Primera Air

[thunderchild]

I bet Aer Lingus are rubbing their hands with glee!

 

[Ashley]

I've sat on the fence and watched this unfold. Surely the airline must have known the potential risk to delays in their new aircraft deliveries. To open three bases pretty much the same time was bit ambitious. Maybe they should have started with stanstead this year n BHX the following summer.The worse thing for me is loosing the existing n potential customers before you even commence will be a own goal. Primera are not Ryan Air who can flood the market with very cheap tickets n claw their customers back. This will harm their brand if not handled professionally.

 

[route66]

Is it significant that you can't book Stansted or Paris beyond December?

 

[58terminus]

This will harm their brand if not handled professionally.

The problem is they did not have a brand in the UK .Now they have created one and it is not positive.I don't know how a company in any business can recover from that.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Is it significant that you can't book Stansted or Paris beyond December?

Their winter routes only go as far as December at the moment.

What may be significant is nothing available from BHX past October yet STN and CDG go as far as Dec.

 

[58terminus]

I bet Aer Lingus are rubbing their hands with glee!

Good. I'd rather see another green airbus daily from an airline that has serve BHX for nearly 70 years than one that will serve for 7 months

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there Ray and all, regarding this Primera Air situation, if I were a new low cost carrier and starting up, firstly I would start to check the distance of my routes were for Europe and America's and Canada, then which ever aircraft I needed to use, then I would start to lease the quantity of aircraft needed from the leasing companies to serve those routes for New York, Boston, Toronto and to any other destinations that I planned to serve and build up, then put in the order required for either aircraft manufacturer such as Boeing or Airbus, then start to announce those airports that I will start to commence operations from, and not do what Primera Air have done, because I can see this like it has been suggested by other forum members going very sour indeed for Primera Air unless they quickly release a statement why all the delays and start dates for operations that were supposed the start from BHX, otherwise this is going to seriously backfire for Primera Air and a lot of passengers will then not bother booking with them in the future ever again, but I hope that I'm wrong....Andyc

 

[58terminus]

Their winter routes only go as far as December at the moment.

I doubt their winter routes will be going as far as New York either.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Whilst I can't condone Primera Air's handling of the cancellation and late release of information regarding the BHX-BOS flights, perhaps we owe them a little more leniency. Recent posts have been very derogatory to the airline.
I have no idea whether the delay in aircraft delivery or low bookings have precipitated Primera Air's decision. Perhaps, though we should be looking at other factors.
There can be no denying that Primera Air have marketed the BHX services exceptionally well, through all forms of media.
Therefore if the services from BHX fail, we have to ask why the population of the West Midlands choose not to fly from their local airport? I can't believe for a second, that there isn't the demand from the region to fill an A321 daily to EWR, YYZ and BOS.
So the question has to be asked - why are people so happy to travel to LHR and to a less extent MAN to travel, rather than supporting local jobs at BHX and the surrounding areas?
I hope that the current situation is a blip and that the Primera Air services go on to be a success. If not, the old adage 'use, or lose it' applies.

Kevin

 

[Coathanger16]

Very much agree with Kevin's sentiment above.

The only major issue here really has been how Primera have dealt with this - let's see what next week brings. Who knows? We may actually get some kind of response from Primera/BHX explaining what is going on.

Would also like to point out that the only people that have started to get a bad reputation with Primera have been users of this (and other) forums, and passengers that were booked on now cancelled services. Yes they will tell friends and family, but the vast majority of people in the West Midlands will still be largely unaware. Also bare in mind how much people complain on social media about anything these days - most of the time I end up ignoring what is said anyway!

I suspect Primera are likely aware that they screwed BHX over more than STN/CDG and as such are leaving their BHX services as seasonal for 2018 to see what kind of reception they receive. If by the end of the summer these latest events have largely been forgotten and the Primera brand has been well received they may look to operating again in 2019 with the intention of making operations year round.

Boston and Fort Lauerdale would be the other options.

With Primera's farce currently, are JetBlue likely to look at Boston? That leave's just New York and Fort Lauderdale (Miami). I'd rather hope that BHX would be able to serve more destinations than that including some West Coast.

 

[Jerry]

With Primera's farce currently, are JetBlue likely to look at Boston? That leave's just New York and Fort Lauderdale (Miami). I'd rather hope that BHX would be able to serve more destinations than that including some West Coast.

To get more destinations than that would require the commitment of a based airline with wide bodies as the US3 have made it clear they want nothing to do with regional UK that would mean either TCX or Virgin or BA launching routes from BHX which isn't likely. In a way for TATL Primera is probably BHXs only hope so hopefully in the long run they'll look at wide bodied aircraft.

 

[Creguk]

I wonder why they haven't leased say, a 757, until delivery of the A321neo. Also, would they receive any compensation for the delivery being late?

 

[Ianbutty]

Just tried their online chat thingie. Only reply is "Primera will be back tomorrow." Its a start. Will try again tomorrow. All looks very poor.

Had he still been in post I'm sure that Mr Kehoe would have taken to social media and given an honest reply to any queries directed his way, as it stands I can't find any responses at all from anywhere.

These are some of the comments from Social Media and Twitter. If they belong to anybody and they want me to remove them from here then let me know and I will of course delete them.

Primera have just cancelled our flights from Birmingham to Boston for July 2018. No reason given ! Informed via e mail, telephone number provided just rings out and cuts you off. Not the service we’d expect from a company about to promote it business from BHX.

