Air Scoop, Low Cost Carriers News Portal Blog

2009-12-18T15:16:00.002+01:00

Report: Single Aisle Airliner Re-Engine Program

Airbus and Boeing are virtually certain to launch re-engining (RE) programs for the A320 and 737 families because customers are increasing pressure to provide dramatic Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) improvements in the near term, preferably within the next five or six years. With Airbus and Boeing now stating that current generation single-aisle airplanes will be produced well into the 2020 decade. Cost overruns on the A380, A400M, 787 and 747-8 programs, with significant customer penalties, means neither Airbus nor Boeing can afford new airplane programs now.

16 p. 299 US$

2009-12-18T12:20:00.001+01:00

Non-Europeans being stung for hidden airline charges

"Anyone living in the UK is sure now to be aware that when booking with budget carriers, to really study the small print and to try our hardest to find out if there are any hidden charges. However, for those that are coming from outside the EU, and do not read the local press they are becoming unstuck at airport check-in desks. Simple connecting flights to a city from a major hub with any of the low-cost carriers can end up adding a hefty amount to their bill."

2009-12-18T12:19:00.001+01:00

Ryanair terminates Boeing jet delivery talks, confirms plan to halt growth

"Irish budget airline Ryanair has terminated discussions with Boeing Co over the delivery of 200 new B737-800 series aircraft during the 2013-2016 period, and is thus confirming its previously flagged plans to put a brake on its mid-term expansion and return surplus cash to shareholders."

2009-12-17T18:49:00.001+01:00

Emergency landing for Island flight

"A flight to the Isle of Man from London was forced to make an emergency landing in Manchester last night (Wednesday). It was after a warning light alerted the captain to smoke in the cockpit. The Flybe flight was en route from Gatwick when it was diverted. All 45 passengers left the plane through the emergency chutes shortly before 9pm. No-one was injured. The plane underwent checks in Manchester and an investigation into what caused the alert is underway."

2009-12-17T11:08:00.001+01:00

Thousands stranded as Scottish airline Flyglobespan goes bust

"Ryanair and easyJet both offering 'rescue' fares between Glasgow Prestwick and typical Flyglobespan destinations such as Tenerife, Alicante and Malaga. The travelling public was served up a heady cocktail of Christmas chaos tonight when a Scottish airline went into administration and baggage handlers warned of strikes at Heathrow. The demise of Flyglobespan, leaving 4,000 passengers stranded abroad, came as British Airways failed to convince cabin staff they should call off a planned strike after discussions with union leaders."

2009-12-16T16:57:00.001+01:00

Ryanair jet's airport crash after engine 'jump-started'

"A Ryanair plane with 168 passengers and crew was damaged when one of the engines had to be 'jump started', an air accident report has revealed. The Boeing 737-800 had to be evacuated in the dark after the evening collision with a Stansted Airport tug near the terminal. No one was injured, but the tug driver had to leap to safety as the plane lurched into it. The accident report said the jet was running 25 minutes late and was on its third flight of the day. The plane had a 'deferred defect' -- a broken auxiliary power unit."

2009-12-16T15:05:00.001+01:00

EasyJet: Airline loses appeal on charges

"Low-cost airline easyJet has lost the latest round of its legal battle over what it has described as an 'exorbitant' increase in airport charges at Gatwick. In June a judge in the High Court rejected the airline's accusation that the price decision made last year by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was unfair and unlawful. Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London dismissed easyJet's challenge against that ruling."

2009-12-16T12:44:00.001+01:00

Watchdog bans misleading Easyjet ads

"An online sales promotion and radio ad for Easyjet flights have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority after complainants questioned the information in the ads. One complainant felt the online ad was misleading as the travel dates for the promotion were not included in the ad. Another complainant was confused over a claim of a 20 per cent reduction off all seats during the promotional period as he understood the offer should have referred to 'up to' 20 per cent off."

2009-12-16T11:15:00.000+01:00

The tax office will investigate allegations of Ryanair after Copac

"The tax office will investigate Ryanair because of allegations made by the Official College of Commercial Aviation Pilots (Copac), on 4 November, regarding procurement policies and the fiscal situation of workers of the airline and other companies foreigners with permanent bases in Spain."

