Air Canada have announced DUB=YUL (4 weekly) and increase YVR from 3 to 5 weekly and new 4 weekly SNN-YYZ wtih new B737 MAX.

https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2017-09 ... d-Montreal

More good news for DUB but excellent news for SNN considering their recently reported decline in passenger numbers! I do however sometimes wonder why we are not seeing EI being a little more proactive in going after new TATL route opportunities such as YUL (and YVR) rather than having to do battle with an established carrier if they ever introduce these destinations in the future.

Brilliant news , looks like the MAX and the forthcoming A321 neos have the potential to completely transform Irish aviation ,

Bit of a pity that EI never joined Star Alliance , unlikely IAG would allow it now

Galwayman wrote:

Brilliant news , looks like the MAX and the forthcoming A321 neos have the potential to completely transform Irish aviation ,

Bit of a pity that EI never joined Star Alliance , unlikely IAG would allow it now

Speaking of alliances...

It's been a while since I flew out of LAX using T2. Yesterday I was surprised to see that EI is still using it. During the infamous "terminal shuffle" this past spring signage showed it would relocate to the TBIT. Does anyone know why that hasn't happened?

Right now it is squarely in enemy territory with Skyteam carriers all around it. Even its assigned check-in area looks somewhat forlorn. It seems they should be located in closer proximity to the other IAG/oneworld carriers at TBIT and T4.

JAmie2k9 wrote:

Air Canada have announced DUB=YUL (4 weekly) and increase YVR from 3 to 5 weekly and new 4 weekly SNN-YYZ wtih new B737 MAX.

https://aircanada.mediaroom.com/2017-09 ... d-Montreal

It's terrific news! A second 737 Max t/a carrier from Ireland to North America and, interestingly, an aircraft of roughly the same capacity as the last one which operated this route, between 1966 and the late 1970s. Aer Lingus flew the route with 707s. I'd love to compare fuel burn and seat-mile costs. The 707 would have burned around 6,000kgs/hr; the 737 Max, probably around 3,500, so you can get some idea of how far things have come in terms of aircraft economics over the last 50 years!

I wonder if Air Transat will maintain or drop their once weekly Dublin-Montreal in S18, following on from AC's announcement today!

Skyblue39 wrote:

I wonder if Air Transat will maintain or drop their once weekly Dublin-Montreal in S18, following on from AC's announcement today!

TS are going to find it even harder to compete with AC now given their expansion. I hope it will not mean a withdrawal of all TS services as some have predicted.

Galwayman wrote:

,

Bit of a pity that EI never joined Star Alliance , unlikely IAG would allow it now

I wanted them to join some years back it would have suited them but of course everything has changed and they will do well in OW.

On anoter note It seems BA 125 stock is being used to issue AerClub redemptions.

LAXffDUB wrote:

Galwayman wrote:

.LAX T2- Does anyone know why that hasn't happened?

Right now it is squarely in enemy territory with Skyteam carriers all around it. Even its assigned check-in area looks somewhat forlorn. It seems they should be located in closer proximity to the other IAG/oneworld carriers at TBIT and T4.

There seem to have been a few last minute changes to the terminal moving schedule at LAX earlier this year, so much that conflicting locations showed up for some carriers on the web, doubtless leading to problems for some passengers. T2 seems to be the intended location for EI for some time at least, even if it is no great shakes.

Persons with an interest in FR employee rights, or really, really, bored might like to read today's decision of the ECJ concerning a case involving Belgian located FR personnel.

OA260 wrote:

Galwayman wrote:

,

Bit of a pity that EI never joined Star Alliance , unlikely IAG would allow it now

I wanted them to join some years back it would have suited them but of course everything has changed and they will do well in OW.

On anoter note It seems BA 125 stock is being used to issue AerClub redemptions.

What does that mean exactly?

Eirules wrote:

OA260 wrote:

Galwayman wrote:

,

Bit of a pity that EI never joined Star Alliance , unlikely IAG would allow it now

I wanted them to join some years back it would have suited them but of course everything has changed and they will do well in OW.

On anoter note It seems BA 125 stock is being used to issue AerClub redemptions.

What does that mean exactly?

Basically BA are issuing on behalf of Aer Lingus AerClub tickets via AVIOS. I would have thought they would be on 053 stock which is EI.

