Good news at last for northern irish BM's??

[meatball 0]

It was just announced today that aer lingus will be setting up at belfast international airport with a route flying to Heathrow early next year. Surely now we can expect to pay more reasonable prices now that there is some competition to them robbing bastards BMI!

[Feileacan 32]

One mans good news is another mans bad news. The new slots from Belfast to Heathrow are currently the Shannon to Heathrow routes. Aer Lingus are planning to move the routes. This will have a lot of opposition and politicians will be under a lot of presure to put a stop to it, as it will result in a lot of business closures in the area if Heathrow is gone.

Michael O'Leary of Ryanair (who recently bought a large stake in Aer Lingus) this morning called on the government to use their share of the ownership of the airline along with his to outvote the board of aer Lingus in order to stop the move. I for one hope the attempted move of the slots gets kicked back, Shannon is my local airport and don't want to end up traveling from Gatwick to Heathrow to catch connecting flights

[python 27]

Feileacan,

 

I understand your concern and would agree that "One mans good news is another mans bad news"

 

I did not realize that these routes had been moved from Shannon. I thought they are simply new routes for Aer Lingus.

 

Obviously, Aer Lingus are not happy with the profits from Shannon or they would not have moved them and would have new additional routes from Belfast as opposed to switching routes from elsewhere? I would have thought that Aer Lingus, like any airline, the reasons for moving or starting new routes are profit driven. Are you saying that someone like Michael O'Leary would be more concerned about local business closures than he would be about the profits of an airline he has just bought a large stake in, after recently trying, but failing, to buy the entire company? I doubt it.

 

Anyway, I'm with meatball on this. Ever since BA stopped flying Belfast to LHR, BMI have had the people here by the short and curlies. With Thai Air, I can now fly LHR to BKK direct, rtn from £295 but still must pay BMI £150 -£180 just to fly to London!!! This is fucking robbery!!! One airline having the monopoly to LHR from a country in the UK is a license to print money for them and I think thats wrong!!

 

I welcome anything that gives me cheaper flights.

 

Cheers,

Edited August 9, 2007 by python

[Feileacan 32]

Hi

 

The Shannon to Heathrow route is actually a very profitable route for Aer Lingus. The problem is really with Heathrow slots, They are like gold dust. Very expensive to buy any new ones. Aer Lingus have X amount of slots and have them since the days when there were little flights, so were not as valuable as now.

Currently the Irish Government have a veto on Aer Lingus selling any of the slots (don't want the family silver sold off) I'm suspicious of the move. I think they are moving them to Belfast only for the short term. This will give them a way around the selling of the slots. The Irish Government could stop the sale of any slots from Ireland to UK, but by putting them into Belfast, It's a sneaky way of moving it from UK, so they will then be seen as a UK to UK flight. But because it's Belfast, no one will complain at the outset.

As for O'Leary, I think he just wants to get up the nose of the Aer Lingus management. As for the Aer Lingus managment, they are Dublin based and don't have any interest in anything outside of Dublin and spent their entire existence trying to run down any regional airports, along with the Dublin Based airport Authority. The airport authority split a few years ago and the regions now handle their own affairs.

 

Around pricing, the flight from Shannon usually costs about 100 euro return, that would be 60 + sterling. About 70 % of this is airport charges for Heathrow. Also if you fly with BA to Thailand. It's is cheaper to fly Aer Lingus and then BA from Ireland, than it is to book the flights from heathrow only. That's through the BA website

[growler 0]

Very noticeable that this switch from Shannon to Belfast was "delayed" until after the election. I am convinced this is a political decision, perhaps a sweetener for the peace process. Who knows what part our beloved Teeshock has in this affair. In contrast he has fudged making any decisions about the appalling Dublin Airport for years, in case he might upset the unions many of whom live in his constituency.

[bagpuss67 0]

I've never paid more than £80 for a return Belfast City to Heathrow with BMI, in fact I average £55. Usual story, book well in advance.

 

Ryanair and BMI for the City, Easyjet and Air Fugus from Aldergrove. Happy Days for the NI traveller

[python 27]

I've never paid more than £80 for a return Belfast City to Heathrow with BMI, in fact I average £55. Usual story, book well in advance.

 

bagpuss67,

 

The "usual" story has fuck all to do with it! do you think I never thought of booking earlier? Yes I can book BMI myself on the net and pay the price you state, but then I'll have two tickets, one for BHD - LHR then LHR - BKK. My problem then is, you can not check luggage through and I need this, especially for the return trip. BMI insist that to book luggage through you must have all flights on the one ticket. The agents selling the flights to BKK will charge you up to £180 for the Belfast connection. If your happy collecting then checking in luggage in LHR on your outward & return journey then fine.

