Stefan

Ah thanks for that...FWIW I've used the IRIS system at LHR/LGW for a while. and I've never seen the booths for that to backed up, possibly because most folks can't be bothered to go through the registration process...

I take it there's more to this than just scanning the passport- otherwise how does this system verify that the person carrying the passport is actually the passport holder?

"...And as for carrying illegible people..." Sorry Will, my fault, FWIW the correct industry term is an "Inadmissable passenger".....

Fi I might just trust the commercial operators with the Data - because of the legislation in place under the Data Protection Act - but I see from your previous posts you are well aware of that. However I'm afraid given this Governments record with Data security I agree with your concerns - even a supposedly security savvy department such as the Ministry of Defence has been alarmingly lax with it's handling of data in recent months. I too think I have "nothing to hide" - at the moment, until the law is changed etc, etc....but I do admit to being deliberately evasive when airlines ask for information such as the "purpose of my flight".........they can insist I answer - they can't insist I answer honestly....yet!!!! P2 Yes, if a carrier transports someone to the Uk who is "illegible" for entry the carrier is fined ( can't remember the exact amount)and also bears the cost of deporting the "illedgible" ....hence the Passport check at Check-in/Boarding.

Firstly please don't shoot the messenger or easyjet or any other airline for that matter.... It's part of the (previously referred to ) UK e-borders project, and the regulations regarding airlines providing the UK Government with the Data now apply to most, if not all the airlines operating into the UK ( note - I emphasise it UK Government requirement, it's not a Spanish/ French/Ryanair/British Airways data trawling exercise). If it really upsets you I suggest you write to your MP or MEP, but since it's part of the Uk Government's Anti-Terrorist efforts I would we are stuck with it.......I would suggest it is also a pretty handy way of an increasingly draconian Government monitoring people's activities, but tbey wouldn't do that, would they????? Right, off for a lie down........

Thibault If foreign transit passengers start to desert the UK in search of cheaper airports such as Amsterdam I guess the government will to look forward to fewer people paying Passenger Duty and the result will be a few more thousand people ( ex-airline/airport employees) drawing Benefits. This is a rare occasion when I agree with MOL...though I'd also agree that he does cut services every winter anyway.

Sounds like the norm "on the flat" Tour spectator experience....personally if time off work allows ( and sadly it doesn't this year, *****!!!) then like many others we'll travel across half of France and camp out for days if it's somewhere like the Tourmalet or Ventoux....that's where you really do need to be get the real Tour atmosphere but I'll freely admit you need to be "into" your cycling to commit that amount of time.......then again I wouldn't walk down the road to watch the Open or Formula 1 - each to their own I guess...

I think you've had some good advice - treat it as a cross between a day on the beach ( flat stage) and a pop concert ( mountain stage finish)...and if you ever get the chance to attend one the latter do it , the mountain stages are really, really special, be aware the Gendarmes sometimes close the road the previous day. Anyhow, great event, not to be missed...all we've got to do now is get Cav over the mountains in one piece and all the way to Paris....

Not seen the valet bag system....interesting idea, and I could see how it would work for the travel savvy business/LoCo traveller. However for Auntie Gladys on her "once a year" epic to visit the relatives.............

Well those who rely on packing liquids, gels and "sharps" in their suitcase for the two week holiday will be stymied if he does adopt this system.....The 20 cm X 20 cm square plastic bag & 100 ml container rule, etc, etc, applies to any baggage anyone takes through security, irrespective of wether the baggage is hand baggage or is ultimately destined for the aircraft holds. Not sure wether MOL has been smoking waccy baccy, borrowed a kite to fly from Mr Branson, or he's just generating publicity....or been talking to Aeroflot edited to add: And sprongster is right - there would be "elf" and safety issues at some UK airports with passengers walking around the aircraft to hand over their bags...and IMHO it would seem unworkable if the passengers were boarding the aircraft via a jetty...

"looks like he has pulled out of UK for winter" Maybe he's looking elsewhere where his low "fares" are not going to be compromised by the forthcoming increase in Passenger Duty.

Only restriction is that as a "walking aid" it has to be X-rayed ( but so does just about everything else ).

To be fair to any airline I'm not sure I'd use the word "fickle", it's down to "economics". Airlines generally have to make a profit. If route A ceases to be profitable, and/or it can make more money on route B, then route A will be axed. IMHO nobody should ever buy in a region and not have a back up travel plan should their route close. Frankly it's no good people here grumbling about Ryanair but still travelling with them..as long as people vote with their feet and use Ryanair the standard of service will remain as now ( why should it change?). So either try another carrier or accept your fate.... Digressing to BA - Once BA was privatised it lost any "Public Service" obligation to serve the regions ...To be fair it still does serve a considerable number of the larger UK airports, but it can't be expected to serve all of them unless the taxpayer is willing to subsidise BA, or bring in legislation to rig the market against the competion in some way...which might just happen in some countries.

FWIW this is the official guidance and it contains very specific the info about size and type of bag. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Publictransport/AirtravelintheUK/DG_078179 If Ryanair staff are telling you anything different then it's a Ryanair in house restriction. ( Mods: this topic comes up so often is it not worth making the link to the Directgov site a "sticky"?)  

Scooby You say: "My liquid cosmetics were in a clear plastic bag, one that had been perfectly acceptable to Air France, Delta Airlines, BA etc on previous flights...but it wasn't a clear, zippered 'Ryanair' plastic bag" So was your original bag re-sealable, e.g. a freezer bag or something similar, or just a clear plastic bag? FWIW the issue of a bag being "acceptable" for security purposes is not normally, if ever, an issue for the Airline, be it BA, AF, Delta or Ryanair, though their staff may ask if you are carrying liquids, etc. Acceptance of the bag for security purposes should be down to the Airport Security Staff, who in the UK should be following DfT/Transec rules - whereabouts did your original bag fall foul of the "rules"?   

