Ryan Air low cost :)

Overview

Ryanair is an airline based in Ireland and is Europe’s largest low-fare airline. Led by CEO Michael O’Leary, Ryanair has continuously lowered average fair prices while maintaining profitability and a good balance sheet and while guaranteeing never to add a fuel surcharge to fare prices. Among a few of Ryanair’s notable achievements:

• Ryanair carries the largest amount of international traffic in the world—73.5 million passengers this past year;
• Ryanair has the largest coverage in Europe with 42 bases, 155 airports, 26 countries, over 1,100 routes, and over 1,300 daily departures;
• Ryanair has the most on time flights, fewest lost bags, and fewest cancellations of flights;
• Ryanair has the lowest average fare price in Europe, charging $45 per ticket while the next closest low fare competitor charges an average of $66 and the flag carriers like British Airway and Lufthansa charging an average of $362 and $291 respectively;

How Does Ryanair Do It?

How is Ryanair able to charge so little for air fare and still make money? Good question.

The Fleet

Ryanair has the newest fleet of aircraft in Europe with an average age of 2.9 years. A newer fleet means greater fuel efficiency. Also, the fleet consists of only one type of aircraft: 247 Boeing 737-800s. The purchase of aircraft from a single manufacturer enables Ryanair to limit the costs associated with personnel training, maintenance, and the purchase and storage of spare parts, as well as affording greater flexibility in the scheduling of crews and equipment.
The interior of the planes have also been stripped down to the bare essentials. Seats don’t recline, the better to cram in more passengers. Window shades have been removed, so flight attendants don’t have to spend time resetting them between flights. Seat-back pockets have been ditched—one less place for clutter to accumulate.

Frequent, Point-to-Point Flights on Short-Haul Routes

Ryanair will not fly to airports where they can’t get a turnaround time (the time an aircraft spends at a gate loading and unloading passengers) of less than 25 minutes. With quick turnarounds, Ryanair pilots are able to fly the route a greater number of times per day. As for routes, Ryanair only does short-haul, point-to-point routes, which allows for a greater number of flights per day.

Airports and Fees

Also, Ryanair selects the airports and routes it services on the basis of whether they are economically feasible.  Ryanair will not fly (or is less likely to fly) to airports where they are forced to use expensive, union-member baggage handlers. Ryanair flies primarily to secondary and regional airports, which are generally less congested than major airports, have faster turnaround times, fewer terminal delays, and more competitive fees and costs. Ryanair will sometimes be able to work out a deal with an airport whereby the airport subsidizes some of Ryanair’s costs in exchange for Ryanair bringing passengers to the airport.

Personnel Productivity

Ryanair makes great use of contractors—52% during 2008. Also, about 68% of Ryanair’s payroll is productivity-based.

Web Check-In and Other Incentives

Ryanair passengers must check-in via the web and passengers must pay a fee to check luggage. Ryanair also does not use expensive baggage handling systems—passengers carry their luggage to the foot of the plane where they hand it directly to the baggage handler.

Ancillary Revenues

Ryanair bombards users of its website and its passengers with advertisements. Ryanair sells food and other products to passengers during flights—scratch tickets are quite popular. Ryanair is a firm believer in passengers paying only for the service they require—if a passenger desires food during a flight, they can either buy it from Ryanair or bring it onto the plane. Ryanair also provides accommodation services, travel insurance, and car rentals through its website (Ryanair is one of the largest provider of customers to Hertz in Europe).

Competitors

Other airlines in Europe continue to fail and there is continued consolidation which helps to reduce Ryanair’s competition. Unlike the bankruptcy system in America, most European laws favor creditors at the expense of debtors, so the majority of airlines that fail simply shut down and liquidate. Ryanair does not have to compete with marginal airlines that are on the life support of an American-style bankruptcy system.

Investment Risks

Safety

Despite being Europe’s number one airline with the lowest-average fares, Ryanair does not skimp on safety. Ryanair has not had a single incident involving major injury to passengers or flight crew in its 20 plus year operating history. The fact that Ryanair has only one type of aircraft increases safety as mechanics are very familiar with the planes.
Also, Ryanair’s average pay to employees for their fiscal 2010 was €45,948, which remains higher than most other major European airlines. Ryanair can attract comparably better employees with better compensation. Employees also get substantial time off—pilots and cabin crew have a duty time limit of 900 flight hours per annum, which means they are flying on average for less than 18 hours each week, spread across the 46 weeks of the year when they are not on holidays.

