no, no, no

I've just seen schedules for a new Irish loco - FreshAer - which has them starting STN-DUB, MAN-DUB/ORK/KIR, BHX-ORK/DUB, all x4 except BHX-ORK & MAN-KIR. All operating on 757's.......

Also applied for LHR slots but surprisingly didn't get them....

Start date planned in May.

Has anyone else heard about this? Be interesting to see them up against RyanAir.......

brabazon

If this is serious then the BIG question is WHY?

Ryanair deal very swiftly with competition on their routes - remember what happened when go started operating to DUB from GLA and EDI and at that time neither Scottish airport was served by FR. Suddently FR recinded its policy of not operating from EDI and started operations at low fares and its PIK flights suddenly were at lower fares. One of go's worst decisions and they soon pulled off the routes.

For anyone to seriously start operating in direct competition with FR they must have money to burn or little commercial sense or both!!

VIKING9

Is there any connection with this and Euroceltic about to go to the wall !!!!

Cyrano

See
Discussion on this subject from a week or two ago

no, no, no

There was a press release in Jan 01 about them starting up

http://www.castlebar.ie/newsetc/pressrelease.html

but for some reason they never got off the ground.

They do have a website http://www.freshaer.com although this has nothing on except a phone no.

Joe Curry

>>Suddently FR recinded its policy of not operating from EDI <<

And EDI-DUB is now one of FR's busiest routes.

babydoc

There's more information on the website now including a prospectus.

Plans to have 18 757s within 30 months flying from Dublin, Kerry, Cork, and Knock to Manchester, Birmingham, and London (Stansted and Gatwick).

Taking bookings from the start of April - begins flying at the start of July.

VIKING9

18 x 757's is a bit dramatic for an upstart surely ??

Cyrano

OK, I've read the prospectus. I've looked at the website. I am sceptical. I note that "a copy of the full financial projections covering the first five years of business may be obtained rom the Director of Finance upon request" and I think I'll be asking for it - based only on the scant numbers and cursory business case presented, I would not invest the head off my Guinness (sorry).

A couple of points if anyone from the company is reading this:
- the outline map of Europe on your website has clearly been "borrowed" directly from the map on Ryanair's website. Careful or MO'L will have you for copyright infringement.

- your "destinations" route map is a bit confusing. All of a sudden, Gatwick has appeared (services to Kerry and Dublin) but I see no reference to it elsewhere in your prospectus. Also, I can apparently fly from Kerry to Birmingham but not from Birmingham to Kerry.

That one I'm sure is just a glitch...
- ...but, rather more seriously, if Birmingham is on your agenda, then why (contrary to the statement in your prospectus) are there no post-handback slots held in your name at BHX? You state there that the IATA slot conference at Vancouver gave you slots for (among others) Dublin, Kerry, Cork and Knock to Birmingham. While this is true, I also know that as of last week you no longer hold any slots in Birmingham, and thus the impression given in your prospectus is a little misleading...no? Might the prospectus not need to be updated - you wouldn't want people investing based on out-of-date information, would you?

no, no, no

MAN-DUB? BHX-DUB? STN-DUB? LGW-DUB? STN-ORK??? Forget what the propsectus says - if people really beleive that Freshaer will be able to make in-roads against the might of Ryanair then they would be better spending the money on getting private help to check their head out.

Freshaer can not seriously believe that Ryan will just fall over and let them take market share from them? And there aren't too many more pax that can be stimulated on markets which are already saturated....

Also seen their future plans to operate STN-Milan, Frankfurt, Madrid, Malaga, Palma.... need I go on. Do they not think that the combination of easy and ryan is big enough??????

brabazon

Is this some sort of financial scam? Because I do not know any person with a reasonable knowledge of the current European air transport market, particularly where Ryanair are involved who would part with any money for this scheme.

Having said that if anyone can show me where we are wrong I am prepared to listen.

WHBM

Can't believe STN features seriously in their plans - they can't even spell it (see their website map where it is "Stanstead" throughout!).

JB007

My first thought was this smelt of a certain person who is now behind bars!!!!

18 B757's / A start-up airline going head to head with M'OL - got to be a huge wind-up!!!!

Seems to be run by someone called Tony Robinson. Isn't that Baldrick!???

VIKING9

"but I have a cunning plan"

Wing Commander Fowler

No my Lord.... 'tis I who has the Kunning Plan!

Press Button B

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/030213/250/dt67l.html

Off with their heads Baldrick!

brabazon

So,

FreshAer Airlines is a low-fair passenger airline !!!!!

This is funnier than the sit-com.

Cyrano

Well, happy to see that they've fixed the destination map on the website, so that it no longer rips off the Ryanair one, now spells Stansted correctly, and fixes the Kerry-Birmingham glitch.

Oh, and let's not forget the value of a press release about a lawsuit as a "low-fair" form of publicity...

brabazon

Indeed this was "low fair" publicity, but it only serves to throw up more questions about their business sense in going head-head with the most aggressive low-fare competitors in the European airline industry.

Has anything appeared in the Irish press on this, it would be interesting to read what the reaction of any business commentators in Dublin is.