Whats going on with Monarch ?
Discussion
briang9 said:
ie you cant check in for a return flight at the same time as the you do for the outward one if its over 4 days without paying extra
Slightly O/T, but I don't understand this. (I should add that I very rarely fly, and the last time was in 2000 when printing your own tickets was a new fad, so keep that in mind). Surely the point of checking in is to say to the carrier "I am here, in the airport, ready to board when you let me, so I'll be wanting my seat, so don't give it to stand-by". How does it work when people book in before leaving home, never mind four or five days before the flight leaves when they've only just arrived in the country? All manner of things may happen that lead to you not being able to fly. Is there now another stage between checking in and actually getting to the gate? Do I sound like someone asking "what, you have your own car?"Like I said, O/T.
Here's an example of how crazy things are. Last week I had to cancel a return ticket with Ryanair 4 days before departure. Ryanair's tickets are non-refundable, but you can re-book another flight for an additional fee if that's any good to you. If you don't, those original two seats just fly empty because you have long-since checked-in and they are expecting you. This must happen all the time, but they clearly don't have any procedure in place to deal with it.
Ah that explains why on the last two Ryanair flights we nearly ended up in the cockpit when landing !
As far as I'm aware you can check in for return fights, I checked the in for both out bound and return (12days) at the same time. I find the seats way more comfortable on Ryanair than monarch.
As far as I'm aware you can check in for return fights, I checked the in for both out bound and return (12days) at the same time. I find the seats way more comfortable on Ryanair than monarch.
surveyor said:
wjwren said:
only been on ryanair once and they have the youngest or one of the youngest fleet I think but the planes feel old and are like buses. But you get what you pay and their tickets are dirt cheap.
Average fleet age of 6.6 years. Compare with BA at 12.7 years (luckily they ordered the A380/Dreamliner to get their fleet age up)...I'm just guessing that Ryanair's business plan is probably more efficient at wringing every last penny out of the airframe in as short a timescale as possible than BA.
Countdown said:
surveyor said:
wjwren said:
only been on ryanair once and they have the youngest or one of the youngest fleet I think but the planes feel old and are like buses. But you get what you pay and their tickets are dirt cheap.
Average fleet age of 6.6 years. Compare with BA at 12.7 years (luckily they ordered the A380/Dreamliner to get their fleet age up)...I'm just guessing that Ryanair's business plan is probably more efficient at wringing every last penny out of the airframe in as short a timescale as possible than BA.
Gandahar said:
Countdown said:
surveyor said:
wjwren said:
only been on ryanair once and they have the youngest or one of the youngest fleet I think but the planes feel old and are like buses. But you get what you pay and their tickets are dirt cheap.
Average fleet age of 6.6 years. Compare with BA at 12.7 years (luckily they ordered the A380/Dreamliner to get their fleet age up)...I'm just guessing that Ryanair's business plan is probably more efficient at wringing every last penny out of the airframe in as short a timescale as possible than BA.
t they seem to be when cancelling flights). Worse if poor maintenance causes crashes and loss of life.. Also their schedules rely on tight turnarounds. What's going to happen if they have lots of tech delays. Chaos to the schedule.I'm tempted to think that they can't afford to shirk maintenance as a bad reliability reputation would be a massive liability for any of the budget airlines.
Countdown said:
Is that "6.6 years but flogged to within an inch of its life" compared to "12.7 years of a relatively easy life with no expense spared maintenance"?
I'm just guessing that Ryanair's business plan is probably more efficient at wringing every last penny out of the airframe in as short a timescale as possible than BA.
You sound a very biased observer, that usually means someone who criticises Ryanair but has never actually flown with them !I'm just guessing that Ryanair's business plan is probably more efficient at wringing every last penny out of the airframe in as short a timescale as possible than BA.
I'm not at all 'techy' on planes but I believe the Ryanair model is based on the USA where they use their jets just like buses. If that works in the USA why shouldn't it work for Ryanair across Europe ?