Fuel Costs

Fuel costs are a substantial portion of Ryanair’s operating expenses—approximately 34.6% and 44.1% of such expenses in fiscal years 2010 and 2009, respectively, after taking into account Ryanair’s fuel hedging activities. Management estimates that every $1.00 movement in the price of a metric ton of jet fuel will impact Ryanair’s net income by approximately €2.1 million, taking into account Ryanair’s hedging program for the 2011 fiscal year.

Volcanoes

Regulatory authorities in Europe closed down airspace for an extended period of time during May 2010 due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland which spewed volcanic ash into the air. There is always the possibility of another volcanic eruption. If this happens, expect the stock price of Ryanair to suffer as a result.

Foreign Currency Risk

Ryanair does business only in Europe. Even if the company does well, an American investor might see little to no gains if the value of the Euro declines.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary

Depending upon your point of view, Michael O’Leary could be an asset or a liability. He is a great asset because he has shown exceptional skill in growing Ryanair to be the best low-fare airline in Europe—he is absolutely relentless with trying to continually lower the average fare. O’Leary is also one of Ryanair’s best marketers.
However, O’Leary is a vocal and incendiary figure and many people love to hate him. Here is a long list of some O’Leary quotes that demonstrates his personality:

• On ordering aircraft from Boeing: “The message to Boeing today is: ‘You keep building them, we’ll keep buying them’, and together both of us will kick the crap out of Airbus in Europe. We love Boeing. **** the French.”
• On not ordering more aircraft from Boeing: “Boeing had their chance. Eventually you lose interest, dealing with a bunch of idiots who can’t make a decision. They are a bunch of numpties out in Seattle.” unsecured loans
• On consultants: “I believe hiring consultants is an abdication by management of their responsibilities. If the consultant is so good at managing change, then why not hire him to run the company and do it himself? Every idiot who gets fired in the industry shows up as a consultant somewhere. I would shoot any consultant who came through my door.”
• On environmentalists: “We want to annoy the ******* whenever we can. The best thing you can do with environmentalists is shoot them. These headbangers want to make air travel the preserve of the rich. They are luddites marching us back to the 18th century. If preserving the environment means stopping poor people flying so the rich can fly, then screw it.”
• On overweight passengers: “Nobody wants to sit beside a really fat ****** on board. We have been frankly astonished at the number of customers who don’t only want to tax fat people but torture them.”
• On the in-flight experience: “Anyone who thinks Ryanair flights are some sort of bastion of sanctity where you can contemplate your navel is wrong. We already bombard you with as many in-flight announcements and trolleys as we can. Anyone who looks like sleeping, we wake them up to sell them things.”
• On low fares: “I don’t see why in 10 years’ time you wouldn’t fly people for free. Why don’t airports pay us for delivering the passengers to their shops?”
• On customer service: “People say the customer is always right, but you know what – they’re not. Sometimes they are wrong and they need to be told so.”
• On apologies: “Are we going to say sorry for our lack of customer service? Absolutely not.”
• On refunds: “We don’t want to hear your sob stories. What part of ‘no refund’ don’t you understand?”
• On Ryanair’s image: “One of the weaknesses of the company now is it is a bit cheap and cheerful and overly nasty, and that reflects my personality.”
• On cost-cutting: “We use our own biros and I tell the staff not to buy them, just pick them up from hotels, legal offices, wherever. That’s what I do. Recently I did an interview and I was sitting there with a hotel pen I’d nicked from somewhere. I was asked why and I said: ‘We at Ryanair have a policy of stealing hotel pens. We won’t pay for Bic biros as part of our obsession with low costs.”
• On employees: “MBA students come out with: “My staff is my most important asset.” Bull****. Staff is usually your biggest cost. We all employ some lazy ******* who needs a kick up the backside, but no one can bring themselves to admit it.” bad credit loans
• On the European Commission: “They are ******* Kim Il-Jungs (sic) in the Commission. You cannot have civil servants trying to design rules that make everything a level playing field. That’s called North ******* Korea, and everybody is starving there. The EU are pursuing some form of communist ******* Valhalla.”