OA260 wrote:

Basically BA are issuing on behalf of Aer Lingus AerClub tickets via AVIOS. I would have thought they would be on 053 stock which is EI.

I wonder how that's going to work from an accounting perspective. Interesting info there! Or maybe it's an indication that there is going to be some kind of systems integration at some stage.

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/t ... 29020.html

Ryanair are recruiting cabin staff! I am firmly in the "why would anyone even bother" camp. However, i'd love to hear from people who are cabin crew for FR, and if they are a good company to work for. Charges include a registration fee of €500, and a course fee of €2,399 (if paid up front) or €2,999 (deducted from salaries over an 11-month period). I am in shock that these are the prices charged to join a company. "You can typically expect to earn approximately €900 to €1,400 per month after tax in your first year at most bases". From this perspective, i think BA and their mixed fleet might be in the same boat, or even a worse category!

KIRFlyer wrote:

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/ryanair-is-hiring-cabin-crew-heres-how-to-apply-and-what-you-could-earn-36129020.html

Ryanair are recruiting cabin staff! I am firmly in the "why would anyone even bother" camp. However, i'd love to hear from people who are cabin crew for FR, and if they are a good company to work for. Charges include a registration fee of €500, and a course fee of €2,399 (if paid up front) or €2,999 (deducted from salaries over an 11-month period). I am in shock that these are the prices charged to join a company. "You can typically expect to earn approximately €900 to €1,400 per month after tax in your first year at most bases". From this perspective, i think BA and their mixed fleet might be in the same boat, or even a worse category!

Quite a low wage, and amazing about charging the registration / training fee. Free holidays must be very worth it to some...

Wonder does the wage include "on target earnings" from the scratch cards?

KIRFlyer wrote:

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/ryanair-is-hiring-cabin-crew-heres-how-to-apply-and-what-you-could-earn-36129020.html

Ryanair are recruiting cabin staff! I am firmly in the "why would anyone even bother" camp. However, i'd love to hear from people who are cabin crew for FR, and if they are a good company to work for. Charges include a registration fee of €500, and a course fee of €2,399 (if paid up front) or €2,999 (deducted from salaries over an 11-month period). I am in shock that these are the prices charged to join a company. "You can typically expect to earn approximately €900 to €1,400 per month after tax in your first year at most bases". From this perspective, i think BA and their mixed fleet might be in the same boat, or even a worse category!

BA don't charge you for your training as it is done in house as opposed to FR who outsource it. Wages are not high for Cabin Crew at all. I remember a Mixed Fleet person telling me years ago that the entire wage for the year for them was £18,900 which was all in including flying pay. It's increased since then as their hourly flying pay rate has gone up a bit, but it's not all that much more.

Aer Lingus crew, even new crew, are on far better wages than that - I heard something in the region of €1,400 a fortnight in the hand. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. That puts them over €40,000 a year.

I was reading on another thread about ORD that there is a rumored ADD-ORD route in the works. If so we might see an extra ET fuel stop in the mornings.

RRTrent wrote:

I was reading on another thread about ORD that there is a rumored ADD-ORD route in the works. If so we might see an extra ET fuel stop in the mornings.

Flew on Ethiopian Airlines B788 from Dublin to Addis Ababa in Y class recently (connected onto Johannesburg) which was a very pleasant experience.
Second time I took this flight with ET and I really like them.....cabin crew super nice, as well as the food, coffee & wine!
Their low fares from Dublin to Los Angeles are also pretty popular....undercutting Aer Lingus in price all summer (€420 return including a checked bag), but with a much earlier departure from DUB.

Airport explains increase in noise over Santry

THE Dublin Airport Authority (daa) has said it’s doing its best to minimise aircraft noise at night over the Santry area.

Locals have complained of an increase in night flights in recent months, and the daa says it’s because some aircraft have to be diverted over the Santry area due to essential upgrade work on the main runway.

Local Fianna Fail councillor, Darragh Butler, passed on complaints to the daa, who responded with a detailed outline of why residents may have experienced an increase in noise on certain nights.

The authority says work on the main runway began last November and is due to continue at least until spring 2018.

