Aviation Discussion

[atillathehunn]

I am confused how the new policy is still causing delays. Or was it not making enough money?

I just don't bother with Ryanair at all to be fair unless I have to. Admittedly they do serve some rather interesting destinations that otherwise are quite hard to get to. But for now EasyJet, FlyBe (occasionally find cheap flights), Aer Lingus and Jet2 fly everywhere I generally need to. Or close enough that I can plan a nice European railway journey into my trip. I take the financial consequences of that decision and so be it...

On the nail with no making enough money. That and the huge compensation payouts that they are being forced to pay.

Don't always have the luxury of avoiding them, nor do many. However, I'm moving continents in a few weeks, so it will probably stop being a concern.

 

[Crawley Ben]

Garuda Indonesia are binning their JFK service from autumn.

Following KLM and Air France (i think), BA are withdrawing from Iran in September. Would think sanctions and economic collapse is weakening demand and they don't want to be seen to be violating US sanctions. A shame.

Garuda also dropping their service to London Heathrow it seems as reservation for the flight has been closed from next month according to what I've seen elsewhere.

Spot on about Tehran too as well with regards to KLM, BA and AF.

Cheers

Ben

 

[Bald Rick]

The new Ryanair policy won’t, indeed can’t, last. Whilst some people, on some routes will enjoy travelling with only a small under seat bag... there are plenty of people who are used to taking a conventional cabin bag on a short leisure trip away who will now have to pay for it. This will be enough to tip the balance for them.

Incidentally on the same day of the cabin bag announcement, Ryanair also announced they were ‘investing $200m’ in Luton airport. What they actually mean is that they are basing another two 737s there for bucket and spade (and, err, Bologna and Cork) flights. Very few of the passengers on these will be happy with a handbag under the seat in front.

Quite how the $200m ‘investment’ is calculated is unclear, although in a remarkable coincidence it is almost exactly the list price for 2 x 737-800s, and presumably O’Lairy has paid a little less for his two new planes. In which case the investment is actually in Seattle, WA.

 

[atillathehunn]

Garuda also dropping their service to London Heathrow it seems as reservation for the flight has been closed from next month according to what I've seen elsewhere.

Spot on about Tehran too as well with regards to KLM, BA and AF.

Cheers

Ben

You know what? I meant to type LHR, but I was checking in for a flight to JFK at the time and.... Completely stupid mistake

I believe Lufthansa and Austrian still serve Tehran, but not sure for how much longer. Given the likelihood of sanctions from the US, I wonder how long it is before they will stop. Leaves Turkish and the ME3, but with a crashing Riel and business sanctions, I cannot imagine there's a lot of travel anymore. Very sad, would love to visit Iran.

 

[atillathehunn]

The new Ryanair policy won’t, indeed can’t, last. Whilst some people, on some routes will enjoy travelling with only a small under seat bag... there are plenty of people who are used to taking a conventional cabin bag on a short leisure trip away who will now have to pay for it. This will be enough to tip the balance for them.

Incidentally on the same day of the cabin bag announcement, Ryanair also announced they were ‘investing $200m’ in Luton airport. What they actually mean is that they are basing another two 737s there for bucket and spade (and, err, Bologna and Cork) flights. Very few of the passengers on these will be happy with a handbag under the seat in front.

Quite how the $200m ‘investment’ is calculated is unclear, although in a remarkable coincidence it is almost exactly the list price for 2 x 737-800s, and presumably O’Lairy has paid a little less for his two new planes. In which case the investment is actually in Seattle, WA.

They are also forcing people who made bookings now for travel in - say Feb 2019 after implementation of policy in Nov 2018 - will have to cough up. Disgraceful.

Can't see where they're getting these figures from.

 

[Craig2601]

So from Nov the cheapest way for a cabin bag (excluding the small bag option) will be the £6 for priority boarding? Obviously they can’t sell priority to everyone so the next option is then ( I think ) the £8 to check in a bag? Either way, Ryanair will be getting mega bucks from it, as the majority of customers who fly with Ryanair don’t bother with a Hold baggage because of their extortionate prices!

