oliver2002

MOL stated yesterday that FR will not come to MUC, it seems the airport has no capacities/slots till 2020 that FR would like.

oliver2002

Handelsblatt takes a good look at the FFP game: http://www.handelsblatt.com/my/unter.../12455742.html

YuropFlyer

It's behind a paywall...

FD1971

Another key market, which is out of reach for Ryanair, the value proposition is simply not appealing for customers anymore the moment MOL has to play by the usual rules of the industry.

Not surprisingly, it is the same for other players like Emirates, Etihad etc. , from the moment they have to play by the rules, they become a bucket case pretty soon.

Keep discovering (trying to find a working business plan) is an old joke, but still so true.

A 380 to DFW, anyone?

Lack

Attacking a fortress city is a bit different then pillaging a pagan village and I guess there are still a couple villages left out there for FR, so why bother?

LH is working hard though to level the playing field and align themselves with the FR value proposition, so a face to face might come sooner then later.

IAN-UK

The rate of convergence increased dramatically this year, with FR's adoption of shockingly customer-friendly policies while LH stuck to less-than-friendly enhancements.

FR's routes don't often fit my travel plans, but I've really no problem taking them when they do. So it's a pity they have better fish to fry than Munich.

N1003U

Does a 388 to DFW make any more or less sense than a 388 (or 748 if you can't quite sell enough seats for a 380 ) to IAH? The industries represented in each city are a bit different, but the population and income of the metropolitan areas are quite similar.

From both a destination and gateway connection perspective, I don't see a huge difference, other than the denomination of the primary service provider located in DFW compared to IAH.

Or: is there some gahstly property of DFW (aside from its crappy architecture, failed light rail transport system, and the fact that it is in Texas) that most people don't know about?

Given that EK is still in an aggressive growth modus, and they can stay cash flow positive to even down in the 60-something percent load factor range, a place like DFW (where many people actually still appreciate and even welcome the notion of competition) is not necessarily a bad route to try.

N1003U

Does anyone know when LH publishes their 3Q financial numbers?

LH seems to have had some crazy good traffic numbers over the summer (load factors well into the 80s on average, and well into the 90s on some TATL routes), and I would be interested to see how that translates into actual bottom-line results.

oliver2002

Oct 29: http://investor-relations.lufthansag...-sep-2015.html

N1003U

Thanks, oliver2002! A handy link.

FD1971

As pointed out so often over the last years, Ryanair had to adapt their strategy, because it was clearly going nowhere. The important revenue streams (Sale&LB and money from airports) simply did not cut it any longer.

And this is the major difference to LH, top management at LH know what they are doing and have a working business model since more than 20 years now.

The position as the leading carrier is certainly exemplified by the fact that they never lost money in a business year since privatisation.

Well, there is a small difference, a very small difference between flying a plane on an established routes with a perfect stage length to benefit from scale economies and a plane on a route with hardly any demand, which is a role model for diseconomies of scale, not to mention that the demand for this route is close to two dozen people per day.

But can we blame Emirates for that?

No, since they do not have any alternative, if they want to continue discovering...

Let's hope that they do not have to call AUH for help once again. As pointed out so often before, a combined Etihad and Emirates would be a respectable carrier and Etihad could sell all the crap from Europe they had to buy over the last years.

MOL is waiting for AB to go down since years and it looks like he is simply not brave enough to start expanding in Germany with two major competitors.

Rambuster

Why did EY have to buy?
I was under the impression they did it intentionally. God only knows what the bigger picture behind all this is though?

Lack

So FR moving upmarket is adapting because their strategy isn't working, but LH moving downmarket is a sign of a working business model?

FD1971

I understand that people like Franz or Spohr look like God to many of the fans in the FT stands, but the intention behind buying all that crap in Europe was pretty obvious, actually so obvious that several writers wrote about it in various papers just last week (to give you a small hint )

Do you really think that the leading carrier has to adapt its strategy? In this industry?

They have all the infrastructure, all the rights to fly, all the political connections, they were the first mover etc.

Weber pointed out that they have to allign their costs within the current market conditions and that is what they do since 20 years, so I do not see any change here, maybe with the exception of running one division with a partner instead of doing it on their own.

They still believe in the industry Aviation Group set up, which was so successful over the last 20+ years.

And they will be highly sucessful over the next 20 years, simply because hardly anyone can really challenge them....and as predicted years ago, Ryanair will become more expensive, if they really want to grow.

Will be interesting to see where and how Menne hides all the cash

Thank God she has to increase the provisions for the pension funds. @:-)

GBM.flights

So if results are above expectation it will be I told you so, if results are less than that it's Menne hiding cash?
For a supposed industry insider you set the bar very low...