“It can only be carried out in a narrow time frame at night between the hours of 11pm and 5am when the airport is least busy as the work requires the full closure of the main runway at Dublin Airport,” the response to Cllr Butler reads.

http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/norths ... er-santry/

---


Belfast airport revenues soar 12% on ‘Ryanair factor’

New routes behind improved performance at ‘real alternative to Dublin’

Belfast International Airport landed pre-tax profits of £611,000 for 2016 thanks to soaring passenger numbers last year.

The airport, which had posted a pre-tax loss of £1.6 million the previous year, said the number of passengers using the airport jumped by 17 per cent in 2016 to 5.2 million.

According to Belfast International Airport (BIA) the increase in passenger numbers delivered a 12 per cent boost to its turnover which increased from £31 million to £35 million in 2016.

Much of BIA’s improved performance is down to the “Ryanair factor” - the airline established a Belfast base in January last year and currently operates 14 routes from BIA.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/tra ... -1.3221397

Skyblue39 wrote:

RRTrent wrote:

Flew on Ethiopian Airlines B788 from Dublin to Addis Ababa in Y class recently (connected onto Johannesburg) which was a very pleasant experience.
Second time I took this flight with ET and I really like them.....cabin crew super nice, as well as the food, coffee & wine!
Their low fares from Dublin to Los Angeles are also pretty popular....undercutting Aer Lingus in price all summer (€420 return including a checked bag), but with a much earlier departure from DUB.

It hadn't crossed my mind to use them to get to South Africa. Now that's a good idea. Great to hear they're both worth it and really nice on board. I'd love try them sometime to be fair. Let's hope they continue to come via Dublin!

ClassicLover wrote:

Skyblue39 wrote:

RRTrent wrote:

Flew on Ethiopian Airlines B788 from Dublin to Addis Ababa in Y class recently (connected onto Johannesburg) which was a very pleasant experience.
Second time I took this flight with ET and I really like them.....cabin crew super nice, as well as the food, coffee & wine!
Their low fares from Dublin to Los Angeles are also pretty popular....undercutting Aer Lingus in price all summer (€420 return including a checked bag), but with a much earlier departure from DUB.

It hadn't crossed my mind to use them to get to South Africa. Now that's a good idea. Great to hear they're both worth it and really nice on board. I'd love try them sometime to be fair. Let's hope they continue to come via Dublin!

Just be careful using ET to transit to South Africa or others, as far as I know you need a valid yellow fever cert

Eirules wrote:

ClassicLover wrote:

Skyblue39 wrote:

It hadn't crossed my mind to use them to get to South Africa. Now that's a good idea. Great to hear they're both worth it and really nice on board. I'd love try them sometime to be fair. Let's hope they continue to come via Dublin!

Just be careful using ET to transit to South Africa or others, as far as I know you need a valid yellow fever cert

''A Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is only required for travellers coming from – or who are in airport transit for more than 12 hours within – a country with risk of Yellow Fever transmission. ''

So in transit less then 12 hours ok . Usually its 3 hours for DUB-ADD-CPT/JNB.

Eirules wrote:

ClassicLover wrote:

Skyblue39 wrote:

It hadn't crossed my mind to use them to get to South Africa. Now that's a good idea. Great to hear they're both worth it and really nice on board. I'd love try them sometime to be fair. Let's hope they continue to come via Dublin!

Just be careful using ET to transit to South Africa or others, as far as I know you need a valid yellow fever cert

I didn't need a Yellow Fever Cert going to South Africa! No further requirement to have it.

OA260 wrote:

Airport explains increase in noise over Santry

THE Dublin Airport Authority (daa) has said it’s doing its best to minimise aircraft noise at night over the Santry area.

Locals have complained of an increase in night flights in recent months, and the daa says it’s because some aircraft have to be diverted over the Santry area due to essential upgrade work on the main runway.

Local Fianna Fail councillor, Darragh Butler, passed on complaints to the daa, who responded with a detailed outline of why residents may have experienced an increase in noise on certain nights.

The authority says work on the main runway began last November and is due to continue at least until spring 2018.

