Aviation Discussion

[atillathehunn]

Speaking of MiG, I saw this over on another forum.

Ignore the lead in, scroll down a bit... wow...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1805018-my-30th-birthday-3-star-russian-hotel.html

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Speaking of MiG, I saw this over on another forum.

Ignore the lead in, scroll down a bit... wow...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1805018-my-30th-birthday-3-star-russian-hotel.html

Thats cool - I'm guessing that is one of the very high altitude versions - basically, a engine and not much else

 

[atillathehunn]

Thats cool - I'm guessing that is one of the very high altitude versions - basically, a engine and not much else

Can't imagine they would leave much by way of military equipment on board, no...

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Can't imagine they would leave much by way of military equipment on board, no...

Just looked it up - its a two seater (like the one in Poland) with most of the weapons hard points removed except the outer ones. I can only speculate this is because they remain on the Russian Air Force Inventory. Some pictures of cockpit internals indicate the internal payload is also operational


Still, looks damned cool and jolly well fast

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I'd be happy to go and test this service out if anyone is interested.

16,500 € for the Edge of Space flight with this one: http://www.migflug.com/en/jet-fighter-flights/flying-with-a-jet/mig-29-fulcrum-in-russia.html

Although if there was one in a MiG-21, I would be even more interested!

 

[atillathehunn]

And speaking of wide bodies on short-haul flights in business class:

£230 ish return LHR-HEL-TLL on the Finnair A350 in January.

 

[fowler9]

Speaking of MiG, I saw this over on another forum.

Ignore the lead in, scroll down a bit... wow...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1805018-my-30th-birthday-3-star-russian-hotel.html

Wow, just wow. That is amazing. The closest I have got is flying over Nizhny Novgorod on a BA 744. Ha ha.

 

[AlterEgo]

And speaking of wide bodies on short-haul flights in business class:

£230 ish return LHR-HEL-TLL on the Finnair A350 in January.

CX T3 lounge also now open again at LHR...

 

[fowler9]

I'd be happy to go and test this service out if anyone is interested.

16,500 € for the Edge of Space flight with this one: http://www.migflug.com/en/jet-fighter-flights/flying-with-a-jet/mig-29-fulcrum-in-russia.html

Although if there was one in a MiG-21, I would be even more interested!

SU-27 for me. But I'd make do with a Hawk over Wales. Ha ha. There are a few privately owned Mig-21'S aren't there? That said I don't know if they are 2 seaters.
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And speaking of wide bodies on short-haul flights in business class:

£230 ish return LHR-HEL-TLL on the Finnair A350 in January.

Remind me. I would happily revisit Tallinn and Helsinki. How long is that going on for?

 

[dcsprior]

Has there been any indication from BA what their removal of catering will translate to in terms of a decrease in fares?

I currently fly easyJet Edinburgh-Gatwick return most weeks, and I'm happy with them - but BA's move to the South Terminal (more convenient for the railway station) has made me think about giving them another try.

 

[fowler9]

Has there been any indication from BA what their removal of catering will translate to in terms of a decrease in fares?

I currently fly easyJet Edinburgh-Gatwick return most weeks, and I'm happy with them - but BA's move to the South Terminal (more convenient for the railway station) has made me think about giving them another try.

Of course the fares won't go down. Ha ha. They may just not go up for a while.

 

[atillathehunn]

SU-27 for me. But I'd make do with a Hawk over Wales. Ha ha. There are a few privately owned Mig-21'S aren't there? That said I don't know if they are 2 seaters.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Remind me. I would happily revisit Tallinn and Helsinki. How long is that going on for?

I see this price right the way through January and February. Got bored checking after that.

The fare requires a Saturday night stop in TLL.

Alterego is right, I had even forgotten about the new lounge. Hmmm....

 

[dcsprior]

Of course the fares won't go down. Ha ha. They may just not go up for a while.

Whilst the cynic in me does think that may be the case, if their reason for this change is increased competition from low-cost carriers, surely the whole point is to enable them to lower the headline fares to compete with the LCCs?

 

[WestCoast]

Whilst the cynic in me does think that may be the case, if their reason for this change is increased competition from low-cost carriers, surely the whole point is to enable them to lower the headline fares to compete with the LCCs?

Their headline fares are already pretty similar e.g. Gatwick to Amsterdam is from £35 one way on BA vs. easyJet from £30.99. If BA becomes more competitive against easyJet at Gatwick then easyJet may have to discount further.