Valuation

I currently value Ryanair at about $41.44 per ADR. I arrive at this valuation by estimating Ryanair will have free cash flow of about $877 million for their fiscal 2012, or about $2.96 free cash flow per ADR. Additionally, over the years Ryanair has traded at multiples to estimated free cash flows of about 7.5 to 39—the average multiple being 18 and the median being 14. Applying a multiple of just 14 to $2.96, we get a value of $41.44 per ADR.
Another way to think about Ryanair is the free cash yield. At a current price of $28.35, the free cash flow yield is about 10.4%. There is also a possible special dividend coming up for a shareholder vote: a total of $633.9 million (or 500 million Euros) could be returned to shareholders, giving a one-time dividend yield of 7.5% if approved.

ford b max

Any manufacturer competing in Europe's healthy small minivan market will be inspecting the Ford stand closely at this year's Geneva auto show.

Debuting is Ford's innovative B-Max, which does away with a B-pillar to allow passengers wide access into the small minivan.

A combination of rear sliding doors and conventional front doors gives a 1.5-meter wide access to the cabin without, Ford says, any loss of crash safety or body stiffness. Families in Europe are expected to be big customers for the B-Max, which will not be sold in the United States, and it could be a hit with elderly buyers too.

Door innovation isn't new among minivan makers. The Opel/Vauxhall Meriva was Europe's best-selling small minivan last year, with sales of 127,439 units, according to JATO Dynamics.

Ford designer Erika Tsubaki demonstrates the B-Max. The Meriva has rear-hinged so-called "suicide" doors to aid access but with its B-pillar still intact, the opening is only 700mm wide. If Ford gets the rest of the B-Max package right and the model proves successful, then makers could be rushing to create their own version of a small, pillarless minivan. Ford of Romania told local newspaper Ziarul Financiar last month that B-Max production in Craiova will be 60,000 this year rising to 100,000 in 2013.

The Peugeot 1007 had an innovative sliding door system but failed in the market. But door innovation doesn't always pay off. The Peugeot 1007, launched in 2004, was meant to revolutionize the market with its twin sliding front doors that allowed easy access to the interior, even in the crowded, narrow streets of Paris. Peugeot predicted annual sales of 130,000 a year, unsecured loans but customers didn't take to the innovation, especially as the minivan was priced higher than competitors. By the end of 2005, Peugeot had slashed production targets for the following year to 70,000 and in 2006 that was revised to just 50,000. In 2009, it was killed off altogether and Peugeot still doesn't have a credible competitor in that that sector. Georges Chetochine, an independent marketing consultant, told Automotive News Europe in 2005 that: "People don't buy doors, even sliding ones." The 1007's sliding doors were electric, slow bad credit loans and prone to failing, especially early in its life. They were also the only way to get in the car, which had no conventional hinged doors. Ford will disclose how much the B-Max will sell for in Geneva. If the price is competitive, the minivan won't suffer same fate as the 1007. Who knows, maybe the B-Max could become the new benchmark in this sector and B-pillars will be a thing of the past.

Teenagers in a Twizy

Meet Twizy – Renault’s radical new miniature electric car. It’s fantastic fun, and I can see it having huge appeal for young drivers. But how would you feel about seeing a 16-year-old at the wheel of a Twizy?

A new law comes into effect in January 2013 allowing 16-year-olds to drive ‘micro-cars’ – such as the electric Twizy – unaccompanied.
A new car class is being created by the DVLA for ultra-lightweight cars with a top speed limited to 28mph.
The Renault Twizy could be the first car on sale in the UK to qualify so we could see 16-year-olds driving cars like the Twizy. Solo. On public roads.

Teenagers in a Twizy

The Twizy ‘80’ has a top speed of 50mph and is treated just like a normal car in the eyes of the law. But Renault is also building a low-power ‘45’ version of the Twizy with its top speed limited to 28mph to comply with the rules, and the French firm is currently assessing whether to launch this model in the UK.
Drivers would have to pass Compulsory Basic Training (CBT), driving theory and practical test, but these are much less stringent and in-depth than the tests for a regular car.
This class of car already exists in many other European Union countries. In France teenagers as young as 14 have been able to drive micro-cars for years.