“It can only be carried out in a narrow time frame at night between the hours of 11pm and 5am when the airport is least busy as the work requires the full closure of the main runway at Dublin Airport,” the response to Cllr Butler reads.

http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/norths ... er-santry/

These works have been going on for the best part of a year now, by my reckoning. It's not ideal for those of us affected but it's really only when the wind is strong enough to require use of runway 34 (rather than the reciprocal 16) that aircraft route over part of Santry. There is probably a window of less than three hours at this stage (from about 0130 to 0430) when the airport is not reasonably active with arrivals during the night - a reflection of the overall level of traffic now and the high aircraft utilisation rates being achieved by EI and FR.

Runway work can be very slow - Northolt is about to close for eight months for runway repair, wonder where the Aer Corps will use for VIP and medevac flights then.

Bombardier have just announced 95 redundancies at the Shorts Belfast plant, slow sales of C series not helping.

dstc47 wrote:

Bombardier have just announced 95 redundancies at the Shorts Belfast plant, slow sales of C series not helping.

Although an even greater risk is looming :



DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill have written to US vice-president Mike Pence over the "very grave economic threat" facing Bombardier in Northern Ireland - which they warn could have repercussions for the peace process.

A comes amid a trade row between the US and Canada which could have a serious impact on Bombardier's more than 4,000 workers in the North.

It centres around an ongoing case, brought by US aviation giant Boeing, that the sale of Bombardier's aircraft, in particular its flagship C Series passenger jets, are being 'subsidised', in part, due to a $1bn bailout by the regional Quebec government.

A challenge by airline rival Boeing, if successful, could effectively price-out and cut off Bombardier's largest market, the US, and lead to hundreds of job losses.

It's already led to UK Prime Minister Theresa May speaking to US President Donald Trump over her concerns. She's also due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau next week.

Now, the leaders of Northern Ireland's two largest parties have written to the White House to say that if Boeing's case succeeds "this would have serious implications for the future of the C Series aircraft and Bombardier's Belfast operation".

http://www.independent.ie/business/jobs ... 29377.html

dstc47 wrote:

Runway work can be very slow - Northolt is about to close for eight months for runway repair, wonder where the Aer Corps will use for VIP and medevac flights then.

I live around the corner and had no idea this was happening! It's a busy little airport, much busier than it used to be. I often see the Aer Corps fly over on its visits here, even the CASA has made an appearance a few times.

Vilnius Airport in Lithuania had an interesting way around lengthy runway works, they simply closed the entire airport and moved all operations to Kaunas, about 100km up the road. The resurfacing of the runway and all associated works took just over a month this summer with Kaunas setting up temporary terminals, it's own works to taxiways, stands and roads in the preparation for the big move. It worked incredibly well but passenger numbers and aircraft movements are far lower in Lithuania's two main airports, VNO with 3m annually and KUN just 740,000 a year.

Wouldn't quite work in Ireland, just imagine closing DUB and moving everything to SNN in peak summer!

Wouldn't quite work in Ireland, just imagine closing DUB and moving everything to SNN in peak summer![/quote]

And why not Cork - now we have flights to America......................................

Ryanair cancelling '40 to 50 flights a day' for six weeks

http://news.sky.com/story/ryanair-cance ... s-11037187

OA260 wrote:

Ryanair cancelling '40 to 50 flights a day' for six weeks

http://news.sky.com/story/ryanair-cance ... s-11037187

Cancellations have been building for a few weeks apparently, Ryanair blamed everything from weather, air traffic delays and French strikes but earlier this week the media in France rebutted the claims and suggested it was down to Ryanair's lack of crews which comes just days after Norwegian claimed they'd taken on larger numbers of Ryanair pilots in recent months. Those comments from Norwegian were triggered by Michael O'Leary's prediction of Norwegian being "gone" in 4-5 months and things seems to have snowballed from there.

Ryanair's own press release still blames air traffic restrictions, French strikes and bad weather (thunderstorms) as being the cause for their poor on time performance and the reason why they need to cut 2% of their schedule everyday in order to recover their punctuality scores. The need to adjust their holiday year is pinned on the IAA.

http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryana ... nctuality/

Personally I think there's enough spin in this release to make you dizzy!

Interestingly, they also refer to passengers as "guests" just like a certain other Irish carrier which coincidently beat Ryanair's OTP every month last year.

