Ryanair pulling out pf Prague*Moderator Warning post 28

ejmaztec

Michael O'Leary's probably scouting round the Czech Republic for a big field, c/w runway/lights/control-tower/hangar/terminal. His bluff was called.


http://www.radio.cz/en/news/127360
Ryanair is to discontinue flights to and from Prague later this year. A spokesperson for Europe’s biggest budget airline said it was pulling out of the city’s Ruzyně airport because its charges were too high. Routes to Birmingham and Hahn near Frankfurt will come to an end in July, while routes to Dublin and Stockholm will cease in October. Ryanair had put forward a proposal to increase its number of destinations from Prague to 33, if the airport reduced its charges considerably. The airport’s management refused, saying the same conditions applied to all airlines.

Lifelike

First Manchester, then Shannon, now Prague. What airport will be next, I wonder?

Hopefully Aer Lingus will pile on extra services to make up for this.

donkey balls

Lifelike wrote: »

First Manchester, then Shannon, now Prague. What airport will be next, I wonder?

Hopefully Aer Lingus will pile on extra services to make up for this.

or do a ryanair and put the prices up:rolleyes: does Chech airlines not cover that route anymore

Lifelike

donkey balls wrote: »

or do a ryanair and put the prices up:rolleyes: does Chech airlines not cover that route anymore

they do actually cover that route forgot about them their prices aren't bad either.

ednwireland

ejmaztec wrote: »

The airport’s management refused, saying the same conditions applied to all airlines.

interesting that airports seem to be refusing ro do sweet deals for ryanair any more, enough carriers fighting for slots ?

ejmaztec

donkey balls wrote: »

or do a ryanair and put the prices up:rolleyes: does Chech airlines not cover that route anymore

Czech Airlines used to have regular flights on the Dublin/Prague and Cork/Prague routes, but over the last three years, they've been trying to cut their losses, first by pulling out of Cork, then reducing the Dublin/Prague flights to one each week. There are more regular Aer Lingus flights, but they're not exactly cheap.

Aer Lingus handled the Cork/Prague route for the year after Czech Airlines gave it up, and now Dublin is the only option.

Lifelike

ejmaztec wrote: »

Czech Airlines used to have regular flights on the Dublin/Prague and Cork/Prague routes, but over the last three years, they've been trying to cut their losses, first by pulling out of Cork, then reducing the Dublin/Prague flights to one each week. There are more regular Aer Lingus flights, but they're not exactly cheap.

Aer Lingus handled the Cork/Prague route for the year after Czech Airlines gave it up, and now Dublin is the only option.

Czech Airlines have increased the frequency to twice weekly. Last Summer they announced that they were pulling out of Dublin altogether, but in January they announced that flights were to resume in May.

Shanair

Great to see airports standing up to Ryanair blackmail- while we all appreciate the low fares the damage done to business in an area when they force other carriers out of airports is immense especially when at a whim Ryanair then drop routes people have come to rely on. Other carriers are then afraid to re-introduce services as there is always the threat Ryanair will return and run them off the route again. While tourists benefit greatly from really cheap fares what developing businesses need, especially in these times, is stable route connections.

Lifelike

Shanair wrote: »

Great to see airports standing up to Ryanair blackmail- while we all appreciate the low fares the damage done to business in an area when they force other carriers out of airports is immense especially when at a whim Ryanair then drop routes people have come to rely on. Other carriers are then afraid to re-introduce services as there is always the threat Ryanair will return and run them off the route again. While tourists benefit greatly from really cheap fares what developing businesses need, especially in these times, is stable route connections.

Agree. Ryanair are very unpredictable with their routes. They come and go to suit themselves.

CantThinkOfANam

Christ they keep pulling out of the decent airports with an ILS on both ends and CATIII, why dont they pull out of the likes of Carcassonne!!

N2

CantThinkOfANam wrote: »

Christ they keep pulling out of the decent airports with an ILS on both ends and CATIII, why dont they pull out of the likes of Carcassonne!!

I still get nightmares about Carcassonne!

RoadKillTs

I'd be surprised if they pull out of Prague. Would be a bad move imo.

EchoIndia

CantThinkOfANam wrote: »

Christ they keep pulling out of the decent airports with an ILS on both ends and CATIII, why dont they pull out of the likes of Carcassonne!!