 

[WestCoast]

Agree about Manchester Airport, it seems to be getting worse not better. I’m flying to Aberdeen or Inverness with Flybe or Loganair every couple of weeks from there and it’s been worse every time. My big bugbear is T3 security which always seems understaffed even in the peak of summer and you end up stuck queuing for ages with a load of families and stag dos going to Ibiza or wherever. Also the stressy security staff literally scream at you about laptops bags liquids mobile phones blah blah. No other airports I’ve been to recently, home or abroad, seem to have staff so stressed. The drop off charge is also stupidly high.

 

[WestCoast]

They are also forcing people who made bookings now for travel in - say Feb 2019 after implementation of policy in Nov 2018 - will have to cough up. Disgraceful.

Can't see where they're getting these figures from.

Regarding this, I think you can get a refund if you’re unhappy with the policy change which covers it from a legal point of view.

I was actually recently wondering when Ryanair would change the baggage policy again, seemed too good to be true. This policy seems exactly the same as the new Wizzair policy. I think it’s primarily revenue driven but also there is an element of the turnaround. I’ve been on city flights to Dublin, Hamburg etc where it’s worked fine and been quick but also holiday flights e.g Tenerife where it has been chaos with people having tonnes of bags, young kids carrying two bags etc creating havoc at the boarding gate and slowing everything down.

 

[Butts]

Agree about Manchester Airport, it seems to be getting worse not better. I’m flying to Aberdeen or Inverness with Flybe or Loganair every couple of weeks from there and it’s been worse every time. My big bugbear is T3 security which always seems understaffed even in the peak of summer and you end up stuck queuing for ages with a load of families and stag dos going to Ibiza or wherever. Also the stressy security staff literally scream at you about laptops bags liquids mobile phones blah blah. No other airports I’ve been to recently, home or abroad, seem to have staff so stressed. The drop off charge is also stupidly high.

Is there priority security - and the fee if available ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I was actually recently wondering when Ryanair would change the baggage policy again, seemed too good to be true. This policy seems exactly the same as the new Wizzair policy.

The old Wizzair policy; they got rid of it. It would not surprise me one bit if it was causing too many incidents of staff abuse and assault.

 

[WestCoast]

The old Wizzair policy; they got rid of it. It would not surprise me one bit if it was causing too many incidents of staff abuse and assault.

The new policy is quite alright really and better than the new Ryanair one.

"Passengers may travel with one free piece of hand luggage (maximum size 55 x 40 x 23 cm).

If you purchase WIZZ Priority, you can take your hand luggage into the cabin (55 x 40 x 23 cm) and one additional small bag (40 x 30 x 18 cm).

If you do not purchase WIZZ Priority and your hand luggage exceeds 40 x 30 x 18 cm, you must check it in at the check-in desk free of charge and you can collect it at the baggage belt at the arrival airport. If your hand luggage is smaller than 40 x 30 x 18 cm, you can take it into the cabin but it must be placed under the seat."

 

[WestCoast]

The old Wizzair policy; they got rid of it. It would not surprise me one bit if it was causing too many incidents of staff abuse and assault.

Saw a couple of arguments actually, but you'd be daft to be abusive in some of the places they fly to. When I flew back from Sofia early last year there was a British couple kicking off and an armed police officer came over and told them to shut up and pay or he'd escort them out.

 

[WestCoast]

Is there priority security - and the fee if available ?

There is at Manchester, about £5 or £6 if memory serves. The last time I used it (when I was running late) it was shared with the family lane making it a bit quicker but no VIP lane by any means.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The new policy is quite alright really and better than the new Ryanair one.

"Passengers may travel with one free piece of hand luggage (maximum size 55 x 40 x 23 cm).

If you purchase WIZZ Priority, you can take your hand luggage into the cabin (55 x 40 x 23 cm) and one additional small bag (40 x 30 x 18 cm).

If you do not purchase WIZZ Priority and your hand luggage exceeds 40 x 30 x 18 cm, you must check it in at the check-in desk free of charge and you can collect it at the baggage belt at the arrival airport. If your hand luggage is smaller than 40 x 30 x 18 cm, you can take it into the cabin but it must be placed under the seat."