 

As BMI are the only operator flying this route they hold all the the cards. Thats why I welcome anyone else entering into competition. As Aer Lingus operates many international routes I expect the connections to now be a good bit cheaper for connecting flights using a UK based agent selling BKK tickets, as BMI is basically a domestic airline doing an odd international flight/charter the agents wil not offer the flights at the "cheap" BMI internet prices you state.

 

Just for your info, in case someone trys to sell you a ticket, Ryanair and Easyjet don't have any flights to/from LHR.

 

Regards,

[eltilza 0]

never had a bad flight with bmi yet but they can get you on the baggage allowance if the backs are not checked all the way through to belfast on the return trip

 

also the eva flight didn't make it in time to catch the last plane home and i have had a couple of overnights in airport hotel

[Eneukman 1]

bagpuss67,

 

The "usual" story has fuck all to do with it! do you think I never thought of booking earlier? Yes I can book BMI myself on the net and pay the price you state, but then I'll have two tickets, one for BHD - LHR then LHR - BKK. My problem then is, you can not check luggage through and I need this, especially for the return trip. BMI insist that to book luggage through you must have all flights on the one ticket. The agents selling the flights to BKK will charge you up to £180 for the Belfast connection. If your happy collecting then checking in luggage in LHR on your outward & return journey then fine.

 

As BMI are the only operator flying this route they hold all the the cards. Thats why I welcome anyone else entering into competition. As Aer Lingus operates many international routes I expect the connections to now be a good bit cheaper for connecting flights using a UK based agent selling BKK tickets, as BMI is basically a domestic airline doing an odd international flight/charter the agents wil not offer the flights at the "cheap" BMI internet prices you state.

 

Just for your info, in case someone trys to sell you a ticket, Ryanair and Easyjet don't have any flights to/from LHR.

 

Regards,

 

Good point!

 

If you book flights over the internet and you are obliged for whatever reason to use different airlines, is there any way you can get all flights on one ticket, specifically if flying from Bangkok to the UK and return.

 

I will be back in Scotland for a short visit in October and am flying Business Class with KLM on each leg of the journey. I will have a bit under 4 hours in Amsterdam so on the outward journey at least, will have time for a shower before flying on to Edinburgh.

 

Alan

[beerforme 0]

I had to go back at Christmas because my dad died suddenly. It cost me two arms and all three legs for the flights from Darwin-Brisbane-Singapore-London, but I did fly 12,000 miles. I had to fly BMI to Belfast. Now while I found their check-in arrangements etc pretty clever and streamlined, the cost was disproportionate to the distance travelled. Coming back, I paid half as much BMI to London as I did with Cathay Pacific to Singapore via Hong Kong.

 

N. Ireland has always had the problem of paying the premium. In the 80s and 90s the flights from Manchester to BElfast were reasonable, but the Manchester airport taxes made them too dear. Liverpool was cheaper but just that much further to travel.

 

I love N. Ireland. Christmas was my first time back in 7 years, albiet in shitty circumstances. It is a stunningly beautiful place, the people are dead on, but it's always been treated as the poor cousin. I'm a Unionist and believe strongly in N. Ireland's ties within the UK, but I realise that even ' mother? England ' treats us like second class citizens.

 

Many years ago my dad told me that if I ever married a catholic or an English girl that he would geld me ( and my dad by the way was a very educated man, a civil servant for 40 years etc) . When I arrived back from uni with a girl with and English accent who was a catholic did he go off? No. As it happend she was born proddy and Scottish and is intensely proud to be a Scott.

 

People there are generally good people and tolerant people, who get shit upon by the govt and anyone else who can. They deserve a break.

 

Where I live now, Darwin, it's much the same in terms of being shit upon becaus eof the tyranny of distance, only it's not 200 miles like Belfast-London, but more like 3000 miles to tose who think they are in control. Fortunately we recently had a Singapore based airline called Tiger Airways who are coming to Darwin, indeed all over SE Asia. We can pay $1200 to fly single to Melborne, some 4 hours away, or $350 from Darwin to Singapore, 4 hours away. Singapore cares more about us than Canberra!

 

What's my point? Yeah, ripped off in NI, allways have been , always will be. But your time may come.

In the meantime, if you ever get to Singapore and fancy having a look at the real Australia, do yourself a favour and hop on a Tiger flight to Darwin for 120 quid return.

[bagpuss67 0]

bagpuss67,

 

The "usual" story has fuck all to do with it! do you think I never thought of booking earlier? Yes I can book BMI myself on the net and pay the price you state, but then I'll have two tickets, one for BHD - LHR then LHR - BKK. My problem then is, you can not check luggage through and I need this, especially for the return trip. BMI insist that to book luggage through you must have all flights on the one ticket. The agents selling the flights to BKK will charge you up to £180 for the Belfast connection. If your happy collecting then checking in luggage in LHR on your outward & return journey then fine.

