Ryanair threatens to pull out of Charleroi

Charlie Roy · Post by **Charlie Roy** » 21 Aug 2007, 18:25

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/news/?ID=21629

Ryanair have withdrawn the ability to book any flight in or out of Charleroi for after November 11th until it resolves some differences with the Airport Management.

Acid-drop · Post by **Acid-drop** » 21 Aug 2007, 20:03

that's sooooo good for the f**** employees who think everything is permitted.

Dont bite the hand that gives you food.

Cartman · Post by **Cartman** » 21 Aug 2007, 21:05

Even better: bite the hand that feeds, tap the vain that bleeds...

No matter how you look at it, this will cost Ryanair some customers. Maybe this is a good time for Brussels Airlines to go for a big campaign genre "we don't let you down" and throw in a lot of tickets to Ryanair destinations (AGP, BGY, ALC, MAD, MRS) for a cheap price.

L-1011 · Post by **L-1011** » 21 Aug 2007, 21:15

Here you have a link in french to the article in Le Soir

http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/economie ... 5389.shtml

Personally I think they are playing with fire, and I hope they don't get burned. but in the end, passengers are fickle , so even if they leave quickly, they also return quickly. And if this helps to secure that no such strike will ever take the passengers as hostages again, well then I applaud. But the real reason is of course big business. Ryanair lost a lot of money on those days, and they either want guarantees this will not happen again, or an additional clause in their contract mentioning compensations for them (not the passenger mind you) in the case of strike at CRL.

Let's wait and see,

TriStar

Air Key West · Post by **Air Key West** » 21 Aug 2007, 22:09

Probably all Ryan wants, is that CRL airport pays for any damage to Ryan if there is another strike. If you operate from Belgium (or Italy) you should know these risks exist. You cannot have your cake and eat it. Maybe it's better to get rid of Ryan before the tax payers in Wallonia continue to further subsidize an airline which is making huge profits (I live in Brussels so I assume my taxes don't subisdize Ryanair's operations out of CRL). Ryan may call the strike(s) illegal. What about their own practices ? O'Leary's arrongance has no limit.

pressman · Post by **pressman** » 21 Aug 2007, 22:59

That's clever , put another couple of thousand waloons on social welfare again , have 2 million less pax per year and have a big white elephant airport with no flights . who do you think will pay for that then .

Airbus330lover · Post by **Airbus330lover** » 21 Aug 2007, 23:18

No stress, in many cases you can take a plane from BRU to a real airport for the same final price.
I my cas, i will lose 30 minutes if I replace CRL-FNI with BRU MRS and with a lower price

Air Key West · Post by **Air Key West** » 21 Aug 2007, 23:28

I thought everybody was against subsidizing sabena with Belgian tax payers money. Where's the difference with Ryanair ? Ryanair makes huge profit thanks to tax payers money. Why not restart sabena with our money ? It will create a lot of (hopefully) decent jobs. Take away alll the local or regional subsidies Ryanair gets and it will be a completely different world.

Cartman · Post by **Cartman** » 21 Aug 2007, 23:29

Air Key West wrote:(I live in Brussels so I assume my taxes don't subisdize Ryanair's operations out of CRL).

And pigs can fly...

The whole region (including CRL offcourse is financed with Flemish and Brussels money. But this statement will probably lead to a off-topic remark...

But indeed, if you want to penetrate a local market, you got to get used to local habits. I'm not saying I'm in favour of strikes, but they're a part of the Belgian labour market. Assuming that you can take the benefits and leave the downsides behind is offcourse impossible, although a lot of MOL-style managers would like it that way.

lcc · Post by **lcc** » 21 Aug 2007, 23:58

Airbus330lover wrote:No stress, in many cases you can take a plane from BRU to a real airport for the same final price.

:drink:
are u drunk?

