Aviation Discussion

[atillathehunn]

Both flights I'm looking at are an A330-300 so 2-4-2 on Qantas and 3-3-3 on AAX. I flew an American Airlines A330 a few years back and loved the 2-4-2 layout, but like you said, the 3-3-3 layout on AAX is what's putting me off. Seatguru says for Qantas the width is 17.5 - 17.0 inches whereas Air Asia X appears to be 16.5 inches. For the dates I'm looking at, the fare for AAX is £160ish whereas Qantas is £320 so it's a fair difference, but like I said, the Qantas fare includes food and IFE. My plan is to use AirBNB when I'm there so it's pretty cheap when comparing the price to a hotel - hence why I can spend an extra two days!

Only you can answer this question really.

You will spend around £30 on food given purchasing on AirAsiaX and the layover in KL, so clearly this doesn't negate the saving.

You are going to get there with either airline. Time will pass, eventually.

But it would depend on what that money can do for you in Australia. Personally I would take the discomfort, load up my iPad with films and spend the £160 when I'm in Australia.

 

[AlterEgo]

BMI Regional are starting to sell their new City of Derry > Stansted route today for travel from 2nd May onwards, though tickets are yet to appear on the site. The route announcement comes after Ryanair dropped their Stansted route.

I'm hoping to be on the inaugural flight.

 

[ian959]

Thanks for the reply. Just out of interest, why is it you hate Qantas?

Mostly due to poor service and the way they screwed Perth a few years back, killing all their international flights from Perth. I often seem stuck with cabin crew who think a smile is only required to be given to the people sitting in the pointy end of the aircraft, and who seem to think that huddled down the back gossiping all flight is acceptable behaviour...

 

[theageofthetra]

Mostly due to poor service and the way they screwed Perth a few years back, killing all their international flights from Perth. I often seem stuck with cabin crew who think a smile is only required to be given to the people sitting in the pointy end of the aircraft, and who seem to think that huddled down the back gossiping all flight is acceptable behaviour...

Only ever flew with Quantas once from Perth- Sydney and encountered the behaviour you describe. Everything about the airline seemed to be lower standard than all the other carriers I used on that trip. That said I would always use a national carrier over a budget if it is direct- particularly on that route.

 

[Butts]

Well just been on my latest "fag run" to Luxembourg from EDI via LHR on BA - just as a matter of interest no one else could do the through flights for the price I paid. Indeed I don't think anyone else could do it full stop. !!!

Both Domestic Legs were on Airbus 319's 1110 outward (yesterday) and 1410 inward the following day. (today). I was really suprised todays was rammed completely full - what's that all about.

On my return to EDI this afternoon I saw the Scottish Ruby Team on their way to do battle with England on Saturday no doubt.

BOB seemed to be operating okay on both flights, perhaps they have got over the teething problems.

To and from Luxembourg was on a far superior Airbus 320 - they seem to be far roomier than the 319 or is it just my imagination? On the way back I had 7 A,B and C to myself and was able to stretch out.

Tried a Java Coffee from BOB and it was quite tasty, better than Flybe's and 20p cheaper at £2.30. Used Contactless with no problems. It is very strong and comes in a flashy cup with a sieve like device to contain the grains. What they need to learn from Flybe (and others) is to have combo offers. As far as I could see the Staffs Job is a lot easier now as obviously not everyone has something as it's now chargeable.

It's funny the announcements now mimick those of Virgin Trains in relation to free food and drink to Club Europe and "stick your hands in your pockets the rest of you"

All in all a reasonable trip and more importantly my "cargo" arrived safely in Edinburgh avoiding the latest 35p hike in the Budget. Indeed B&H Gold are still 5.10 Euros per packet. The only price rise there in the last year has been the weakening pound.

 

[gsnedders]

To and from Luxembourg was on a far superior Airbus 320 - they seem to be far roomier than the 319 or is it just my imagination? On the way back I had 7 A,B and C to myself and was able to stretch out.

Simple stretch of the fuselage (well, to be pernickety the A319 is a shrink of the A320 rather than vice-versa); the cabin is longer but they're otherwise identical.

 

[Butts]

Simple stretch of the fuselage (well, to be pernickety the A319 is a shrink of the A320 rather than vice-versa); the cabin is longer but they're otherwise identical.