Thanks Terry....wish I was in a position to get moving on this right now, given the weather...however Next Year perhaps.....   As for them speaking French on the radio..I can't blame them they're probably getting their own back for the fact most of the World insist they speak English almost everywhere else [:)] Happy Landings Regards Stefan

Bob Many thanks, It's probably a no-brainer to opt for the JAA version but I'll give DGAC a ring. Rgds   Stefan 

Just a quick question, sorry about the acronyms...... I'm currently flying "big stuff" on a UK, ie. CAA, issued ATPL, which is shortly due for renewal and I have the option of transferring to a JAA ATPL. In addition I'm interested in getting back into recreational flying here in France ( I'm in 09). Obviously I'm going to need all the prequisite checking out/ paperwork - anyone have experience of this? would changing to the JAA licence help/be a necessity/make life easier? Rgds Stefan    

Without knowing the weather on the day, and the state of the aircraft  I doubt it's a trainee pilot issue...it's more likely to a combination of weather and the equipment available on the ground at the airport.  Carcassonne has an East/West shortish runway that has it's only Instrument Landing System (ILS) -  a radio guidance system which allows approaches to be flown  in low cloudbase and visibility - set up for aircraft  landing towards the East. So if the wind is Easterly ( the prevailing wind in that area) then the crew can "fly the ILS" and should have adequate guidance to fly a straight in approach down to around 200 feet ( and usually down to a visibility of 550 metres).   However ( still with me???).......if the wind is a stiff Westerly then landings have to be to the West ( because of the runway length). In that case the crew/aircraft have to fly the ILS approach down to a minimum altitude, level off and then circle around the airport to finally land to the East. No problems if the cloudbase and visibilty is OK and it gives you a good view of the Cite, but if the visibilty is not great ( perhaps < 5 Kms) and the cloudbase at/much below a 1000' ( each airline has it's own figures)  then such a procedure is forbidden. In short you are always going to have problems at Carcassonne when you have a strong Westerly wind and poor visibilty/low cloudbase.  That can only be fixed when someone pays for the airport to install a rather expensive  ILS on the "other end" ... and who is going to pay for that [;-)] See...there's is more to the job than pressing "go" and doing the crossword....[:)]  

Bear in mind that the BAe/EADS have (had?)  their own dedicated service between Bristol and TLS operated by Privatair so I wouldn't rely on the EADS traffic for keeping the Easyjet service going - though the Subcontractors might use Easy...  

Judging by the lack of response t'would seem it didn't... It's a bit of a non-story anyway,  the  crew were not  currently qualified for landings in low visibility so the Captain made the entirely correct decision. c.f. the financial sector, where no doubt it would have been OK to "have a go"......... 

Yep, sprongster, I recognised  it as the Easyjet site as soon as I started reading your first post. They are probably the LoCo I've got most confidence in but I agree with you ...their website of late has become a dangerous place to navigate - I too have accidently added insurance I didn't want.  Such a shame because it had been just about the "cleanest" of any of the airline websites. 

Quillan Low cost to and from Hong Kong has been tried very recently - an outfit called Oasis operated LGW-HKG using 747s.  Sadly, since I had several friends who worked for them, they didn't last very long.   As for fuel, yes it's bought in dollars so it'd not just a case of looking at the raw price per barrel, you also have to factor in the doallr exchange rate to work out if your fuel costs are up or down relative to your "home" currency.   Yes, most airlines "hedge" fuel, i.e. they agree to buy at a fixed price at some point in the future..so they're probably trying to hedge like mad at todays' price.  But...it can go badly wrong if you hedge at a high price and then prices plummet  - one outfit, probably quite understandably  hedged some of their supplies at the equivalent of  $130 a barrel earlier in the year!  You can avoid  paying the fully hedged amount on the day but you end paying a penalty fee  so hedging is certinly something you don't want to get badly wrong.     

Fredrick  Err, I know all that!  - My point was that just like European fares the 12 euro ticket will be very much the loss leader and will be a rare beast....it costs considerably more than 12 euros to transport someone across the Atlantic - indeed it costs more than that to transport someone from the UK to Southern France ( which is probably why I'm the mug  who has just had to pay over 100 euros to buy a ticket late in the day on a LoCo to get from Southern France to the UK ... well somebody has to pay for the flight). Once an airline shifts it's business  into the Long Haul Arena all sort of extra costs drop into the LoCost equation.....for example crewing levels per aircraft will probably go up and since the generally Lo Cos don't "night stop" crews downroute they save on hotel and transport charges vs. the legacy carriers.  All that would have to change with a Long Haul Operation.  In my humble opinion if this goes ahead you are bound to see the low cost tickets advertised but they will be very few and far between, but  as you say we will have to wait and see. 

Clarkkent Add Alitalia to the list of survivors, it's the airline that will never be allowed to fail - for political reasons.   Elsewhere consolidation of services meaning fewer flights/seats/routes. Forget being able to buy a house in France and fly non-stop between regional airports as the carriers consolidate and do more "hub and spoking", i.e. expect to have to transfer through Gatwick, Luton, Stansted etc. Low cost isn't dead but more people are going to have to pay their way. Frederick USA for 12 euros...perhaps one  seat only sold at that price..everyone else paying at least ten times that.  Expecting to pay 12euros for a 5000km, 6 hour plus flight only goes to show how distorted some people's view of aviation economics have become, even with oil at <$70 a barrel.