Monarch

[hapzim]

Malaga to Aberdeen, Blackpool and Newquay.

http://www.flymonarch.com/cnt/scheduled/offerupdates.asp

for the times and days.
:D

[aeulad]

Call me bitter, because I am, but why, why, WHY have the likes of BLK and NQY been chosen over Humberside which handles nearly twice as many passengers as they do???? I Don't get it.

I think I am about to give up on Humberside, will we ever get ANYTHING?

Regards

Mike:{

[southender]

Never mind, for real frustration support Southend!

Cheers

Southender

[Dash-7 lover]

Cornwall needs it, although the 40kt fog will be an interesting experience in a 321, ooh another diversion to EXT!!

[IB4138]

Not happy.

Means mother-out-law can visit too easily with Blackpool-Malaga flights!:( :mad: :sad:

[LTNman]

Strange how Monarch has chosen three costal UK airports where the catchment area is reduced by 50% due to the sea.

[BPL321]

Wouldnt say it is that strange although I am suprised it was Monarch Scheduled. I can only talk about BLK I'm not sure about the other 2 but BLK have been very successful in pulling in the pax for their 3 FR destinations. BLK has a good catchment area which includes the City of Preston(15miles away), Blackburn, Southport and a good few towns South of Preston on the way to MAN not to mention the area which covers the Lake District and all the Fylde coast. I would also bare in mind the flights are a 2 way street, Spanish who want to visit the NW will also use it. Just my opinion anyway.

[Nakata77]

oh please! I hate it when people say the catchment is reduced because of the sea! The catchment is the catchment. These airports happen to be the ones that arn't over-capacity compared to the central airports.

[Richard Taylor]

And don't forget we have the inhospitable mountains to our west,so our catchment area is even more reduced.

:hmm:

BTW Monarch claim they can attract 15,000 Spaniards to ABZ.

15 might be more accurate,unless the good people of Malaga prefer our climate to theirs !

:uhoh:

[LTNman]

BTW Monarch claim they can attract 15,000 Spaniards to ABZ.

Poor buggers, I bet they don’t stay long.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

May be the Spaniards want to have a holiday by the Seaside.
May be they think that there might be less "P*** Heads on our beaches than on the Spanish ones???
Next it is going to be the French from Paris, going to look at the Blackpool tower!!

[IB4138]

Got a feeling the BLK-AGP service will take some passengers who have been travelling EZY from Liverpool.

Lets wait and see if the other two routes, when announced, are in competition with EZY Liverpool routes.

Also with an AGP based aircraft, this will be the first scheduled reasonably timed flight of the day to the UK from AGP.

This means that I can breakfast at home on the Costa del Sol and have lunch with the mother - in - law in Cleveleys!:{

[pinhammond]

Several comments about recent postings. It is not a Malaga based aircraft. It is actually LTN based operating a complex pattern. The timing ex malaga might be a problem. It only gets light in Winter at well after eight and much of the demand is well spread out from the immediate Malaga area. There is no public transport for an 0600 check-in.

Nevertheless there is no reason at all why they should not attract all the Spanish passengers they have indicated. Please remember that if you live in a hot climate it can be very attractive to visit a cool climate. I know the Costa del Sol well and know many Spanish people there who just love the rain and cool of Britain. Please remember that the HIghlands of Scotland are very attractive places for visitors.

Please also remember that Blackpool remains the most visited single resort in Europe. The number of visitor nights there overwhelms any other single resort in Europe. It is also a much better gateway for the Lake District than any other airport. I once used Blackpool airport and I was stunned by just how close it was to the centre of the resort. There is probably no other airport in Britain which is so convenient.

Good luck to Monarch. I use their scheduled services regularly and they have an excellent reputation in Spain.

I look forward to seeing them expand at all three airports that they have announced today.

[pzu]

Spaniards to UK

AS we presently ship TONS of Sea Creatures (I hesitate to class all of them as food!!! :yuk: ) to Spain, perhaps they may come for the 'fresh caught' taste!!!

Also in the case of ABZ, they could be after the Whisky Trail

PZU - Out of Africa

[IB4138]

You are incorrectpinhammond

Monarch state and their winter timetable indicates that the A320 is Malaga based. There is no "W" pattern, complex or otherwise.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Well said IB4138 it would mean an outbound from Luton, before 4am to be a "W" pattern.

[pinhammond]

IB 4138

Not so. Any inspection of their schedule shows that an A320 leaves LTN on Suns, Tues, Thurs at 2215 for AGP. Another aircraft returns from AGP to LTN, leaving AGP on Sun, Tues, Thurs leaving AGP at 2145 having arrived in AGP from Newquay an hour earlier. The aircraft operates from AGP to Blackpool every day at 0800 followed by an ABZ on four days and Newquay on three days. After the Newquay flight it always returns to LTN. It is impossible to operate all the new flights announced yesterday otherwise. So the aircraft rotates from LTN three times a week.

It is not so easy to determine the crew slip pattern. I presume that this will be driven by cost so AGP is probably where the crew will be for this winter.

It looks like a pretty safe assumption that next summer there will be more flights from Blackpool to ALC?, PMI? FAO? so there might be a Blackpool based aircraft then. This would fit in well with MAN based crews. ABZ could take a based aircrfat for the summer, operating to AGP, PMI, ALC and possibly TFS, FAO. Newquay would then be operated on a LTN based aircaraft operating a W pattern.

All guesses but certainly achievable.

But it woulsd seem that Monarch will need at least 3 more aircraft by next summer or else they will have to put the A300 on either LGW or MAN based schedules. Has anyone got any rumours/info on this?

[hapzim]

Already using the A330 on some of the MAN/AGP zb's.:cool:

[LSSUK]

pinhammond: the ltn rotations will be on a different a/c altogether, the rest will be on an agp-based a320.

[pinhammond]

LSSUK
Not so. The aircraft leaves LTN at 2215, overnights at AGP and then operates to Blackpool at 0800. As I have already said after every arrival at AGP from Newquay the aircraft operates a scheduled flight to LTN. If you doubt me ask Monarch.

[im going in]

pinhammond

You are correct, there is no physical way the whole programme can operate on the same a/c without delaying the LTN-AGP sector. The longest the same a/c overnights in AGP is 2 nights.

[Whirley]

As i far as i can see it will 1 aircraft based in Malaga operating 4 sectors a day daily to Blackpool and then either Aberdeen or Newquay.
The extra Luton flight will probably picked up by another aircraft. I would assume.

[ltn and beyond]

Offically from the big "M" in Luton there will be a A320 based in Malaga, to operate these routes crews in hotels at first, but watch this space...... and for other bases and expansion plans it WILL happen !!!!

[longarm]

Quote from the managing director of Monarch Scheduled:-


"From November of this year, we shall base an A320 in Malaga, and serve three new UK airports, Aberdeen, Blackpool and Newquay"

Seems to be a AGP based a/c to me.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

The way l have always looked at it is, if the aircraft stops overnight it is based at that airport.
It does not have to be the same aircraft every night, it might change and will have to, for maintenance.

[dada]

what does it matter - its great news for monarch and blackpool especially. mt j really does know his stuff - get the fare down to 99p plus tax and i'll book!

[pinhammond]

I am sure that if it is the precursor to Monarch basing hopefully several aircraft in Malaga it will be good business for them. Just to put Malaga in context this winter there will be flights there from 26 UK airports. There is no other city in the world that has flights from as many UK airports. There are vast opportunities to do good business there and that means flying to airports outside the UK as well. If they exploit the opportunity they will do very well for themselves. Good luck to them.