2009-12-16T11:14:00.002+01:00

Ryanair criticized over safety incident

"Ryanair, the biggest no-frills airline in Europe, has been criticized by the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit for an incident that occured in September, last year. Nine oxigen masks failed to deploy and the cabin crew had to bang on the cockpit to make them come out. Because of panick and bad trained received from the company, the crew had to use ID cards in a desperate attempt to ryanair flight Ryanair criticized over safety incidentforce the oxigen masks to come out, according to a report made public by the Air Accident Investigation Unit. The report criticizes the crew for continuing pressurising the cabin despite the fact that the nature of the incident was not known."

2009-12-15T14:37:00.001+01:00

Easyjet challenges airport extension plans

"Budget airline easyJet called today for a public inquiry into controversial proposals to extend the runway at George Best Belfast City Airport. Amid growing speculation that planners are set to give the green light to the 600-metre extension, the operator urged the British government not to make a decision until the pubic had their say. The runway plan would allow planes with heavier fuel loads to take off, opening up further-afield destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean. But it has been met with opposition from a number of local residents near the east Belfast hub who claim it would see noise levels rise to unbearable levels. The proposals are being backed by one of easyJet’s main competitors Ryanair which hopes to fly its larger aircraft out of the airport."

2009-12-15T14:00:00.001+01:00

The no-frills airlines with high-frills costs

"Which? Holiday has revealed the “true” cost of flying with a budget airline and says transaction and luggage-carrying fees can add up to 30% on to the advertised price in many cases. Research from Which? looked into the costs (including luggage and paying with a credit or debit card) of flights for two people to four European destinations with four of the UK’s biggest budget airlines: Ryanair, bmibaby, easyJet and Jet2."

2009-12-15T12:42:00.001+01:00

Ryanair flight crew's response to take-off incident criticised

"Nine oxygen masks failed to deploy and cabin crew were reduced to banging on the cockpit door to alert the pilot during a serious incident on a Ryanair flight in September 2008, an air accident investigation has found. Anxious cabin crew used ID cards in a vain effort to prise open the units where masks which had not come down were stored, according to the report of the Air Accident Investigation Unit."

2009-12-14T15:04:00.001+01:00

Ryanair surcharges 'add 30% to advertised fares'

"Ryanair routinely adds up to 30 per cent to its advertised fares by charging extra for credit card bookings and check-in luggage, research by Which? Holiday shows. The consumer watchdog compared the luggage and payment fees of four airlines – bmibaby, easyJet, Jet2.com and Ryanair – on flights to Paris, Malaga, Rome and Faro. It found that Ryanair was the worst offender for adding extra fees, charging £50 for services on each of the flights researchers looked at – an increase of up to 29 per cent."

2009-12-14T09:24:00.000+01:00

Slovakia now belongs to Ryanair; has 67% of Bratislava’s seat capacity

"The Slovakian market may be down on last year, but Ryanair does not scale down. The airline now has a 60% share of the whole country’s seat capacity, in spite of only serving Bratislava. In May, Ryanair transported its two millionth passenger from the airport (Tina Anzinger from Austria, centre), as is seen being celebrated here. Having lost its former national carrier ČSA to the Czech Republic, and this year also seen the demise of the de facto new national airline SkyEurope, Slovakia has again been left without a strong local carrier. In the last two weeks, however, the regional carrier DanubeWings has grown its network, both by expanding to Basel and by wet leasing 737 capacity from ČSA on new routes to London Luton, Manchester and Dublin."

2009-12-11T18:35:00.001+01:00

EasyJet CEO Harrison becomes latest exec to quit

"Andy Harrison will quit as chief executive of easyJet at the end of June, becoming the latest senior manager to leave the low-cost carrier in the wake of a boardroom battle with founder Stelios Haji-Iannou. 'Five of easyJet's eight most senior executives have now left over the past twelve months,' Douglas McNeill, equity analyst at Astaire Securities, said. 'It is hard not to see Sir Stelios's campaign against the expansion strategy as having been a factor.'"

2009-12-11T12:22:00.001+01:00

EasyJet crisis as chief takes off

"EasyJet was plunged into chaos yesterday as it emerged its chief executive is quitting. Andy Harrison will leave the low-cost airline next summer to 'seek new challenges'. He is the FIFTH senior exec to quit in the past year - after a fierce row between the board and founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou over the airline's growth plans. Stelios, who controls 38 per cent of easyJet's shares, last year slammed Mr Harrison and his execs for ordering too many planes. The airline's chairman Sir Colin Chandler quit in April claiming he was 'fed up' with the row. Experts yesterday indicated that Mr Harrison - who has been with easyJet for four years - had wanted to quit earlier this year."