This seems quite sensible. Indeed, it's not a world away from returning to the days of just giving everyone a sensibly sized inclusive checked bag and hand luggage returning to just being for stuff you need for the flight plus valuables, for which there's plenty of room for everyone in the overheads.

Low cost airlines have been successful, but some things have edged back to the old way (e.g. allocated seating), simply because the old way actually was better. In my view it was with baggage, too.

As for Ryanair's policy, it's a joke and would dissuade me from flying with them more than any of their other idiotic schemes.

 

[OwlMan]

VLM has been liquidated.

SHS Antwerp Aviation (VLM) goes into liquidation

Friday 31 August 2018 — SHS Aviation B.V., the majority shareholder of the N.V. SHS Antwerp Aviation (VLM), today decided at an extraordinary general assembly to dissolve the Belgian airline and to liquidate it.

Earlier this month it was announced that VLM would discontinue the connections to Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cologne-Bonn, Maribor, Munich and Rostock and that VLM would henceforth focus on business charter flights and the Antwerp-London City Airport and Antwerp-Zurich routes. Also the scheduled flights from Antwerp to London City and Zurich are now cancelled.

The settlement takes effect immediately. Youri Steverlynck and Birgitta Van Itterbeek (Monard Law) were appointed as liquidators. They are responsible for the contacts with potential buyers.



SHS Antwerp Aviation N.V. is a subsidiary of the Dutch investment company SHS Aviation B.V., which is owned 60% by Dutch investors and 40% by Chinese investors. SHS Antwerp Aviation N.V. is developing airline activities under the trading name ‘VLM’. VLM employs 85 people.

 

[Butts]

Has anyone used Southend Airport? - Flying there from Paris next month.

Heard that it is pretty quiet and user friendly compared to Luton and Stansted.

 

[Butts]

This seems quite sensible. Indeed, it's not a world away from returning to the days of just giving everyone a sensibly sized inclusive checked bag and hand luggage returning to just being for stuff you need for the flight plus valuables, for which there's plenty of room for everyone in the overheads.

Low cost airlines have been successful, but some things have edged back to the old way (e.g. allocated seating), simply because the old way actually was better. In my view it was with baggage, too.

As for Ryanair's policy, it's a joke and would dissuade me from flying with them more than any of their other idiotic schemes.

I use Ryanair from Stansted for my "fag runs" to Luxembourg. If you bought a front seat it used to include priority boarding and the "2 bags" onboard.

On the change before last even buying Seat 1C incurs a priority boarding charge that used to be included in it's £15 cost - ie another £6.

Booking at the right time you can still get 1C and the bags/priority for about £40 each leg - still good value.

 

[stut]

Has anyone used Southend Airport? - Flying there from Paris next month.

Heard that it is pretty quiet and user friendly compared to Luton and Stansted.

Yup. It was great - easy access by train via the airport station (which is just over the road from the terminal). Had hand-luggage only, so went straight to security, which was very friendly and efficient. Not much airside, but there was a newsagent and a caff, so I grabbed some lunch and a coffee and waited there. Boarding was a non-event - just wander over and on to the plane.

Only proviso I'd note is that I was travelling on a half-empty turboprop to Dublin, and outside of any peak time or bank of jet departures.

 

[Bald Rick]

Has anyone used Southend Airport? - Flying there from Paris next month.

Heard that it is pretty quiet and user friendly compared to Luton and Stansted.

Yep returned from Amsterdam at this time of year. Superb experience. Hand luggage only - from cabin door open to being on the station platform was 4 minutes.

Also, because of its location in airspace terms, flight times are typically 10-20 minutes quicker than to Heathrow, Stansted and Luton from most of Europe. Albeit the train journey compensated for that (it was quicker from AMS-SEN than SIA-LST)

 

[telstarbox]

The new Ryanair policy won’t, indeed can’t, last. Whilst some people, on some routes will enjoy travelling with only a small under seat bag... there are plenty of people who are used to taking a conventional cabin bag on a short leisure trip away who will now have to pay for it. This will be enough to tip the balance for them.

