Ryanair pulling out of George Best Belfast City Airport

[Cosmo Kramer]

His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

Well not exactly wholly accurate.  Aer Arann committed to so many new aircraft, they were in trouble despite Ryanair.

Aer Arrann took the new aircraft after Ryanair went to war with them on the Cork - Dublin and Dublin - Kerry routes which led to a need for cash last year.

The volcano and the new aircraft may have caused them to run out of cash this month, but Ryanair strangled them before that.

When the PSOs are cut Aer Arann would have been finished anyway, this is their only chance but its going to take something massive to save them at this point.

Ryanair weren't allowed to fill their planes out of Belfast City because of the short runway length versus the heavy takeoff weight of the B738 (the only plane they fly), they generally need 75% full planes to break even, so their margins there were tiny. They were hanging on in the hope that the runway extension would go ahead, without it they would always go. Doubt they'll fancy going head to head with Easyjet at Aldergrove. Talking of further cut backs at Shannon today as well.

[supersarsfields]

Had a flight booked for November, as well as accomodation paid up front in England.

Now the flights not running, im gonna lose out on the hotel payment. 

where you flying to? Does none of the other companies do flights to the same area?

[Rois]

His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

Well not exactly wholly accurate.  Aer Arann committed to so many new aircraft, they were in trouble despite Ryanair.

Aer Arrann took the new aircraft after Ryanair went to war with them on the Cork - Dublin and Dublin - Kerry routes which led to a need for cash last year.

The volcano and the new aircraft may have caused them to run out of cash this month, but Ryanair strangled them before that.

Yes but no but.  Believe me, I know a bit about it    

[muppet]

His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

Well not exactly wholly accurate.  Aer Arann committed to so many new aircraft, they were in trouble despite Ryanair.

Aer Arrann took the new aircraft after Ryanair went to war with them on the Cork - Dublin and Dublin - Kerry routes which led to a need for cash last year.

The volcano and the new aircraft may have caused them to run out of cash this month, but Ryanair strangled them before that.

Yes but no but.  Believe me, I know a bit about it    

Did Ryanair not attack Aer Arann on the Dublin - Cork route increasing frequency and charging buttons until Aer Arann dropped theirs from 7 a day to 1 a day?
Did they then not bid for the Dublin - Kerry PSO route getting Aer Arann off its most profitable route?
Did Aer Arann not then run into difficulty until a mystery investor put up the cash?
Did Aer Arann not then enter an arrangement with Aer Lingus which led to the new aircraft only in the last 12 months?

Tell me where I am incorrect.

[ross4life]

His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

Well not exactly wholly accurate.  Aer Arann committed to so many new aircraft, they were in trouble despite Ryanair.

Aer Arrann took the new aircraft after Ryanair went to war with them on the Cork - Dublin and Dublin - Kerry routes which led to a need for cash last year.

The volcano and the new aircraft may have caused them to run out of cash this month, but Ryanair strangled them before that.

Yes but no but.  Believe me, I know a bit about it    

[Dougal Maguire]

Is there not a recurring theme here. MOL demanded x, in this case the taxpayers build him a longer runway or he would pull out lock stock. The airport faced him down and he is off.

While its not good for the travelling public of Belfast, its time more people stood up  to Ryanair's bully boy tactics.

George, kick the wife's head in and drink two liver's worth of booze, Best Belfast City Airport is privately owned so the taxpayer wouldn't have had to fit the bill. Love them or loathe them the fact is that Ryanair offer cheap flights end of story and this will be a big loss. I'd rather stay at home than travel through Aldergrove where the road links are crap and the staff absolute pigs. Give me Dublin any day

[Cosmo Kramer]

His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

Well not exactly wholly accurate.  Aer Arann committed to so many new aircraft, they were in trouble despite Ryanair.

Aer Arrann took the new aircraft after Ryanair went to war with them on the Cork - Dublin and Dublin - Kerry routes which led to a need for cash last year.

The volcano and the new aircraft may have caused them to run out of cash this month, but Ryanair strangled them before that.

Yes but no but.  Believe me, I know a bit about it    

Did Ryanair not attack Aer Arann on the Dublin - Cork route increasing frequency and charging buttons until Aer Arann dropped theirs from 7 a day to 1 a day?
Did they then not bid for the Dublin - Kerry PSO route getting Aer Arann off its most profitable route?
Did Aer Arann not then run into difficulty until a mystery investor put up the cash?
Did Aer Arann not then enter an arrangement with Aer Lingus which led to the new aircraft only in the last 12 months?

Tell me where I am incorrect.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/war-in-irish-skies-as-regional-rival-claims-oleary-told-him-fk-off-1445701.html

O'Leary seems to enjoy being a total gobshite for no good reason sometimes. I have heard a story about him once walking past the Aer Arann ticket desk at Dublin Airport and making throat slitting gestures to the sales staff and telling them they'd all soon be out of work.

