WN to the UK?

skyguy25

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Nov 30, 2003
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Transatlantic dogfight looms as Ryanair promises £7 fare to US


The bargain flights common in Europe looked set yesterday to spread across the Atlantic, as the budget airlines announced plans to challenge the dominance of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Michael O’Leary, of Ryanair, promised £7 tickets to the US, and Southwest Airlines, the American pioneer of no-frills travel, signalled its intention to start flying to the UK.
The prospect of cheap flights from London to New York will revive memories of Freddie Laker’s doomed challenge to the flag carriers 30 years ago.

However, liberalisation of air travel through last month’s “open skies†agreement promises to revolutionise transatlantic travel.

Other entrants to route have failed to get off the ground
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, announced plans yesterday to offer flights to Baltimore, Rhode Island and New York for as little as €10 to €12 each way, but the service is likely to face stiff competition.

The Times understands that Southwest Airlines is considering going international, while Jet Blue, another US low-cost airline, is also thought to be eager to join the fray.

If the plans are carried out, prices for passengers would be slashed and a much wider choice of service would be available, from the top end offered by BA and Virgin, to aircraft on which everything from food to entertainment costs extra.

The opportunity to launch low-cost fares across the Atlantic has been made possible by the “open skies†agreement, which will lift the restrictions on where airlines can fly.

At present only BA, Virgin, American and United are allowed to fly from Heathrow to the US.

From next year this will be opened to all carriers. Technology is also making budget flights possible as the next generation of aircraft will be at least 20 per cent more fuel efficient and less expensive to maintain.

Mr O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, said that he was seeking to buy between 30 and 50 long-haul jets.

These would be either the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350, neither of which is in the air yet.

He is proposing to launch a company, wholly owned by Ryanair, which will start flying within four years to up to half a dozen US cities.

Ticket prices will start at €10 to €12 but the company will use the typical low-cost model of increasing the price as more tickets are sold.


This would challenge the already competitive market for economy passengers between the UK and the US, potentially forcing BA and Virgin to offer similar promotional fares.

BA and Virgin are also experiencing competition in business class, which accounts for most of their profits.

Silverjet, Maxjet and Eos have all begun operating business-class-only flights for substantially lower prices.

However, the real threat to all these operators will be if Southwest launches international flights, possibly through its code-share partner ATA.

Southwest said: “It is definitely something we are looking at.â€
This appeared in several UK and Canadian Papers
 
This is a link to a different article about the same subject. The article mentions Ryanair using secondary airports in the US and mentions ISP. I don't know how feasible international flights are from ISP given a 7,000 ft. runway, probably SWF is a better choice. However, neither ISP nor SWF is currently set up to accommodate international passengers.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MHT(50 miles north of BOS) IS.
With a 9000'+ r/way to boot !

WN will need something OTHER than the 737-700 "wonderjet"(unless their planning fuel stops from MHT to Goose bay Labrador, and Iceland.)

NH/BB's
 
It's funny that all the articles keep mentioning the "freedom to fly to Heathrow currently monopolized by BA, AA, et al."

Having the right to fly to Heathrow and having a landing slot that makes that possible are two entirely different things. Heathrow is the poster child for slot-restricted airports. Unless the current airlines are forced to give up slots, I don't see a lot of new business at Heathrow in the foreseeable future.

However, if you think SW flying to Europe is far-fetched, just look back to the "assistance" given to ATA in their bankruptcy and the ensuing codeshare. SW has a/c at it's disposal that can fly the routes easily. Maybe not the newest a/c, but still...

And, note the recent purchase by ATA's parent company of two other long-haul charter companies. That's a lot of DC-10s and L-1011s available.
(Personally, I used to love to fly on the DC-10 as a passenger. Didn't have too much experience with the L-1011, but I don't remember the experiences as bad.)
 
to fly on the DC-10 as a passenger. Didn't have too much experience with the L-1011, but I don't remember the experiences as bad.)
How about those Re-Engined DC-8's? They sure put ya back in the seat when they took off. 757's can do the same, if ATA doesn't keep dwindling them away. But they are merging with North American/World They have some 767 and 757s.
 
silly rabbits.....the 787 comes out in less than 2 years and boeing is unveiling the NG 737 soooo the writing is on the wall...
 
silly rabbits.....the 787 comes out in less than 2 years and boeing is unveiling the NG 737 soooo the writing is on the wall...

Far less than two years: The 787 rollout is scheduled for this July eighth. Get it? (0)7/(0)8/(0)7.
You KNOW Boeing isn't goint to let that opportunity slip!

The 737NG (-600/-700/-800-/-900) has been in service since 1997. I assume you mean the long-rumored 737 replacement (which one would assume will be designated 797).
 
The 737 will be redone with GEnx engines and larger capacity, as is the 747 GEnx, I dont see a new 737 replacement as far as airframe is concerned for at least 10 years, the 787 will set the pace of technology that is flowing into already exixting boeing designs, they still have to fill 1600 or more 737 orders as well as the new 787, and expect large orders of the 747 Genx and 737 GEnx, even though they say they are going to look at a replacement of the 737 it is merly an idea to keep eads over extended as was the case of the 380,the 380 will not compete with the 747 Genx that is 11 feet longer than previous 747 and up to 20% more fuel effecient over the life of the plane, the 380 was a classic blunder on eads behalf and I suspect the 350 will be as well, they are taking orders on it and have admitted to redesigning it twice already with not enough engineering power to give a proper design to future customers. Boeing will keep playing eads like idiots with the 320 737 replacement game. As far as SW is concerned the 737 Genx will be perfect for them if the proper range can be worked out ..
Reguards..
 
So, even if travelers refused to pack into a Ryanair plane for eight hours to London - and some people will refuse - they may still benefit by getting a cheaper ticket on a rival airline, he said.

"It's well-documented that employees at Ryanair are not allowed to charge their cell phones at work, they have to bring their own pens, pilots have to buy their own uniforms and everyone has to pay to fill out an application," he said. "[O'Leary] takes this to extremes and that will make him a formidable force in the trans-Atlantic market. It will also make it uncomfortable on the plane. You'll be packed in there like a sardine. But it will be cheap."


:eek:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-b...iness-headlines
 

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