RE: Easyjet new route

It was great to have Emerald, they really did cause prices to fall.

Unfortunately the “manx mafia” of vested interests was upset by the damage caused to Manx Airlines’ results and Emerald felt that it had no choice but to concentrate on a freight contract which was offered to it.

I would certainly say that the use of little turboprops is worrying, as airlines subsequently find it difficult to offer cheap prices due to each single seat being significant in a revenue context. The future for small island communities has got to be P2P links with major centres, such as IOM-AMS and IOM-CDG. Unfortunately (and JER and GCI are in the same positon) there is a simple choice between a lowco carrier using 737’s for a handful (2 or 3) of routes, or BA or Flybe offering lots of routes with good timings.

A possible solution is for a joint venture airline to be developed between someone like BA or BMI and the local governments, where a subsidy is offered on every seats. IOM, JER and GCI can certainly all afford to do this.

RE: FINALLY!! Britain admits to their sordid colonial past!!!

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 16-11-02 AT 05:30 PM (GMT)]Much as we usually disagree, you are 100% right on this one Sam.

If I can try a little redemption though? At least Britian was the nation which brought an end to the slave trade. I used to live in Hull, a horrid little city but with the virtue that William Wilberforce used to live there. He is the man most widely credited with leading the abolition movement.

RE: Airliner World – old news?

Oh? I’m ready for an argu – sorry, debate, any time you are kev!

RE: FINALLY!! Britain admits to their sordid colonial past!!!

Yes, the article is accurate. Just don’t rub it in!!

RE: Pic Of the Day-Raw Power!

I don’t think patriotism is too relevant – economy and commercial concerns are the criteria of choice. Airbus is making inroads to the US market, with the likes of Northwest and jetBlue.

On the other hand, BA don’t just use RR. Their 777 fleet is mostly GE90 powered except for the 777-200ER’s which use the Trent 895. Theyv’e got lots of 777’s (43+16 options as at 30.09.2001) so they can afford to mix n’ match I suppose.

BTW, the BA 757 fleet is RB211 powered, as are the majority in service. They make good use of the RB211 – 757-200, 747-400 and 767-300. It even powered the L1011 fleet in the good ol’ days and they used RB211’s to re-engine the 747-100 fleet.

RE: Pic Of the Day-Raw Power!

What are the purchase cost and maintainance costs like compared to the competition? I’ve noticed RR are certainly the smaller of the big 3 engine makers.

RE: Looks like Sky – Bus is a p**s take after all !!!

They can’t object to it.

Under UK company law, a Company may be ordered to change its name if the Registrar of Companies upholds any complaint that the new company is “passing off” by using the goodwill of an existing company name. But “passing off” is only aplicable if the companies are in the same/similar trade. That’s why it is OK to use a well known name, as long as there is no obvious linkage. You can’t open a retail store called “McDonalds” or even “McDowels” but, you can have a firm called “McDonalds Engineering” or “McDonald Ltd”.

It’s a moot point whethere a low cost transatlantic carrier is in the same business as a small sub-regional turboprop operator.

RE: Jokes about your own Nationality/Country!!

A yokel from the Isle of Man bumps into a friend in the village. The friend is carrying a shiny oblong object and the yokel asks what it is.

“It’s called a Flask, yessir”

“What does it do yessir?”

“It keeps hot things hot and cold things cold, yessir”

“Oh.”

And yokel walks into the local shop and buys a Flask.

Friend encounters yokel a few days later, carrying a new Flask. He asks yokel:

“What’s in the Flask, yessir?”

“A cup of tea and some ice cream, yessir.”

On a more realistic note, I find it amusing that the Irish intrastat office sends out their returns with pre-paid envelopes. How nice of them. Except, the return forms do not fit in the envelopes. No matter how much you fold them! Picking on the Irish again, who else would build an asylum for alcoholics next door to a Guinness brewery???! (It’s the brewery in Dublin that they give tours round).