[45 metres]

Liz Fawcett, spokeswoman for Belfast City Airport Watch, which opposes the runway extension, said: "Residents are very pleased.

"They had a particularly unpopular 6.30am flight and certainly this will give some respite."

Unbelievable self interest there, probably didn't like the idea that a free state company was operating in east belfast anyway.

Unbelievable assumption that they had it in for a "free state company".  The self interest from Fawcett is no worse than some of the posters on this thread.

Unless it was the only 6.30am flight and the rest don't start until about 8.00am what's unbelievable about it?  I'm only pointing out that ms fawcett saw the loss of 50 locally based jobs as a success, that's self interest to me.

I don't think Ms. Fawcett see the movement of jobs as a success than a reduction in noise pollution especially early in the morning. And if she has self interest, so what? It is not as if O'Leary has a self interest in forcing competitors out of business and the jobs lost in connection. He isn't going to lose sleep over it.

[45 metres]

I think it's more a case of MOL realising that the local folk of Norn Iron have too much sway in things that shouldn't be of concern to them - he'll never be able to build a hub out of Belfast City Airport, so he's getting of town.

Wonderful! Let us install a dictatorship instead "that knows what is best for all of us" regardless, eh?

Living in a flight path isn't that bad. I spent 3 summers living under a Heathrow route that went on more or less 24 hours a day, and you just learn to tune out. Unless of course, you think there's a chance you might be able to claim against someone, in which case your ears would obviously turn to muck and those planes would ruin your otherwise wonderful existence.

So, what you are getting out is that just because you were able to cope with aircraft noise for a couple of months at a time means that everyone should be able to do so all the time? I'm sure that is great if you're trying to get your child to sleep, have slates blown off your roof, have a condition like hyperacousis etc or do shift work? Noise pollution along with its air pollution from aircraft is a problem all over the world and not just limited to parts of Belfast. You'll never find airport managers or airline executive staff living in places along busy flight paths either.

[45 metres]

While I agree that O'Leary is a gobshite of the highest order, I also prefer to be able to fly to lots of destinations from my local airport than to not be able to. And Ryanair offer the best chance of that happening for me.

Lets look at the routes that Ryanair fly from the City airport to.

Glasgow Prestwick, FlyBe already fly into Glasgow International from the City airport which is closer to Glasgow city centre than Prestwick.

Liverpool, you can either fly with Easyjet from the International Airport, or use FlyBe to go to Manchester and be 30 miles away, nearer than some of the cities Ryanair claim to fly to.

Bristol? Again Easyjet do the same airport from the International.

East Midlands, BMIbaby fly here from the International.

Stanstead? Easyjet will be continuing their City airport to Luton service, FlyBe will take you to Gatwick. If you must go to Stanstead, Easyjet will take you there from the International, and if you need to go to Heathrow, Aer Lingus can serve you.

So if you are prepared to use either the City or International Airports in Belfast, those five destinations Ryanair current fly to will still be easily reached by other carriers after October. The only thing missing is the choice of carrier on some destinations.

[45 metres]

Liz Fawcett, spokeswoman for Belfast City Airport Watch, which opposes the runway extension, said: "Residents are very pleased.

"They had a particularly unpopular 6.30am flight and certainly this will give some respite."

Unbelievable self interest there, probably didn't like the idea that a free state company was operating in east belfast anyway.

Unbelievable assumption that they had it in for a "free state company".  The self interest from Fawcett is no worse than some of the posters on this thread.

I will make it clear that I have no time for O'Leary, a patronising one trick pony who has done very well for himself in one area of business, but he does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Branson or Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

Ryanair's problem in Belfast is that unlike the rest of Ireland, there is much stronger competition from other budget airlines like Easyjet, FlyBe and Jet2, they don't have a near monopoly like they do in Dublin. Also I would say that more cynical nordies don't put up with the level of being patronised compared to the rest of Ireland, Steilos might come across as a git but he doesn't carry a "fúck you" attitude around with him all the time. Issues like runway extensions hide other excuses, Ryanair could easily bag slots at Aldergrove if they were serious about expanding their Belfast routes.

It is disappointing that Ryanair are stopping these services as it will affect some people,  but other airlines cut and change routes and airports including the two in Belfast all the time without getting big news headlines. I'm simply not going to lick holes here. At least the staff working for Ryanair at the City will get the chance to work elsewhere and if there is real demand, other airlines will fill the routes.

Ryanair will have 12 aircraft in Dublin this winter, down from 30 a couple of years ago. That is due to the incompetent of someone else of course. His only recent success is driving Aer Arrann into Examinership which hopefully they will emerge from.