That is probably quite a profitable route, as the only alternative from Ireland to the region is EI to TLS.

homerjay2005

Shanair wrote: »

Great to see airports standing up to Ryanair blackmail- while we all appreciate the low fares the damage done to business in an area when they force other carriers out of airports is immense especially when at a whim Ryanair then drop routes people have come to rely on. Other carriers are then afraid to re-introduce services as there is always the threat Ryanair will return and run them off the route again. While tourists benefit greatly from really cheap fares what developing businesses need, especially in these times, is stable route connections.

is it? its all about competition and business is business. if airports are too greedy, then its there loss. ryanair will still make money elsewhere.

as long as the flights are cheap, i dont care.

EchoIndia

homerjay2005 wrote: »

is it? its all about competition and business is business. if airports are too greedy, then its there loss. ryanair will still make money elsewhere.

as long as the flights are cheap, i dont care.

Is that the sum total of your analysis? Surely you have some preference over where you actually fly to? Maybe this article will help to explain what is happening:

http://tinyurl.com/2dougoj

highlydebased

homerjay2005 wrote: »

is it? its all about competition and business is business. if airports are too greedy, then its there loss. ryanair will still make money elsewhere.

as long as the flights are cheap, i dont care.

Is it? Half the airports Ryanair fly to there is no competition.

Take Shannon for example, the airport wanted to charge Ryanair a nominal fee per passenger, not more than a fiver. Very greedy alright :rolleyes: Airports have to be commercially viable at the end of the day, and letting Ryanair fly in for free is not instrumental in achieving this

freyners

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Is it? Half the airports Ryanair fly to there is no competition.

Take Shannon for example, the airport wanted to charge Ryanair a nominal fee per passenger, not more than a fiver. Very greedy alright :rolleyes: Airports have to be commercially viable at the end of the day, and letting Ryanair fly in for free is not instrumental in achieving this

sorry if im wrong about this but didnt prestwick airport basically let them do such a thing????

highlydebased

freyners wrote: »

sorry if im wrong about this but didnt prestwick airport basically let them do such a thing????

AFAIK they did, just to stop them from leaving. I think they've reduced flights there now anyway

homerjay2005

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Is it? Half the airports Ryanair fly to there is no competition.

Take Shannon for example, the airport wanted to charge Ryanair a nominal fee per passenger, not more than a fiver. Very greedy alright :rolleyes: Airports have to be commercially viable at the end of the day, and letting Ryanair fly in for free is not instrumental in achieving this

surely its in shannons best interest to keep Ryanair happy? <SNIP> but allowing them in would add to revenue of the airport while they are in the airport. giving the huge inflated prices of stuff in airports, im sure they would be making that 5er anyway and more.

if i was shannon, i would rather having those passengers spending money while in the airport rather than flying from knock and kerry instead.

syklops

I nearly fainted when I saw this. Recently booked flights home for the summer. Luckily they are not pulling out until October. That said I had planned to fly with them at Xmas, and not make the mistake I made last year and use Aer Lingus. 4 hour delay in Prague Airport, due to delays caused by the bad weather, though somehow the Ryanair flight made it out on time.

I dont know how expensive Prague Airport is for carriers, but believe it or not it is more expensive then Dublin airport for consumers. Over 6 euro for a beer. 5 euro for a coffee.

Ill be disappointed if this goes ahead, but maybe Mick has another card up his sleeve.

Shanair

homerjay2005 wrote: »

surely its in shannons best interest to keep Ryanair happy? <SNIP> but allowing them in would add to revenue of the airport while they are in the airport. giving the huge inflated prices of stuff in airports, im sure they would be making that 5er anyway and more.

if i was shannon, i would rather having those passengers spending money while in the airport rather than flying from knock and kerry instead.