Car, quadricycle or go-kart?

I think the Twizy would be a brilliant car for a young driver. It’s ultra-simple to pilot with its electric motor and press-and-go automatic gearbox. Its RenaultSport chassis makes it feel like a go-kart around corners, while its electric motor was developed with help from Renault’s Formula 1 wing and offers sprightly performance.

It’s clearly much safer than a scooter, too, with a full roll-over cage and an airbag as standard.
It’s not what you’d call practical, though: doors bad credit loans are an optional extra and even then they don’t have windows. The ‘boot’ can barely fit a laptop. And if you want to carry a passenger in the tandem rear seat, they’d have to be part of the gymnastic squad to get in.

The Twizy (a mix of ‘twin’ and ‘easy’, by the way) has funky alien styling that will also get the younger generation excited. As will the price-tag: at £6,690, it’s the cheapest car on sale in the UK. And the lower-power ’45′ Twizy could be as much as £500 cheaper.

Safe and sane?

So what do you think of the idea that, from next year, unsecured loans teenagers could be driving themselves to school or college in a Twizy?

Is it a great way to get younger drivers learning road-craft? Or is it a disaster waiting to happen, as experiences road users share the road with HGVs, motorbikes and much more powerful cars? 

Seafoam, engine saver

Many of you are familiar with seafoam, some have no idea what it is. Well, for all those that are interested, seafoam is multipurpose, 100% petroleum product you can pick up at any local auto store (napa, advance, autozone, etc). It is used to clean carbon buildup from your engine, clean your injectors, clean your oil and a whole lot more. To familiarize you with the products, this is what i am talking about:


Uses of Seafoam
i would first like to state for the record that seafoam is NOT a power adder. all seafoam does is clean out the gunk inside your engine and injectors. this will do nothing more than restore any horsepower/fuel economy you have lost due to years of dirt and grime inside your engine. any power you pick up along the way is because it has just been supressed by the filthy engine and is now free again.
if you are losing power and mpg due to carbon buildup, if you are experiencing pinging and if you’re having trouble passing emissions test, seafoam may be your answer (yes, seafoam will actually reduce your emissions if carbon buildup is causing dirty exhaust fumes!). feeling the pinch at the pump lately? well, seafoam can be used to pick up a few extra mpg you have lost over the years and reduce or elimiate your engine ping by cleaning out your cylinders!

What You Need to Seafoam Your Engine:
in order to maximize your engine’s fuel economy and performance, you should do a full engine treatment. in order to do so, you will need a few things:
- 2 cans of seafoam (1st picture above)
- 1 can of seafoam deep creep (2nd picture above)
- flat head screwdriver
- pliers
- 1 long, skinny funnel
okay, now that you have all the necessary tools to complete the job, let’s talk about how to use seafoam:

How To Seafoam Your Car:
Part One: Injector Cleaning
this is the easiest part of the process. simply drive to the gas station and completely fill up your tank with 91+ octane gasoline as usual. take 1 of the 2 cans of seafoam in the requirements above. this can of seafoam will be poured directly into your gas tank. now, seafoam makes a great product but they didn’t think too hard when they designed their can. you need a funnel in order to dump it into your gas tank. do not try to be cool and try and beat gravity by jamming the can into your gas tank. i tried that. all i got was a car that smelled like gas and wasted seafoam on the ground. take the long skinny funnel, put it in your gas tank, shake the can of seafoam up and pour the entire can of seafoam into the tank. then, take your car for a nice ride so the seafoam swishes and mixes in your gas tank. the seafoam will clean out your injectors nicely. try and run this tank pretty low before filling up so you don’t dilute the mixture with more gasoline. this way, you get the maximum cleaning power of seafoam.
Part Two: Cleaning Your Oil System
as you all should know, f-bodies require 5.5 quarts of oil. seafoam is to be added directly into your crankcase in order to cleanse the oil. yes, you heard me, you’re pouring a foreign mixture directly into your engine oil. this can be scary for newbies. never fear, seafoam is 100% petroleum. it is as harmful to your engine as water is to your skin – not harmful at all. the correct measurement for seafoam is 1.5 ounces per quart of oil in your crankcrase. simple math tells us:
(1.5) X (5.5) = 8.25 ounces
a can of seafoam is 16 ounces, so for simplicity’s sake, we’ll add half a can directly into the ENGINE OIL spout. NOTE: i recommend pouring the seafoam into your oil when the car is cold. i would not recommend pouring a room temperature liquid into 200+ degree oil after the car is hot. last thing you wanna do is shock your valve springs.
run the seafoam in your oil for NO MORE THAN 250 miles! seafoam is very agressive. your next oil change will be black as satan’s heart and likely thicker than usual. i would not recommend running this oil very long in the car as your oil filter is going to have quite the time on its hands and the oil won’t be in the best of shape afterwards. i’ll say it again. change your oil less than 250 miles after you put seafoam in your crankcase! i personally recommend running it 100 miles, then changing your oil. that should be plenty for the seafoam to get most of the gunk out.
Part Three: Top End Cleaning
here comes the fun part: cleaning the engine internals! NOTE unsecured loans: park your car in a VERY WELL VENTILATED area for this step as high amounts of toxic fumes will be pouring out of your car.
as you recall, we have half a can of seafoam left. this half a can will be used to clean out your cylinder banks. in order to do this, we need to locate a vacuum line to directly feed the seafoam into the engine. the favorite vacuum line is the brake booster line. for those unfamiliar with the brake booster, here is what it looks like:

the brake booster is the big, black saucer shaped object behind the brake fluid holder against the driver’s side firewall in case you can’t tell by the picture.
we will be sucking the seafoam into the brake booster hose marked by the red arrow. (note: some people prefer to suck the seafoam in through the PCV line. this is also acceptable, although i have never done it.)
first thing you wanna do is start the car and let it warm up until the engine reaches closed loop. basically, start your car and wait for the engine to warm up to normal operating temperatures (5 – 10 minutes depending on outside temperature). after the engine is nice and warm, turn the car off. now we’re going to disengage the brake booster line.
for this, you may need a pair of pliers and a flat head screwdriver. there is a little metal clip holding the brake booster hose to the brake booster. you want to take a pair of pliers, compress the clip and slide it down the hose a few inches. now that the clip is out of the way, you need to disengage the brake booster hose. this can be a bear if you’ve never done this before. my car had 80,000 miles on it when i seafoamed it and that sucker was stuck on there tight (it’s a vacuum line, it’s glued by high pressure). you may need to take the flat head screwdriver and jam it into the vacuum line and wiggle it off the brake booster. this may take a while. it took me a lot of pressure to get the hose off the booster. you may have to pull pretty hard.
once the hose is off, you’re gonna want to find a small funnel that will fit into the brake booster hose. i do not recommend simply jamming the hose into the seafoam and letting the engine suck it up. this makes it very hard to control the amount being sucked up and could flood the engine far too fast causing it to prematurely stall out.
now that you have a funnel jammed into the brake booster hose, start the car. you’ll notice your rpm’s are very high, likely around 2000-3000rpms. this is because your brake booster hose being disconnected is causing a massive vacuum leak. you’ll be able to feel the engine sucking air down the funnel.
at this point, you have half a can of seafoam left (8 ounces). you should, in your head, divide that into three equal parts. you’re going to want to SLOWLY pour the first two thirds of the seafoam left in the can into the engine via the funnel. the engine will start bad credit loans to sputter and choke as you pour in the seafoam. you DO NOT want your engine to stall out. go as slowly as possible pouring the seafoam into the engine as necessary so the engine does not die. do this for the first two thirds of the mixture. with the final third of the seafoam, quickly dump it down into the funnel. the idea here is to stall out the motor, suspending the remaining gulp of seafoam in the cylinder banks (don’t be alarmed if your engine bay is smoking the entire time this is happening). if your car does not stall, quickly run and turn off the key.
do not start the car for at least 15-20 minutes. we want the seafoam to soak in the motor good and hard to get all that nasty carbon out of the engine.
while the engine is sitting and soaking, with the key out of the ignition of course, get that bottle of seafoam deep creep i told you to buy.
seafoam deep creep is to be sprayed inside your throttle body. disconnect your hose running to the throttle body so your throttle body blade is showing. get a friend to push down on your gas pedal so the throttle blade opens. if you don’t have a friend at your disposal, a brick or something will do just fine to hold the gas pedal down, anything to keep the throttle blade open. again, your engine is to be OFF during all this.
once you can see inside your throttle body opening, spray seafoam deep creep into throttle body, fully soaking the blades, the bottom, top, and up and down into the intake manifold behind the throttle body. use a good amount of seafoam. don’t be too conservative, but the whole can is far from necessary. use your judgement. get it in there nice and deep but there’s no need to flood anything!
reconnect the throttle body hose, the brake booster hose, the clip back on the brake booster line and anything else you may have disturbed during the seafoaming of your car.
now we will just wait for the remaining time to pass before you can start your car back up.
okay, now that 15-20 minutes have passed, it’s time to start your baby back up. this may be a challenge. the engine is flooded with liquid so it may be a lot harder to start that usual. this is completely normal. once your car is started, let it idle for a good 10-15 minutes. your car is likely to smoke profusely. if it does not, lightly tap your gas pedal. do NOT rev the engine like a madman. when i say lightly tap, i mean gently tap the rpm’s up to no more than 1500. a blip is all that is necessary. if it doesn’t smoke too badly, it’s because your engine just wasn’t that dirty.