ClassicLover wrote:

KIRFlyer wrote:

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/ryanair-is-hiring-cabin-crew-heres-how-to-apply-and-what-you-could-earn-36129020.html

Ryanair are recruiting cabin staff! I am firmly in the "why would anyone even bother" camp. However, i'd love to hear from people who are cabin crew for FR, and if they are a good company to work for. Charges include a registration fee of €500, and a course fee of €2,399 (if paid up front) or €2,999 (deducted from salaries over an 11-month period). I am in shock that these are the prices charged to join a company. "You can typically expect to earn approximately €900 to €1,400 per month after tax in your first year at most bases". From this perspective, i think BA and their mixed fleet might be in the same boat, or even a worse category!

BA don't charge you for your training as it is done in house as opposed to FR who outsource it. Wages are not high for Cabin Crew at all. I remember a Mixed Fleet person telling me years ago that the entire wage for the year for them was £18,900 which was all in including flying pay. It's increased since then as their hourly flying pay rate has gone up a bit, but it's not all that much more.

Aer Lingus crew, even new crew, are on far better wages than that - I heard something in the region of €1,400 a fortnight in the hand. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. That puts them over €40,000 a year.

I've also read/heard horror stories about the wages Mixed fleet crews receive. I find it shocking/embarrassing that an airline like BA(legacy carrier) can pay some of their staff so poorly. As for EI, I would also be shocked if that was also true. Sounds like an excellent pay packet if true! Why were they striking the past few years?

As for FR and their cancelling of flights, and their reasoning, it all sounds very "the current White House administration" and Kelly-Anne Conway's "alternative facts" line. How gullible to they think the general public are! Unfortunately, its the gamble we all take when we book to fly with FR. The Irish Times have also picked up on the story. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland ... -1.3222946

I had a really good flight with IBX MAD-DUB the other day. Flight was packed and Id say around 80% connections from the wider IB network. Decent meal and crew were great. Would love to see a similar product on EI they are missing it on key routes.







Was also nice to see the KLM SkyTeam livery on arrival at DUB too.

Could FR not just say the reason for cancelling flights is due to an administrative/HR f*** up and be done with it? The cancelling of flights "to improve our on time performance" line is probably doing more harm than good. When I first heard this on the radio yesterday (minus the actual reason-to fulfil crew annual leave requirements) it sounded so stupid and I'm sure most impacted passengers would prefer to have their flight delayed rather than cancelled outright just for the sake of improving FR's punctuality stats.

And I think passengers would also like to be told of their rights in this situation - something that FR does not seem to have done. Cue EU Commission Investigation and fines?

Aer Lingus marketing should fully capitalise on this cock up from Ryanair. If it was the other way around, you can bet your bottom dollar that FR would have adverts splashed across all channels of media bashing EI and bigging themselves up....

Wedding party left stranded after Ryanair cancellations
via The Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland ... -1.3224148

Stories of the distruption that Ryanair have caused, and this is to continue until the end of October! Somehow I don't think FR will care as people will continue to book with them once all of this is done and dusted.

I've got some FR flights booked for the end of the week, which I'm a bit concerned about. I suppose EU261 would make rebooking more affordable.

It's a disgrace they won't say what flights are cancelled until 2 days before. Presumably they are just going to chop the worst performing 2-3% of flights on a given day. If they are serious about leave, etc surely routes like DUB-MAN which have multiple rebooking options would be better than (say) one of the 2-3 times a week routes and giving customers/guests/self loading freight more time to rearrange their plans.

BrianDromey wrote:

I've got some FR flights booked for the end of the week, which I'm a bit concerned about. I suppose EU261 would make rebooking more affordable.

It's a disgrace they won't say what flights are cancelled until 2 days before. Presumably they are just going to chop the worst performing 2-3% of flights on a given day. If they are serious about leave, etc surely routes like DUB-MAN which have multiple rebooking options would be better than (say) one of the 2-3 times a week routes and giving customers/guests/self loading freight more time to rearrange their plans.

I wonder if you have a flight booked in say... Mid October, will FR allow you cancel and offer a refund instead of waiting until 48 hrs before dept to find out if its been chopped? leaving you needing to book a flight with another airline at short notice and cough up €€€

ClassicLover wrote:

Skyblue39 wrote:

RRTrent wrote:

Flew on Ethiopian Airlines B788 from Dublin to Addis Ababa in Y class recently (connected onto Johannesburg) which was a very pleasant experience.
Second time I took this flight with ET and I really like them.....cabin crew super nice, as well as the food, coffee & wine!
Their low fares from Dublin to Los Angeles are also pretty popular....undercutting Aer Lingus in price all summer (€420 return including a checked bag), but with a much earlier departure from DUB.

