Ryanair in 2014

[Inquirer]

Never wondered why Mr. O'leary is always so vocal whenever his airline is rated quite low in customer appreciation surveys? Like you point out yourself: operational performance is excellent, so why bother?
It's not like ryanair gives much about what others think of it, so why always complain about this one element of public opinion then? Doesn't that make you wonder somehow?
It does make me wonder and let me tell you why he does it: it's because it points to the main weakness of his business, one he can't easily change and is becoming an increasingly big problem even as he wants to grow in main markets.

indeed, like he said: in the old days, fares were rapaciously high and so spartan low costs like his were a welcome alternative to many, despite all the comfort inconveniences, but let's be honnest too for a second, in many markets, those days are long gone now!
Instead, we now see a whole range of airlines -both old and new ones- which all offer quite attractive fares while still managing to offer significantly better comfort and service than ryanair and the problem Mr. O'leary has with this increased choice for consumers is that he sees that a significant portion of the market is very receptive to the idea that better comfort and quality is valuable enought to warrant a modest premium, thus not looking as low as his airline when searching and comparing flights.

When I first pointed out 12 months ago that airlines like vueling or easyjet -both setting themselves a tad higher in the market spectrum- may have hit the real sweet spot of shorthaul flying, I got flamed by Sean for that, but in the mean time ryanair implemented a set of product improvements which moves them upwards and somewhat closer towards this sweet spot too, just as I said they should (although they are still not there, IMHO).

Of course, despite all the upbeaten PR about the product improvements, no CEO in the world likes to give up a unique selling point like his company held, yet due to the rapidly changing market conditions there's simply had no other choice but to improve the product, even if it means sacrificing some of his profits from his traditional markets where those product improvements aren't valuable really (which is why it would have been better do do so with 2 different brands, BTW, like I have always maintained), hence his apparent frustration perception hasn't changed much and his outspoken nostalgia to the old days, when there were no vuelings, no germanwings, no Norwegians, no easyjets around, all of which aren't exactly to be called rapaciously expensive, yet all manage offer a better product for a very competitive (not necessarily lower) price.

[MrG4]

O'Leary tomorrow in Lisbon

[airazurxtror]

Ryanair’s bright yellow interior – described by boss Michael O’Leary as “garish” – is to be consigned to the history bin of bad taste.
A softer, more golden colour is to be introduced by the airline to mark its renaissance as a customer-focused airline.
Mr O’Leary made the executive decision over a decade ago to introduce the bright yellow on the Ryanair aircraft. It’s been hated by passengers ever since.

Read more :
http://www.independent.ie/business/iris ... 78826.html

[Stij]

Ryanair’s bright yellow interior – described by boss Michael O’Leary as “garish” – is to be consigned to the history bin of bad taste.
A softer, more golden colour is to be introduced by the airline to mark its renaissance as a customer-focused airline.
Mr O’Leary made the executive decision over a decade ago to introduce the bright yellow on the Ryanair aircraft. It’s been hated by passengers ever since.

O'Leary... admitting he was wrong... am I dreaming?

Anyhow, about to post my trip report on my trip to Treviso from Brussels Airport, I dare again to fly them with my kids!

Cheers,

Stij

[White Light]

@Stij :

Remember that MOL is basically nothing more than a beancounter at the head of a multinatinal entreprise.
As such, he will admit to nearly anything as long as it means making more money.

[airazurxtror]

O'Leary tomorrow in Lisbon

As of summer 2015, the airline will start flying from Lisbon to new destinations Bremen and Hamburg (Germany), Eindhoven (the Netherlands), Milan and Rome (Italy) and to the Polish capital Warsaw.
It will also bump up flights on four other routes including its domestic route from the Portuguese capital to Oporto, which the airline will increase to twice a day.
During summer 2015 the airline will operate a total of 16 routes from Lisbon, equalling a total of 113 weekly return flights (up 33 percent) and some 250,000 new customers, growing to 1.75 million passengers a year.

[sdbelgium]

RYR press conference with Kenny Jacobs in Brussels on Sep 23rd.

[cathay belgium]

That means new routes and more frequenties...

Guess STN-BHX-MAN-MRS-SXF-Skavsta could be in it...

CXB

[airazurxtror]

Guess STN-BHX-MAN-MRS-SXF-Skavsta could be

Would be great, especially Stansted and Birmingham, and Stockholm - Skavsta has been much reduced from Charleroi and even cancelled this winter, they should do Bromma.