I understand the Shannon management had a deal in place but the Dublin Airport Authority stopped it because it was not economical in their opinion - must get the pax through Terminal 2 at all costs !

ejmaztec

I would imagine that the Czechs would rather reduce Czech Airline's fees (if they don't give them preferential treatment already) than even think about giving Ryanair a discount.

http://www.radio.cz/en/news/127548
Transport Minister: Czech Airlines lost almost four billion Czech crowns in 2008

The minister of transport, Gustav Slamečka, said in an interview with the Czech daily Hospodářské Noviny on Monday that Czech Airlines’ operating costs had lead to losses of approximately four billion Czech crowns in 2008. He said that the number of passengers who travelled with Czech Airlines in that period is estimated to be about four million, which means that with each passenger, the airline suffered a loss of roughly 1000 crowns. Mr. Slamečka supported the airline’s proposed three-year restructuring plan, which the government approved on Monday. The plan seeks to cut costs by gradually changing the company into a holding company. Other cost-cutting measures include cuts in staff and the number of planes in the Czech Airlines fleet.

Stinicker

The Irish travelling public have done Prague really, in its heyday it was well Prague, cheap and cheerful and a hotspot to visit, then the stag parties moved in and they now too are dying (thank god). A lot of people have visited Prague over the years and the Ryanair passengers the last few years were Irish catcher-upper travellers, stag parties going to get laid by prozzies and Czech and Southern Polish migrants shuttling back and forth between Ireland. I'd say the passengers are just not there now due to financial differences.

Bebop

hey Shanair..

It sounds like you work for Aer Lingus, <Snip> please take a read of the charter and be warned that airline bashing is not permitted in the Aviation and Aircraft forum

Lifelike

Stinicker wrote: »

The Irish travelling public have done Prague really, in its heyday it was well Prague, cheap and cheerful and a hotspot to visit, then the stag parties moved in and they now too are dying (thank god). A lot of people have visited Prague over the years and the Ryanair passengers the last few years were Irish catcher-upper travellers, stag parties going to get laid by prozzies and Czech and Southern Polish migrants shuttling back and forth between Ireland. I'd say the passengers are just not there now due to financial differences.

Although I do agree that passenger numbers have dropped because of the recession, a route between Dublin and Prague is more than justified. Plenty of people are still going away (including me, but that doesn't mean I'm rich). Prague is also an important business city.

andy_g

Guys please dont post anything in regards to airline bashing as this is against the forurm charter. If you bash an airline in any sense the airline can come back with legal action against boards.ie. anyone caught airline bashing after this post will recieve either am infraction or earn three days off.
Andy

Shanair

Apologies - did not mean to offend anyone. Moderator may remove my message

andy_g

In fairness i think its mad that Ryanair are pulling out of prague as i thought it would be a profitable route

syklops

ejmaztec wrote: »

I would imagine that the Czechs would rather reduce Czech Airline's fees (if they don't give them preferential treatment already) than even think about giving Ryanair a discount.

Most Czech feel about Czech Airlines the way most people think about Ryanair(And what I think about AL). They say the service is terrible, the planes are old, and the flights are expensive.

http://www.radio.cz/en/news/127548
Transport Minister: Czech Airlines lost almost four billion Czech crowns in 2008

The minister of transport, Gustav Slamečka, said in an interview with the Czech daily Hospodářské Noviny on Monday that Czech Airlines’ operating costs had lead to losses of approximately four billion Czech crowns in 2008. He said that the number of passengers who travelled with Czech Airlines in that period is estimated to be about four million, which means that with each passenger, the airline suffered a loss of roughly 1000 crowns. Mr. Slamečka supported the airline’s proposed three-year restructuring plan, which the government approved on Monday. The plan seeks to cut costs by gradually changing the company into a holding company. Other cost-cutting measures include cuts in staff and the number of planes in the Czech Airlines fleet.

It sounds like alot but its only 160 million euro which these days and for an airline is not a massive amount. Last year Aer Lingus made a loss of about 90 million, so they are not worlds apart.

EDIT: Actually according to the below link Aer Lingus lost 154 million last year:

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1019351.shtml

If that fact is correct then they are definitely not worlds apart.

Bebop

If you are comparing a state owned former soviet block flag carrier operating Russian aircraft with Aer Lingus and Ryanair you are confusing chalk with cheese,
Both Irish carriers are privately owned and profitable, most airlines made losses in 2008/2009 Aer Lingus is sitting on a cash reserve from previous years profits, Ryanair and Aer Lingus are low fares airlines with the newest fleets in Europe

syklops

Bebop wrote: »

If you are comparing a state owned former soviet block flag carrier operating Russian aircraft with Aer Lingus and Ryanair you are confusing chalk with cheese,
Both Irish carriers are privately owned and profitable, most airlines made losses in 2008/2009 Aer Lingus is sitting on a cash reserve from previous years profits, Ryanair and Aer Lingus are low fares airlines with the newest fleets in Europe

I dont see the relevance in your post to it being former soviet or that they use Russian aircraft.

