Well there are lots of 757s out there to be picked up cheaply. Plus, Ryanair seem to have very good relations with Boeing so it is perfectly conceivable they could obtain a handful of 757s for pond hops.

I honestly doubt they will go down this route. But if they did I think they would do it via a subsidiary (Ryan Atlantic anyone?). No doubt still on a LCC basis with economy-only no frills seating, no transfers etc. but purely because of the different type of aircraft involved it would be more efficient to have a purpose-formed business unit. I strongly predict some quite good IFE and a Connexion system as well, as there are some interesting value-added revenue generation possibilities there.

Okay…next step. Where from and where to? I would say Stansted to one of the East Coast airports.

STN-BWI
STN-Providence (PVD?)

Or something like that! Probably an airport with no (or not much) transatlantic service at the moment. Anyone got any alternatives?

No chance with Dublin. Absolutely not. Firstly, the Irish government would not let them (they would have to fly via Shannon – too inefficient). Secondly, although Ryanair do not offer connections and interlining, there is no doubt some passengers will connect anyway. And there is more scope for that at STN than at DUB.

Also no one has mentioned Easyjet. I accept the techincal verdict on these pages that the 737 does not have the legs. How about the A319? I think there is a long range version of it – the fuel option, or something like that. The shorter ranged A320 and A321 fly some bloody long routes for BA, such as LHR-THR. Would the Airbus be any more realistic? Would be quite something to see transatlantic links restored to Liverpool! (who am I kidding, Luton).

I said that to my fiancee once (she’s a teacher). She wasn’t impressed!

To be fair, she has to take work home a lot more than I do, and she probably works 2 hours a day extra. That equates to 10 hours a week unpaid. Before bringing the work home, she works 9-5 or sometimes 9-6 even though the kids clock off at 3.30.

Then of course the people at the Education Department are the most illogical, petty, totally unreasonable, beaurocrats in the history of mankind – which adds stress.

But if money was your motivator, why wouldn’t anyone just shrug their shoulders and train as a lawyer?

Urgh, I can’t stand Stella personally. By all accounts the UK version is inferior so it might be nicer elsewhere. Gimme a pint of Guinness any time!

UK Leisure were definitely absorbed into one of the present charter airlines, yes. Not sure which one but one of our charter buffs will certainly know. I think (though not positive) that this was roughly the same time that Air UK became a KLM franchisee.

Originally posted by wysiwyg
I left Virgin after 9 years in 1998 on £9,500! BA pay the sort of salaries you are quoting but a small operator of 19 seaters will never have that kind of dosh…it’s also 25% more than the salary I was on as a Saab340 FO!

Alright, I didn’t have a clue what a flight attendant earned – that was just a round number guess!

Basically the event is well supported by the locals. There are deaths every year, just something you have to get used to. There’s characters to – I remember about 2 years before his death I met Joey Dunlop in a local pub (the Manx Arms). He was a regular there and was usually dead drunk, then would be miraculously sober and really focused the next day.

But the motorbikes can make traffic really bad. The main roads are closed all afternoon for practices, so getting back from work is a bit of a hog. Other than that, these mad bikers like to overtake you on narrow roads at 100mph – you need to drive carefully.

But what the hell, it’s all good fun – you’d think an influx of 30 or 40,000 bikers would cause problems, but they are generally very good natured. We get a lot of Germans – the road signs become bilingual and the pubs fly signs saying “Bier Hier”. There’s loads of viewing areas, as you’d expect from a circuit on public roads. If you like motorsports, I’d recommend paying the next TT a visit!

see

http://www.iomtt.com
http://www.dukevide.com

Oh – we’re not a one trick island either. There are 2 more motorcycle races, the IOM Grand Prix and the Southern 100. There is also the Manx Rally, which finished 2 or 3 weeks ago. A lot of the teams practice on an old airstrip at Jurby, which is still operational – there is an annual airshow. There’s the usual firework show and we usally get the Red Arrows popping over as well.

I know, and I’m not trying to demean the value of pilots. I’m just saying that a person’s worth is not necessarily the same as their wage value.

Otherwise firemen would all drive Ferraris!

Now, pilots do generally earn more than firemen because they are more highly trained. Because of that, there’s upwards wage pressure (supply and demand again) but the wage will only naturally go so high – probably to a point below what a pilot would consider he is worth.

Originally posted by Arthur
Any intelligence agency will find what it’s superiors want it to find, or at least suggestions to it. The US has a good track record of this.

I agree. It’s a serious problem, because intelligence agencies are too unaccountable.

What is the CIA’s typical methodology? Do they go in with no preconceptions and just report what they find, or do they go in with a specific purpose and try to prove something?

I can quite understand the logic of the first option, but the 2nd option is wide open to abuse. Maybe there should be a division of labour – a whole different agency should analyse and interpret and the CIA should only gather data.

Maybe the analysts should be members of the judiciary, as the gatherers are clearly controlled by the executive branch. Segregations seems crucial to restore credibility.

No, actually I’ve never been to LBA. Maybe I should use it next time! I looked at it a few times in 2000 and 2001 to try to get from IOM to Middlesbrough, but the flights were ludicrously expensive – the usual £300 for a 45 minute hop joke that BA like to pull. It was cheaper to fly to MAN and hire a Focus or something for the day, which gave the added flexibility of more flights to choose from and a car to move around in.

The operators obviously value customer relations highly to employ someone. An attendant earns what, £25,000 or something – multiply that by the number of aircraft and add 1 or 2 extra attendants and you can afford to employ another accountant 😀