Before saying this type of "argument", please look at the facts

3 examples of return tickets (trip of 7 days):
CRLPSA vs. BRUFLR
3/09 FR (ryanair): 154€ vs. SN (brussels airlines) 388€
4/09 FR: 124€ vs. SN 319€
5/09 FR: 104€ vs. SN 363€
6/09 FR: 104€ vs. SN 589€
7/09 FR: 154€ vs. SN 508€
8/09 FR: 114€ vs. SN 746€
9/09 FR: 174€ vs. SN 629€

CRLFAO vs. BRUFAO
4/09 FR: 202€ vs. SN: 301€
8/09 FR: 273€ vs. SN: 431€
11/09 FR: 212€ vs. SN: 302€
15/09 FR: 212€ vs. SN 331€
18/09 FR: 182€ vs. 361€

CRLVLC vs. BRUVLC
7/09: FR: 185€ vs. SN: 264€
9/09: FR: 179€ vs. SN: 274€
10/09: FR: 132€ vs. SN: 224€
12/09: FR: 102€ vs. SN: 264€
14/09: FR: 145€ vs. SN: 324€

For me, a man who is saying that this is the same final price is crazy.. or drunk!!!
Even if you add the bus, the credit card, the luggage, the priority boarding, etc etc, the price difference is still huge.

I am not saying that SN is a stupid airline. Not the same passenger, not the same network concept etc. What i am saying is to write on a forum that Ryanair and SN have the same final price is NON SENSE, confirmed by all the simulations I did. And the difference is not of 10 or 20€. The difference is minimum 90€ and up to 600€!!!

I don't know who must be blame in this dispute between FR and CRL. I have not all the cards in my hand, so I won't judge anybody. What I am sure is that if both stay on their position, both will loose. They will have to do some "compromise", but ryanair don't really like compromise, so the margin of negociation of CRL should be very thin.

But what I definitely know is that profiting of this story to do again a ryanair bashing with stupid arguments is a pity.

airazurxtror · Post by **airazurxtror** » 22 Aug 2007, 00:01

Air Key West wrote: Why not restart sabena with our money ?

No more Sabena, please, at any cost. (Shall we never get rid of that blasted thing ?)

FLY4HOURS.BE · Post by **FLY4HOURS.BE** » 22 Aug 2007, 01:29

That's just a virtual threat. Personally I don't look this as a big problem. It is a chance for CRL to show that they make the rules at CRL and not Ryanair.The one that looses from this action is Ryanair itself, because Charleroi can only deliver additional services if Ryanair is ready to pay for it as Charleroi has a limited budget (what makes that they have poor back-up plans) certainly after they built the new terminal...
Well if you think about the All-in prices Ryanair will have to show on the board soon, this action would be short-minded if there would be tax-increases by CRL.

Loosing CRLwould be too big for Ryanair too. (Remember the expansion plans they had at CRL)

Concerning Charleroi,
their new terminal will appeal to many new cutomers in the event of a loss of Ryanair...
Brussels Airlines can also put a few planes there for holiday destinations, saving alot of precious time & money compared to BRU.
Also, the new terminal will have a train-station soon.

Ps: Sabena is like an ex-girlfriend... I guess it is hard for men to forget her

FLY4HOURS.BE · Post by **FLY4HOURS.BE** » 22 Aug 2007, 08:14

This one is funny: Michael O'Leary claims 1 million euro of damage refund from BSCA for the strike, plus warranties.

Here the link: http://www.hln.be/hlns/cache/det/art_56 ... n=homeArt2

MOL, you're getting OLD.

I'm interested to see how this works out

Airbus330lover · Post by **Airbus330lover** » 22 Aug 2007, 08:21

lcc wrote:
Airbus330lover wrote:No stress, in many cases you can take a plane from BRU to a real airport for the same final price.
:drink:
are u drunk?

Not drunk, be sure, i only wanted to point that FR and certyains other LCC are not always cheaper. !
I see it when I reserve and pay....
And please destination by destination.

Post by **sn26567** » 22 Aug 2007, 09:07

Ryanair is of course in a powerful position in this negotiation: they represent 90% of the traffic in Charleroi. And if they leave CRL, they will loose less than 10% of their total business.

This clearly shows how stupid the strikers have been. I cannot understand that they get some kind of support from Minister Antoine...

Post by **sn26567** » 22 Aug 2007, 09:13

Here is the announcement on Ryanair's website.

In French:

Réservations suspendues à.p.d. 12 novembre à.p.d./vers Bruxelles Sud Charleroi

Ryanair a suspendu toutes ses réservations à.p.d./vers Bruxelles Sud-Charleroi a partir du 12 novembre prochain. Cette mesure est prise en attendant la résolution des problèmes qui ont cause la fermeture de l’aéroport pendant le week-end du 15 – 17 juin dernier, et ainsi l’annulation des vols pour plus que 22.500 passagers.

