Showing posts with label LCC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LCC. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Adieu Virgin Blue LCC
We are gathered here today to acknowledge the sell out and passing of our friend and former classmate Virgin Blue.
Effective today they are no longer a Low Cost Carrier but a conventional airline. Witness what they have done:
No Longer 1 Aircraft type - they now have 2 actually 3 but whose counting
No Longer a single class - they have 2 classes
No Longer web only airline - they are available in the GDS
No Longer one size fits all....
Profits are no longer ascending.
So we say Adieu Virgin Blue. Alas I knew her when she was a true Virgin. Now she is developing some decidedly matron like attributes. Just like Qantas.
Effective today they are no longer a Low Cost Carrier but a conventional airline. Witness what they have done:
No Longer 1 Aircraft type - they now have 2 actually 3 but whose counting
No Longer a single class - they have 2 classes
No Longer web only airline - they are available in the GDS
No Longer one size fits all....
Profits are no longer ascending.
So we say Adieu Virgin Blue. Alas I knew her when she was a true Virgin. Now she is developing some decidedly matron like attributes. Just like Qantas.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Air Berlin starts retreat at Stansted
Air Berlin has thrown in the towel on its much publicized attempt to challenge Ryanair and Easyjet at Stansted. With only 2 remaning point beyond flights at STN from the original 4 - AB will now only offer flights from STN to Germany and its hub at Palma de Majorca.
Stansted will continue to be a major hub for AB generating over 1.2 million pax at STN, its second largest hub outside of Germany.
Stansted will continue to be a major hub for AB generating over 1.2 million pax at STN, its second largest hub outside of Germany.
Monday, July 9, 2007
What is the state of the state for Long Haul LCC?
We have been tracking the Long Haul LCC roller coaster. As we predicted in February of this year the market for Long Haul LCC would heat up in 2007. Seems like we might have even underestimated the scale.
If we look at the premier LCCs in the world today we can easily say that the top players include:
Ryanair, Gol, Air Asia, Air Berlin, Virgin Blue and Jetstar. (I am not counting hybrids like US Airways or Airtran who don’t quite count at the moment). Each of these players have taken a slightly different path to Long Haul LCC.
Ryanair will take advantage of the Semi-Open Skies between EU and US next year. Gol bought Varig, Air Asia has the Air Asia X JV with a certain Brit, Virgin Blue plumped down some of its cash for 777s to fly across the Pacific. Jetstar is a surrogate for QF and a replacement for Australian Airlines. Finally Air Berlin jumped into the fray with its purchase of LTU and the recent order this week for 25 787s.
The stage is now set for a explosive growth in long haul LCC. With so much capacity in the Europe-Asia markets, Transpac looking up and even the stodgy old Transatlantic market picking up - the opportunities for significant traffic number growth is looking quite good.
Now of course where will these people end up and is there enough capacity to entertain them once they get there? We shall see
Cheers
Timothy
If we look at the premier LCCs in the world today we can easily say that the top players include:
Ryanair, Gol, Air Asia, Air Berlin, Virgin Blue and Jetstar. (I am not counting hybrids like US Airways or Airtran who don’t quite count at the moment). Each of these players have taken a slightly different path to Long Haul LCC.
Ryanair will take advantage of the Semi-Open Skies between EU and US next year. Gol bought Varig, Air Asia has the Air Asia X JV with a certain Brit, Virgin Blue plumped down some of its cash for 777s to fly across the Pacific. Jetstar is a surrogate for QF and a replacement for Australian Airlines. Finally Air Berlin jumped into the fray with its purchase of LTU and the recent order this week for 25 787s.
The stage is now set for a explosive growth in long haul LCC. With so much capacity in the Europe-Asia markets, Transpac looking up and even the stodgy old Transatlantic market picking up - the opportunities for significant traffic number growth is looking quite good.
Now of course where will these people end up and is there enough capacity to entertain them once they get there? We shall see
Cheers
Timothy
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Emirates again speculates on "Pack'em In" Long Haul LCC
Vice Chairman the very nice Mr Maurice Flanagan again today speculated on Emirates launching a low cost low fare derivative of Emirates. Tentatively titled Emirate Express by insiders - the new LCC carrier would be based around the A380 on a packed double decker bus.
With capacity of up to 800 people its easy to see how such a program could be a huge winner for EK. With Emirates formal brand focussing on the sharp end of the aircraft these days and offering full services at the back - they now face a host of imatators in the region. But the idea is not new. EK for several years has been running the "Curry Express" from Birmingham to Dubai for VFR and worker based traffic for the large expat community in the Midlands. It is now up to 2 flights a day - no first class but some J. There are even new airlines LCCs being mooted for direct BHX or LBA flights to the Indian subcontinent.
With some diversion of revenue already occuring with more direct flights between the UK and the Indian sub-continent EK needs to offer a price competitive product and continue to funnel the traffic through DXB.
Why not now?