[IB4138]

Thats why several of us moved here a few years ago pinhammond .

It is not unusual to change aircraft operating a set patern during a week/month, for maitainence..that is the norm. The fact is MON have an A320 based at AGP.

AGP is the centre of Europe....if a bit further south than the centre should be!:rolleyes: EZY have delayed making AGP a base and MON have on the face of it, seen the oppertunity and walked in.

New terminal under construction, with second runway to follow.

BTW I can actually see MON growing Blackpool to the detrement of Liverpool.

[Buster the Bear]

Hardly Lo-Co, paying for crew overnight hotel costs in Malaga and intending to operate the A320 with fewer than 180 seats? Someone must be subsidising this operation?

http://static.zsl.org/images/width150/bear-04-web-305.jpg

[IB4138]

Buster

You don't sniff Iberia, MON's handling agent do you?

They have got very cosy in respect of check in faciliies recently. Easier to check in for a Monarch Scheduled than a BA flight.

[hapzim]

Initial over nighting whilst routes assesed but then ??? costs built into the operation.

As for less than 180 seats gives the SLF more room and they are happy to pay a v small increase on ticket price for this. The days of standing room only are receeding. People are wiseing up, to you get what you pay for and Monarch Scheduled have always been a notch above true lo cost sharks.

[factanonverba]

Remove 6 seats that you could possibly sell for £40. Increase seat pitch on 10 (60 seats) rows by 3 inches and sell each for £15 extra. If you fill the jet, thats an extra £8-900 in revenue. Everyone is doing it with the emerg exit rows, this is just a logical extension to that.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Buster the Bear
I think you will find that this aircraft is not the only one, that will have a row or two of seats removed.
It was decided months back that they were going to have an extra leg room area, at the front of the cabin.
The A321 are going to be likewise, sometime in November for use on the Scheduled flights.
The last two years, two B757 have had 219 seat config in the place of the normal 235 charter config.
So these flights were not subsidised and who says that crews might end up being local in the end.

[pinhammond]

IB 4138

Yes, Monarch's check-in facilities at AGP are excellent. They are way better than BA's. Their operational performance also seems much better than BA's. I have used both airlines regulalry on the LGW/AGP route. I have been delayed several times by BA. and only once by MON and that was to take on pax from a seriously delayed BA flight. MON's on board service makes BA's ridiculous deli service look pathetic. I can assure all readers that MON's service is regarded by the many people I know in Spain as the best on any UK route.

[Buster the Bear]

Monarch’s Malaga move

22 July 2005

Monarch Scheduled is to open its first overseas base at Malaga airport, allowing it to begin routes to Aberdeen, Newquay and Blackpool.
The airline is following Ryanair and easyJet in opening foreign bases and will station an aircraft and crew at the Spanish airport.
Basing an aircraft in Spain means Monarch does not have to scatter staff around the UK and can operate routes that might otherwise prove uneconomic.
As well as the three new routes, it will add three extra frequencies a week at Luton.
On November 3, it will start daily flights to Blackpool, three flights a week to New-quay and add the extra Luton flights, making 11 a week. Four flights a week to Aber-deen, its first Scottish route, will start on November 4.
“We have to be pan- European in our thinking because the UK market is largely saturated,” said Monarch Scheduled managing director Tim Jeans.
He said other bases could be established at Palma, Barcelona and Alicante.
Monarch Scheduled’s Malaga-based Airbus A320 will have 174-seats – six fewer than standard – allowing 48 extra-leg-room seats. They will be sold for a £30 return premium, allowing it to compete with carriers such as British Airways.
Return fares start at £75 from Blackpool and New-quay and £95 from Aberdeen.

http://static.zsl.org/images/width150/bear-04-web-305.jpg

[BPL321]

Concerning the Blackpool to Malaga route which was announced last week the local press have today said that the airline have sold over 1000 seats in just 5 days since the route was announced. Monarch say it has been the most ever successful route they have ever had for selling seats on the back of a route announcement. Great news for BLK and even more destinations are on the way I believe.

[kooyheier]

Yeah baby...

Even more route expansion for Monarch, this time again from MAN.
Mahon here comes the BIG M


Manchester to Menorca

From Spring next year you can fly from Manchester to the unspoilt island of Menorca from just £39.99 one way including tax.

The second largest of Balearic islands, Menorca offers a more conservative atmosphere than its sister islands and is ideal if you are looking for a relaxing holiday in a tranquil setting.

This new route starts flying 30 March 2006 with three flights a week (Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays). So get booking now to spring off to Menorca next year.

I'm guessing this is not the end from the expansion spree Started by Mr. TJ.

Cheerio
:cool:

[kala87]

Re the last posting, Menorca is hardly a new destination for Monarch. I've been flying there on Monarch Scheduled since 1995 from LTN, and the route was already well established back then. The flights are well patronised and in recent years have been operated by a 757. Monarch's service and food have always been excellent, way better than BA.

I hope they make a success of the Newquay-AGP route. Maybe we can persuade the Spanish to come to Oggyland for their surfing hols! Cornish pasties and cream teas on every flight??

I know the future of Newquay Airport is in doubt due to uncertainty over the military side of the airfield, which pays for ATC, fire cover, runway maintenance etc. However, a recent visit to the airport convinced me that passenger facilities and apron space at the airport desperately needs upgrading now, not in 2 or 3 years' time. The terminal is way too small to accomodate the recent increase in flights. At busy periods the check in queue blocks the exit from the baggage reclaim area and the entrance to the toilets.

The airport also doesn't even seem to have a proper apron for civilian operations. On the day I was visiting, the military-type dispersal areas and taxiway near the terminal were completely blocked by a BMI Baby 737, Air Southwest Dash-7 and a BAe146 charter flight. An arriving FR 737 had to park on the military side of the airport, about a mile from the terminal. The bemused pax were bussed to the terminal in a ramshackle collection of buses including a pensioned-off London Transport double-decker!

Welcome to Cornwall!

[kooyheier]

Koala bear87

Learn to read!

It IS a new scheduled destination from MAN for MON!!!

cheerio

:cool:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

kooyheier
You should not throw stones in glass houses!
Monarch has been flying to Mahon from Manchester for years, look out tomorrow and you will see one leave for Mahon.
What you did not say and l can read,that it is a "New Monarch Schedule" route.
Thats better Kooyheier!

[kooyheier]

:rolleyes:

[Evanelpus]

Strange how Monarch has chosen three costal UK airports where the catchment area is reduced by 50% due to the sea.


In ten years time when the Spaniards etc will be visiting Britain as a result of global warming, you won't think it strange why these airports were chosen!!

[dada]

plse explain this 50% capacity reduction thing?

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Dada l guess it is 50% all round, as AGP is also on the coast.
So his post should have been quoting a 25% reduction, unless he thought about AGP, but l think it is nit picking anyway.

[GROUNDHOG]

Of course the Spanish ( and the Frogs) are well used to visiting us down here in Cornwall during the Winter...... nicking our bl**dy fish mostly!

I remember back in the sixties seeing Aviaco and Spantax regularly in Newquay so it has been done before, but more power to the Monarch elbow for doing it again!

[malagajohn]

Strangely enough AVIACO used to do charters from Aberdeen to Malaga back in the early eighties for defunct tour operator Volta Dixon

[dada]

and believe it or not, aviaco dc9-s used to operate charters to blackpool in the late 70's but cant remember where to?

[bozzy]

hi everbody,

i was talking to somebody who just got back from cuba, and she went on a monarch A330. She told me she had no personal television on the back of the seat, they just had the roof ones. she couldnt believe it being it was a a330. Why doesn't monarch have them and the likes of mytravel, thomas cook do.

is it cost cutting.