There's a lot of talk about the "25 minute turnaround" which is key to the high utilisation of LCC aircraft - is this the time from arriving at the gate on the inbound to pushback on the departure, or the time from the last arriving passenger disembarking to the first departing passenger boarding?

 

[Bald Rick]

There's a lot of talk about the "25 minute turnaround" which is key to the high utilisation of LCC aircraft - is this the time from arriving at the gate on the inbound to pushback on the departure, or the time from the last arriving passenger disembarking to the first departing passenger boarding?

Door open to door closed. Pioneered by South West Airlines in the US. Although that is per schedule, and the schedules usually have about 15 minutes performance allowance (we in the railway call it diamond time, most people on this forum call it ‘padding’) on each short haul trip. So the 25 minutes is usually longer.

 

[telstarbox]

And presumably that applies more at the 'smaller' airport (Carcassonne, Kefalonia, Perugia) whereas they'll have a longer turnaround and more servicing at Stansted or Gatwick?

 

[Bald Rick]

And presumably that applies more at the 'smaller' airport (Carcassonne, Kefalonia, Perugia) whereas they'll have a longer turnaround and more servicing at Stansted or Gatwick?

Not necessarily. It is more likely that an aircraft will have a longer spell at its home airport, as that is where it is more likely to change crew, and they will need to do a handover. However there are plenty of examples of short turnarounds at the large airports, particularly if it is not home base.

 

[gsnedders]

Not necessarily. It is more likely that an aircraft will have a longer spell at its home airport, as that is where it is more likely to change crew, and they will need to do a handover. However there are plenty of examples of short turnarounds at the large airports, particularly if it is not home base.

And to be clear, large airports normally end up with more time spent on the ground due to longer average taxis, but that doesn't affect the door open-to-door close time.

 

[berneyarms]

And to be clear, large airports normally end up with more time spent on the ground due to longer average taxis, but that doesn't affect the door open-to-door close time.

That’s why airline scheduled block times have extended in many cases over the years - to allow for the increased taxi times.

 

[fowler9]

Door open to door closed. Pioneered by South West Airlines in the US. Although that is per schedule, and the schedules usually have about 15 minutes performance allowance (we in the railway call it diamond time, most people on this forum call it ‘padding’) on each short haul trip. So the 25 minutes is usually longer.

Had an argument with someone on Facebook saying diamond time (or slack or padding) doesn't exist on the railways. Hmmm, yeah, and it really takes four minutes on some services from West Allerton to Mossley Hill. Anyway, sorry, off subject. Ha ha.

 

[Bald Rick]

Had an argument with someone on Facebook saying diamond time (or slack or padding) doesn't exist on the railways. Hmmm, yeah, and it really takes four minutes on some services from West Allerton to Mossley Hill. Anyway, sorry, off subject. Ha ha.

Actually, you’re both wrong!

Diamond time exists in plenty of places. That is inserted to schedules purely to help punctuality.

But between West Allerton and Mossley Hill it appears to be Circle time, which is pathing allowance. This is to make the timetable work.

(There’s also box time, which is engineering allowance for planned speed restrictions, and passenger differential which is similar to performance allowance (diamond) )

 

[telstarbox]

The Cityjet London City <> Dublin route is going to be branded as an Aer Lingus route from the autumn:
https://www.businesstraveller.com/b...t-to-operate-lcy-dublin-route-for-aer-lingus/

 

[fowler9]

Actually, you’re both wrong!

Diamond time exists in plenty of places. That is inserted to schedules purely to help punctuality.

But between West Allerton and Mossley Hill it appears to be Circle time, which is pathing allowance. This is to make the timetable work.

(There’s also box time, which is engineering allowance for planned speed restrictions, and passenger differential which is similar to performance allowance (diamond) )

It is still slack in the timetable. In thirty plus years of living in the area I have never been on a train that took four minutes from West Allerton to Mossley Hill.

 

[gsnedders]

The Cityjet London City <> Dublin route is going to be branded as an Aer Lingus route from the autumn:
https://www.businesstraveller.com/b...t-to-operate-lcy-dublin-route-for-aer-lingus/

And notably, this leaves CityJet with no flights branded as CityJet.