Ryanair

[lbaspotter]

Does anybody know when ryanair's current contract ends at LBA?

:crazy:

Well I’ve just done a little research and it was August 2009 that Ryanair announced it was opening its 34 base at Leeds/Bradford. But the based flight operations did not actually commence until March 2010, so since base operations started it has operated 4x summer and 3x winter seasons so far.

I wonder if they are starting to play hard ball with LBA’s management if it was only a 5 year deal that was signed?? (I don’t know how long the existing deal was signed up for)

So it would make sense to start opening negotiations for a contract renewal now. That’s if it’s only a 5 year deal of course! Especially seen as Ryanair are acquiring new aircraft from Boeing next year and looking to make their Stansted base even bigger and also continue to build their Manchester operations.

Also I think White Heather did point out that it was mentioned at the last consultive committee meeting that the LBA management team had attended a meeting with MOL in Dublin recently and mentioned that they are happy with the passenger figures and are expected to carry just under 1 million pax this year alone..

 

[a300boy]

As White Heather said Ryanair contribute a lot to our pax figures each year I just believe that Manchester operations are far more valuable to them now unfortunately.

 

[User0001]

I thought this was because they were adding capacity to the canaries and running more canaries services with LBA based a/c - hence they have scheduling issues with the shorter services which need resolving. If there was some kind of spat between Ryanair and LBA there would be a much more public display by Ryanair.

 

[Aviador]

I agree and Leeds should be just as important to Ryanair as Manchester. The deals will dry up at both sides of the Pennines if LBA or LPL were ever to be dropped completely. In recent weeks MOL has admitted changes to the way the airline operates have to be made with a new focus on customer service. Part of that customer service will include operating from regional departure points.

 

[lbaspotter]

I thought this was because they were adding capacity to the canaries and running more canaries services with LBA based a/c - hence they have scheduling issues with the shorter services which need resolving. If there was some kind of spat between Ryanair and LBA there would be a much more public display by Ryanair.

So LS16 dose that mean the recently removed Vilnius and Gdanask routes from Leeds will be reinstated and put back on sale by Ryanair for the winter 2013/14 season. That's if they sort the scheduling problems out?

If that's the case I for one would be very pleased to hear that!

 

[752]

Has Vilnius and Gdansk been dropped for summer? or do we need to wait for the schedule to be realised?

 

[lbaspotter]

Has Vilnius and Gdansk been dropped for summer? or do we need to wait for the schedule to be realised?

The Leeds/Bradford Summer 2014 flights programme has not been yet uploaded by Ryanair, with only London Stansted routes so far on sale. So we will have to wait sometime to find that question out!

 

[User0001]

So LS16 dose (does !) that mean the recently removed Vilnius and Gdanask routes from Leeds will be reinstated and put back on sale by Ryanair for the winter 2013/14 season. That's if they sort the scheduling problems out?

If that's the case I for one would be very pleased to hear that!

I don't know in all honesty. Ryanair have a very erratic approach to schedules, with things disappearing and reappearing in the run up to the start of a season. Gdansk was off sale for at least a couple of weeks last year and then reappeared. It happened with Malta the year before that. If you look at the LBA programme now, there are at least 5 gaps in the schedules for the 2 based aircraft, which is unusual, so I think there will be plenty of schedule changes to come over the next few weeks. That may mean that some routes scheduled to be operated by away based a/c, come back to LBA or that the gaps are filled with extra frequencies or the sudden reappearance of routes that are off-sale. Who knows? What I am pretty sure of is that if RYR were in some kind of mexican stand-off with the LBA management team and were using MAN (or DSA, LPL or anywhere else for that matter) as leverage, then (a) the cuts would be more drastic and (b) they would make a PR statement to that effect. Until either of these things happen, the paranoia can probably be dialled down a notch or two. The fact that a whole host of other Eastern European routes look to have gone off sale from EDI, EMA LPL, BRS and BHX might also suggest the knives aren't quite out for LBA just yet.

 

[a300boy]

I never thought they were, but I strongly believe that expanding Manchester will be the focus of their efforts in the next few years and Lbia will stagnate a little until it suits them to look at other destination to serve from here. I am not aware of any fall outs with our management and hope I have not suggested there have been any.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

I think this is the logical step for Ryanair. A number of years ago, Martin O'Leary mentioned that Ryanair's approach would have to change in the future. Whatever you may think of the man, he is remarkably intelligent and business savvy. He would not continue to push Ryanair in the same direction if it was not the right thing to do.