[Squealing Pig]

Maybe they wernt available when that airframe was built - just guessing

[goldeneye]

im pretty sure the Monach A330's only have seat back TV's in the premium cabin, and that the screens in standard are mounted on the cealing. I think this is the case on the Boeing 767 and A300's that are used for longhaul, with hand held tv's being handed out in premium on these aircraft.

[RT_060590]

Just curious why are most of the rest of Monarch's fleet painted in the new livery yet the A330 remains in the old? Have they just not got round to it yet or do they intend on getting rid of them?
Cheers RT

[Mr @ Spotty M]

RT_060590

Not got around to it yet.
Were due for a repaint this November, have not checked of late to see if it is still going to happen this November.

[kooyheier]

Pretty good going I would say:D

"BA woes see Monarch Scheduled’s August traffic increase by almost 50%

While BA dealt with the fallout from its catering debacle and passengers deserted the flag carrier in their droves, low cost airline Monarch Scheduled continued to grow rapidly and is delighted to announce a 49% increase in passenger traffic for August 2005, compared with the same period last year.

For the first time ever, Monarch Scheduled broke its own record and carried in excess of 300,000 passengers in just one month, almost 100,000 more than the same month last year. The airline flew 303,547 passengers* in August, compared with 203,745 in August 2004. The load factor was 87%.

Taking over the helm from BA, who have been busy recently dropping routes from both Birmingham and Manchester, Monarch Scheduled is now the largest international carrier from Manchester and broke another of its own records in August, by carrying more than 30,000 passengers on a single route (Manchester-Malaga) – the first time the airline has achieved this figure."

Let's see what the winter is going to bring, but things are definitely looking rosey at the moment at MON.

Cheerio
:cool:

[averytdeaconharry]

Can anyone out there give me the weekly detailed movemnets of Monarch's767 please.

[GW76]

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/2184238/6/

[Mr @ Spotty M]

averytdeaconharry

Info on Airliners.net is well out of date.
Here is the info you require.
Monarch B767 flying program summer 2005.
Sunday LGW-MAN-CUN-MAN-LGW
Monday LGW-CFU-LGW/ LGW-MBA
Tuesday MBA-LGW/ LGW-ACC
Wednesday ACC-LGW
Thursday LGW-SFB-LGW
Friday LGW-POP-LGW
Saturday LGW-SFB-LGW

[EK-LHR-LGW-GLA-MAN-B]

It sometimes does GLA-Cayo Coco.

[flystarboy]

Erm any down time for maintenance
or do Monarch have a super dooper ex airtours 767 that
doesnt need any??:ooh:

[qwertyuiop]

I believe they take an engineer on the flight and do the maintinance in the air.

[averytdeaconharry]

Thanks. I thought some of those flights were operated by A330's. I shall now have to work out what they are doing. Any info?

[Mr @ Spotty M]

flystarboy

The aircraft finishes flying Wednesday evening and when the hangar check is due, the Thursday flight is operated by another aircraft type.

[tallseabird]

I'd be interested in the movements of the A330's

[GOLF-INDIA BRAVO]

Seems to be spending a lot of time at Manchester at present and it goes to Malaga on the Scheduled service some days

G-I-B

[kooyheier]

A330 does the sunday morning AGP which is a combined scheduled and charter flight! Always full if I may add.

cheerio:cool:

[GrahamK]

An A330 flies NCL-SFB-NCL, out Sat back Sun.

[pinhammond]

Does anyone know whether Monarch plan to add aircraft and/or make any fleet changes for Summer 06? If so what details?

[Blighty Pilot]

Not aware of any fleet changes/increase or decrease in a/c numbers - but never say never.

[transwede]

One of their A330 a/c will be operating out of NCL Thu-Sun, replacing long haul flights operated by Excel this year. A/c does SFB thu, POP fri and SFB again sat.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

One extra A321 to be added in the spring.

[757manipulator]

Does anyone have their complete summer 06 programme?

A/C..bases..and route structure?:)


not much to ask..lol

[christofmc]

Does anyone know when there two A330's G-EOMA and G-SMAN are to be repainted in the new colour scheme?? It seems all the other a/c are and these seem to be the last .

[jethro15]

G-EOMA is now in the new livery

[GrahamK]

G-SMAN now in new c/s, G-EOMA still plodding about in proper MON c.s :ok:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

GrahamK
G-EOMA is not plodding around in the old colours, it is in ZRH on check and repaint.
Due back on December the 2nd.

[chipsbrand]

With the end of the 767 lease and the already announced expansion of the scheduled services this looks like a big reduction in their traditional holiday charter business. It also looks like an overall reduction in the number of seat miles and pax miles that they will operate. Why would they contract their busines when the overall market looks buoyant?

[hapzim]

Don't know where you got your info "chipsbrand" but lastest from the cleaners on the inside is more expansion into the longhaul charter market with new and replacement wide bodies being sought. 767 is on a 3 year lease with new crews being trained on it all the time.

:ok:

[christofmc]

Does anyone know if there are any pics of the A330's in the new c/s?? There aint none on airliners.net or planepictures.net. Or even when either of them are going to make a visit up2 manchester ?

[GOLF-INDIA BRAVO]

Hope that works

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=199223


G-I-B

[GrahamK]

Ok, does anyone know what is operating the MON3838/3839 MAN-DLM-MAN flights next summer? I shall be flying on these flights in July

[im going in]

GrahamK

The MON3838/9 DLM is currently planned to operate on the A300 next summer.

[GrahamK]

Cheers for that im going in

[fx-85ms]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows what is wrong with the Monarch plane G-MAJS parked outside Harrods Aviation.
I thought they had a lot of space in their maintenance hangar?

[Jan the man]

It is indeed a bit strange. Some lessors tend to take off the engines to prevent the aircraft from going anywhere when the ariline cannot pay its bills, but I would have thought that (1) Monarch is relatively stable; and (2) there are easier options (e.g. put trucks around the aircraft).

Jan

P.S.: Nice nickname!

[jetstream7]

It is indeed a bit strange. Some lessors tend to take off the engines to prevent the aircraft from going anywhere when the ariline cannot pay its bills, but I would have thought that (1) Monarch is relatively stable; and (2) there are easier options (e.g. put trucks around the aircraft).

Surely, this is simply maintenance, with an engine change, scheduled or otherwise?

Why cast unfounded aspersions like the one you made?

[GOLF-INDIA BRAVO]

There is a Thomas Cook A320 like that at Manchester and is due to spend quite some time like that due to a double engine overhaul and lack of work for the aircraft over the winter period

G-I-B

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Both hangars that can accommodate A300 are full, hence aircraft parked outside.
The aircraft is on a "C" Check at this time.
Has been wheeled outside while G-OJMR is on a small hangar check.
Engine swap from G-OJMR to G-MAJS going on, a lease engine being fitted to G-OJMR until it's "C" Check middle of Jan.
Will be back in service in a couple of days with G-MAJS going back into the hangar and back in service next week.

[atyourcervix73]

Anyone have any idea as to whether Monarch are increasing the fleet size to include further 767's?

Another website mentions this, I wonder if it has any basis in reality?



:cool: 73

[Mr @ Spotty M]

atyourcervix73
This may happen in the future, but understand no plans for Summer 06.
You can never so no, but this is what we have been told at this time.

[CentreFix25]

Any idea what type will operate at NCL Thu,Fri & Sat during S'06.

[GrahamK]

CentreFix25, afaik it's an A330, but I could be wrong.

