Latest Ryanair £5 con

[expat]

Im wanting to buy shares in what ever company is creaming off the airport taxes. Anyone know who these companies are?

Mailman

BAA for example.

[expat]

Don't know what you're on about here expat.

The fuel surcharge is "the amount that fuel has gone up since we priced the flight". But they only sold you the flight last week so they should know how much fuel is going to cost them.

....

Why should the airport services run at a loss just to increase the airlines profits?

tim

I agree, tim, that's why I put it in quotes. "Taxes" are just part of the airline's costs. They're therefore part of the reason why the airline can't offer flights below a certain price, but it's dishonest of them to claim that they are.

It's like the corner shop selling you a packet of fags for 40p. Plus taxes of course.

Hmm: I'm available for £4 an hour, plus taxes, mortgage, child support, .....

[expat]

As to the other costs 'creamed' off by our partners, then that is all part of starting a business.

.....

If 3-4 GBP a pax is an uncompetitive charge for checking in 200 pax then someone will offer to do it cheaper, the fact that they don't suggests that it bears a reasonable relationship to the actual cost of this task.

tim

Quite. In fact the airline can make competitive business deals with its suppliers, if you regard the good supplied as "an airport", not "a particular airport". Deal with Zurich and it costs a lot; deal with "Paris" Beauvais or "Düsseldorf" Weeze as Ryanair do, and it costs less.

It is, as you say, all part of doing business.

[tim123]

Quite. In fact the airline can make competitive business deals with its suppliers, if you regard the good supplied as "an airport", not "a particular airport". Deal with Zurich and it costs a lot; deal with "Paris" Beauvais or "Düsseldorf" Weeze as Ryanair do, and it costs less.

But that's because they don't have the huge capital costs of a large airport.

If you don't have a car to drive to the airport, these small airports are a bugger to get to. You spend more in the extra cost of getting there than this difference in 'airport fees'.

tim

[Rebecca Loos]

Given the price of paying the fare to get to Heathrow (tube zone 6 or Heathrow Xpress) as opposed to Stansted, I don't think you can say that it costs less to get to the big airports!!

[expat]

But that's because they don't have the huge capital costs of a large airport.

If you don't have a car to drive to the airport, these small airports are a bugger to get to. You spend more in the extra cost of getting there than this difference in 'airport fees'.

tim

That's right. But that's the whole point: the airport (with its costs) is part of what you're buying, not an extra.

[tim123]

Given the price of paying the fare to get to Heathrow (tube zone 6 or Heathrow Xpress) as opposed to Stansted, I don't think you can say that it costs less to get to the big airports!!

Ryan Air's location in the UK is virtually unique (within their business model). In almost every other country that they fly to, the airport is some tin-pot hut in the middle of nowhere, where the only usable public transport is a Taxi.

tim

[tim123]

That's right. But that's the whole point: the airport (with its costs) is part of what you're buying, not an extra.

But the problem is you usually can't separate them.

You get Ryanair's tulipty customer service to Ryanair's poorly located cheaper airport, or (relatively) decent customer service to an expensive airport.

Some people might like, Ryanair's tulipty service to the expensive airport, and other's might like a decent full service airline to the cheaper airport.

Trouble is you usually can't get them.

Tim