In message
, at
07:04:27 on Tue, 13 Oct 2009, Neil Williams
remarked:

Which is the same reason most people won't travel by train.

Indeed. Ryanair, as with trains, can be fine.

I see people getting on and off Ryanair flights almost every week. They
don't seem especially distressed. Only flown them once myself (apart
from 20 years ago) and it was fine. If anything the Berlin Metro train
to get to the airport, plus the long walk to the actual airport from the
station [1], was the worst aspect of the trip.

Oddest thing for a frequent flyer is the way they use the airplane's own
stairs, not even the airport's stairs, to get onto the plane. That's
what you expect on the little Fokkers (tm), but not on a huge 737!

[1] Presumably that's Ryanair's fault too!!
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 15:18:38 on
Tue, 13 Oct 2009, Recliner remarked:
Yes, Ryanair buys huge batches of identical planes from Boeing (but
always with the threat of defecting to Airbus, as easyJet did), for
knock-down prices. O'Leary proudly shows off about ordering them during
recessions, when he can get the best deal. They are then kept for a
relatively short time, before being sold on, with little or no
depreciation (as Ryanair buys them for less than the second-hand price).

That's the same model as all the big car rental companies!
--
Roland Perry

"Roland Perry" wrote in message

In message
, at
07:04:27 on Tue, 13 Oct 2009, Neil Williams
remarked:

Which is the same reason most people won't travel by train.

Indeed. Ryanair, as with trains, can be fine.

I see people getting on and off Ryanair flights almost every week.
They don't seem especially distressed. Only flown them once myself
(apart from 20 years ago) and it was fine. If anything the Berlin
Metro train to get to the airport, plus the long walk to the actual
airport from the station [1], was the worst aspect of the trip.

Oddest thing for a frequent flyer is the way they use the airplane's
own stairs, not even the airport's stairs, to get onto the plane.
That's what you expect on the little Fokkers (tm), but not on a huge
737!

Presumably that save a bit of time and perhaps airport fees, too. It's
one reason why they like the 737, as it's low enough for this to be an
option (the A320 is quite a bit higher).

Roland Perry writes:
to get to the airport, plus the long walk to the actual airport from the
station [1], was the worst aspect of the trip.

[1] Presumably that's Ryanair's fault too!!

It would have been shorter if you had just paid the fee!

-Miles

--
Accordion, n. An instrument in harmony with the sentiments of an assassin.

In message , at 01:05:47 on Wed, 14 Oct
2009, Miles Bader remarked:
to get to the airport, plus the long walk to the actual airport from the
station [1], was the worst aspect of the trip.

[1] Presumably that's Ryanair's fault too!!

It would have been shorter if you had just paid the fee!

What fee is that?
--
Roland Perry

In message , at 19:46:37 on
Tue, 13 Oct 2009, Paul Corfield remarked:
Eurostar does not resemble a bus.

And most trains don't resemble Eurostar.

Yes - it was an example. There are many trains that do not resemble a
bus or even a coach. The ambience is completely different.

Yes, the average EMT ex-Central boneshakers are even worse then a bus.

I travel on buses all the time and they're fine for their job

So do I - and they get a bad image. Having spent a week in Geneva, you'd
be surprised at the number of oytsiders prepared to pay £20 for a taxi
ride that was slower than a very acceptable [free] bus. Although some of
that is probably the worry of having to understand announcements
exclusively in French abut where to get off

And what nationality would those outsiders be? American per chance?

Mainly Europeans - and an American from Washington DC area was "with me"
trying to persuade people the bus wasn't as bad as they thought it might
be.

I appreciate I am indulging a slight stereotype here but it takes little
effort to research public transport options and to use them when you
arrive in a foreign city.

That's very true. While I'm happy with the Metro/Bus in many cities, I
haven't yet come to grips with the buses in Lisbon, for example.
--
Roland Perry

On Oct 13, 8:24*pm, Roland Perry wrote:

Yes, the average EMT ex-Central boneshakers are even worse then a bus.

Don't give them ideas...

Neil

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 21:19:24 on
Mon, 12 Oct 2009, Paul Corfield remarked:


I travel on buses all the time and they're fine for their job

So do I - and they get a bad image. Having spent a week in Geneva, you'd
be surprised at the number of oytsiders prepared to pay £20 for a taxi
ride that was slower than a very acceptable [free] bus. Although some of
that is probably the worry of having to understand announcements
exclusively in French abut where to get off

And despite their widespread reputation for efficiency my 5.30am bus to
the airport was ten minutes late (and the roads deserted of course, so
no excuse there).

It could just be a Geneva thing - last time I went there our bus hit a
parked car.

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

Elie wrote:
On Oct 11, 4:51 pm, Bruce wrote:
On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:09:57 +0900, Miles Bader wrote:
Roland Perry writes:
Ha! If you'd fly a Korean airline, you could have violent and insane too!
What a strange remark. Are you a xenophobic?.
Er, no. It was a joke (no doubt a poor one), but based on real
experience (and if you know anything about Korea, you'd know that
Koreans can be ... feisty).
On what basis would you attempt to justify such racist remarks?

Guys, I think you're taking his words too seriously. I'm Korean and I
see some truth to what he says. I agree he exaggerated a little but
if I heard that, I'd just laugh and take it as what it is: a joke, so
just chill.

Didn't a pilot on an Air Canada flight go stark raving bonkers [1] a
while back, and the aeroplane got diverted to Ireland as a result?

[1] IANAdoctor

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:45:58 +0100, Arthur Figgis
wrote:

Elie wrote:
On Oct 11, 4:51 pm, Bruce wrote:
On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:09:57 +0900, Miles Bader wrote:
Roland Perry writes:
Ha! If you'd fly a Korean airline, you could have violent and insane too!
What a strange remark. Are you a xenophobic?.
Er, no. It was a joke (no doubt a poor one), but based on real
experience (and if you know anything about Korea, you'd know that
Koreans can be ... feisty).
On what basis would you attempt to justify such racist remarks?

Guys, I think you're taking his words too seriously. I'm Korean and I
see some truth to what he says. I agree he exaggerated a little but
if I heard that, I'd just laugh and take it as what it is: a joke, so
just chill.

Didn't a pilot on an Air Canada flight go stark raving bonkers [1] a
while back, and the aeroplane got diverted to Ireland as a result?

[1] IANAdoctor

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27808624/
("Pilot has mid-flight mental breakdown")
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7217977.stm
("Pilot breakdown diverts flight")
From another report in www.ctvbc.ctv.ca :- "It said the pilot asked
the flight attendants to ask passengers if any of them was a qualified
pilot, but when none was found, one of the stewardesses revealed that
she held a current commercial pilot's licence and an out-of-date
licence for reading cockpit instruments."

It doesn't seem to have generated an investigation in either .ie or
..ca being described as a "medical emergency" WRT the emergency action
taken.