[chipsbrand]

It seems from their timetable that ZB are abandoning Newquay-Malaga and reducing frequency on BLK and ABZ from Malaga for next summer. Can ayone shed any light on this?

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Yes it looks that you are correct, have been told all flights now loaded on to the system.

[factanonverba]

Looks like GRX has been dropped as well.

[chipsbrand]

No, GRX is still in the schedules. I have looked to see whether there are flights in June and there are.

[factanonverba]

It's still listed but I can't find get a timetable for June!

[factanonverba]

Have made contact, GRX reduced to 3 times a week.

[san miguel]

ANY TRUTH IN RUMOUR MONARCH PULLING AIRCRAFT OUT OF MALAGA BASE

[A4]

DON'T SHOUT !!!!

I wasn't aware of any Monarch aircraft being based in AGP.

Merry Christmas.

A4:)

[Bumz_Rush]

nothing based there to best of my knowledge....Bumz

[qwertyuiop]

Monarch were sending crews to AGP to operate flights to Newquay, Aberdeen and Blackpool. The crews are not being based at Malaga anymore and Newquay soon to be stoped.

[wirral69]

well, that did not last very long. im not surprised. does anyone know the reason for pulling out crew and aircraft? was it to save money, or did the directors actually realise that they should have not put them in malaga in the first place?

[GROUNDHOG]

But Wirral the flights were only planned to Newquay for a short period in the first place. Not sure how the load factors were but Monarch did a bl**dy good job of promoting them locally.

[Buster the Bear]

If you go to the news page on Monarch's web site, the flights to Malaga will stop at the end of april due to the local £5 levy on passengers.

[toledoashley]

Not much of a surprise there - has been part of the Blackpool flight recently. The £5 levy has been put on to improve facilities - but what is the use in that when airlines are pulling out ala Monarch/Ryanair/Air Wales

[shamrock7seal]

if you ask me, i reckon its a route that couldn't really work in the first place - a £5 departure levy (although ridiculous) is certainly not going to affect a route that is profitable. It would reduce costs by 0.34% if it was reduced to zero.

But, it is reason enough I suppose for an airline to withdraw from an airport that gives it narrow margins at the best of times so guess the management should bow down and scrap the charge.

[WOWBOY]

No suprise here as said :}

There is a BBC news report about this in which they say that passengers don't mind paying the £5 to secure the airports future:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4732994.stm

[Buster the Bear]

The additional fees/charges/taxes for a departure with Monarch from Newquay over and above the actual fare, are almost £20, so this would become £25 for each passenger with the 'Save Newquay airport' fee.

I wonder what the loads over this winter have been on the route?

[brabazon]

Why couldn't they just admit that the passenger numbers didn't meet their expectations? So what happens to the AGP-based aircraft?

[WOWBOY]

I might be wrong but i think the aircraft will be used on the new BHX-spain routes.

[longarm]

The aircraft that was AGP based hasn't been based in AGP for a while now. It now is Blackpool based and operates daily blackpool to Malaga. Some days the flights are direct and are W patterns through Aberdeen, other days it operates through Newquay to Malaga. The new BHX based aircraft has yet to join the company but will be an A321 arriving soon.

[BPL321]

Hope that doesn't BLK's service to Malaga is for the chop.

Does anyone know what the pax loads are like on this service? I asumed the flight was going via Newquay because of poor BLK pax loads. I did notice ZB flew out and back again to Venice the other week - wonder what that was about?

[toledoashley]

FYI - The new Monarch a/c to be based at BHX is an ex BD 321 due in the spring.

[Outoftheblue22]

All sounds a bit fishy to me!

Only last week, Monarch were quoted as saying the route had been a success, with heavy hints that it would be continued beyond the initial trial:

(Western Morning News, 14/2/06)
Leah Rosewell, of Monarch, said: "The route has met all of our targets and expectations and has been a success. We are now reviewing the route to see if should be a part of our summer schedule. No decision has been made as yet, but we are expecting one to be made within the next few weeks."

Sounds to me like they're using the £5 fee as a handy excuse for a commercial decision driven by aircraft deployment or whatever, much as Ryanair used the fee as a handy excuse for dropping one daily frequency NQYSTN during the Winter where their load factors have been pretty average at best.

[MerchantVenturer]

Does anyone know what the pax loads are like on this service?

CAA stats for Nov show 2018 pax used the NQY-AGP route that month and 1469 in Dec. Jan figures not yet published.

If there were three rotations per week as stated in the BBC report (say 24 sectors per month) this would give an average load of less than seventy in Dec and less than ninety in Nov.

Blackpool-Malaga showed 5332 pax in Nov and 4474 in Dec.

[GROUNDHOG]

Thanks for that MV... flew the usual from BRS to BRU the other day and FULL both ways, SN reduced fares!

I just spent twenty minutes typing a reply to this thread then lost it all .gggrrrrr

We can all talk about Ryanair cutting a rotation, Monarch withdrawing, Air Wales starting a route that doesn't stand a cat in hells chance and then all of them blaming it on the £5 levy but that is re-arranging the deckchairs on the titanic, the facts are these.

Newquay Airport is a regional airport at the far end of the country where the cost of living is high and the wages low. There are probably a greater proportion of locals here that haver never left the county let alone the country than anywhere else in the UK. The catchment area is small and just up the road is Exeter with its low cost carriers and range of services.

The airport will never sustain anything other than a handful of flights and until the council act on introducing other activities to fund the place the bucket will continue to leak until all the water eventually runs out!

Now about turning down basing the EFA at Newquay because of the noise......

[Mr @ Spotty M]

It has been a known fact at Monarch for months that Newquay was finished in the spring and no summer flights.
I read, not sure if it was on the web site, that all the summer flights were loaded on the system for the summer, months ago and no listing for Newquay.
Blackpool gets reduced also for the summer, only four flights a week.
Some of next winters flights have been loaded as well, l think only Gatwick and BHX so far.

[Outoftheblue22]

Groundhog - fair enough, but what about Air Southwest? They seem to be able to make a go of NQY, with routes to LGW,MAN,LBA,BRS,DUB,CWL.

[GROUNDHOG]

Out of the blue - that is the handful of flights to which I refer, London of course has always been a strong route long before Air Southwest and I have long wondered why no one flew to Cardiff ( someone did many years ago I believe)..

Credit to WOW for expanding as much as possible it but my point is this alone will never keep the airport afloat financially and few other routes spring to mind that may be viable.

I have spoken with CCC a couple of times and put forward suggestions that might create revenue and employment at Newquay but so far all I get is "That's a good idea" and then nothing happens!

[crib08]

Does anyone have any info on what I am hearing from a member of staff who works for ASTREUS?

A friend is trying to tell me that Astreus will be bought out by MONARCH!

Any news or confirmations, thankyou.:ok:

[Montana]

For anyone at Monarch responsible for writing out cheques - it's spelt Astraeus!

[haughtney1]

I think your mate might be pulling your leg:}

[toledoashley]

No wait - this may make sence - Monarch to buy Astraeus use it as the charter brand and then use Monarch as scheduled. Dadah! There we have it - wont happen though

[haughtney1]

Please nooooooooooooooo:}

[kotakota]

Well, well ,well, what happened to the 'reply' from Hamrah denying any deal which appeared on this thread for a very short window on Monday night/Tuesday am before disappearing (like magic) by lunchtime ?

[Blighty Pilot]

What did his reply roughly say??? :ugh: :confused:

[SilentHandover]

Twas a flat denial of the rumour having any truth whatsoever!

[Blighty Pilot]

Good - Glad to hear it.