No A380s and the new terminal at DXB is not quite ready. But rest assured when Jebel Ali International starts operating in a few years time - you can be sure to see A380s pulling up to a specialized terminal packed to the gunwales with bargain hunters and VFR traffic.
Imagine just that - STN/BHX/LBA - Jebel Ali. 3X a day - 2 X would go to India and 1 would go on to Australia and New Zealand. Putting an additional flight on to JNB would relieve some of the near term artifiical capacity constraints on the lucrative ZA to UK market.
Not my cup of tea but definitely something Mr O'Leary would be considering if he wasnt so wedded to Boeing.
Cheers
Timothy
With capacity of up to 800 people its easy to see how such a program could be a huge winner for EK. With Emirates formal brand focussing on the sharp end of the aircraft these days and offering full services at the back - they now face a host of imatators in the region. But the idea is not new. EK for several years has been running the "Curry Express" from Birmingham to Dubai for VFR and worker based traffic for the large expat community in the Midlands. It is now up to 2 flights a day - no first class but some J. There are even new airlines LCCs being mooted for direct BHX or LBA flights to the Indian subcontinent.
With some diversion of revenue already occuring with more direct flights between the UK and the Indian sub-continent EK needs to offer a price competitive product and continue to funnel the traffic through DXB.
Why not now?
No A380s and the new terminal at DXB is not quite ready. But rest assured when Jebel Ali International starts operating in a few years time - you can be sure to see A380s pulling up to a specialized terminal packed to the gunwales with bargain hunters and VFR traffic.
Imagine just that - STN/BHX/LBA - Jebel Ali. 3X a day - 2 X would go to India and 1 would go on to Australia and New Zealand. Putting an additional flight on to JNB would relieve some of the near term artifiical capacity constraints on the lucrative ZA to UK market.
Not my cup of tea but definitely something Mr O'Leary would be considering if he wasnt so wedded to Boeing.
Cheers
Timothy
Friday, April 13, 2007
Transatlantic For 12 quid
Perfectly feasible. Now on the radar courtesy of RyanAir's Mr O'Leary.
A canny Irish man that he is (an accountant by training in case you were unsure where his potty mouth came from), Mr O'Leary has formally announced that he will start a new sister airline to Ryanair for Transatlantic travel. Given the now enormous feed into and out of Stansted his ability to move passengers Americas to EU will be a short incremental piece rather than a leap of faith. Consider this:
1. He doesn't need a whole new aircraft - even though he wants to order 50 brand new A350XWB or 787s. In fact the Boeing 737 for which all his pilots are trained is available in an ER version (both 737-700ER and 737-900ER). http://www.boeing.com/commercial/737family/index.html
The 737-700ER unmodified has a certified range of 5510 miles. This will take you from Stansted to ISP (3478 miles) or OAK (5375 miles). Even San Diego (also mentioned in his announcement) is possible.
2. He has the right to switch aircraft sub types in his Boeing order (actually he can do pretty much what he likes with the order - the Boeing guys LOVE him)
3. The longest route on Ryanair is today 3 1/2 hours. (Marrakesh to London). The record flight time from Boston to London (Eastbound) is around 5 hours. Not a big difference in structure.
4. RyanAir has one of the best ontime records in Europe today.
So Mr O'Leary - why wait 4 years? Boeing can deliver you a brand new plane built in around 2 weeks. So Next April sounds fine don't you think?
Cheers!
The InTheKno team have just published the first study examining the LCCs and the Travel Trade. For more information go to www.inthekno.com or email sales@inthekno.com
A canny Irish man that he is (an accountant by training in case you were unsure where his potty mouth came from), Mr O'Leary has formally announced that he will start a new sister airline to Ryanair for Transatlantic travel. Given the now enormous feed into and out of Stansted his ability to move passengers Americas to EU will be a short incremental piece rather than a leap of faith. Consider this:
1. He doesn't need a whole new aircraft - even though he wants to order 50 brand new A350XWB or 787s. In fact the Boeing 737 for which all his pilots are trained is available in an ER version (both 737-700ER and 737-900ER). http://www.boeing.com/commercial/737family/index.html
The 737-700ER unmodified has a certified range of 5510 miles. This will take you from Stansted to ISP (3478 miles) or OAK (5375 miles). Even San Diego (also mentioned in his announcement) is possible.
2. He has the right to switch aircraft sub types in his Boeing order (actually he can do pretty much what he likes with the order - the Boeing guys LOVE him)
3. The longest route on Ryanair is today 3 1/2 hours. (Marrakesh to London). The record flight time from Boston to London (Eastbound) is around 5 hours. Not a big difference in structure.
4. RyanAir has one of the best ontime records in Europe today.
So Mr O'Leary - why wait 4 years? Boeing can deliver you a brand new plane built in around 2 weeks. So Next April sounds fine don't you think?
Cheers!
The InTheKno team have just published the first study examining the LCCs and the Travel Trade. For more information go to www.inthekno.com or email sales@inthekno.com
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