3toons wrote:By the way, I wish someone would start flying into Ostend from the UK, that would save me the five hour journey from Charleroi Airport!!!
Ryanair used to fly from Ostend to Stansted starting May 2003, but discontinued that line after less than a year, and just disappeared from Ostend airport...
3toons wrote:By the way, I wish someone would start flying into Ostend from the UK, that would save me the five hour journey from Charleroi Airport!!!
Five hours from Charleroi to Ostend? Are you riding a bike?
Lol!! No but as I usually fly on a Sunday I have to wait nearly an hour for the bus from the airport to the train station. By the time I get there the train to Brussels has just left so I have to wait an hour for the next train and usually around 50 minutes at Brussels for the train to Ostend. All in, it can take around 5 hours. However, I have on occasion taken the bus from the airport directly to the train station in Brussels which does save a little bit of time but does cost more as I can buy a ticket from the airport to any train station in Brussels for something like E20. I have heard (and I don't know if this is true or not) that there will be a train station at the new terminal at Charleroi airport.
There are flights from Prestwick into Ostend which would take just over an hour I think but unfortunately these are cargo only flights!!
3toons wrote:By the way, I wish someone would start flying into Ostend from the UK, that would save me the five hour journey from Charleroi Airport!!!
Ryanair used to fly from Ostend to Stansted starting May 2003, but discontinued that line after less than a year, and just disappeared from Ostend airport...
Yes, I used that route twice in the short period that it operated. Even though I started my journey at Prestwick and had to change at Stansted it made my journey from Prestwick to Ostend a heck of a lot easier. The first flight was on a 737 (ex Continental Airways) in July and was at least 70% full. The second return flight was in October and was on a BAE 146 (Buzz Airlines) but only had around 30 people on board each way. It's a shame that Ostend Airport isn't used more.
danieln wrote:Sir Richard Branson and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou have agreed not to compete on the Brussels market. They discussed that during a lunch together.
If this is true (and I also believe it is), the European Commission's DG Competition should have had a look at it!
Ozzie1969 wrote:Ryanair used to fly from Ostend to Stansted starting May 2003, but discontinued that line after less than a year, and just disappeared from Ostend airport...
Ostend Airport was renamed into Ostend-Bruges International Airport, only upon request from Ryanair. Most FR-pax indeed are tourists, and "Bruges" sounds much better for them then "Ostend" (*).
Ostend-Bruges is 31 kms, about half of the distance from Charleroi to Brussels (55 kms says mappy.be).
(*) I prefer Ostend above Bruges, first of all because the honourable minister of Transport (who gives us hell in BRU) lives in Bruges.
I'm surprised Ryan haven't yet asked Ostend/Bruges Airport to be called Brussels West Airport (lol) and Liege would become Brussels East Airport, Antwerp Airport >Brussels NorthAirport . All airport being linked together by Irish busses or English or Irish trains for which you would have to pay a fee to Ryan to connect from one airport to another. ANyway, read the article on yesterday's Trends (I seem to remeber) : Ryanair secretly increases air fares. Ryanair verhoogt stiekem prijzen tickets. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Stiekem, secretly, so pax will propably not notice (O'Leary LOL). And revenue secretly continues to increase. Passengers don't notice or don't care ; they are so convinced it is so much more expensive if you fly a traditional carrier, that they follow O'leary blindly and he, Michael, must have the laugh of his life while he goes on fooling his passengers and being agressive towards anyone who doesn't agree with him. If someone dared to publish one of the recent minutes of the Ryanair European works council meetings, you would not believe what you would be reading about the airline. Vive les LCCs !!!!!
What's the likelihood of scheduled flights from Ostend to the UK? I know there won't be a huge demand but, love them or loathe them, Ryanair proved that there is at least some demand.
Excuse me, if it depended on the VEX no C-class(or call it B-flex), would exist anymore, just a couple of eco fares... in the real LCC way.
So, B.flex, is a SN institution, concept,... don't mix up the facts
Never saw an SN fully booked in bussines, and blocking 4 rows for it, is a bit waste of revenue if you can fill it up even with low fares.... C-class on PTP intra europe is quite dead as traffic,...
3toons wrote:What's the likelihood of scheduled flights from Ostend to the UK? I know there won't be a huge demand but, love them or loathe them, Ryanair proved that there is at least some demand.
Ah ! the good old days of Channel Airways and British Air Ferries to Southend-on-sea ...
My dad flew from Glasgow International to Ostend with Sabena in the late 1950's on the way back home he flew from Ostend to Southend and Heathrow to Glasgow International (or Abbottsinch as it was known then!) How times have changed! Ostend Airport is getting more passengers each year but they are all charter flights to the sun. We can only live in hope!