2009-12-10T10:42:00.000+01:00

Norwegian stumbles

"This airline has been a success story so far. It has grown remarkably and in a few cases, made competitor SAS, look clumsy. Now there is news that things may not be so rosy. Norwegian Air Shuttle, reported deep falls in yields last month, with an estimate of €6.46c for November, a 21% reduction yoy. This follows an 11% reduction in October. Ouch! These yield contractions began in June, kicking is as fuel surcharges were removed. The yield figure also reflects a significantly adjusted route portfolio, a 5% increase in sector length and the introduction of new larger aircraft and lower unit cost. These factors are estimated to account for approximately 90% of the yield reduction, according to the carrier. The carrier’s unit revenues were also down by double digits in November."

2009-12-10T10:32:00.002+01:00

Ryanair’s Ancillary Revenue Strategy presentation

"A little presentation as a sum up to the debate – Ryanair and ancillary revenue growth as a business strategy."

Ancillary Revenue as a Business Strategy at Ryanair

View more presentations from Magdalena Anna Fas.

2009-12-09T13:30:00.001+01:00

EasyJet chief quits after turbulent tenure

"Andy Harrison is quitting as chief executive of easyJet after four turbulent years in the role, during which he was strongly criticised by the founder and biggest shareholder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, over the budget airline’s strategy. EasyJet said today: 'Andy Harrison, chief executive officer, has indicated his desire to leave the company in order to seek new challenges.' The company said that the board has agreed that Mr Harrison will stay in post until the end of next June to give it time to find a successor. easyJet said the whole board, apart from Sir Stelios, had supported Mr Harrison's growth strategy. Sir Stelios, who is a non-executive director and, with his family, controls 38 per cent of the company, has since autumn last year repeatedly stated that he believed Mr Harrison was ordering too many planes when the carrier should be conserving cash and reining back on expansion at a time of low demand for air travel."

2009-12-09T11:59:00.001+01:00

Ryanair's O'Leary Reinvents Cost Cuts in Bid to Grab Passengers

"The Irish no-frills carrier's low fares helped it carry more international passengers than any other airline in the world last year. It's on course to keep growing and post strong profits again this year, as more traditional rivals struggle with weak traffic and discounted airfares, despite early signs of a pickup. In a Boss Talk interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary discusses growth in a recession, transparency with passengers, and the fast-changing airline industry. Barely a decade ago, Ryanair's brash chief executive, Michael O'Leary, brought Southwest Airlines Co.'s model of simplicity and frugality to Europe. He put the business plan on steroids by squeezing costs and slashing ticket prices. The Nasdaq-listed Ryanair has been one of the world's most consistently profitable airlines this decade."

2009-12-09T11:58:00.001+01:00

EasyJet CEO Resigns

"EasyJet PLC said Wednesday Chief Executive Andy Harrison has resigned, in the third major boardroom departure at the U.K. budget carrier in just under a year. EasyJet said Mr. Harrison 'has indicated his desire to leave the company in order to seek new challenges,' but didn't indicate what he planned to do next. Mr. Harrison will remain in his current role until June 30, 2010."

2009-12-08T11:11:00.001+01:00

EasyJet to cut back on Glasgow and Edinburgh flights

"EasyJet has announced plans to cut back on flights between Glasgow and Edinburgh and London Luton. The budget airline said the move will be part of plans to cut capacity at Luton by 20% and pull out of its base altogether at East Midlands airport on January 5. EasyJet has been carrying out a 90 day consultation process with staff and promised to accommodate all 107 affected cabin crew and pilots who wish to move to its other bases."

2009-12-08T11:09:00.002+01:00

Ryanair insists on operating in Barcelona-El Prat, but has not yet requested permission to fly

"The Irish budget airline Ryanair insists its intention to operate the airport Barcelona-El Prat, but after a year of advertising in the media, has not yet applied the 'slots' (landing and takeoff permissions), as explained the airport director, Fernando Echegaray."

2009-12-08T11:08:00.001+01:00

EasyJet to stop flying from East Midlands

"Budget airline easyJet has announced cuts that will see it pull out of one East Midlands airport and reduce capacity by 20% at another. The low-cost carrier confirmed that after a 90-day consultation with staff it will close its base at East Midlands Airport and cut capacity at its home base at London Luton Airport by 20%. On January 5, the airline will stop its operations at East Midlands Airport."