L’aéroport de Bruxelles Sud-Charleroi a assure Ryanair que des solutions sont en cours et des lors Ryanair espère pouvoir reprendre ses vols très rapidement. Cependant Ryanair est déterminé à assurer ses vols seulement si la compagnie reçoit l’assurance qu’une éventuelle grève ne pourra plus bloquer cet aéroport international. Un plan d’urgences doit être opérationnel.

Les vols de Ryanair au mois d’août, septembre et octobre à.p.d./vers Bruxelles Sud-Charleroi ne sont pas concernés par ces annulations. En attendant une solution, Ryanair ne fera pas plus de commentaire sur cette affaire.

In Dutch:

Boekingen van/naar Brussel Zuid Charleroi opgeschort vanaf 12 november a.s.

In afwachting van de verhelping van een aantal zaken, die in het weekend van 15-17 juni j.l. zorgden voor de annulering van de vluchten van meer dan 22.500 passagiers, heeft Ryanair de reserveringen van/naar Brussel Zuid-Charleroi vanaf 12 november opgeschort.

Brussel Zuid - Charleroi Airport heeft Ryanair de verzekering gegeven dat deze zaken binnenkort worden opgelost. Ryanair hoopt dan ook spoedig de vluchten weer te kunnen aanbieden maar is vast besloten om te voorkomen dat er wederom vluchten geannuleerd moeten worden. Hiervoor dient een noodplan operationeel te zijn om de opening- en correcte werking van deze internationale luchthaven te garanderen, zelfs indien enkele personen in de toekomst wederom mochten besluiten om een staking te beginnen.

De vluchten van Ryanair voor augustus, september en oktober worden door deze verkoopstop niet beinvloedt. In afwachting van een afdoende reactie van de luchthaven zal Ryanair geen verdere mededelingen in deze doen.

I did not find it in English or Gaelic...

a380bigbeast · Post by **a380bigbeast** » 22 Aug 2007, 10:24

Cartman wrote:[The whole region (including CRL offcourse is financed with Flemish and Brussels money. But this statement will probably lead to a off-topic remark... .

Please provide your apologies to Wallon people for this silliness.

To come back to more clever considerations, did Ryanair asked money to the French government when French ATC went on strike?

stefanel · Post by **stefanel** » 22 Aug 2007, 10:41

I think it's just a threat.

But I find it very awkward and anti-commercial. First, they say nothing about all people that booked flights for after Nov. 12 (I have 5 return for instance).

Then, let's not forget that the airport opened on Saturday (afternoon, if I remember well) but Ryanair still decided to resume flights on Monday ONLY!

Last but not least, Ryanair suffered MUCH MORE striked in France and Italy. In Charleroi, how many did they have, I can't even remember another one. So why all this anger towards Charleroi and not other airports ?

Buzz · Post by **Buzz** » 22 Aug 2007, 10:56

stefanel wrote:I think it's just a threat.

I think we all agree on that.

stefanel wrote:Then, let's not forget that the airport opened on Saturday (afternoon, if I remember well) but Ryanair still decided to resume flights on Monday ONLY!

By then FR had repositioned their aircraft (for support or maintenance?) to other bases and told staf to go home. It takes time to restart operations.

stefanel wrote:Last but not least, Ryanair suffered MUCH MORE striked in France and Italy. In Charleroi, how many did they have, I can't even remember another one. So why all this anger towards Charleroi and not other airports ?

All strikes in Italy are known and advertised on FR's website. The one in CRL was completely out of the blue, and that pissed FR of.

haflinger · Post by **haflinger** » 22 Aug 2007, 10:59

Cartman wrote:The whole region (including CRL offcourse is financed with Flemish and Brussels money. But this statement will probably lead to a off-topic remark...

The subsidies to ryannair are comming from the Walloon region. People from the Flanders and Brussels cannot complain this time :d

Concerning the strike, Belgium is not a country with a lot of strikes. Actually France is the coutry with the most strikes.

I hear people saying:

that's sooooo good for the f**** employees who think everything is permitted.

Dont bite the hand that gives you food

So when you have a job, you just have to say thank you and you can't complain??? The boss is almighty and do whatever he wants??? Welcome in the middle-age!!!