I can't see how the 737's would fit into the Monarch business model.

[qwertyuiop]

I also saw Hamrahs reply. A total denial followed by a rapid removal of his reply only adds intrigue to this rumour.

[t-bag]

Well it does fit the management MO............................

[Hamrah]

My apologies.

We had a discussion about these constant rumours, and feel we should stop replying to them. If you care to do a search you will see that this and other rumours have appeared regularly over the past few years, and nothing has come of them.

Rumours like this are unsettling for our staff and customers. As this is a rumour network we can't stop people starting or spreading them. However, we can and will henceforth, ignore them.

Where we have something to tell our staff, we will do so through the appropriate channels.


Thanks

H

[gatwicknose]

Have heard through other sources that this is more than a rumour. The is an issue with fleet synergie but other factors make the project viable for both sides...watch this space!!!

[atyourcervix73]

Have heard through other sources that this is more than a rumour. The is an issue with fleet synergie but other factors make the project viable for both sides...watch this space!!!
Blah blah blah......another rumour thought up over a few pints:yuk:
If youve got something substantive by all in means! In other words put up or shut up:ok:

[Richard Spandit]

Mafia doing pretty well then... nice when you see a family run business succeeding... :D

[thegoaf]

I had not heard any rumour before about Monarch and Astraeus but there are numerous rumours about consolidation in the low cost sector. I know that there have been many Monarch flight cancellations in recent weeks. These seem to be caused by week demand rather than any product problem. On a recent ZB flight I was shown an invoice by another pax which showed that she had been charges £0.01 including taxes. The market to Spain (except Madrid) is stunningly weak at this time and cash flow must be a problem for all airlines in that sector. I do expect some announcements about consolidation within the next month.

[atyourcervix73]

The cancelled flights probably have just as much to do with a shortage of crews rather than weak demand, as far as Im aware MON loads are pretty reasonable, and their yields are very good.
As a back up to this have a look on the website, and have a look in last weeks flight international...most of the other cancellations were due to A/C tech issues:ok:

[Dc-Nine]

The roumours that Monarch are to take over Astreaus are pretty rife. Anyone throw anymore light on this!

[fmgc]

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=213063&highlight=Monarch

[man friday]

any truth in the rumour that monarch are going to stop flying to Gib after oct this year?
website says service stops in oct ,Monarch claim " site undergoing mods" yet will allow malaga bookings well into the winter!!!

any of you bus drivers, oops meant brave aviator types ,honest, got any information on this one way or the other?

[TartinTon]

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=219421

Thread been running for a little while on this one :)

[Evanelpus]

I am off to Malaga again this September from Luton and I have just booked my flights with Monarch (I do like them, got the outbound leg for £14.99 each). The flight is the last one out on a Sunday evening.

I have just noticed that the flight number is 824 which seems a little 'out of sequence' from the norm. Have been with them before and always the flight numbers seem to be 0**.

Is it me or is there something significant with this particular flight?

[Bumz_Rush]

Last Monarch Manchester Gibraltar service: 19th July.

The time table does not show Luton Gibraltar, but company claims still operating.

E Mail the company to express your support to keep service operational.

Bumz

[thomsonfly.com]

Does anybody know how the new Monarch Scheduled base at BHX is doing now that it's almost a year old? How many aircraft are now based there, and following the recent addition of LEI, MAH, PMI & MJV is anyone aware of new routes?

[OltonPete]

thomsonfly

Three 321's based as of this week (the first day saw a FCA A320 subbing).

The Malaga last summer competed with Baby, Flybe & Lite and it was
impossible to get a breakdown of the numbers. Tenerife averages
between 130 (winter) to 180 (summer) per flight but it was rumoured
that yields were poor.

As I posted on the Birmingham thread earlier the queues at the
Monarch Murcia and Tenerife looked good today when I popped
in at lunchtime. The winter loads on the 321 were quite bad but
quickly improved mid Feb onwards.

As for forward bookings I have no idea.

For the family holiday both last year and this year I viewed the
prices from the day they were released for a couple of months,
including ZB Malaga. I would say that they are competitively priced
especially this years late Malaga. The others such as MJV, ALC
MAH & LEI seem quite expensive and hopefully will make money.
I do only monitor school holiday dates in the main.

OltonPete

[flyBHXuk]

I don't know if Monarch have more flights on certain days but FCA 757 are doing another sub for Monarch tomorrow!

[Mr @ Spotty M]

flyBHXuk
Short of aircraft at the moment, B757 late off "C" Check and the ex BMI A321 is late starting it's lease, still in Shannon.:ok:

[Monarch Man]

I work for them...and its news to me:ok:

You need real player, and its about 4.40 into the bulletin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/southampton/rea...ws/kentupd.ram

[shamrock7seal]

BETTER NOT BE A NEW SOUTHAMPTON LOW-COST ROUTE

they will be better placed to serve Bournemouth as they won't have any payload penalties or stand issues.

[airhumberside]

That link comes up with an error message. What is this new route?

[Alloy]

Manston Kent UK - Norfolk Virginia US.

http://www.kent-online.co.uk/news/default.asp?article_id=27422

[take-off]

anybody know why Monarch have pulled out of Blackpool? always been virtually full flights on tiimes ive been on it, guess plane needed elsewhere and fact jet2 are starting malaga flights

[TSR2]

Does anyone know the reason for so many delayed ZB flights into Manchester today. The delays range from 6 to 18 hours and are not confined to a specific aircraft type. MON flights do not seem to be affected.

Just curious as I use ZB quite a lot.

[-BHXboy-]

Yesterday monring before the early departures (23rd July), one of the MON 321's got smacked by a set of steps at BHX leaving a lovely dent at the rear end. Aircraft positioned out to LTN in the afternoon to be replaced by another from LTN in the early evening. BHX schedule suffered severe disruption into today.

This could of had an influence on MAN services or just LTN and BHX ops?

[IB4138]

Son's other half flew back from MAN yesterday afternoon on ZB.
She told me her flight was the only Monarch flight departing on time.
Apparently a lot of unhappy Monarch pax at MAN, especially for Faro flight.

Seem to have sorted out the ZBs overnight though.

[Buster the Bear]

A leading industry figure has warned of an autumn “cull” of routes after pulling his airline out of Blackpool.

Monarch Scheduled managing director Tim Jeans said airlines would be axing poorly performing routes when their hedged deals on fuel ran out towards the end of the year.

Jeans was speaking after Monarch Scheduled scrapped its four weekly flights from Blackpool to Malaga, admitting passenger numbers had not met expectations.

The airline had hoped to achieve load factors approaching 90% on the route, but only managed to reach the low 80s. The flights will end on October 27, and the aircraft redeployed to Manchester. Monarch Scheduled said it was not planning to return to Blackpool.

The carrier pulled out of Newquay in April, and Jeans said it now planned to focus on its core airports of Manchester, Gatwick, Luton and Birmingham. Aberdeen will remain its only small regional airport.

The carrier’s withdrawal from Blackpool follows GB Airways’ announcement last month that it was scrapping flights from Manchester to Marrakesh, Malta, Malaga and Las Palmas.

Jeans claimed airlines would be forced to scrap less profitable routes and raise prices in the autumn when their hedging arrangements came up for renewal. The conflict in the Middle East has forced up oil prices, alarming airline bosses. “Routes that are likely to be less than profitable in winter will be culled,” added Jeans. However, Jet2 has said it will start a flight from Blackpool to Malaga next March to fill the space left by Monarch Scheduled.
It claimed it would keep prices low, despite the removal of an alternative service.