No expense spared maintenance is probably just as likely to be the case at Ryanair as it would be at BA etc - indeed it's probably more effective as Ryanair has a much younger, more standardised, fleet.
Robertj21a said:
You sound a very biased observer, that usually means someone who criticises Ryanair but has never actually flown with them !
I'm not at all 'techy' on planes but I believe the Ryanair model is based on the USA where they use their jets just like buses. If that works in the USA why shouldn't it work for Ryanair across Europe ?
No expense spared maintenance is probably just as likely to be the case at Ryanair as it would be at BA etc - indeed it's probably more effective as Ryanair has a much younger, more standardised, fleet.
Not at all. It was a genuine question. As an accountant I was wondering how RYR can afford to amortise the capital cost over a shorter period and still be more profitable. It suggests their making MORE money elsewhere (compared to BA). Which then begs the question - where?I'm not at all 'techy' on planes but I believe the Ryanair model is based on the USA where they use their jets just like buses. If that works in the USA why shouldn't it work for Ryanair across Europe ?
No expense spared maintenance is probably just as likely to be the case at Ryanair as it would be at BA etc - indeed it's probably more effective as Ryanair has a much younger, more standardised, fleet.
Countdown said:
Not at all. It was a genuine question. As an accountant I was wondering how RYR can afford to amortise the capital cost over a shorter period and still be more profitable. It suggests their making MORE money elsewhere (compared to BA). Which then begs the question - where?
More efficient operations generally ?Fewer staff/plane ratio ?
More fuel efficient planes ?
Better leasing fees ?
- only guesses, I've no axe to grind with either. Ryanair has been fine for me over the past 15 years, even when there were problems with cancelled flights (factors outside their control).
Robertj21a said:
Countdown said:
Not at all. It was a genuine question. As an accountant I was wondering how RYR can afford to amortise the capital cost over a shorter period and still be more profitable. It suggests their making MORE money elsewhere (compared to BA). Which then begs the question - where?
More efficient operations generally ?Fewer staff/plane ratio ?
More fuel efficient planes ?
Better leasing fees ?
- only guesses, I've no axe to grind with either. Ryanair has been fine for me over the past 15 years, even when there were problems with cancelled flights (factors outside their control).
Poorer/non existent Pensions
pay to pilot training scheme
Zero hour contracts.
etc.
I suspect they treat the planes better than the staff to be honest....
LotusOmega375D said:
My best childhood flight memory was return to Catania, Sicily on a Monarch 720B ca. 1978.
Just returned from there the other week for the first time since. This time with my kids, but on BA.
Ah yes, the boiled sweets they gave you because the pressurisation wasn't all that...Just returned from there the other week for the first time since. This time with my kids, but on BA.
davepoth said:
Ryanair is getting better though. The last flight I had with them was in one of their planes with the new interior. The seats are much slimmer, and instead of packing in another row they increased legroom! I'm 5'8" and I wasn't too cramped!
Without meaning to sound stty, 5'8" isn't exactly tall is it? If you were 6' and had no issues then it's a different matter.steve-5snwi said:
I'm 6'4'" and can fit in any seat on Ryan air, on monarch I have to have extra legroom.
Have you been on any Monarch aircraft with the new Pitch lightweight seats? They give a lot more legroom even at the smallest seat pitch.We've had a lot of very good feedback on the additional legroom you get with them.
The big low costs are like car hire companies. They buy new for a big discount, then flog the machines for a short time and then move them on before reliability issues raise their head.
The machines work from 5am to 1am and are basically never cold. They have the latest safety gizmos and are quite new.
Maintenance is a red herring. Focus on experience levels and fatigue.
The machines work from 5am to 1am and are basically never cold. They have the latest safety gizmos and are quite new.
Maintenance is a red herring. Focus on experience levels and fatigue.
Boeing "bails out" Monarch - https://uk.news.yahoo.com/boeing-bails-monarch-165... - yet the article is suggesting thats it's just Monarch buying new planes?
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