Ryanair at Leuchars?

[Lionel Lion]

Heard on the mate-vine that Ryanair are considering several mil bases for ops. Leuchars was the one mentioned, but how about Brize for London? Don't see why not at Brize for third party revenue generation, but 737s vs F3s in the circuit?

Anybody heard any more?

[PPRuNe Radar]

The matevine ??

Get them to read PPRuNe ;)

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52970

[BEagle]

There would have to be some very substantial investment in infrastructure if a civil airline were to operate scheduled services from Brize. Things like car parks, check-in facilities, shops, bars, restaurants, airbridges, customs and excise, immigration......

Can you really see all the great unwashed queuing up at the Pizza Hut whilst Plod laboriously issues them with car passes? Or any airline accepting the usual wait for ground crew, movers, steps, transport..... No - there is no way Brize could support 21st century airline operations unless huge investment was forthcoming.......

[xyz_pilot]

BEgale

FR would be fine at Brise.

Remember that they dont give a **** about the customer. They can q all day out on the tarmac in the rain for all FR care. All they want from an airport is a small bill. I fact the boss has been quoted as saying that airports should pay to have FR bring them pax.

[brit bus driver]

BEagle old chap...

Was in Beauvais/Tille last week, oobviously used as Ryanair's "Paris" destination - same country I suppose.

Facilities:

One snack bar (le snack-bar) serving jambon-fromage baguettes at 3 Euro a pop, a Hertz rental desk and half a dozen taxis. The terminal had been expanded by means of a small semi-rigid marquee. Oh, there was a small DF shop.

Austere, but do you think those bods paying 25 quid a ticket really care? Come to Brize, says I ....save me the drive next year!!

:D :D

[TheSeeFarShadow]

According to the 'Press & Journal' (North Scotland local newspaper), RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Kinloss (sorry, Kinloss PLC) have also been mentioned with Kinloss Airport seeming to be the more likely if it all goes ahead. Ryanair are waiting for an offer.

Any chances of miitary discount ?? (Don't want it though if it's the same as BA's military discount - more expensive than normal tickets)

All we'd need then would be some leave so we could get away.

[Megaton]

I rang the BA military hotline expecting some good deal negotiated on our behalf by whichever purple orgainzation has our interests at heart and guess what? Saved several hundred quid by booking the same flight online on the BA website. So big thanks (NOT) to whoever is looking after the welfare of the Serviceman.

[The Apprentice]

Nothing new here, Gutersloh although essentially a disussed runway being an Army base now, uses a civilian contact to bring in business jets and therefore maintain the runway free.

Your right though RA don`t give a monkeys arse about there pacs. but then at that price maybe a bus ride is all you are paying for. A relative flew to Germany and landed at a disussed USAF base, £35 a head. Got rental car and left, what more do you really want ?

[Gainesy]

App, That'd be their Hahn-posing-as-Frankfurt service?

[Mister B]

Here's some background on the use of military (government) aerodromes by civilian operators:

NOTAM (Civ)

GOVERNMENT AD: Civil use of: Ref AIP AD 1.1.1 para 12.11, following AD are hereby notified in addition to those listed at AD 1.3 for the purposes of articles 101(1) (B) and 102 of the Air Navigation Order 2000: EGUB; EGDM; EGVN; EGDC; EGXG; EGWC; EGYD; EGDR; EGXD; EGWN; EGQL; EGXU; EGOD; EGDL; RAF MONA (was EGOQ); EGDG; EGOS; EGOV; EGUW; EGOY; EGDY. Refer to GEN 2.4 for location indicator decodes and GEN 3.2.3 for details of RAF AIDU, supplier of info on these AD. AD 1-1-4 refers. (A356/02) (PERM)


CAP 32 - UK Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP, aka "The Air Pilot"), Part 3 - Aerodromes, AD 1.3. Government Aerodromes are available as notified by the above NOTAM, but currently not listed in the AIP (removed by the Nov 2001 amendment). A revised (shortened?) list is to be reinstated in the AIP in the near future and may or may not include all, some or none of the NOTAM listed aerodromes.


CAP 393 - The Air Navigation Order, ANO Article 102:

Use of Government and CAA aerodromes

102 The CAA may cause to be notified subject to such conditions as it thinks fit:

(a) any aerodrome owned or managed by it; and

(b) with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, any Government aerodrome;

as an aerodrome available for the take-off and landing of aircraft engaged on flights for the purpose of the public transport of passengers or for the purpose of instruction in flying or of any classes of such aircraft.


Here’s a decode of the available government aerodromes for those couch potatoes who can't reach for the FIH:

EGUB Benson
EGDM Boscombe Down
EGVN Brize Norton
EGDC Chivenor
EGXG Church Fenton
EGWC Cosford
EGYD Cranwell
EGDR Culdrose
EGXD Dishforth
EGWN Halton
EGQL Leuchars
EGXU Linton-on-Ouse
EGOD Llanbedr
EGDL Lyneham
RAF MONA (was EGOQ)
EGDG St Mawgan
EGOS Shawbury
EGOV Valley
EGUW Wattisham
EGOY West Freugh
EGDY Yeovilton


As to the lack of pax handling facilities and comforts - take a look at Newquay/St Mawgan where the self-loading is ejected/boarded on a taxiway (where fuelling, maintenance, etc are also carried out) with nary a terminal shed to speak of. There are at least 7 scheduled flights a day (mostly RA, I think), and I would estimate that there are about 80-100 thou pax movements a year.

Mind you, looking at the list of aerodromes, it should be fairly obvious which ones may not reappea at the next AIP amendment.

[Big Tudor]

Seem to recall when Britannia operated through Gutersloh they used the airstairs at the front door of the B737 rather than wait for ground stairs. Very nifty.

[Lt Manuel Hung]

Nothing unusual about using airstairs - it's SOP at Easyjet, Go etc. Anything to save a few quid (or more to the point, a few minutes)

[BEagle]

They used to use the '146 airstairs on buzz 146s as well. But for some reason they often bug.ger about with fingers at STN these days....why? The punters just want to get out and poke off!

[Cesspit 152]

Would this be a government ploy to get a pretty penny out of mil. airfields over a period of time? - Surely operating carriers like Ryanair out of Leuchars would generate f-all profit and it would be yet another white elephant? (Hate to be sceptical about the government in every case, but it is getting hard to see exactly what they do for the average Joe Bloggs)

On the other hand: with civi carriers flying in and out of mil. airfields in the future, any chance of me getting a touch & go at Leuchars in a Warrior? ....(Thought not)

The airstairs are pretty nifty, how did they squeeze them in there?!? Hats off to whoever designed the mechanical bits & bobs behind it all.

[spectre150]

Didnt a commercial company operate in and out of Bruggen a few years back - thinking about it that was for military pax durrr.

A larger scale civvy operation could be mounted from an enclave on the airfield with its own facilities and access /security entirely seperate from the military infrastructure. Of course it wouldnt be the same without UKMAMS ........