It hadn't crossed my mind to use them to get to South Africa. Now that's a good idea. Great to hear they're both worth it and really nice on board. I'd love try them sometime to be fair. Let's hope they continue to come via Dublin!

For some reason I'm being quoted here, but for the sake clarity it appears to be an a.net anomaly as I've never flown ET.... or a 788 for that matter lol!

iRISH251 wrote:

These works have been going on for the best part of a year now, by my reckoning. It's not ideal for those of us affected but it's really only when the wind is strong enough to require use of runway 34 (rather than the reciprocal 16) that aircraft route over part of Santry. There is probably a window of less than three hours at this stage (from about 0130 to 0430) when the airport is not reasonably active with arrivals during the night - a reflection of the overall level of traffic now and the high aircraft utilisation rates being achieved by EI and FR.

I noticed last night that 28 was in use after 11pm... I watched 2 EI flights land last night on FR24.

Cancellations for the next few days :

https://www.ryanair.com/content/dam/rya ... celled.pdf

https://www.ryanair.com/content/dam/rya ... celled.pdf

https://www.ryanair.com/content/dam/rya ... celled.pdf

Row erupts over Aer Lingus pension pot

A major row has broken out at Dublin Airport over a special pot of pension money that is being shared out among Aer Lingus workers.
About 2,300 staff will receive their share of a €100m-plus pension pot, known as Pot B, which is now being wound up.
Staff will receive on average €40,000 each from the special supplementary pension. It was established eight years ago with a €34m Exchequer payment to compensate workers for the Aer Lingus flotation and to prop up its then ailing defined benefit pension fund.

Pot B's investment performance has been strong - up €14m in 2015 alone - leaving members with a big return on their 2pc of salary contributions over the last eight years, further boosted by a 4pc contribution from Aer Lingus. Each worker's total share is now to be transferred into their new defined-contribution schemes.

http://www.independent.ie/business/iris ... 38945.html

---

Ryanair loses 140 pilots to Norwegian Air as travel chaos continues

So far in 2017 Ryanair has lost 140 pilots to Norwegian Air, as passengers continue to be affected by the budget airline's plans to scrap up to 50 flights a day until the end of October.
As the airline battles to fill positions, it is understood that Ryanair has commenced offering pilots a €10,000 "signing-on bonus" the Irish Independent reports.
The airline has blamed a number of factors including changes to staff rosters and air traffic control strikes for the cancellation of dozens of flights for the next six weeks.

However the Irish Independent reports that recruitment problems are also affecting the low-cost airline.
Earlier this month Norwegian Air confirmed it's to open a new pilot base in Dublin later this year, which will initially include around 40 pilots.

http://www.independent.ie/business/iris ... 41910.html

Aer Lingus not having a good day at ACE. Passengers delayed since yesterday and had to sleep on floor in Terminal . Passengers saying that no one from Aer Lingus liaising with ground handler at ACE and no information being given. CS-TQP a 332 operated the flight down but 779 was cancelled then finally operated this afternoon landing around 1640.

OA260 wrote:

Aer Lingus not having a good day at ACE. Passengers delayed since yesterday and had to sleep on floor in Terminal . Passengers saying that no one from Aer Lingus liaising with ground handler at ACE and no information being given. CS-TQP a 332 operated the flight down but 779 was cancelled then finally operated this afternoon landing around 1640.

I find it terrible when Irrops occur and there is some kind of break in communication between the relevant parties. It's pretty poor... either the contracts with the ground handlers need to define responsibility unequivocally or the airline must swing into action immediately to ensure passengers are accommodated. Sleeping on the floor of a terminal is real shit show.

Ryanair shouldn't be loosing so many Pilots to Norwegian specifically.
If they are loosing pilots they should be loosing them to everyone. Norwegian may be poaching specifically from Ryanair but to get Pilots to sign on the dotted line they must be paying really good moeny in addition to offering desirable planes/routes. Are they possibly paying too much?
I will say that I'd have no problems hiring anyone working(any position) for Ryanair; they knew going in to the Ryanair job they were putting themselves in the way of hard work and if they are still working for Ryanair they are able to handle hard work.