 

[dcsprior]

Their headline fares are already pretty similar e.g. Gatwick to Amsterdam is from £35 one way on BA vs. easyJet from £30.99. If BA becomes more competitive against easyJet at Gatwick then easyJet may have to discount further.

I've just spent 10 mins on skyscanner, pricing EDI-LGW for my usual travel pattern - south on the first flight every Tuesday returning on the last flight every Thursday. Over the next 16 weeks (after that the last EZY is considerably later than the last BA). BA is £1,722 total compared to £1,219 for EZY - a difference of £31 per return flight. The closest they come is £14/return, the biggest difference £68/return.

I'm a regular traveller who's cost-conscious, but willing to pay a bit extra for convenience (I pay for easyJet plus and Priority Pass) so BA could get my custom if they worked out slightly dearer than EZY overall. But at £31 difference in headline fare for a return (plus seat selection even for silver Executive Club members, which I would be if I switched to BA, costing more than I currently spend on my annual subscriptions) that's an extra ~£1.5k/year and I can't justify that.

Hopefully fares that come out in future after the removal of catering will be noticeably cheaper. Otherwise, they'll surely not succeed in gaining new customers so will have annoyed their existing ones for nowt.

 

[Tim R-T-C]

A couple of interesting spots from my trip last week to Eastern Europe:


Tarom vintage liveried 737-700 YR-BGG at Bucharest by Timothy Young, on Flickr


Air Serbia ATR72 YU-ALO arrives from Belgrade by Timothy Young, on Flickr


Wind Rose A330 UR-WRQ at Kiev Borispol by Timothy Young, on Flickr

 

[Butts]

Has there been any indication from BA what their removal of catering will translate to in terms of a decrease in fares?

I currently fly easyJet Edinburgh-Gatwick return most weeks, and I'm happy with them - but BA's move to the South Terminal (more convenient for the railway station) has made me think about giving them another try.

Well I can only speak from my own experience but the answer is yes for my forthcoming "Fag Run" to Luxembourg in early March next year.

It involves 4 Flights EDI-LHR LHR-LUX and the reverse the following day.

Normally you are lucky to get it for just north of £200.....

My trip in March £111 Return....I thought it was a mistake when it first came out at that price, but no it was genuine.

At that price I don't even object to coughing for the refreshments. It should be noted that on flights of this nature you still get a 23KG Hold Bag thrown in.

Good on you BA

 

[atillathehunn]

BA's recent activities have been about price discrimination, and ensuring that their profit margin - not sales price - comes closer to the LCCs.

There will be some fares in some of the lower buckets at a lower price. Butts found them on his fag run. They get bums on seats down the back stealing a few from the LCCs.

But then shortly after the BOB announcement they said they were putting proper a 'proper' business class back on domestic flights, so these tickets will go up in price.

But is an airline going to universally lower their fares? No, not even hold them steady.

It's easy to forget that while you might have paid £9.99 for your off-season advance ticket on Ryanair, plenty of people in the plane got gouged for £300+. Ryanair isn't universally cheap, and I wouldn't expect BA to be. Somehow Ryanair has found a rich vain to tap on the MAN-CRL route, as the Friday prices on that route are now in the £00s+ category. It can be as little as £6 this time of year.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

A couple of interesting spots from my trip last week to Eastern Europe:


Tarom vintage liveried 737-700 YR-BGG at Bucharest by Timothy Young, on Flickr


Air Serbia ATR72 YU-ALO arrives from Belgrade by Timothy Young, on Flickr


Wind Rose A330 UR-WRQ at Kiev Borispol by Timothy Young, on Flickr

Windrose looks like a tube of slightly off-brand Colgate.

 

[Butts]

BA's recent activities have been about price discrimination, and ensuring that their profit margin - not sales price - comes closer to the LCCs.

There will be some fares in some of the lower buckets at a lower price. Butts found them on his fag run. They get bums on seats down the back stealing a few from the LCCs.

But then shortly after the BOB announcement they said they were putting proper a 'proper' business class back on domestic flights, so these tickets will go up in price.

One thing worth remembering is that the BA Flight also includes a 23KG Hold Bag in addition to your take on allowance. This would cost a pretty penny on Flybe or Easyjet.(Essential for Tobacco Transportation )

I still can't believe the price £111 return, I have been going from Edinburgh for a few years now and never come anywhere near that price on BA.