Perhaps it's because the Luxembourg flights were less crowded that it seemed individual space was better.

 

[atillathehunn]

Perhaps it's because the Luxembourg flights were less crowded that it seemed individual space was better.

I imagine that helps!

I was boarding next to the Luxembourg flight from BHX the other week. I can't see how the flights are still in operation. I counted fewer than 30 in the gate from opening to closing.

 

[gsnedders]

I imagine that helps!

I was boarding next to the Luxembourg flight from BHX the other week. I can't see how the flights are still in operation. I counted fewer than 30 in the gate from opening to closing.

If we believe Bombardier's historic marketing of the Dash 8 400, that's over the break-even point (around 25 passengers). One can imagine fuel prices make that closer to 30 nowadays, but even then, depending on ticket pricing, it's not implausible FlyBe are generally making money on such services.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I am going to look again at our holiday plans; regardless of what the inter island fares are, there is the small matter of getting to Alderney in the first place. Aurigny want £830.46 return from Southampton for two adults and two children ( 13 and 10 ) including taxes and surcharges.hock:

They must be joking... :mad:

Christ- you could probably charter a boat for that!

One of the hoteliers on Alderney has now sent me this:

The flights can be awfully expensive which I know can put quite a few people off. I'm not sure if this would help you if your were too consider a visit to the island in the future. There are two new air links that look set to start flying in an out of Alderney, one of which is Air Alderney and the other is called Waves, the latter being an Air Taxi. I'm not sure when they are due to start, however I know their fares are going to be considerably cheaper and I believe they have websites with more information.

So it looks as if there is some general disquiet on the islands with the present monopoloy operator's fares and that by next year things should be a lot better...

 

[AlterEgo]

One of the hoteliers on Alderney has now sent me this:



So it looks as if there is some general disquiet on the islands with the present monopoloy operator's fares and that by next year things should be a lot better...

Interesting to know, thanks. The Air Taxi will no doubt be on something interesting....!

Air Alderney have a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/airalderney?lang=en

The wing view may not be from one of their aircraft, but it looks like a Pilatus PC-12... nice.

EDIT: Looks like "Waves" will be using a Cessna Caravan: http://www.itv.com/news/channel/upd...island-air-taxi-to-begin-operating-this-year/

The £5 million project is the brainchild of Guernsey-based entrepreneur Nick Magliochetti, who says that customers can expect to pay between £55 to £75 per flight.
Read more at http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2...-shake-up-islands-travel/#rzCDfjOaLQpsEpIf.99

 

[WestCoast]

I imagine that helps!

I was boarding next to the Luxembourg flight from BHX the other week. I can't see how the flights are still in operation. I counted fewer than 30 in the gate from opening to closing.

UK - Luxembourg has exploded in the past couple of years, you've now got Luxair, BA, easyJet, Flybe and now Ryanair.

 

[Techniquest]

UK - Luxembourg has exploded in the past couple of years, you've now got Luxair, BA, easyJet, Flybe and now Ryanair.

I thought I had seen Luxembourg on the Ryanair route map on Friday afternoon, thought my eyes had been playing tricks on me to be honest! As a Ryanair fan, this pleases me somewhat.

When I last looked a couple of years ago, the only options to Luxembourg were outrageously expensive ones from Birmingham or easyJet from Gatwick. I suspected Ryanair would be out of Stansted, so looked it up. They do Stansted to Luxembourg at 1905 arriving 2130 and 2155 Luxembourg to Stansted arriving 2215. Weekends only I'm afraid! I need to find a way to take advantage of that, there's a lot of exploring to do in that part of Europe, hmm...

*Starts the early stages of the next instalment of #TechsWorldFrenzy*

 

[Techniquest]

My apologies, I forgot to discuss my recent flights! Here's the raw data first:

Friday was FR1396 1155 STN-OSL with EI-FIF
Sunday was FR1393 0755 OSL-STN with EI-FTC

Before I forgot to add the link, my Flightdiary profile:

http://flightdiary.net/Whitby

As expected, both required which means I've had 17 Ryanair B738s (EI-EKL has been had twice, my only repeated B738) now Anyway, the more interesting bits:

I see now why Ryanair are f**ked off with the norms, they bring bags way bigger than they really should and it is beyond frustrating for someone like me who sticks to the dimensions! Quite, I'm looking at getting a bag smaller than my current one just to avoid any future issues, as I had no room in the overhead locker above my seat and only just had room in the one directly opposite. Even then I had to wait for someone else to get up and get their stuff out of the way of my bag, and the lockers appeared rammed solid all the way down. If people were more considerate it wouldn't be such an issue! As I mentioned in my trip report for Tech's World Frenzy elsewhere on the forum, it's as if the norms want Ryanair to go back to the old days!