after the car has been sitting idling for 10-15 minutes, take the car out for a spirited drive. the key word here is spirited. you want to rev your car nice and high and get all that seafoam into all the valleys of the engine. this is the perfect excuse to completely run the balls off your car. if you look behind you, you will likely see a long trail of blue smoke dusting out the entire highway. say good-bye to the culprit carbon buildup killing your power, gas mileage and causing your engine to ping.
congratulations! you have successfully seafoamed your car. be amazed as your car revs faster, your gas needle moves slower, your idle is smoother and yes, even your exhaust smells less noxious
NOTE: seafoam is O2 sensor safe and will not damage your spark plugs or catalytic converters with responsible use. this means as long as you’re not seafoaming your car constantly and using far above the recommended dosages, you should be fine. it’s probably good to do this process every 10,000 miles to keep your car in tip-top shape.

Blog Camp via Cross Country Trains

In return for writing this post I'm being sent complimentary train tickets to Blog Camp UK in Birmingham this April. How cool is that?

I'm a frequent train traveller as I don't drive and I often make use of phone apps in planning my journey. The new Train Tickets mobile app from Cross Country trains aims to improve the travelling experiences of passengers on all train routes and with any rail provider in Britain.



It provides real time train information so travellers can clearly see live train times and the expected arrival time at each station along the line.

The result is you can foresee any delays and check connections and you’re able to book your rail tickets based on the most up-to-date information. 

 

You can also purchase train tickets for certain routes directly through the mobile app, and the m-ticket (mobile ticket) will be saved in the handy ticket unsecured loan wallet within the app making it easy to access and almost impossible to lose.

The Train Tickets app supports iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Nokia smartphones as well as most everyday handsets and can be downloaded from major app stores. Just search for Train Tickets.
I’m yet to try the app out but I have downloaded it and I think the idea of live train times is an excellent one. The reviews in the iTunes App store are generally good but I’m keen to try it out for myself and I’ll update this post when do. bad credit loans 

If you're going to Blog Camp, I'll see you there!

Driving In Austria

 This page provides the basic rules of the road for driving in Austria.


Telephone Numbers
Emergency Services:

Police	133
Fire	122
Ambulance	144

You can also use the European standard emergency services number 112.

Speed Limits
Speed limits in Austria are measured in KPH (Kilometres per Hour).  Speed limits are likely to fluctuate from place to place so ensure you check signs when driving.

Motorways	130kph/80mph*
Open roads	100kph/62mph
Urban areas	50kph/31mph

* A speed limit of 110kph (68mph) applies on some motorways at night.

Toll Information
The word for toll is Mautstelle. To use expressways other than unsecured loans the A13 Brenner, A9 Pyhrn, A10 Tauren, and S16 Arlberg Tunnel you must purchase and display a tax disc (vignette) on your vehicle. To use those expressways listed you simply pay a toll, although the disc entitles you to a 15 percent discount. Choose from 10-day, 2-month and annual tax discs.
The penalty for not displaying a disc is €120 for cars and €65 for motorcycles. They are sold at border crossings, fuel stations and post offices.

