brussels airlines vs Ryanair

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Dear all,

With the discussion on the moderate growth at Brussels airport (essentialy due to intra-EU figures), some of us did speculate on possible "stolen PAX" from BRU to CRL / from brussels airlines to Ryanair...

What do you think about this statement. Are Ryanair and CRL really "stealing" PAX or do they generate new traffic?

How can SN & BRU compete about it?

Thanks in advance for contributing...

Vincent (the parisian brussels airlines fan)

[cnc]

yes they take pax away from BRU and yes they generate new traffic
BRU should try to get LCC's to operate during the ghost hours (when the airport is almost empty) but try to avoid LCC's and their pax during peak hours

[regi]

I am afraid that this a very difficult - even impossible comparison.
Allow me to give some of my own examples, as how an ordinary customer thinks.
In the Sabena time, there were connecting passengers also for long haul, which Ryanair doesn't have, so not comparable.
I did not fly to Scotland in the Sabena time because it was too expensive. But some years later I took a Ryanair flight to Prestwick because it was affordable ( giving me a 4 hour delay in the return, thank you ).
I took a flight to Berlin with SN because it was the cheapest solution. I came back with Easyjet.
So did Easyjet steal a flight from SN? No, they are complimentary. If the go/return ticket with SN would have been too expensive, I would have taken the car.

Look at it from another side: if Brussels Airlines would not exist anymore at all, would the nr. of passengers of Ryanair grow with the same amount that Brussels Airlines has now? No. Many different destinations, and a different market.

I can imagine that Ryanair took some passengers from Brussels Airlines on some specific routes, for some specific customers, on some specific dates.
But I think that the real battle would be between Easyjet and Ryanair.
And what do we see? That those LCC avoid to compete with eachother.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

Thanks for these interesting first reactions!

[Ducatibiker]

I would not use the word 'steal' but 'force'. Since there are no longer non stop flights between BRU and BOD, I had to fly Ryann Air. I was reluctant to try Charleroi and Ryann Air. I was wrong. I paid only 69 euros for a return, and it was a pleasant experience. At least I saw flight attendants. I recently returned from London with Brussels Airlines in b.flex. The service on board was inexistent. The crew was rude and hiding behind the curtain. No coffee or tea was even proposed. I have seen much better on Brussels Airlines but it is now getting very rare...and yes, for the price of b.flex, you can fly business on other airlines. In one word, Brussels Airlines is very expensive for what you get and the service is terrible most of the time.

[brusselsairlinesfan]

No coffee or tea in b.flex?! That seems surprising to me... the same apply to your comments about the service... I haven't fly SN for a couple of months but always had nice experience with them... anyway, taht's not the point.
Regardin the BRU-CRL/brussels airlines Ryanair "battle", I have the feeling that CDG & AF show better resistance vs Beauvais & Ryanair... don't know why...

[sn26567]

I have the feeling that CDG & AF show better resistance vs Beauvais & Ryanair... don't know why...

Beauvais is farther away from Paris than Charleroi from Brussels. Furthemore, access to Beauvais airport is more difficult, both by public transportation and by road.

[fcw]

I have the feeling that CDG & AF show better resistance vs Beauvais & Ryanair... don't know why...

Beauvais is farther away from Paris than Charleroi from Brussels. Furthemore, access to Beauvais airport is more difficult, both by public transportation and by road.

Don't forget easyJet, who are handling 3 000 000 passengers a year in CDG! It shows BRU took the wrong decision in not opening the LCC terminal.