capital of the claimed Moroccan administrative regionDakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. It has a population of 106,277[1] and is on a narrow peninsula of the Atlantic Coast, the Río de Oro Peninsula, about 550 km (340 mi) south of Laayoune.

Interesting Pic on Ryanair’s FB page.
This has to be more than a news route or two, New routes have been posted regularly on the Airlines FB page with no real fanfare.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....849f301f7.jpeg

Something Big?? Finally Asquith has hit the big time. :ok:

One of their other snippets flashes up “VIP” - so are we thinking some form of loyalty scheme maybe?

I think the real loser on this one will be Legoland – I've no idea how much of the inbound traffic to BLL was headed there, but it has to have been substantial.

Drip feed to announcement.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....44ef1668f.jpeg

Something big is coming....customer service perhaps?

For me their menu has gone drastically downhill, that's what I would want to see change most. Everything is beige and cheese this, cheese that. I'm not expecting luxury but EasyJet and Jet2 have far more superior options. Simple things like porridge, tapas/snack boxes and a decent range of fresh sandwiches/wraps... Things you may actually want to buy!

Without wanting to go off thread.
Ryanair offer a lovely chicken and roasted vegetable panini, and Thai green curry along with all the usual. But I very much doubt the “Something Big” is a new food offering.

....... perhaps going to destinations further away or ... interlining with someone else?
(after all this is PPRuNe!!!)

Possibly a stretch and no-way based on any inside knowledge so pure speculation. Could the Red Carpet be a Jet2 reference, doing what they do with TUI to offer more flights to more destinations for Jet2Holidays? I doubt Jet2 would compromise on their service offering though so talked myself out of it by the end of the sentence.. lol

I’m thinking some kind of loyalty program, but who knows, guess we will have to wait and see, hopefully another clue “Post” will be put up today on their Facebook page.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....40f2c1991d.jpg

The drip feed continues

Business class :}

Wouldn't surprise me if it was some kind of easyJet Plus-type membership, given the red carpet comment. That would generate a little extra revenue without straying too far from their current business model.

Perhaps they've seen how well easyJet Plus has done since the BA Club changes! Lots of disgruntled short haul travellers that without the dangling carrot of a tier point suddenly aren't bothered about lounges and what the BA price tag brings.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....3447d662d.jpeg
Today’s upload seems to point towards some kind of frequent flyer program.

They did actually announce they would a few years ago when they went on the charm offensive, although it was quietly dropped.

So Today is the day, 24/03/25, Not seen any announcement re the above posts as yet.

Introducing, Ryanair Prime

https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/lp/explore/membership

Hard to see much if any value in what they're offering.

Any LCC that I have met - always lands up wanting to be something more. Whether it is due to competition or wanting more profits - they wanna be the big boys. Typically, a corporate is best to stick at what it does best.

Not far enough, well for me anyway.
Most people who would go for “Prime” would already have annual travel insurance and they wouldn’t be looking to travel in “Special Sales” periods, that only leaves free seat selection which isn’t a big draw for me.

NOW IF IT WAS.

.Priority Security.
.Free 10kg cabin baggage.
.Priority Boarding.
.complimentary Drink.

Then I think people would be interested.

It's all a bit naff and for £79 a year too. No value here at all.

Restricted free seat selection - very vague!