 

As BMI are the only operator flying this route they hold all the the cards. Thats why I welcome anyone else entering into competition. As Aer Lingus operates many international routes I expect the connections to now be a good bit cheaper for connecting flights using a UK based agent selling BKK tickets, as BMI is basically a domestic airline doing an odd international flight/charter the agents wil not offer the flights at the "cheap" BMI internet prices you state.

 

Just for your info, in case someone trys to sell you a ticket, Ryanair and Easyjet don't have any flights to/from LHR.

 

Regards,

 

If you want to pay over the odds because you have to handle two tickets, pick up/check in at Heathrow, as they say in the LOS 'up to you'.

 

I would rather spend my money elsewhere.

 

Cheers for the info on Ryanair and Easyjet, once again no doubt the added hassle of a coach/train journey puts you off. A wee bit of math flying to the mainline can save you a bit of money if you have the time.

[meatball 0]

Python,

 

When I fly back from BKK, I am able to check my bags right through to Belfast. I came back 2 weeks ago and asked the check-in staff could I do this and it was no problem. This is with Thai airways. I'm not sure whether or not the other companies let you do this but with Thai airways it's never been a problem.

[alexist 12]

Reference checking bags all the way when booking on net using two unconnected airlines. It can be done but there may be a charge. When you book just send an email to the main carrier (or even prior to booking).

[ballbag 2]

you are dead on meatball bmi have been ripping us belfast mongers for years about time there is a bit of competition as for shannon who gives a shit

[python 27]

Reference checking bags all the way when booking on net using two unconnected airlines. It can be done but there may be a charge. When you book just send an email to the main carrier (or even prior to booking).

 

Hi Alex,

 

Can you tell me anymore about what you describe above? I am very interested. I have never heard of this before so I would be grateful if you could tell me more.

 

To be honest, I am not sure that I follow what you mean. Do you mean if I book my BMI flights myself on the net and get the cheapest price, then I go with to what ever agent is selling the cheapest tickets, on the net, and I end up with, for example, tickets to BKK with Qatar, I email Qatar and request that my bags are booked through by BMI and I pay a small fee, if required? to BMI I assume?

 

I thought the only way I could do this was if all airlines involved are members of Star Alliance, and in the case of BMI, I still must have a through ticket.

 

Do you know anyone that has done this? as you suggest? How did you hear abot this?

 

This I've done, and know another three that have, so I accept that guys have booked bags through fom BKK to Belfast when they produced their separate ticket on to Belfast, good luck to them, but think we/they where lucky to get away with it, so you can't depend on it, but they won't do it on the way out.

 

Explain more if you can Alex.

 

Regards,

[alexist 12]

Hi Python,

 

Its something to do with baggage handlers being seperate from the airline, i.e. your cases are unloaded from the plane and the airline pays a company to do it. a guy who used to work for me was with easyjet for a while and he told me about it.

 

On my first trip to Pattaya I flew Belf - Gatwick - Austria - Bangkok. The main airline was Austrian and I e-mailed them ref booking luggage all the way thru. They would do it for a fee of £60. Thats only £30 each way but when I looked at transfer times I had hours to spare and weighed up the hassle against the risk of your luggage not turning up and decided not to bother.

 

If you are lucky enough to book two airlines on the net that are affiliated then (if you ask) it'll be done no charge. The great thing about the web is you can ask before you book. Its a bollox livin on this wee island. Hope this makes sense cos I'm a bit pissed

[Eneukman 1]

I came back from Bali on 4 different airlines -

 

Garuda to Jakarta

Singapore to Singapore

QANTAS to Heathrow and

BA to Edinburgh.

 

I had one ticket and was able to get my luggage checked all the way to Edinburgh from Bali at no extra charge. Of course, when I got to Edinburgh it had got held up somewhere though it did eventually turn up at 4.00 pm

 

I had to check in three times though! Bali, Jakarta and Singapore.

 

Alan

[growler 0]

you are dead on meatball bmi have been ripping us belfast mongers for years about time there is a bit of competition as for shannon who gives a shit

 

 

As for Belfast mongers who gives a Donald?

[alexist 12]

Same Same for you southerners growler

[rambo 0]

Having used Aldergrove for years flying to/from LHR with BA(ah...they were the days!), I can say that there must be 'money on the table' for Aer Lingus to begin a BFS-LHR route. Its a non-profitable route and with many cheap airlines flying out of BHD, then it will again make no money for sure.

 

I hope EI sticks around....as some of you have said.......BMI have the monopoly. And they are bastards to boot! For my N. Irish BM's travelling from BFS to BKK....have a look at flying to Manchester or Glasgow. Ethiad Air do a cheap deal from MAN and Emirates (the king of the air!) do the GLA-DXB-BKK routing!(with free stop in Dubai!)

 

Just a few thoughts.......

 

R......