Re: Ryanair accused of inaction over racist incident on FR9015 flight from BCN to STN

I suspect there's also a bit of a cultural element, whereas to a Spanish native speaker (presumably the crew / airport authorities) this looks like a very rude passenger, it would for sure be classed as a racially abusive exchange in the UK. Ironically enough I also experienced a racially abusive pa...

Re: Flybe losses much greater than expected - shares tank.

I hope they can turn it around. FlyBe is the only large independent regional airline I know of. But it's certainly a difficult business model. Not to mention they also serve markets hardly anyone else will consider serving such as the smaller UK regional airports, places such as the Isle of Man (ad...

Re: Aegean announces ATH to IBZ, SJJ and VLC

Interesting. I wonder what’s the main market with Ibiza to Athens - Greek tourism to Ibiza or the other way around. No shortage of beaches and beautiful islands in Greece so maybe predominantly Spanish tourism to Athens and onward connections? Aegean connects a lot of people from nearby countries t...

Re: Laudamotion to double Airbus fleet following completion of Ryanair deal

The livery is great, the format is also in keeping with the Ryanair livery (billboard style with logo on the tail). Say what you want about the business but I think the Ryanair Group definitely has the best liveries among the European LCCs! Very smart compared to easyJet, Wizz, Vueling etc...

Re: Aegean announces ATH to IBZ, SJJ and VLC

Interesting. I wonder what’s the main market with Ibiza to Athens - Greek tourism to Ibiza or the other way around. No shortage of beaches and beautiful islands in Greece so maybe predominantly Spanish tourism to Athens and onward connections?

Re: Does Flybe have a future?

I saw a quote somewhere, it might have been said by the previous CEO, that you'd have to establish an airline that fulfills Flybe's role if it did not exist. By the nature of geography, Britain needs regional air connectivity. Places like the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, South Wes...

Re: BMI regional being rebranded as Flybmi?

TC957 wrote:

Perhaps Flybe and fly BMI should merge to create a real force in regional UK air transportation. Or Flybe make them a franchise partner.

Re: LCY-BUD to be launched by LOT

I'm not sure I agree that this is doomed to fail. The profile of services at LCY has changed in recent years. You have services with TAP to LIsbon and Porto, Alitalia to Rome and Milan, BA to Berlin, Prague and Reykjavik as well services to Palma and Ibiza etc. With the exception of Milan not of the...

Re: Vueling Austria to start operating in July with 14 destinations

I wouldn't book a flight with them, since I would not trust Vueling to get it all operationally working so soon. I booked flights when they launched LTN-ZRH, they cancelled the entire route 8 days prior. Also booked AMS-MAN last year, which got canned again. I remember reading a report about Vueling...

Re: Wizz Air closing bases incl. Prague

As for the Czechs, you seem to be also wrong. My own experience is that you rarely encounter Czechs anywhere in Western Europe and for instance this article for an EU foundation goes in the same line: https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-europe/news/working-abroad-unappealing-for-czechs/ This i...

Re: Wizz Air closing bases incl. Prague

They posted on Facebook about a month ago that they were recruiting in Prague for their Luton and Vienna bases so I am guessing that some of the Prague crews may go to those bases if they don't leave the company.

Re: Jet2 flies a 737 with one passenger !

These start/end of season flights are great. I flew SZG to SOU on Flybe at the very start of the ski season with only myself and another passenger onboard.

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Expanding the topic, with the increase in BoB nowadays, where do the airlines stand regarding the licensing laws? Most, if not all, require premises where alcohol is sold to be licensed, and, I believe ,in the UK that a licensed person is on the premises when it is sold. In the UK the Licensing Act...

Re: easyJet pick Austria for the new AOC

I wonder if the safety briefings will have to be carried out in German? Not a requirement everywhere but might be the case with Austria.

Re: Be big or go home: Ryanair adds more than 200 routes for W17

Loads of markets still to play in - I think their bases in Eastern European have a lot of potential for connections to places like the UAE, Gerogie, Armenia, Azerbaijan etc if they can secure traffic rights.

Re: Frankfurt Considering New Low Cost Pier - 2018?

That sounds pretty ambitious. Frankfurt area is not a very touristic area and its main O&D traffic comes from business and VFR. Maybe most of the LC traffic is for Germans in the area going on vacations. Business and VFR traffic doesn't exclusively fly legacy you know! Most of my intra-Europe b...

Re: What's Happened to Vueling's AMS/MAN Flights?

Armodeen wrote:

MAN - AMS is still like 14 daily or something. Just take the refund and rebook.

Re: What's Happened to Vueling's AMS/MAN Flights?

Vueling is useless. I was booked on their Luton - Zurich service last year which was cancelled at short notice and now my flight from Amsterdam to Manchester has been rerouted via Barcelona with a 40 minute connection in peak summer. Quite frankly i would not trust Vueling to get me anywhere, I rebo...

Re: Wizz Air Announces New London Luton Base

Do they presently have crews from Eastern European bases that overnight in Luton and fly out the next day or do they already have crews that live in the Luton vicinity? Wizz don't currently have any crew permanently based out of Luton. In past Summer seasons, an A320 with crew from different bases ...

Re: Forbes: British Airways struggles with BoB

Most of the complaints so far have been around the logistics which will no doubt be ironed out quite quickly. The European majors all followed each other in terms of adding extra seats to short haul aircraft and offering basic fares with no baggage allowance. LH will be watching this very closely. ...