General Tips and Road Information
Driving through mountainous areas in Austria can be spectacular but be careful in the winter months as roads can be icy and/or blocked with snow.  Traffic is usually fairly mild but can be heavy if crossing the border towards Hungary, Slovakia or the Czech Republic.  Car use is sometimes restricted when air pollution is high.
Passing on the right is allowed only on one-way streets or when passing trams or when passing a vehicle that is indicating a left turn. You are not allowed to bad credit loans  cross a solid yellow centre line. Give warning of your approach by flashing your lights.
Police are empowered to collect fines of up to €36 on the spot. The officer must issue an official receipt. You'll have two weeks to pay. You can request to bring the case before a court instead, but you may be asked to make a security deposit.
Unfortunately we currently have no information available on Austrian road signs.  Road signs within Europe follow similar patterns and we advise you refer to the road signs used in Germany as a rough guide.

Requirements

Minimum driver age:
The minimum driving age in Austria is 18.

Licences:
Non Europeans must carry an International Driving Permit.

Required equipment for your car:
You must carry a warning triangle in your vehicle though this does not apply to motorcyclists. All drivers must carry a first aid kit in or on their vehicle. Snow chains must be used in mountainous areas during winter.

Headlights:
Headlights must be on at all times in built-up areas. Parking lights are not necessary if your vehicle is visible from at least 50 metres away.

Seatbelts:
Seatbelts are compulsory in both the front and rear seats.

Car Horns:
Horns cannot be used in Vienna and are prohibited elsewhere as indicated by signs.

Children in the front seat:
Children must be at least 12 years old to sit in the front passenger seat unless you use a child seat or they are over 1.5 metres tall.

Motorcycles:
Motorcycles must be operated with headlights on-night and day and helmets are compulsory for the motorcyclist and any passengers.

Useful Links and Further Information
If you are renting a car in Austria we recommend booking in advance with Hertz Car Hire.

john bishop rides

 
John Bishop and Chris Boardman (picture credit - Sport Relief)

Scouse stand-up comic John Bishop has reportedly enjoyed a good night’s sleep after cycling 185 miles from Paris to Calais followed, almost immediately, by rowing across the English Channel and so far raising more than £400,000 for the charity Sport Relief. The comedian now faces the prospect of running the equivalent of three marathons in three days to complete what has been billed as ‘John Bishop’s Week of Hell.’
Bishop, who had never ridden a road bike before agreeing to undertake the challenge, set off at 8.22am on Monday morning from the Trocadero in the heart of Paris, accompanied for the first part of his ride by Olympic gold medallist and former Tour de France maillot jaune, Chris Boardman.


Just an hour into the ride, the 45-year-old unsecured loans experienced a clipless moment familiar to all cyclists inexperienced in riding with cleats as he fell to the ground after failing to unclip in time at a set of traffic lights.
Speaking as he broke off for lunch on that opening day, Bishop told the Sport Relief website: “It’s lunchtime and I’ve done 55 miles - which on any other day in my life would be amazing, but today there's still 130 odd miles left to do. I’m trying not to think about the row tomorrow - and as for the Marathons, it’s probably best not to worry about them at all at this stage.”



The Sport Relief website also revealed that even at that early point in the challenge, Bishop, who is being coached by Professor Greg Whyte of Liverpool John Moores University, was struggling with issues such as a sore shoulder and neck as well as bad credit loans pains in his left hamstring.
After arriving in Calais in the early hours of yesterday morning, Bishop was only able to grab a couple of hours sleep before setting off on the rowing leg in which he was joined by Davina McCall, Denise Lewis and Freddie Flintoff.
Earlier in the week, however, it had appeared that the row would have to be cancelled after French authorities refused to grant permission for the crossing.
However, that decision was reversed by the Admiral of Cherbourg, reportedly after comedian James Corden, who helped organise the challenge, spoke to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took up the issue with President Sarkozy.
Today, Bishop is running from Dover to Faversham, the first of three marathon-distance runs that will end in London on Friday.
Full details of the challenge including how to sponsor Bishop’s efforts can be found on the Sport Relief website.