EI-FTC had that new Skyliner interior, and I have to admit to liking it. I had no issue whatsoever with the old interior, as much as people moan about it. That period when Ryanair were obsessed with advertising transfers and such like on the overhead lockers I was less pleased with, but hey ho, thank Goodness that didn't go on for ages. When I saw how thin the seatbacks were, I really didn't think I'd like them but they are actually not too bad. The legroom seems to be perfectly acceptable still for me, and I still reckon it's better (not by much, but still) on a B738 than an A319. There is less yellow as the magazine promised, and the new uniforms do look good it must be said.

I'd still happily buy one of the old Ryanair seats off them mind, I'll find somewhere at home for it!

And as I looked up at the end of that, I saw an advert for Monarch. There's another airline I need to try!

 

[atillathehunn]

My apologies, I forgot to discuss my recent flights! Here's the raw data first:

Friday was FR1396 1155 STN-OSL with EI-FIF
Sunday was FR1393 0755 OSL-STN with EI-FTC

Before I forgot to add the link, my Flightdiary profile:

http://flightdiary.net/Whitby

As expected, both required which means I've had 17 Ryanair B738s (EI-EKL has been had twice, my only repeated B738) now Anyway, the more interesting bits:

I see now why Ryanair are f**ked off with the norms, they bring bags way bigger than they really should and it is beyond frustrating for someone like me who sticks to the dimensions! Quite, I'm looking at getting a bag smaller than my current one just to avoid any future issues, as I had no room in the overhead locker above my seat and only just had room in the one directly opposite. Even then I had to wait for someone else to get up and get their stuff out of the way of my bag, and the lockers appeared rammed solid all the way down. If people were more considerate it wouldn't be such an issue! As I mentioned in my trip report for Tech's World Frenzy elsewhere on the forum, it's as if the norms want Ryanair to go back to the old days!

EI-FTC had that new Skyliner interior, and I have to admit to liking it. I had no issue whatsoever with the old interior, as much as people moan about it. That period when Ryanair were obsessed with advertising transfers and such like on the overhead lockers I was less pleased with, but hey ho, thank Goodness that didn't go on for ages. When I saw how thin the seatbacks were, I really didn't think I'd like them but they are actually not too bad. The legroom seems to be perfectly acceptable still for me, and I still reckon it's better (not by much, but still) on a B738 than an A319. There is less yellow as the magazine promised, and the new uniforms do look good it must be said.

I'd still happily buy one of the old Ryanair seats off them mind, I'll find somewhere at home for it!

And as I looked up at the end of that, I saw an advert for Monarch. There's another airline I need to try!

It's nothing to do with being a 'norm' (whatever that is) or inconsiderate particularly on baggage size, rather number of bags and their storage.

Like everybody, I will max out the free allowances an airline gives if they irritate me and then relax the guidelines. Same with Flybe.

There is never going to be enough overhead locker space for everybody, especially in the winter, when you take into account the exit rows which cannot accommodate anything under the seat, those reserved for crew, the medical supply cupboard etc. What needs to be stricter is placement of smaller items under the seat in front. They are pretty good at enforcing the 'first 90 bags in the cabin' rule, though, which helps matters.

Glad you had a good trip to Norway.

 

[Tetchytyke]

What on earth is a "norm"?

Ryanair have this situation because they take the Mickey on hold fees. Given most bags now have to go into the hold anyway, I really don't see the point anymore.

 

[Techniquest]

Have you never heard of a 'norm'?! A 'norm' is someone who isn't into trains/planes/other transport, quite simply.

 

[atillathehunn]

This is labelling I'm not going to understand. But has this got to do with baggage allowances? I'm not a norm and I still max out my free baggage allowance (as would any rational consumer).

 

[WestCoast]

Ryanair launching some very cool new routes this Winter - Manchester to Kiev has certainly caught my eye as well as Frankfurt Main. They're also launching Kiev from Stansted too I believe.

