BeMoreEco

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BLFA Semi-Final: Ryanair -vs- Flybe

August 27th, 2008 by sara

The battle of the low-fares airlines green credentials is really heating up now. Today we have the first of the semi-finals between Ryanair and Flybe. Which is the greener low-fares airline? Lets find out.

The Basics:

Ryanair

Founded	1985
Fleet Size	166 Aircraft
Website	www.ryanair.com
Passengers	52m per year
Destinations	132
MD	Michael O’Leary

Following the deregulation of the European air industry, Ryanair attacked the market with colossal speed. They pioneered the low-fares airline concept in Europe and have witnessed an ever increasing number of passengers. Ryanair is now the 3rd largest airline in Europe.

Flybe

Founded	1979
Fleet Size	76 Aircraft
Website	www.flybe.com
Passengers	5m (Approx)
Destinations	46
CEO	Jim French

Flybe, formerly Jersey European Airways, has not grown as quickly as other airlines. It’s only in the past 6 years that company has come onto the scene. First it was renamed British European in 2000, and then Flybe in 2002 with a repositioning as a low-fares aline. In 2007 Flybe took over BA Connect, British Airway’s’ regional service. BA currently owns 15% of the company.

Head to Head

Ryanair

Flybe

Carbon Offsetting

Ryanair does not offer any sort of carbon offsetting program. Nor does it look like they will in the near future.

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Flybe has a carbon offsetting program using PURE as their provider. While details of PURE aren’t immediately clear, they do subscribe to the government’s code of best practice. Especially the credits used and the information provided.

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Age of Aircrafts

Ryanair easily takes this point. They own one of the most modern fleets around. The airline comprises 166 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircrafts. The average age of their fleet is 2.8 years.

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Flybe’s fleet isn’t so old neither. With a 5 aged BAE 146 aircrafts at 18.9 years, 39 Dash 8s aged 2.8 years, 19 Embraer 135s aged 7.9 years and 11 Embraer 190s aged less than a year. The average age of the fleet is 4.9 years.

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Passenger Load

Ryanair has an unbeatable 89% passenger load. Can any airline come close to that?

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Flybe struggles a little more on this one with a passenger load of just 65.7% in May 2008.

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Green Initiatives

Ryanair CEO is outspoken about his views towards "environ-mentalists". Ryanair does not offer any green initiatives and is not making any significant strides to engage in the green debate.

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Flybe has created a section on their website dedicated to the environment cause. This includes pioneering an eco-labelling scheme, engaging in carbon emissions trading and their carbon offsetting program.

(1)

Locations & Destinations

Ryanair are known for saving money by using second-tier airports, often outside the major cities. This means customers need to take additional transport to reach their destinations.

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Flybe takes this point, but only by flying to more destination airports rather than second-tier European airports. Some of Flybe’s destinations are poor, especially the regional to regional routes which could be better served by train or even motor vehicles.

(1)

Ryanair: 2

Flybe: 3

So, we’ve had a big upset here, as Flybe skips past Ryanair to reach the finals of the Battle of the Low-Fares Airlines. Flybe will be up against either Monarch or Easyjet. Who will be the UK’s greenest low-fares airline? Time will tell.

The second semi-final will take place on Thursday.