Both Irish carriers are privately owned and profitable

Is Aer Lingus actually profitable though? I'll go and look for some figures later. Also the government owns about 27% of them, so while they are not government owned, the cronyism that goes on between them, the DAA and the government means they might as well be state owned.

Ryanair and Aer Lingus are low fares airlines with the newest fleets in Europe

Aer Lingus is not a low fare Air line. It is trying to offer low fares to compete with Ryanair but the business model is not one of a low fare air line.

Bebop

syklops wrote: »

I dont see the relevance in your post to it being former soviet or that they use Russian aircraft.




Is Aer Lingus actually profitable though? I'll go and look for some figures later. Also the government owns about 27% of them, so while they are not government owned, the cronyism that goes on between them, the DAA and the government means they might as well be state owned.





Aer Lingus is not a low fare Air line. It is trying to offer low fares to compete with Ryanair but the business model is not one of a low fare air line.

Hi Syklops,

Soviet bloc flag carriers cannot compete with the modern Airline business model which is essentially a low fares no frills carrier flying a B737-800/ Airbus 32X fleet


Simple universal rule; Every airline has to make a profit; if it consistently fails to make money it gets gobbled up by the competition [like United] or goes bust like Swissair, the days when we could throw taxpayers money into an airline are gone for good

The Irish government does not own any part of Ryanair, both airlines are owned by their shareholders, the minister of finance holds 27% of Aer Lingus but if he acted against the interest of the other shareholders the share price would nosedive and so would the airline, I dont know what you mean by cronyisim but all airlines are governed by EU strict rules and governments must act impartially, maybe things are different in your country

Have you flown Aer Lingus recently? try it and get back to me about it not being a low fares airline

globemaster1986

Czech airlines don't operate any Russian aircraft. They hgave a mixed fleet of Airbus A310, A319/320/321, Boeing 737-400/500 and ATR 42 and 72.
See link:

http://www.csa.cz/en/portal/company/about_us/aircraft_fleet.htm

donkey balls

globemaster1986 wrote: »

Czech airlines don't operate any Russian aircraft. They hgave a mixed fleet of Airbus A310, A319/320/321, Boeing 737-400/500 and ATR 42 and 72.
See link:

http://www.csa.cz/en/portal/company/about_us/aircraft_fleet.htm

you beat me to it:) CZA started operating out of Dub in 1999 using a b734 back then there prices were good, even though they were the only carrier flying into Praha i used them four times going to the Czech republic and never had a problem.

ejmaztec

donkey balls wrote: »

you beat me to it:) CZA started operating out of Dub in 1999 using a b734 back then there prices were good, even though they were the only carrier flying into Praha i used them four times going to the Czech republic and never had a problem.

I used them four times from Cork and found them very reasonable, and they even managed to throw in the meal of your choice. The last time I went to Prague, it was with Aer Lingus, and there seemed no difference between their in-flight service and that of Ryanair.

I think that both Czech Airlines and Ruzyne will be privatised as soon as the markets allow, as this has been mooted for some time.

I heard a while ago that another airfield West of Ruzyne was trying to get permission to open up as a small airport, but I can't remember the name of the place. If that one ever gets off the ground as it were, then that would fall into the Ryanair "cow-pasture" trap.

The former Soviet-bloc countries must be riddled with disused air-bases, in a similar way to many in the UK, and these will either go to waste, or some bright spark will make full use of the tarmac.

Stinicker

ejmaztec wrote: »

I used them four times from Cork and found them very reasonable, and they even managed to throw in the meal of your choice. The last time I went to Prague, it was with Aer Lingus, and there seemed no difference between their in-flight service and that of Ryanair.

I think that both Czech Airlines and Ruzyne will be privatised as soon as the markets allow, as this has been mooted for some time.

I heard a while ago that another airfield West of Ruzyne was trying to get permission to open up as a small airport, but I can't remember the name of the place. If that one ever gets off the ground as it were, then that would fall into the Ryanair "cow-pasture" trap.