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

airazurxtror.. Bromma in a B738... I'm NOT boarding this time... prefer a ARJ100 by SN, safety first !
Reducing Sweden ? Bad idea...

CXB

[airazurxtror]

Cathay, you're right ! And, anyway, aren't there rumours about a closure of Bromma ?
Wikipédia :
Expansion of the airport is limited by noise issues, a lack of space, and the necessity to preserve the cultural heritage (the airport buildings). With the completion of the third runway at Stockholm Arlanda Airport there is a capacity surplus at that airport, and there are conflicting views on whether to use the land occupied by Bromma Airport for residential and commercial purposes.
Arlanda, then !
I would regret the long coach ride in the swedish countryside, from Skavsta to the city center, beautiful when full of snow in winter - even if it takes 1h30 instead of 45 min for Arlanda ...

[cathay belgium]

Hi,

Never been to Skavsta but what a waste of Bromma... great spotting,great planes and SN rules over there, it's AVRO-CITY together with MALMO AVIATION and would miss the CHEAP! bus ride of only 20' to the city
Arlanda is indeed big enough but I prefer the cozier, faster,smaller...

CXB

[airazurxtror]

Ryanair has signed a long-term deal with flight operations software provider Navtech to provide aeronautical charts and flight management system (FMS) data for use onboard its fleet of 300 Boeing 737-800s.
Ryanair converted to Navtech paper charts and FMS data in August and is currently transferring to “electronic flight bags” with Navtech’s state-of-the-art cockpit solution, iCharts EFB, which provides pilots with quick and easy access to the most up-to-date data as well as customisation options based on user and organizations size.

Ryanair’s Group Director of Operations, Michael Hickey said: “Ryanair is pleased to launch Navtech Charts and FMS data on board our flights this summer. The transition of paper charts and FMS data was seamless and we will now eliminate paper charts in the cockpit by deploying Navtech’s iCharts EFB software on board our entire fleet.”

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/ ... h-navtech/

[DannyVDB]

Hi airazurxtor,

Do you have any idea of the volume/value of this contract?

I am curious since I am working in the geospatial related business ...

Danny

[airazurxtror]

Sorry, no idea.

[Inquirer]

Just a personal question, but what exactly is a geospatial related business?

[DannyVDB]

Just a personal question, but what exactly is a geospatial related business?

Well I am doing research on geospatial standards (+ project work) and the application of geospatial technologies (e.g. to estimate noise impact in/around the airports ( ), to estimate flood risk, to perform tarnsport planning, environmental management, ...: e.g. Google Earth uses KML as a standard for 3D protrayal, but you have other standards as well, including those that Navteq, Tele Atlas, ... are using for their maps.

Just came back from the last Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) meeting in Calgary (now I am already in Kosovo ): see http://www.opengeospatial.org/event?category=ogctcpc and http://www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/members for a list of members (I represent one of them in the meetings) ...

Cheers,
Danny

[sean1982]

What time is the press conference?

[sdbelgium]

9.00am at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

[MrG4]

La compagnie low cost irlandaise va ouvrir cinq nouvelles lignes en 2015 (Dublin depuis Zaventem, Athènes, Bucarest, Prague et Riga depuis Charleroi). Elle compte transporter 6,5 millions de passagers en Belgique en 2015, soit une hausse de près de 20% par rapport à cette année. La compagnie proposera au total désormais 88 lignes depuis les deux aéroports belges.

"Nous attendions nos nouveaux avions pour pouvoir répondre a à la forte demande du marché belge", explique le directeur Marketing de la compagnie Kenny Jacobs. Selon lui, cette nouvelle offensive de Ryanair risque de faire mal à certains concurrents évoluant sur le tarmac de Zaventem. "Il y a beaucoup de concurrents en Belgique et sans doute certains qui ne survivront pas", explique -t-il. Nos premières réservations sur notre nouvelle offre business sont très encourageantes et il y aura une petite guerre sur ce marché en Europe".

Le nouveau positionnement de Brussels Airlines, qui a sensiblement baissé ses prix depuis l'arrivée de Ryanair à Zaventem, n'effraie pas M. Jacobs. "Pour nous 69 euros (NdLR : le prix proposé par Brussels Airlines pour un aller-retour en Europe), ce n'est pas vraiment une offre low cost", conclut-il.
http://www.lalibre.be/economie/actualit ... 6d4d589395