Cyprus-Forum.com

[DT.]

dp

[DT.]

picked 2 random dates 28th Jan to 4th Feb and the price is

CA 172 EUR return Larnaca to London
BA 184 EUR return Larnaca to London

Both exclusive of taxes.

[miltiades]

My comparison is based on the dates that I want to fly , the fact that on another day prices are different is of no consequence to the point that I made.
I could compare prices for instance flying out of Luton on the 23rd and returning on Jan 6th. Not the dates that I want and not the airport I want either. On the day that I fly , Dec 24th , Cyprus airways want £659.00 and BA £402. that IS WHAT MATTERS FOR ME .

[Paphitis]

My comparison is based on the dates that I want to fly , the fact that on another day prices are different is of no consequence to the point that I made.
I could compare prices for instance flying out of Luton on the 23rd and returning on Jan 6th. Not the dates that I want and not the airport I want either. On the day that I fly , Dec 24th , Cyprus airways want £659.00 and BA £402. that IS WHAT MATTERS FOR ME .

So now you admit that it is a case of shopping around!

On the dates you wanted to fly, CA was having high demand and could charge what they want.

[TonyC]

So why doesn't Miltiades buy a ticket on BA instead of moaning about CA? You have a right to choose, so do it.

[DT.]

My comparison is based on the dates that I want to fly , the fact that on another day prices are different is of no consequence to the point that I made.
I could compare prices for instance flying out of Luton on the 23rd and returning on Jan 6th. Not the dates that I want and not the airport I want either. On the day that I fly , Dec 24th , Cyprus airways want £659.00 and BA £402. that IS WHAT MATTERS FOR ME .

SO Milt, we posted 6 pages of this thread because you're pissed off that on one specific day of the year BA was cheaper than CA?

[Oracle]

My comparison is based on the dates that I want to fly , the fact that on another day prices are different is of no consequence to the point that I made.

It's typical of you to make sweeping generalisations based on one observation. You could have turned away hundreds of people from even LOOKING at Cyprus Airways for their flights on other days. You are grossly irresponsible and bad for the image of Cyprus! That's why you are only fit to sell cutlery!

[Kikapu]

Here are the latest prices to Cyprus :
Cyprus Airways 24th Dec - Jan 5th morning flight to Larnaca £659.90 !!!!!
British Airways 24th Dec- Jan 5th morning flight to Paphos £402.30
Difference£257.60 which equals 64% MORE !!!
Now does this hike in prices make any sense , or is it the same pricing structure used by the Ermis Airport Caterers !!!!
Wake up CA , don't take the piss !!

Miltiades,

First of all, you are not making an equal comparison since BA is flying to Paphos and CA to Larnaca. The fact that both airports are relatively closed to each other comparison to over the distance flown from the UK, prices can vary enormously. This is the same in the US. In the San Francisco Bay Area, there are three main airports. San Francisco (SFO) being one, Oakland (OAK) being the other only 10 miles away as the crow flies across the Bay and San Jose (SJC) about 40 miles to the south of SFO and OAK. If one is flying from say, New York to any one of those airports, you will find air fares are not at all the same.

Aside from that and using your above figures, what it tells me is, that CA is able to sell their seats at a premium based on "supply in demand" rules, which would indicate that, that flight may well be close to being full already on 24th December, hence the higher prices, because being Christmas time, my guess is many passengers had booked their flight with CA many months ago when the prices were much lower. Sounds to me like, BA still has many more empty seats left because Paphos as a destination on this date is not as desirable as Larnaca is, therefore can offer lower prices to fill the aircraft. From a business tactical move, CA benefits from BA charging less, because as soon as the BA flights gets full at lower cost than CA's on any given flight to the same destination in Cyprus and from the same departure point in the UK, those wishing to fly to Cyprus on that same date will have no choice but to pay the higher premium price to fly on CA even if the load on the CA flight is low. The "supply in demand" is not always based on how many seats are available on CA's flight, but also how many seats are available to that particular destination which also includes other airlines. Then you also have the other factors of course that Paphitis and I had already mentioned before why it would cost CA more to fly than it does with BA from UK to the RoC.!

[Jimski999]

I read in an article that part of Cyprus Airways financial problems is that each plane has about 120 support staff whereas the industry average is 90 for the other flag carriers and a lot less for the EasyJet type companies. Seats on flights are sold in blocks at X price and once they have been sold they then sell the next block at Y price gradually becoming more expensive plus a premium is added relating to the time of the year; i.e. school holidays, Easter and of course Christmas and New Year.
I flew up to Heathrow last Monday on CA from Paphos; usually I find CA very good though this flight was over an hour late leaving Larnaca. When we finally boarded, the plane was full to bursting with people returning from the Haj in Mecca. It appears the delay was because of the late arrivals of two planes from Mecca and the CA flight had to wait due to the large number of transit passengers. In Paphos it took the flight crew nearly half an hour trying to get them to sit in their allocated seats and in the end the boarding passengers had to sit in any seat they could find free. There appeared to be a mini epidemic on board as the flight crew appeared wearing face masks as we were all being covered with spittle and spray from coughing and spluttering pilgrims who didn’t seem to think it was necessary to cover their mouths or noses when coughing or sneezing. It was more like an Air Ambulance (which I think it was for the pilgrims) than a Scheduled flight and paying several hundred Euro’s for my ticket I can’t say I was impressed. The week before I flew up to Manchester with my wife and daughter and the service was of the usual high standard that I’ve come to expect from CA.

Jimski999

[Paphitis]

I read in an article that part of Cyprus Airways financial problems is that each plane has about 120 support staff whereas the industry average is 90 for the other flag carriers and a lot less for the EasyJet type companies. Seats on flights are sold in blocks at X price and once they have been sold they then sell the next block at Y price gradually becoming more expensive plus a premium is added relating to the time of the year; i.e. school holidays, Easter and of course Christmas and New Year.
I flew up to Heathrow last Monday on CA from Paphos; usually I find CA very good though this flight was over an hour late leaving Larnaca. When we finally boarded, the plane was full to bursting with people returning from the Haj in Mecca. It appears the delay was because of the late arrivals of two planes from Mecca and the CA flight had to wait due to the large number of transit passengers. In Paphos it took the flight crew nearly half an hour trying to get them to sit in their allocated seats and in the end the boarding passengers had to sit in any seat they could find free. There appeared to be a mini epidemic on board as the flight crew appeared wearing face masks as we were all being covered with spittle and spray from coughing and spluttering pilgrims who didn’t seem to think it was necessary to cover their mouths or noses when coughing or sneezing. It was more like an Air Ambulance (which I think it was for the pilgrims) than a Scheduled flight and paying several hundred Euro’s for my ticket I can’t say I was impressed. The week before I flew up to Manchester with my wife and daughter and the service was of the usual high standard that I’ve come to expect from CA.

Jimski999

Yes this is part of the problem. CA is not the world's most efficient airline and has that Cypriot Public Service mentality.

The other part is beyond its control, since the global economic crisis/meltdown has reduced load factors. All airlines around the world are quite vulnerable at the moment. But CA has done quite well, compared to most.

CA will need to get rid of about 500 employees to be viable. But the unions won't allow it.