As a High Court juge said here recently 'the truth and Ryanair are uncomfortable bedfellows'. So I wonder what the really issue is? Were they losing money there?

They might only have 12, but only Aer Lingus will still offer them any real competition in their main market, other competitors will fly to no more than a handful of destinations.

[45 metres]

Love them or loathe them the fact is that Ryanair offer cheap flights end of story and this will be a big loss.

Ryanair however are not the only airline that offer "cheap flights" though, they love to give that impression though that they are always cheaper. Depending on your circumstances as to when you book, how much baggage you plan to carry and things like checking in, sometimes Ryanair may give you the cheapest deal. Otherwise if Belfast is accessible to you, Easyjet, FlyBe or BMIBaby can often work out better.

I see in a statement to the LSE that Ryanair are claiming that their departure from Belfast City could affect up to 1000 jobs. I would take that with a large pinch of salt.

The problem with the City Airport is that it is so close to the city centre compared to many other airports in Europe which could be an advantage, but its location puts limits on expansion that Aldergrove doesn't have. Also for a city the size of Belfast to have two domestic airports quite close together both operating international flights is unusual.

[take_yer_points]

Is there not a recurring theme here. MOL demanded x, in this case the taxpayers build him a longer runway or he would pull out lock stock. The airport faced him down and he is off.

While its not good for the travelling public of Belfast, its time more people stood up  to Ryanair's bully boy tactics.

George, kick the wife's head in and drink two liver's worth of booze, Best Belfast City Airport is privately owned so the taxpayer wouldn't have had to fit the bill. Love them or loathe them the fact is that Ryanair offer cheap flights end of story and this will be a big loss. I'd rather stay at home than travel through Aldergrove where the road links are crap and the staff absolute pigs. Give me Dublin any day

I don't think it was a case of the airport facing him down either - I was under the impression the airport want to go ahead with the longer runway. Is it not the residents who are opposing this?

[supersarsfields]

Love them or loathe them the fact is that Ryanair offer cheap flights end of story and this will be a big loss.

Ryanair however are not the only airline that offer "cheap flights" though, they love to give that impression though that they are always cheaper. Depending on your circumstances as to when you book, how much baggage you plan to carry and things like checking in, sometimes Ryanair may give you the cheapest deal. Otherwise if Belfast is accessible to you, Easyjet, FlyBe or BMIBaby can often work out better.

I see in a statement to the LSE that Ryanair are claiming that their departure from Belfast City could affect up to 1000 jobs. I would take that with a large pinch of salt.

The problem with the City Airport is that it is so close to the city centre compared to many other airports in Europe which could be an advantage, but its location puts limits on expansion that Aldergrove doesn't have. Also for a city the size of Belfast to have two domestic airports quite close together both operating international flights is unusual.

Well I've been flying from Liverpool to Belfast at least twice a month for the last 7-8 months and Ryanair come up the cheapest every time and by a right bit sometimes. You could be chatting half the price of Easyjet. So as far as I'm concerned their the best I've been dealing with for that short hop. So it's bad news from were I'm looking at it.
And the idea of just heading to Manchester airport is a balls if it's a regular trip your making. The hassle and cost of doing that isn't logical.

[passedit]

Love them or loathe them the fact is that Ryanair offer cheap flights end of story and this will be a big loss.

Ryanair however are not the only airline that offer "cheap flights" though, they love to give that impression though that they are always cheaper. Depending on your circumstances as to when you book, how much baggage you plan to carry and things like checking in, sometimes Ryanair may give you the cheapest deal. Otherwise if Belfast is accessible to you, Easyjet, FlyBe or BMIBaby can often work out better.

I see in a statement to the LSE that Ryanair are claiming that their departure from Belfast City could affect up to 1000 jobs. I would take that with a large pinch of salt.

The problem with the City Airport is that it is so close to the city centre compared to many other airports in Europe which could be an advantage, but its location puts limits on expansion that Aldergrove doesn't have. Also for a city the size of Belfast to have two domestic airports quite close together both operating international flights is unusual.

Well I've been flying from Liverpool to Belfast at least twice a month for the last 7-8 months and Ryanair come up the cheapest every time and by a right bit sometimes. You could be chatting half the price of Easyjet. So as far as I'm concerned their the best I've been dealing with for that short hop. So it's bad news from were I'm looking at it.
And the idea of just heading to Manchester airport is a balls if it's a regular trip your making. The hassle and cost of doing that isn't logical.

Same as that, I travel every week and Ryanair are way cheaper. I've just booked my flights for November with flybe. Each one nearly four times as expensive as I usually pay ryanair. I refer ye to my other post on this thread.