Jeans also claimed heavy late discounting on packages by big operators risked “undoing the good work” of no-frills airlines, which had made customers become used to paying more for flights booked near to departure.
He said he had seen Thomson packages to Austria for £169 in August and Thomas Cook holidays in Rhodes for £189.

[Richard Taylor]

HOI, BUSTER!

Less of the small...;)

[take-off]

in repley to buster

maybe if monarch hadnt of had such naff flights times from blackpool during the summer then maybe more people would have booked seem strange that only a couple of months previous if u look on themonarch website they were hailing blackpool a sucess!!!! that might of had something to do witht he fact the times they were flying last winter/spring were times that people wanted to fly on, given the fact that the first 3 months they were flying was sold out might suggest that they got it wrong for the summer.. what would you prefer flying out at 7.30/8am or 9/20pm at night ? Not saying thats the reason but it will be one that they wouldnt admit to.

[TartinTon]

given the fact that the first 3 months they were flying was sold out might suggest that they got it wrong for the summer.


Sold out my a%*e...using the CAA stats I reckon that the ZB load factors for Nov - Jan were 60% / 52% / 60%...no doubt prompting the double-dropping through NQY and subsequent change for the summer. Hardly surprising that they chose to drop it. Let's see what the Jet2 winter schedule looks like (assuming they choose to op at all in the winter). Looking at what they do on the rest of their routes for winter ops they are extremely risk-averse.

[Aloon]

Just to intervene!!

Aviance at CWL lost the handling for MON due to the fact that when they announced to leave the station, yet decided to stay, Aviance contract workers 'forgot' to tell MON of the situation!!! So automatically, the contract went to Servisair......

Bloody office workers!! They've no idea of the impact they have!!!!

Peoples jobs are on the line here.... Take more care!!!!

Rant over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[squeaker]

Rumour has it that Monarch are to acquire 4 ex Varig MD 11s as a stop gap until new aircraft can be delivered. Boeing have provided them at a bargain price to ensure the B787 order.

[haughtney1]

:p noooooo not another DC10 replacement:}

[My Dad's Little Boy]

That'll be nice - the first British registered MD-11s (not counting the fustrated order for Air Europe)

[cornwallis]

If they are coming at a bargain price you can guarantee they will not be the cream of the crop then!

[im going in]

Are Boeing paying for the extra fuel?

[ALLDAYDELI]

nope, i think the passenger versions as reposessed by lease companies recently. I think Varig(2) only has 3 left in active service. All the others belong to lease companies and are hence avail for onward customers. I heard Aeroflot were getting 3x of them for freighter conversion at knock down prices to compliment a 787 order.

[Dan Air 87]

This is great news. I hope one will go on the UK register as G-MDII which would be nice; the prospect of seeing these from my bike on my way to LGW really makes my day especially in the new livery. What is going on at MON? Now they have a 767 and now MD11's? Well done all at MON

[DH121]

I wonder why Boeing would go to so much trouble when they're selling the plastic jets quicker than they can build them?

[Loose rivets]

A long, long time ago, a jolly airline made great profits from a base at Lutonium. Everyone was happy and did their checks breathing oxygen and wearing party hats from the night before...they even painted their planes in gay colours. Then they purchased huge planes to make themselves even happier, and chose ones with 11s in their nomenclature.

Now children, the moral of the story is.................................

[scruggs]

Any info on a timeframe for deliveries of the MD-11's?

[Wideeye]

Hang on guys .. the original thread said," Rumour has it ". we seemed to have jumped along way since then with no definitive confirmation of anything yet. .... Or am I too far down the food chain !:}

[factanonverba]

Too old, too expensive to run, no crews or engineers trained on type, no spares, a very expensive short term fix!!!! = No way.

[Flightrider]

Lease out A330s = big profit on rentals given how tight the market is

Get rid of the A300s = saving on maintenance costs, replace with an aircraft which can do both shorthaul + pukka longhaul to cover summer + winter markets

Replace both (and possibly the 767?) with MD11s
= fleet simplification
= more flexible fleet of aircraft
= much lower capital costs than A330
= probably could up + downsize the fleet through flexible deals with lessors

OK, the -11 has higher maintenance costs and there is the one-off transition cost for crew training, aircraft introduction and engineering, but this is not an entirely barking mad proposition if that's what is under consideration.

[glamourgirl!]

Monarch actually leased a world airlines md11 for summer 98 and summer 99. So they do have some experience in oporating that type. I remember working on it there was so much space for crew and pax.

[Monarch Man]

Get real everyone..this is a windup:hmm:

[Serenity]

I agree that this could be a wind up, doesn`t make sense to have yet another different a/c type on the fleet.
However on the other hand, (i really don`t know) are DC10 and MD11 type ratings anywhere near similar like those of the airbus fleets.

There are still a few at Monarch with fond memories of their DC10 and the Chief pilot is one of them!

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Well said Monarch Man.
The only thing that is for sure, is that nothing in this industry is for sure.
The last thing that was decided is that the A300s, B767 and A330s would be replaced, by an as yet undecided replacement aircraft type, in around 5 to 6 years time.
My understanding is that both Airbus & Boeing have provided Monarch with deals that include a new aircraft type and aircraft in the short term.:ok:

[DH121]

Mr Spotty, you're teasing us: My understanding is that both Airbus & Boeing have provided Monarch with deals that include a new aircraft type and aircraft in the short term. the above seems to support the rumour.

[johnrizzo2000]

Any chance of a MON aircraft ever being based in DUB? We have flights on Fri/Sat/Sun with an A300 ( i think its with MAN based crews) and a fortnightly A330 service to SFB!

[Mr @ Spotty M]

DH121
No it does not, if my understanding is correct and Boeing were not offering Boeing aircraft as a stop gap.:ok:

[jethro15]

Anything further on the possible acquisition of further bmi A321's?

jethro
UK and Ireland Airline Fleet Listings
http://www.jethros.i12.com

[longarm]

Two A321's next year (I believe from Midland).

[TSR2]

New routes from Luton to Almeria and Ibiza from May and increased frequencies to Faro And Palma following arrival of additional based A320.

New A321 to be based at Birmingham for increased frequencies to Alicante, Murcia and Palma, and a new service to Ibiza.

New service from Manchester to Jerez from March 25th.

Source Airliner World September 2006

[Bumz_Rush]

before expanding....The Luton Gibraltar service has been a fiaso over the last few days, and nights.....see my posting on Gibraltar....

Bumz

[Carnethy]

Looks like Monarch are starting a weekly flight to Paphos from Edinburgh (not yet bookable on Monarch site but bookable on Airtours & MyTravel).
Can anyone confirm this? Not heard any official announcements yet but this is long overdue at EDI. Might annoy GSN a bit! lol.

[blazing_air]

Heard a rumour the other day, that Monarch would be starting a few charter services from MSE in 2007.
Anyone put this to bed or throw some light on it?

[airhumberside]

Looks like Monarch are starting a weekly flight to Paphos from Edinburgh (not yet bookable on Monarch site but bookable on Airtours & MyTravel).
Sounds like this is instead of positioning the EDI based aircraft to GLA to operate GLA-Paphos

blazing_air - I asume you mean charter flights other than the already announced Norfolk flights?

[blazing_air]

airhumberside

Yep this in addition to the Norfolk flights

[goldeneye]

Are the EDI-PFO flights not Charter flights for Airtours Holidays. So they should not really make a difference to Globspan.

[Monarch Man]

6 x 787-8's ordered for 2010,11,12.......more 767's or A330's in the mean time:ok:

[BMI701EGCC]

its great to see Monarch are moving forward with the 787, this should open new routes to the South America?