Many years ago, Ryanair had the market almost to themselves. They were able to pick and choose where they wanted to go safe in the knowledge that passengers would respond. And they could do whatever they liked safe in the knowledge that passengers would put up with it on the basis of low fares.

The world is now a very different place. For the first time, Ryanair are under real pressure. Easyjet altered their approach years ago to better suit their customer and, additionally, numerous other airlines have come into existence over the years that are punching a great hole through Ryanair's strategy: Air Berlin; Transavia; WOW; Vueling; Wizz; Norwegian; Germanwings - not to mention the continued expansion of Jet2 and Monarch in the UK, Flybe and the large effort being made by the legacy airlines to stem the tide with subsidiaries such as HOP!. Air Berlin have gone on to become a more full service airline aligned to Oneworld but the rest have shown that better service into the airport passengers want works perfectly well. The exception is Wizz, who are fighting Ryanair on their own terms and, seemingly, are winning, which is perhaps the most worrying trend for Ryanair.

Easyjet, Wizz and Norwegian have massive orders for aircraft in the pipeline and will continue to expand rapidly and Jet2 and Monarch are rewriting the rules regarding holidays, leaving Ryanair incredibly vulnerable in the UK. Additionally, Norwegian have already started providing what Ryanair have been saying is not possible for many years - long haul. If that proves to be successful, Ryanair will no longer be the driving force behind Low Cost Air Travel in Europe.

Ryanair have already been forced to fly to more full service airports due to competition and, I suspect, in the future this will have to change further. I think of Charleroi, Beauvais, Bergamo as victims of the future. Their competitors have proved that you don't have to bully passengers and airports to post a profit. Martin O'Leary sees this, knows this and has made a frank statement about his airline changing to better serve the population that now exists, not the one that existed 10/15/20 years ago.

With regards to the apparent loss of Gdansk and Vilnius, I firmly believe this is due to the competition at DSA. I have said many, many times before, people have loyalties to A) their wallet and B) their own airline. Since the majority of flights between Eastern Europe and the UK will be carrying non UK residents, it stands to reason that Wizz are able to easily compete with Ryanair on these routes.

 

[airforced]

When did MOL change his first name to Martin? Have I missed something?

 

[Seasider]

He hasn't, Martin is his "alter-ego".

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Haha! Total heads gone moment! Of course, I was referring to his brother, Michael....

 

[airforced]

Haha! Total heads gone moment! Of course, I was referring to his brother, Michael....

Is the brother as bashful, kind and considerate as the real MOL? He obviously shuns publicity which is most unlike an O'Leary!!

 

[whoshotjimmi]

There is always a dominant sibling....

 

[a300boy]

Two flights from Dublin tonight both around the same time ! Whats on is it rugby ?

 

[a300boy]

Two flights from Dublin last night both around the same time ! Anyone know why ?

 

[LBAYORKIE]

Half term?

 

[a300boy]

Thanks Maybe it was !! I never thought of that I was expecting some sort of sporting event that I had no knowledge about.

 

[lbaspotter]

Ryanair have released for sale Summer 2014 flights this morning.

So far this is whats on sale...
Dinard = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT
Limoges = 2x weekly, THU & SUN
Montpellier = 2x weekly, MON & THU
Crete Chania = 2x weekly, WED & SAT
Corfu = 1x weekly, THU
Kos = 1x weekly WED
Dublin = 14x weekly, (2x daily) MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT & SUN
Milan Bergamo = 2x weekly, MON & FRI
Pisa = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT
Venice Treviso = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT
Riga = 2x weekly, WED & SUN
Vilnius = 2x weekly, TUE & FRI
Malta = 2x weekly, THU & SUN
Gdansk = 2x weekly, MON & FRI
Krakow = 4X weekly, MON, TUE, THU, SUN
Faro = increases to 6x weekly, MON, WED, THU, FRI, SAT & SUN
Alicante = increases to 6x weekly, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI & SUN
Barcelona = increases to 4x weekly, MON, WED, FRI & SUN
Fuerteventura = Not on sale
Ibiza = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT
Arrecife = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT
Malaga = 7x weekly, (1x daily) MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT & SUN
Murcia = 3x weekly, MON, WED & FRI
Palma = 5x weekly, TUE, WED, THU, SAT & SUN
Reus = 2x weekly, FRI & SUN
Tenerife = 2x weekly, TUE & SAT

Cant believe we will have up to 13x weekly flights to Barcelona next summer. Jet2 5x weekly, Monarch increasing from 2x to 4x weekly and now also Ryanair increasing from 2x weekly to 4x weekly. Then we will also have 4x weekly flights to nearby Reus with both Jet2 and Ryanair offering 2x weekly flights each.