The former Soviet-bloc countries must be riddled with disused air-bases, in a similar way to many in the UK, and these will either go to waste, or some bright spark will make full use of the tarmac.

Having been to Prague twice I have flown in and out with both Aer Lingus and Ryanair respectively. Aer Lingus offer a far superior service at Prague as you simply go to the gate and board the plane through the jetway. Ryanair are not even standard in Praha and the lemmings spend maybe 20 minutes standing only to get onto a bendy bus which drives you out to some far removed apron and you board there.

Last time I flew Aer Lingus (in 2008) they were €220 return from Cork and when I flew Ryanair (last October) last year they were €65 single and Aer Lingus were the same price except Ryanair came into Dublin in the mid morning (11am) and Aer Lingus landed at 5 minutes past midnight.

Czech Airlines I wouldn't even bother with as they are insanely expensive and are always too early to depart or arrive too late. A 6am flight from Dublin isn't practical if you have to drive 4 hours overnight from Kerry. Inevitably you then spend the first day of the trip like an undead sleep deprived zombie. I did it once a never again. F&ck redeye morning flights I'd rather pay extra and fly Aer Lingus.

Praha Ruyzne Airport has already been privatised and is a nice little setup up all it needs it the metro extended from Dejvicka.

syklops

Stinicker wrote: »

Having been to Prague twice I have flown in and out with both Aer Lingus and Ryanair respectively. Aer Lingus offer a far superior service at Prague as you simply go to the gate and board the plane through the jetway. Ryanair are not even standard in Praha and the lemmings spend maybe 20 minutes standing only to get onto a bendy bus which drives you out to some far removed apron and you board there.

Last time I flew Aer Lingus (in 2008) they were €220 return from Cork and when I flew Ryanair (last October) last year they were €65 single and Aer Lingus were the same price except Ryanair came into Dublin in the mid morning (11am) and Aer Lingus landed at 5 minutes past midnight.

Czech Airlines I wouldn't even bother with as they are insanely expensive and are always too early to depart or arrive too late. A 6am flight from Dublin isn't practical if you have to drive 4 hours overnight from Kerry. Inevitably you then spend the first day of the trip like an undead sleep deprived zombie. I did it once a never again. F&ck redeye morning flights I'd rather pay extra and fly Aer Lingus.

Praha Ruyzne Airport has already been privatised and is a nice little setup up all it needs it the metro extended from Dejvicka.

The only time I flew into Prague was the Christmas just gone. I flew Aer Lingus, because it was the same price as Ryanair so I thought I would take advantage of the "better service" with Aer Lingus. Now I accept that it was a busy time and the delays were due to the weather, but every Ryanair flight took off and landed on time, where as Aer Lingus kept me stranded for 5 hours. When we checked in they said there would be a slight delay. After about an hour I found an irish Aer Lingus stewardess and asked her for an estimation and she said "Dont tell everybody but the plane has not left Dublin yet".

This is not an airline bashing thread so I would treat upon my opinion of Aer Lingus service but suffice it to say, I know who I will fly with from now on.

ejmaztec

syklops wrote: »

The only time I flew into Prague was the Christmas just gone. I flew Aer Lingus, because it was the same price as Ryanair so I thought I would take advantage of the "better service" with Aer Lingus. Now I accept that it was a busy time and the delays were due to the weather, but every Ryanair flight took off and landed on time, where as Aer Lingus kept me stranded for 5 hours. When we checked in they said there would be a slight delay. After about an hour I found an irish Aer Lingus stewardess and asked her for an estimation and she said "Dont tell everybody but the plane has not left Dublin yet".

This is not an airline bashing thread so I would treat upon my opinion of Aer Lingus service but suffice it to say, I know who I will fly with from now on.

How do you normally get to Brno?

syklops

ejmaztec wrote: »

How do you normally get to Brno?

When I arrived it was Dublin Stanstead, stanstead Brno. The second time was at Christmas dublin-prague. Going in the summer will be Dublin Prague. Next Christmas will be Bratislava - Dublin.

FiSe

ejmaztec wrote: »

How do you normally get to Brno?

Or to Vienna, although the service from here to there is worse than poor lately