According to the latest AL, ‘DH and ‘DI are due to go to Inter Express (Turkey?) on four year leases.

Andy

Price is certainly a consideration, but not the only factor.

More important than ticket price is overall price, and convenience. Example – I recently visited Hamburg. BA CitiExpress from BHX was £109 round trip all included. Ryanair from STN was £0.99 plus tax one way and £2.99 plus tax back. But given that I’d have to drive to STN, that the Ryanair flight was so early I’d want to stay at STN the night befire, parking was more expensive at STN, I’d arrive not at HAM but at someplace more than an hour away by bus and have to pay for that too… Bottom line was that Ryanair was actually more expensive (and far less convenient) than BA. That’s what the gullible casual punter doesn’t get about Ryanair and the likes.

I’ll go further and say that within reason, for me price is a secondary consideration to convenience, facilities and service, reliability, timing etc. I won’t fly on Ryanair at any price, because I’m not prepared to take the risk on being messed around or stranded if things do go wrong. For a reasonable price premium, I’ll gladly fly [for example] Lufthansa short haul over a low-fare carrier to get better located departure / arrival airports, better timing, better in-flight service, access to airport lounges, pre-assigned seating, more convenient timing, priority checkin, and very importantly better backup if the wheels fall off.

For me, low-fare carriers are the transport provider of last resort to be used only (a) where a full service carrier doesn’t go where I need to go or when the full service carrier is hopelessly inconvenient, or (b) when the full service carrier is charging very significantly more than the low-fare carrier.

Andy

Even if you float, if the sharks don’t get you (in warm water) the ice cold north Atlantic surely will! 🙂

Seriously, if the lifejacket gives me one more minute afloat, and if in that minute I can get to a liferaft, then I’ll take the lifejacket thankyou. As such, I think that they hold a fairly remote but non-the-less tangible possiblility of preserving life and thus are justified.

Andy

If Ryanair a/c now don’t have life jackets under the seats, I’m not surprised. Given Ryanair’s modus-operandi, no doubt that if an emergency occurs standard procedures are for the crew to sell or rent them to passengers who want them 🙂

Andy

I’m not into writing down numbers, but I certainly take photos of aeroplanes when I can – I make no appology for doing that, and by way of pointing out that photographing aeroplanes can be a rewarding hobby in its own right, a single 35mm slide of mine taken around five years ago has just sold for $700 (that will nicely pay for a few hours in the PA-28, thank you!). I also write for magazines from time to time although that is no where near as lucrative as selling pictures, the best market for which is commercial not publications.

However, having lurked around the airport from time to time during the process of taking said pictures (as well as during my frequent visits to the flying club over the last 11 years), I’ve bumped into a fair number of local spotters. Yes, there is one who is apparently known as “The Trogg” who I wouldn’t ask, but for the most part the spotters around the airport are reasonable people and almost all who I have asked HAVE taken flying trips with me (and paid for lunch!). I also recall a guy who came into the club asking about lessons a while back – unbidded, we offered to take him to Conington for lunch, an invite which he accepted (and he paid for lunch!), and which was appreciated by both him and the club as they felt it was a good way of increasing his interest in learning to fly – I guess we didn’t scare him then!

Even though we may think we’re at least safe, I think that from a lay-man’s view motivation to fly has to be pretty high for someone to accept a trip and jump into a small aeroplane with someone who they have never met before.

Andy

That’s taken from the park at the end of Myrtle Avenue – probably the most well known photo spot at LHR!

Andy

God a trip to Phoenix, wish I could be saying the same.

Yup, and someone else is paying – UA to SFO, a couple of days in the Bay area (sadly mostly working, although I have friends there that I will be seeing in the evenings), then PHX for two days with HP/US. And UA have “The Dukes of Hazzard” on IFE this month – sad I know, but I’ve been wanting to watch that, or maybe its just Jessica Simpson I’ve been wanting to watch!!! 😀

Andy