On the subject of cabin baggage, some of the worst I've seen has been on BA domestic flights where the baggage fees are pretty modest!

 

[fowler9]

Ryanair launching some very cool new routes this Winter - Manchester to Kiev has certainly caught my eye as well as Frankfurt Main. They're also launching Kiev from Stansted too I believe.

On the subject of cabin baggage, some of the worst I've seen has been on BA domestic flights where the baggage fees are pretty modest!

Kiev sounds brilliant, plus I have a cousin in Frankfurt I haven't seen for far too long.

 

[atillathehunn]

Ryanair launching some very cool new routes this Winter - Manchester to Kiev has certainly caught my eye as well as Frankfurt Main. They're also launching Kiev from Stansted too I believe.

On the subject of cabin baggage, some of the worst I've seen has been on BA domestic flights where the baggage fees are pretty modest!

Interesting! Looking at the Ryanair website it shows flights to Eindhoven, Manchester, Stansted and Stockholm.

Just done a dummy booking, flights are at around €35.99 one way, going down as low as €24.99

 

[Techniquest]

Very reasonable value for the distances there, and it's embarassing but my memory (without coffee it is useless!) cannot remember where Kiev is right now. Can't believe I need to Google it...

Hoping to book some holiday time next week, when the boss is back, so I can take advantage of all these options out there. Italy and Switzerland are way up my list of places to visit, so any hints and tips on best airport to fly into/out of?

EDIT: Found it thanks to Google, didn't realise it was in Ukraine

 

[atillathehunn]

Well there has been speculation for a long time that Ryanair would be offering connections (proper connections) onto long-haul operators.

It was announced this morning that this is taking place, though connecting onto Norwegian.

I understand the connection points will be places such as Cork, Gatwick, Edinburgh where Norwegian's new services and existing services to the US depart from.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That makes a lot of sense as the two are very complementary - but I guess that means the Ryanair long-haul idea is dead.

 

[atillathehunn]

That makes a lot of sense as the two are very complementary - but I guess that means the Ryanair long-haul idea is dead.

Yes, in fact I seem to recall a news article where MoL stated that directly. I would they have a number of problems:

- lack of long range planes
- hard to keep costs down on long haul
- regulatory issues
- brand

Using their extensive short-haul European network to feed into Norwegian's expanding TATL operation makes sense. Given that their 'Boston' and 'New York' airports for the new regional routes (Edinburgh and Cork) are 60 and 63 miles from the cities themselves I'm not sure I'll use it. But it's good news for travellers overall.

 

[AlterEgo]

Yes, in fact I seem to recall a news article where MoL stated that directly. I would they have a number of problems:

- lack of long range planes
- hard to keep costs down on long haul
- regulatory issues
- brand

Using their extensive short-haul European network to feed into Norwegian's expanding TATL operation makes sense. Given that their 'Boston' and 'New York' airports for the new regional routes (Edinburgh and Cork) are 60 and 63 miles from the cities themselves I'm not sure I'll use it. But it's good news for travellers overall.

Indeed.

However, I vaguely understand there are some concerns about the sustainability of Norwegian's business model. Can't recall what they are, but I am a little sceptical of their longevity.

 

[theageofthetra]

For the first time in ages I have to use Gatwick South as BA have been kicked out of North. Given its a Thursday in March and hardly peak season I am shocked at how busy and generally awful it is.

The general circulating space available and seating seem to be drastically reduced airside to be replaced with more overpriced shops. There is also only one drinking fountain in the whole place too which in typical UK airport style is tucked well away upstairs- why do only UK airports get away with this?

I can't imagine how hideous this dump will be in the summer. Unless using Easyjet out of North I will be avoiding in the future.

 

[Techniquest]

Ugh, Norwegian long-haul, I'd rather not fly! It's nice Ryanair are offering connections now mind.

 

[AlterEgo]

Ugh, Norwegian long-haul, I'd rather not fly! It's nice Ryanair are offering connections now mind.

What's wrong with Norwegian?

 

[Bletchleyite]

What's wrong with Norwegian?

That they're a low-cost? Legroom can't be worse than KLM long-haul, surely? I do find that amusing given that the Dutch are all tall!

My parents flew with them last month and spoke quite highly of them.