You have just cancelled birmingham to boston flights in the summer leaving many passengers in shock for the weekend shame on you and the bosses of primera air disgrace

Just been advised my Bhx to Boston, and return New York to Bhx cancelled already. Thanks Primera Air, I should have stuck with the ‘devil you know’ in Virgin Airlines! Clearly the Transatlantic dream is just that........

Flights cancelled to Boston , so angry . No reply on live chat or email. I’ll stick to BA in the future . Have accommodation booked in Boston so I’m out of pocket all ways.

Your first para sums it up Ray. The board at BHX should be ashamed to have not replace PK for So long. Whilst I am sure David winstanley os doing the best he can, he is not the CEO. My kids school had an interim head. Standards fell and ill-discipline grew. Now they have a permanent head...the same person....and what a very quick transformation. However, Primera were signed up...I think...under PK or at least negotiated under him. But the airport needs and urgently a new CEO. It is appalling. Someone tough who can tell an airline where to go and sell the region. Plus, Andy Street and the city council need to play their part. Get it sorted BHX otherwise you will become a laughing stock. Is it 3 other UK airports that have found new CEOs in the time since PK left. I'll do the job of that helps!

 

[hay677]

Plus, Andy Street and the city council need to play their part.

Also the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. Their president has aviation specialization according to Linked-In. His name is, I think Paul Kehoe or something like that.

 

[Deleted member 8862]

So there's two of them, what a co-incidence....

 

[Ianbutty]

PK if you are listening... The board at BHX is making BCFC look well managed.

Then again it took the CBSO ages to replace Andrea Nelsons. Maybe it is a Brum thing.

 

[Brum X]

The problem is if Primera do quit BHX (or long haul altogether), where does that leave BHX with flights to the US? I can't seen American or United returning. Delta's unlikely with their presence at LHR and Virgin's at MAN. If JetBlue do look at long haul with A321NEO/LR, they could serve New York JFK but where else? If we want more than just a connection to New York, we really need a based airline and I can't see any other airlines offering that.

This is BHX, anything can happen. I wouldnt be surprised if United come back, im not saying tomorrow but at some point in the future, LOL

 

[Brum X]

I'm getting angrier by the day.If they renegade on their TATL flights i really hope BHX do the dirty on them
and make it so expensive for them they pull their sun routes as well.We don't need them. I would hope any favourable deals negotiated for the sun routes were linked to the TATL flights deal.But the way the airport seems to be managed? at the moment i doubt it..
At the moment they are making the airport a laughing stock.
If their is expansion to be had on these routes lets have it from Ryanair Jet2 or Tui. At least we know they will still be here next year.
Bottom line know one on this forum would buy a ticket now from them to N.America . Spain or for the car park.

I have to agree with you 58, If i was going to New York in July i wouldnt book Primera and i wouldnt book TATL with them until they have proved to me that nothing similar again will happen.

Im sorry but alot of damage has been done over the last 24 hours and that cannot be reversed, there customer service is also awful. I asked them via social why they had cancelled the BHX flights and they replied "Im sorry for any inconvenience caused" I then reminded them that they had not answered my question to which they replied "Flights to Boston from Birmingham were cancelled due to operational reasons, this is quite common in the aviation industry"

What this does for the future of Primera Air i really dont know. Have they already made a business decision that BHX is damaged goods (Thanks to them and Airbus) and not worth continuing into winter ???

What really frustrates me are people on other forums who are downbeat about BHX saying stuff like Long haul is dead, it will never work, we told you so. Well if we had an airline to start with that wasnt messing BHX around, maybe it would work.

Yes we will regain a daily TATL flight from May which will then include a mixture of New York and Toronto from June but now Boston is gone we are down 1 flight compared to S17.

S17= 7 weekly flights to EWR
1 weekly flight to YYZ Total 8

S18= 4 weekly flights to EWR
3 weekly flights to YYZ Total 7

 

[Brum X]

Good. I'd rather see another green airbus daily from an airline that has serve BHX for nearly 70 years than one that will serve for 7 months

We cant be sure though that they wony serve BHX in the winter, if they didnt change the schedule on there website till late on Friday and only BHX was effected, maybe they had run out of time to load the BHX winter schedule, LOL (Im trying to look on the bright side)

 

[richard winterbourn]

This is only my second comment on this fiasco; my first last week as the issue unfolded was to say Primera Air had about 24 hours to come out with a bold company statement to say exactly what problems it was facing. It didn't and, lo and behold, they are now being crucified on social media and elsewhere. I am not surprised.

Now as to what long term damage they have caused to their brand, the simple answer is they do not have a brand. We all have brand favourites, whether it be in the tea bags we buy (i'm Yorkshire tea) the cars we drive (Renault) or the airlines we try to use which, in my case, was Monarch. With all our favourite brands there will be, from time to time, minor problems; your car lets you down or your Monarch flight delayed. We don't really mind that because we believe in the brand. So it is with Ryanair, many complain about the airline, but most always return. Ryanair is a brand and is extremely successful, however else would they carry millions of passengers every year.

But Primera Air is not a brand, it has not yet launched a flight from either BHX, STN or Paris. The company, as far as i know, has not even released a statement/press release that explains how it is failing the travelling public in the Midlands. They are guilty of a c...-up of massive proportions.

I really cannot see how it can recover from this; either in recovering the initiative by way of being pro-active or recovering a degree of confidence from their potential customers here at BHX.

It is with a heavy heart that i say that after the demise of Monarch last year, this does fill me with sadness.