Do hope it's not a mistake

 

[atillathehunn]

One thing worth remembering is that the BA Flight also includes a 23KG Hold Bag in addition to your take on allowance. This would cost a pretty penny on Flybe or Easyjet.(Essential for Tobacco Transportation )

I still can't believe the price £111 return, I have been going from Edinburgh for a few years now and never come anywhere near that price on BA.

Do hope it's not a mistake

Their most basic fares do not, they are HBO fares.

 

[FQTV]

Their most basic fares do not, they are HBO fares.

All BA connecting fares include a 23kg checked allowance.

Only point-to-point fares offer HBO, Plus etc.

 

[Butts]

All BA connecting fares include a 23kg checked allowance.

Only point-to-point fares offer HBO, Plus etc.

Indeed, I have checked on Sky Scanner for my particular dates and BA are "top of the pops" for about the first 20 odd entries.

There is one fare available which at £78 is no 1 but it includes Non-Protected transfers on Flybe and Ryanair plus their baggage charges. Bags not checked through to final destination either.

I think I am the beneficiary of increased competition to Luxembourg from "down south" but only BA allow Butts's Booty to wave goodbye in Luxembourg and say hello in Edinburgh leaving him free to pass through UK Border/Customs bagless in transit at LHR.

 

[atillathehunn]

Just had a couple of trips with Flybe in the last week.

On time both trips. Boarding/leaving done via jet bridge. Clean planes, good leg room. Little chocolates offered on leaving the plane. Courteous crew.

Okay. Who are you, and what have you done with Flymaybe?

The E175 is a cracking plane.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Agreed on the Embraers, delightful aircraft with no rubbish middle seats.

I wonder could they do a stretched version with the capacity of an A319 but still 2+2?

 

[me123]

Agreed on the Embraers, delightful aircraft with no rubbish middle seats.

I wonder could they do a stretched version with the capacity of an A319 but still 2+2?

Love the Embraers, but sadly I think a stretched version is unlikely to happen. They'll be competing with the established Airbus and Boeing markets, and I suspect they'll lose out to the larger manufacturers - most airlines already have 737s and/or 320s in service. I would imagine that to get the same capacity (156 if you cram them in) on a 2+2 Embraer you'll have to stretch the fuselage significantly, which will probably result in a greater weight and therefore lower margins for the airlines. You'd need 39 rows to get 156 people in an Embraer, which is about as long as an A321.

 

[atillathehunn]

Agreed on the Embraers, delightful aircraft with no rubbish middle seats.

I wonder could they do a stretched version with the capacity of an A319 but still 2+2?

Can but dream. Though if they want to really win friends they would make an ultra efficient version for a longer range. More destinations in a better plane, with fewer cabin crew required as fewer passengers compared to a 737.

 

[Butts]

Just had a couple of trips with Flybe in the last week.

On time both trips. Boarding/leaving done via jet bridge. Clean planes, good leg room. Little chocolates offered on leaving the plane. Courteous crew.

Okay. Who are you, and what have you done with Flymaybe?

The E175 is a cracking plane.

Not as good as an E195 but a lot better than the elastic band powered Q400.

The 195 has 3 crew and Exit Seats on Row 15 which the 175 does not.

 

[atillathehunn]

Not as good as an E195 but a lot better than the elastic band powered Q400.

The 195 has 3 crew and Exit Seats on Row 15 which the 175 does not.

My theory is that above the Crash-8 or the ATR-72 the marginal returns diminish, so I'm fairly ambivalent between the 75 and 95. My recent have set the bar pretty low for comfort so even non-exit row seemed like heaven.

I'll also note that both flights were deserted. <40% in both directions.

The view today into AMS was amazing, very clear. Unfortuntely it highlighted that just one of the wind turbines in one of the large arrays off the Netherlands is out of pattern with the others. This enormously upsets my OCD.

 

[AlterEgo]

Agreed on the Embraers, delightful aircraft with no rubbish middle seats.

I wonder could they do a stretched version with the capacity of an A319 but still 2+2?

Wishful thinking.

BA CityFlyer's E190s are the best. I'm on one up to Glasgow this evening, in seat 2D (the one with "unlimited" legroom and two windows). Seriously the best short haul economy seat flying around Europe.

One thing I've always found odd is how, on the ground, the E70/75 sits with a slightly nose-up attitude, yet the E90/95 sits with slightly nose-down attitude.

 

[WestCoast]

Lovely flight from Athens to Manchester with Aegean Airlines, five (!) drinks runs and a proper hot meal with salad and dessert. First flew with them back in 2008 but they are really cheap for the quality of service, beating BA by some margin!