Hearing that Icelandair (FI) will announce KEF-DUB scheduled service for 2018. Not sure about frequency or aircraft type but would assume B752 and daily, at least for Summer.

Further crisis looms for Ryanair as pilots threaten strike action

Passengers flying Ryanair face the possibility of further disruption, with pilots threatening to go on strike at the airline in a move that could result in additional flight cancellations.
Three meetings attended by over 120 pilots at Ryanair took place in Dublin yesterday during which a ballot for industrial action was discussed, the Irish Independent reports.

http://www.independent.ie/business/iris ... 46679.html

Aer Lingus seat charges!

Hi Folks.
Just reverting momentarily to the "new" EI regime on the Atlantic! I have just booked a return flight for two - DUB - MCO - DUB, leaving Ireland on 16th November. I tried to purchase my seats (ideally together) on-line, but only two standard seats are available on the out-bound - 24E and 38E. There are seventy five seats available at €60 a seat (each way). I queried this (on-line) with EI and got the following reply:

".......... However, at this time, the remaining seats on your outbound flight has no available free seats. You may select your seating when you check-in for your flight, either at the airport or using our Online Checkin system. We do offer (if available) Exit Row and Choice seats for a small additional fee.
Please be advised that we will be unable to collect payment for the advance seating fee by email. You may visit our website and select the My Trips option. As not all reservations can be retrieved online, if you are unable to perform this action on our website, please contact our team by phone......"

It seems that EI are either fully booked on these seats or are unwilling to earn €20 per seat by allowing me to book them now - the reply above is vague and contradictory! However another possibility is that they are trying to sell the €60 seats first and maybe then make the standard seats available (if I was suspicious I would say at €60 rather than €20!). There has been a lot of bad press recently about Ryanair and their seat charging methodology - however Ryanair are up-front about their seat charges and availability and seem customer driven on this. Possibly Michael could learn a few tricks from EI on this one......................

dergay wrote:

...There has been a lot of bad press recently about Ryanair and their seat charging methodology...

Remember that IB, another member of IAG, does exactly the same with the seats. The only surprise is that BA still doesn't....

dergay wrote:

Aer Lingus seat charges!

Hi Folks.
Just reverting momentarily to the "new" EI regime on the Atlantic! I have just booked a return flight for two - DUB - MCO - DUB, leaving Ireland on 16th November. I tried to purchase my seats (ideally together) on-line, but only two standard seats are available on the out-bound - 24E and 38E. There are seventy five seats available at €60 a seat (each way). I queried this (on-line) with EI and got the following reply:

".......... However, at this time, the remaining seats on your outbound flight has no available free seats. You may select your seating when you check-in for your flight, either at the airport or using our Online Checkin system. We do offer (if available) Exit Row and Choice seats for a small additional fee.
Please be advised that we will be unable to collect payment for the advance seating fee by email. You may visit our website and select the My Trips option. As not all reservations can be retrieved online, if you are unable to perform this action on our website, please contact our team by phone......"

It seems that EI are either fully booked on these seats or are unwilling to earn €20 per seat by allowing me to book them now - the reply above is vague and contradictory! However another possibility is that they are trying to sell the €60 seats first and maybe then make the standard seats available (if I was suspicious I would say at €60 rather than €20!). There has been a lot of bad press recently about Ryanair and their seat charging methodology - however Ryanair are up-front about their seat charges and availability and seem customer driven on this. Possibly Michael could learn a few tricks from EI on this one......................

They probally are full and one or two rows blocked off for aircraft changes etc, all remaining seats will be free at check in so you should get a good seat for nothing.

The difference with Ryanair is they deliberately separate passengers, EI will for example seat a booking of 3 in a full row and not spread them out over 3 if they don't pay for seats. The only time this may not happen would be if a high volume of passengers have paid to pre book in advance and a full row etc is not available.

If you look at the following two Thursdays they have cheap seats available even full rows. The Saver and Smart tickets only include those seats where most Y passengers book hence why its so full. MCO also gets a lot of block bookings. The rest are assigned at check in for those who don't pay extra.

BTW the pink seats are 40, blue exit rows are 60.