How can one firm be so creative? They are so sharp and never miss a thing. For confirmation on how long they have been at it, use this link.
Michael O'Leary's bomb
By IAG | April 11th, 2007 | Posted in ryanair | No CommentsMichael O'Leary must have scared every North Atlantic airline CEO today with his news of buying up to 50 widebody planes for service from Europe to the US. With fares starting at $12, nobody can compete.
We suspect that although this service will take a long time to launch Ryanair cannot get planes that fast – competitors will start to react tomorrow. They dare not ignore Ryanair. We have been discussing the idea of either Ryanair or even JetBlue considering North Atlantic service. JetBlue did a deal with Aer Lingus and so accomplished its goal with no fleet growth and no capex. But Ryanair has announced its intention to do this alone.
Bear in mind the EC wants the open skies deal broadened to allow for the equivalent of cabotage or ownership of US airlines. Now Ryanair will join that chorus. Because if Ryanair can get its service into the US domestic market, all bets are off on many of today's US airlines. O'Leary has proven to be a devastating competitor and the US consumer, with its love of competition, will embrace his airline.
Michael O'Leary's bomb
By IAG | April 11th, 2007 | Posted in ryanair | No CommentsMichael O'Leary must have scared every North Atlantic airline CEO today with his news of buying up to 50 widebody planes for service from Europe to the US. With fares starting at $12, nobody can compete.
We suspect that although this service will take a long time to launch Ryanair cannot get planes that fast – competitors will start to react tomorrow. They dare not ignore Ryanair. We have been discussing the idea of either Ryanair or even JetBlue considering North Atlantic service. JetBlue did a deal with Aer Lingus and so accomplished its goal with no fleet growth and no capex. But Ryanair has announced its intention to do this alone.
Bear in mind the EC wants the open skies deal broadened to allow for the equivalent of cabotage or ownership of US airlines. Now Ryanair will join that chorus. Because if Ryanair can get its service into the US domestic market, all bets are off on many of today's US airlines. O'Leary has proven to be a devastating competitor and the US consumer, with its love of competition, will embrace his airline.
Ryanair on Gordon Brown's Tax
By IAG | March 27th, 2007 | Posted in ryanair, uk | No Comments
Regular readers know nothing gives us greater pleasure than sticking a finger in the eye of a politician. This gives tax payers real pleasure, though its not worth the money. It is with great joy that we see Ryanair leading the charge against pompous pols. Go for it!
Click on the picture to see it in detail. The ADP tax is the acronym airport departure tax. Maybe now that we made fun of Mr. B, he will put us in the same category as Snoop Dogg, who was denied entry to the UK. This is our first offense…by the way, Mr. Brown is due to become Prime Minister of Britain (unless they come to their senses). The Economist points out that Mr. Brown is a piece of work. Take a look at this picture from their latest issue, its hysterical.
In their story about this delightful fellow, they refer to his “Stalinist ruthlessness”, and for further comfort – "He is an equally formidable hater. No slight or insult is ever forgotten or forgiven. Once an enemy, always an enemy."
The Brits have a lot to look forward to. Oh well, maybe he has better teeth than Tony Blair.
Ryanair on Gordon Brown's Tax
By IAG | March 27th, 2007 | Posted in ryanair, uk | No CommentsRegular readers know nothing gives us greater pleasure than sticking a finger in the eye of a politician. This gives tax payers real pleasure, though its not worth the money. It is with great joy that we see Ryanair leading the charge against pompous pols. Go for it!
Click on the picture to see it in detail. The ADP tax is the acronym airport departure tax. Maybe now that we made fun of Mr. B, he will put us in the same category as Snoop Dogg, who was denied entry to the UK. This is our first offense…by the way, Mr. Brown is due to become Prime Minister of Britain (unless they come to their senses). The Economist points out that Mr. Brown is a piece of work. Take a look at this picture from their latest issue, its hysterical.
In their story about this delightful fellow, they refer to his “Stalinist ruthlessness”, and for further comfort – "He is an equally formidable hater. No slight or insult is ever forgotten or forgiven. Once an enemy, always an enemy."
The Brits have a lot to look forward to. Oh well, maybe he has better teeth than Tony Blair.
Airline consolidation in EC
By IAG | March 27th, 2007 | Posted in air berlin, air france, aviation, klm, ltu, lufthansa, ryanair | No CommentsEven without the Open Skies issue, it seems Euro-airlines are starting to coalesce into bigger groups. Last week it was the in the UK, this week its in Germany. Spain's Iberia may be in play, depending on you read and listen to.
Air Berlin agreed to acquire 100% of LTU for €140m in cash plus the assumption of between €190 and 200m of debt. Through this acquisition, Air Berlin become the fourth largest airline for European traffic, behind Ryanair, Air France/KLM and Lufthansa.
Note the action is among airlines that are not exactly legacy carriers. Its the grow, grow, grow attitude that the likes of Lufthansa has to be watching. There are only so many people – and as noted before, Euro-populations are not growing.
Air travel seems to be fragmenting more and more. Rather than a rosy future for LCCs, there is an increasing case of hybrids developing. This idea was first put forward by Timothy O'Neil-Dunne at T2Impact.com. The Internet continues to play its part; driving consumers to shop around for the pieces they want. Not for them the one-size-fits-all. The future in the EC seems to be evolving towards a la carte options. This means the business of selling travel will grow more complicated. Perhaps this is why these vacation airline companies are merging.
Travel suppliers are going to have an ever tougher time because brands are growing less important. Ryanair has started exploiting this idea and outsources everything it can in terms of product and charges for everything it can – but what of even its brand? Now think about monolithic companies like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, etc. Not pretty is it? Can they handle this fragmentation without breaking their core model?
Holiday makers are going to cut and paste what they want into travel experiences that suit them. The only people driven to stick with a brand potentially is the business traveler. But even business travelers have learned of the benefits LCCs have to offer.
Airline consolidation in EC
By IAG | March 27th, 2007 | Posted in air berlin, air france, aviation, klm, ltu, lufthansa, ryanair | No CommentsEven without the Open Skies issue, it seems Euro-airlines are starting to coalesce into bigger groups. Last week it was the in the UK, this week its in Germany. Spain's Iberia may be in play, depending on you read and listen to.
Air Berlin agreed to acquire 100% of LTU for €140m in cash plus the assumption of between €190 and 200m of debt. Through this acquisition, Air Berlin become the fourth largest airline for European traffic, behind Ryanair, Air France/KLM and Lufthansa.
Note the action is among airlines that are not exactly legacy carriers. Its the grow, grow, grow attitude that the likes of Lufthansa has to be watching. There are only so many people – and as noted before, Euro-populations are not growing.
Air travel seems to be fragmenting more and more. Rather than a rosy future for LCCs, there is an increasing case of hybrids developing. This idea was first put forward by Timothy O'Neil-Dunne at T2Impact.com. The Internet continues to play its part; driving consumers to shop around for the pieces they want. Not for them the one-size-fits-all. The future in the EC seems to be evolving towards a la carte options. This means the business of selling travel will grow more complicated. Perhaps this is why these vacation airline companies are merging.
Travel suppliers are going to have an ever tougher time because brands are growing less important. Ryanair has started exploiting this idea and outsources everything it can in terms of product and charges for everything it can – but what of even its brand? Now think about monolithic companies like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, etc. Not pretty is it? Can they handle this fragmentation without breaking their core model?
Holiday makers are going to cut and paste what they want into travel experiences that suit them. The only people driven to stick with a brand potentially is the business traveler. But even business travelers have learned of the benefits LCCs have to offer.