Re: Forbes: British Airways struggles with BoB

Didn't GB Airways and BA Connect have BOB? Nopes GB offered the same product as mainline including CE, however BA Connect did have BOB for the short time it existed. Actually GB Airways did BoB on their routes from MAN for a short while before they were sold to easyJet and they were branded as BA C...

Re: Why no WizzAir & WOW at MAN?

I just think with Wizz that eastern europe is a market that can be better served from MAN Ryanair covers Eastern Europe fairly well from MAN - but there's probably room for Wizz at both LPL and MAN as they both serve large cities and the wider North West. Wizz at DSA I've always found interesting, ...

Re: DY to Launch EDI-NYC (SWF?) in Summer 2017, No LGW-SWF?

Reading the above thread made me think of the infamous Frankfurt Hahn which has the poorest connection to the city it serves I've ever encountered in Europe, and I am pretty sure there is only one small hotel. Yet the ULCC flights now pull in millions each year, so if the price is right I guess...

Re: BA at MAN

MAN-TFS would be up against multiple daily frequencies from Jet2, Monarch, easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling, Norwegian, Thomas Cook and Thomson. IAG cover the route through Vueling. Not sure a BA 772 has a chance!

Re: Eurowings new routes at PMI

Yet another LCC establishing a base in PMI; summer 2017 will see Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet, Norwegian and now Eurowings basing aircraft and crews at this leisure hub.

I suspect Eurowings will overtake Air Berlin with ease, AB has lost its relevance and fades from its core markets.

Re: BA at MAN

With Vueling rumoured to be setting up a base at Manchester, and the bases at Paris and Barcelona in particular also, could be a perfect fit for connections onto long haul flights. At MAN, Vueling is currently about the same size as Norwegian - now might be the right time to establish a small base ...

Re: Is easyJet strategy to become a real mess in the future?

So are they going to leave every main route and airport in Europe? (since FR and DY sooner or later will start any of them). I personally think you overestimate Norwegian's competitiveness against easyJet. Norwegian has time and time again failed to disturb easyJet - DY's LPL-CPH route was a disast...

Re: Infight Punch up on Ryanair jet - Video

Brussels to Malta?

..and I thought it was only Brits and Irish that caused trouble on flights as some here on this forum would have you believe

Re: Ryanair starting FRA? Will the empire strike back?

FR recruits from around Europe and a lot of the recruits are pretty young and without commitments so are happy to live in shared flats etc, they won't have a problem recruiting for the FRA base if they could recruit for their bases in Norway which is far more expensive.

Re: Claim It Threatens To Ground A Vueling Aircraft

Vueling is a terrible airline, they should be stripped of their operating license. The fact that they are allowed to codeshare with other IAG airlines such as BA is worrying. I'd rate their service well below Ryanair, who at the very least are reliable and don't cancel flights because of poor planni...

Re: Claim It Threatens To Ground A Vueling Aircraft

It would serve them bl**dy right. They run a shambolic operation... consistently late departures and a high number of cancellations.... If you get stranded by VY just pray your gods, or if you can, just don't bother with them and buy a new ticket (with another airline!) outright! I am too very surp...

Re: Transavia - Is this Europe next big LCC

Transavia have their niche as the European leisure carrier for AF-KL but I can't see them setting up bases in aggressively fought LCC markets like Spain and and Central and Eastern Europe. I must admit I didn't realise they had quite such a large fleet though. In my opinion, the LCCs in Europe to wa...

Re: Ryanair New Interior MAN-STR Video Report

Thanks for the video! The new interior is rather nice, although they've still kept a cheeky bit of yellow!

Nice catch with the birds too

Re: 30 Hours of chaos, courtesy of Monarch

Sounds like quite a memorable experience, it must be hard work for the handling agents to sort out problems like this late at night. It seems that Monarch did quite well under the circumstances, although I'm sure many people will say they won't be flying with them etc. Poo happens as they say! I reg...

Re: Jet2 to open London base

catering to pensioners and factory workers looking to go on holiday :lol: Although it must be said that not everyone in Northern England works in a factory. I've flown with Jet2 about six times and I work in an office... :mrgreen:. However, you're right they do tend to aim their product towards low...

Re: Jet2 to open London base

Good news. I like Jet2. They seem to be falling somewhere in between a LCC and the old traditional charter carriers. They provide all-inclusive packages of a decent quality, and they offer reliable friendly service. I only fear that someone will not be happy about their bold move in their home turf...

Re: London - Manchester (no competing airline)

If travelling point-to-point, the Virgin train is the preferred option as it takes just over 2 hours and departs every 20 minutes from very early until very late, running from Manchester City Centre to Central London and offers a mix of cheaper advance non-flexible tickets (from around £8) and more ...

Re: Should pax be required to give their name to report a concern

If onboard an aircraft, those reporting concerns can be identified by name from the passenger manifest and seat number so I'm not sure what relevance this has in this situation. In the UK there's a long and successful tradition of people being able to report things anonymously to authorities in cert...

Re: Easyjet crew argument causes 90 min delay

I think easyJet displayed extraordinary professionalism here by prioritising passenger safety over on-time performance, I bet not every airline would take similar action over a minor disagreement like this. We'd have to know the full story, including why these water bottles couldn't be stacked in a ...

Re: Bizarre Experience at PMI

i like immigration in Spain as it's almost always fast. PMI does get some non-EU/EEA flights (mostly Russia/Ukraine or North Africa) but they'll know when those flights are arriving.