Well done Monarch and First Choice for that matter!!

[LBIA]

2 x MD11's have also been mentioned just lately on numerous forums. Both are set to be Ex Varig Machines.

Now don't hold me to it though.

[Easy Ryder]

Monarch Man, Where'd you get the news for the 787's?

[Localiser Green]

Was announced on the company website, formal announcement due tomorrow at 10:00.

[Easy Ryder]

Thanks LOC GRN....

Wow cant believe it. Woulda thought Airbus wouldve offered them the 350 for jack to get a launch customer in UK. Guess MYT can enjoy them...

I hope they get some interim 330's tho. If im to be forever stuck on the 'bus i wanna taste of some LH soon!

Something to look forward too anyways!

[PAXboy]

I have just made my first booking with Monarch LGW~GRX in September. I was preparing to say how good the on-line system was but marred by it not supporting the Firefox browser at 1.5.0.6 and having to restart in IE. All went smoothly until I was reading the E-receipt to see that I had not spotted the surcharge for using Mastercard. £4.95 which is, I think, more than FR?? The small print must have been very small!

Apart from that very nasty shock, it seems to have gone well, a friend has used this service and speaks well of them. We shall see!

[TartinTon]

The card fee is hardly hidden away given that it appears right next to the amount you have to pay!

From the payment screen:

amount:
(plus handling fee of GBP 4.95/EUR7.45
for Visa and Mastercard payments and
GBP 1.00/1.50 EUR for Switch/Maestro
or Visa Debit card payments, if applicable.
You can avoid paying this fee by using a
Solo or Electron card.)

[cargosales]

Was announced on the company website, formal announcement due tomorrow at 10:00.

Boeing have just confirmed the order for 6 aircraft, and purchase rights for a further 4.

Monarch CEO quoted as saying that with the 787's longer range they will operate to new destinations in the Americas, Asia and Africa.

[G-AZUK]

18/08/2006
Monarch announces order for Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners

Monarch Airlines has today announced that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner will form the core of its future long-haul fleet. Monarch’s shareholders have placed an order for six of the new aircraft, worth US$916 million at list prices, with purchase rights on a further four. The company’s current long-haul fleet is comprised of Airbus A330, A300 and Boeing 767 aircraft.

The 787 aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery from the end of 2010, incorporate revolutionary cabin designs and will offer passengers improved onboard comfort with wider seats, seat back monitors, improved air conditioning, bigger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting and an altogether enhanced environment.

Using 20% less fuel per passenger than similarly sized aircraft, the Boeing 787 is also designed for the environment with lower emissions and quieter takeoffs and landings.

Monarch’s CEO, Peter Brown commented, “After months of extensive evaluation, we are delighted to have concluded that the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is the ideal aircraft to replace Monarch’s existing fleet of wide-bodied aircraft. With delivery scheduled between 2010 and 2013, we are confident that their introduction into our fleet will provide us with an unbeatable product offering and greatly enhance the onboard passenger experience on our flights.”

Also commenting on the announcement, Marlin Dailey, senior vice president of Sales for Europe, Russia and central Asia, Boeing Commercial Airlines said, “The 787 has proven appeal in the long-haul leisure market, with faster cruise speeds enabling shorter sector times on flights. Monarch passengers will now be able to take advantage of these as well as benefiting from the cabin enhancements within the aircraft, making for an all-round improved flying experience.”

[fmgc]

I think that it is rather premature to say where they will be operated to, it all depends on the charter market at the time, and who knows what will be the flavour of the month in 2010 onwards?

[1DC]

Apologies if this the wrong thread but i would appreciate any information..
My godson is getting married in two weeks and then taking the 2030 Monarch flight to Male from LGW on September 3rd. his tour operator has advised that seats cannot be prebooked and if he and his new wife want to sit together they must check in early. They advise that check in for the flight opens at 0001 on September 3rd., this has got them a bit worried and they intend arriving at LGW at 1200 for the 2030 flight to try and get seats together. Can anyone advise what the chances of sitting together really are and what would be a realistic time to arrive at check in?

[Easy Ryder]

Why dont they chk in online? That way they dont have to waste hrs at the airport

[Mr @ Spotty M]

Easy Ryder
No on-line check in available for this flight.
You are only able to check in on-line at MAN & BHX and then only for scheduled flights.
1DC
I would not worry about the check in opening at midnight, that is the norm these days.
Most pax will not check in, until between 2 and 3 hours before the flight.:ok:

[PAXboy]

OK, so I missed the good news about the credit card sub. On to the next question for a first timer on Monarch ...

Food: Happy to buy on board but must one pre-order? What about the Vegetatian option? We are on a breakfast flight and the website has been helpful about telling me what I can expect to pay and what I get - but not about any action that would have to be taken in advance. IF there are no actions in advance, then I cannot see where they tell me that!

[TartinTon]

The food is not pre-bookable (in common with every other short-haul scheduled airline) and on their website where they tell you what is available (depending on the time of the flight departure) they point out the vegetarian options ( a green "V" for vegetarian )............:rolleyes: :ugh: :rolleyes:

[scruggs]

Any further news on which a/c Monarch will introduce as their interim aircraft? MD-11? More 767's or 330's?

Cheers,
eP.

[Easy Ryder]

Forget MD11, just a stupid rumor im sure.

Poss 330's but running into probs rgds crewing with caa as too many eng varients accross 320/21/330 fleets

So to sum up...NO! :{

[Jamie-Southend]

Anyone know what the delay is on MON342 from CAYO COCO - Cuba, currently showing a 9 hour delay.

[MANAGP]

Reactionary due to Hurricane Ernesto?

[LGS6753]

Today's Daily Telegraph reports that Monarch (and EasyJet) will be flying to Tangiers (Morocco) in 2007.

Nothing on the website yet.

[chipsbrand]

Does anyone out there know whether Monarch have any female flight deck crew and if so how many or what proportion of the flight deck force they represent?

[chipsbrand]

Looks like a very small number of female crew for an airline with nearly 30 aircraft. Has anyone asked the Equal Opportunities Commission to investigate?

[bycrewlgw]

I was told a while back (albeit maybe an unreliable source) that MON offered sponsorships to females who wished to become pilots not sure who true that is. Here at TOM I can only think of 3 female Captains and 5 F/Os. Shame really coz some of our best pilots are female!

BYCREWLGW

[Blighty Pilot]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I think someone was pulling your leg, did the same person tell you that the word "gullible" had been taken out of the English dictionary?? :ok:

[angels]

You piss-takers dig your own graves don't you.

To my knowledge 'gullable' was never in there.

You're pretty gullible falling for that one.....:}

[bycrewlgw]

Lol well I did say a maybe UNreliable source!!! What does gullable mean?:suspect:

[Monarch Man]

Just to clarify, Monarch is an equal opportunity employer, they don't however apply the PC fuzzy logic to candidates that other airlines/organisations do.
Crews are scored on ability, not race or sex :ok:

[DEFINED CONTRIBUTION]

Good job prospective MON crew don't get scored on sex Monarch Man....I've heard that you're not very good at it! :rolleyes:

[ATIS]

I think Monarch recently took on a couple more females. They also have quite a few non-whites, a lot more than the no. of females. I dunno whether there are many females that are applying for the positions.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

chipsbrand
Could the fact be that it is well known to all us males, that the typical female can not read a map to save there lives.
So maybe the problem is that most of the female applicants failed to turn up for the interviews because they simply got lost.
We all know how difficult it is to find Monarch's headquarters, Luton is very hard Airport to find without using all that high tech aircraft navigation equipment.:D

[angels]

Mr Spotty - suggest you duck to avoid incoming.

[TG345]

Lol well I did say a maybe UNreliable source!!! What does gullable mean?:suspect:

Gullable: vulnerable to attack by aggressive seabirds.

[Vicarious]

Monarch announced the launch of a daily route from LGW to MJV today
Flights commence on Thursday 3rd May 2007 next summer!

Hmmm.. First BHX, then LGW, where will be next for ZB??

[Fuel Crossfeed]

Hmmm.. First BHX, then LGW, where will be next for ZB??

Please please please somewhere other than Spain!!:{ :ugh:
Lets have some more longhaul:ok:

[kooyheier]

Well... it's no other longhaul destination.. but hey at least it isn't spain :}

15/12/2006
Monarch launches scheduled flights from London to Cyprus

- First low fares airline to operate scheduled flights to the Eastern Mediterranean –

Award winning low fares airline Monarch is to launch scheduled flights from London to Cyprus next year as the airline expands its network to the Eastern Mediterranean. The introduction of the four times per week service from London Luton to Larnaca will be the first low-cost scheduled flights to Cyprus from the UK, offering travellers the flexibility and low fares, not currently available through high fare flag carriers or on charter services.

Monarch’s new Larnaca service will commence on Monday 26 March 2007 with fares from £69.99 one way including taxes

Commenting on the introduction of services to Cyprus, managing director of Monarch’s scheduled services, Tim Jeans said, “We are delighted to be the first low fares airline to launch scheduled services to the Eastern Mediterranean, a market that has historically been dominated by the flag carriers and charter services.

“Cyprus Airways and British Airways have operated a high fares cartel to Cyprus for decades which we’ll break with our widely available, flexible low fares. Our new service will be warmly welcomed not just by the growing holiday and overseas property markets in Cyprus, but the 150,000 strong Greek-Cypriot community in London, who’ve been deprived of choice and low fares until now.

“Monarch’s onboard service is also perfectly placed to provide an ideal level of service for the four and a half hour flight time, with extra legroom seating, free inflight entertainment - including full length feature films and the provision of hot and cold food all available.”

Flights to Larnaca will operate on Monday, Tuesday*, Wednesday and Saturday using Airbus A321 aircraft with 213 seats.


Cheerio:cool:

[fmgc]

Doubt you will ever see ZB long haul.

[captaintrigger]

Hi I am just wondering does the B757 do any long haul from LGW?

What sort of routes does it do from LGW?

Cheers
CT

[Monarch Man]

Hi I am just wondering does the B757 do any long haul from LGW?

The short answer is no, although there is a little bit of ad-hoc stuff done from time to time, and the odd rescue flight.
Besides do you fancy 7 hours in a 235pax config?

[glamourgirl!]

any plans for monarch to replace these planes yet I remember working on them 10 years ago and they were very old then , they must be coming up to 25/30 yrs old?

[Monarch Man]

Yes, the company are looking for younger 757's, although they are as rare as a politician telling the truth I'm told.
What is likely to happen is that they will soldier on for a wee bit more, eventually being replaced by A321's and potentially the new Boeing narrowbody to allow mixed fleet flying with the 787's that will be arriving in 3-5 years.

[22/04]

As my (now ex) wife was pregnant with my daughter at the time the oldest 757 will I think be 24 in March, with NC and ND almost as old. Monarch seem to have looked after them though as they still appear to reliable. Anyone know how much longer they could theoretically and economically remain in service given their utlisation.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

22/04
At least another 10 years or more.

[SWBKCB]

Yes, the company are looking for younger 757's, although they are as rare as a politician telling the truth I'm told.

I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but looking at the number of airlines which would like one I'm expecting "shutting the 757 line" to appear on one of those "50 dumbest decisions ever" shows soon...:ok:

[fx-85ms]

where does Monarch base its 757 aircraft and what is the a/c allocation to the other bases?

[Monarch Man]

For this summer.

5 x 757 at LGW
1 x 757 at MAN
1 x 757 at EDI

:ok:

[mathers_wales_uk]

Does anyone know if Monarch will be adding any flights from CWL this year? or will it be the usual CWL - Orlando Sanford?

And does anyone know if they will change handling at CWL to Aviance instead of Servisair? as Aviance are the old Midland Airport Services (MAS) which ceased to operate at CWL.

Many Thanks

:ok:

[caaardiff]

Monarch aren't operating the CWL-SFB route this year. MyTravel and Thomas Cook (who chartered them for years) are now using TOM's seats.
So the only SFB flights this year will be TOM, and Travel City through Aug.

I'd love to see more of Monarch at CWL, short haul and long haul!

[CentreFix25]

What are the 3 x MON long haul aircraft doing different this Summer? NCL & CWL to SFB reduced gives a couple of long haul return flights elsewhere that they didnt do last Summer, where they headed?

[mathers_wales_uk]

Monarch aren't operating the CWL-SFB route this year. MyTravel and Thomas Cook (who chartered them for years) are now using TOM's seats.
So the only SFB flights this year will be TOM, and Travel City through Aug.

I'd love to see more of Monarch at CWL, short haul and long haul!

Thats a shame Monarch wouldn't be operating out of CWL, every SFB route from cardiff seem pretty full including the travel city direct. (would that still be operating considering it's an XL crew and they have pulled out of CWL?

[GW76]

every SFB route from cardiff seem pretty full including the travel city direct.
How do you know that...?

[mathers_wales_uk]

as i work at CWL it's just a shame to see monarch go. Remember travelling with them 10 years ago from CWL very nice company to travel with.

[caaardiff]

Dont worry... they'll be popping in for the rugby flights again soon!:ok:

[mathers_wales_uk]

yeah thats true i remember seeing two of them parked on echeo stands during the Heineken Cup Final in 06.

I like it when the rugby is on, makes CWL look like a proper airport for a change.

:ok:

[fx-85ms]

For this summer.

5 x 757 at LGW
1 x 757 at MAN
1 x 757 at EDI

:ok:

Hi Monarch Man,

do you know also where the rest of the aircraft are based? A320/A321s?

Thanks

[kala87]

Glad to see MON are getting many positive comments on this thread. My family has been flying LTN - Mahon with them every year since 1995, mostly on B757s. We've always enjoyed the flights, excellent cabin crews, very acceptable food (though not quite as good since they dropped Crown Service). Compared to BA Economy, I'd choose MON every time. Maybe the boys and girls at MON don't realise how good and customer-friendly they are.

Keep up the good work, just wished you flew to more destinations from LTN.

[Mr @ Spotty M]

fx-85ms.
A320 fleet 3 in MAN, 2 in LTN & 1 in LGW.
A321 fleet 4 in BHX, 3 in MAN, 2 in LTN & 2 in LGW.:ok:

[Hangar_9]

Where are the 767 and 330's based? :ooh:

[Mr @ Spotty M]

The norm is one A330 in LGW & one in MAN, with both a/c operating from other bases on and off during the week.
I understand that the B767 is MAN based this summer, but the long haul fleet is very fluid at the moment, l hear.:confused:

[FlyZB]

Mr @ Spotty M, your fleet listings for this summer show 11 321s. Presently I can only count 9. MARA, OJEG, OZBE, OZBF, OZBG, OZBH, OZBI, OZBL & OZBM. Are there 2 more A321 aircraft to join before the start of the summer season then?

[scotsunflyer]

FlyZB


OZBN - ex Bmi MIDK
OZBO - ex Bmi MIDM

One due end March other due May


Thread continued Here (http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/404910-monarch-2-a.html)