Leeds Bradford: EasyJet Flights, New Routes & Schedule Updates

[gulftraveller]

If it is underserved ( and it is) you have to wonder why Vueling don't give it another go. They also came and went after one season some years ago.

Being devil’s advocate, if two airlines have dropped BCN, how can we conclude it is underserved? Vueling is less of a surprise as it was seat only. But EZY would have been bundled with EasyJet Holidays. It may just be that for trips to Spain, the default setting in the catchment area is Jet2.

 

[Statto]

If it is underserved ( and it is) you have to wonder why Vueling don't give it another go. They also came and went after one season some years ago.

Unless they are adding more aircraft to their BCN base then I guess they would need to stop flying another route of a similar length and swap it for LBA. BCN-LBA can be underserved through the eyes of LBA’s management team and at the same be well down the list of priorities for an airline unfortunately. MAN-JFK is a classic example of this. Its definitely under-served capacity wise but the airlines that could serve it often have better options

Its why having aircraft permanently based is the holly grail for airport bosses. Once you have the aircraft and the crew then they are much more likely to stick around. A based aircraft can try LBA-BCN and if doesn’t work, they switch to LBA-LIS or something. Truth be told, the LBA team don’t care that much where people are flying to, as long as they are flying from LBA. Flights into LBA from other bases always welcome, but always vulnerable

 

[Aviador]

In my opinion drip feeding route announcements one by one was probably the wrong strategy for easyJet at LBA. It completely diluted the impact and generated zero marketing buzz. While some will blame the airport for not pushing the news harder, building brand awareness from a standing start was always going to be an uphill struggle without a single, high profile launch campaign.

If easyJet ever decides to return to LBA, it can’t be a half hearted effort. Dabbing a toe in the water with non-based, low frequency routes will never work if they genuinely want to capture market share in Yorkshire.

 

[Statto]

Being devil’s advocate, if two airlines have dropped BCN, how can we conclude it is underserved

From the CAA passenger data. E.g MAN/LPL to BCN market 18 times bigger than LBA in June. Thats miles out of kilter with other comparable routes

 

[White Heather]

It seems Easyjet have cut all flights to Oslo from October, plus another airport in northern Scandinavia. They also dropped Istanbul earlier this year. It wouldn't surprise me if there are more cuts to come.
Elsewhere, I note Vueling have withdrawn all flights from Cardiff this winter after 13 years operating there. It is clearly going to be a difficult winter for airlines and regional airports alike.

 

[Jetchaser]

So I see Jet 2 are now promoting "get your refund from Easyjet and book with us and fly from LBA instead of elsewhere" Clever marketing from both Ryanair and Jet 2 but where is LBA marketing in all this?....As someone who has worked in marketing all my life, I just don't understand why the airport have not responded and given a positive message even if its teasing the new re-development of the terminal coming on well and exciting times ahead.....I thought with a new agency on board, the PR machine would be far better than it is.

 

[Danny]

So I see Jet 2 are now promoting "get your refund from Easyjet and book with us and fly from LBA instead of elsewhere" Clever marketing from both Ryanair and Jet 2 but where is LBA marketing in all this?....As someone who has worked in marketing all my life, I just don't understand why the airport have not responded and given a positive message even if its teasing the new re-development of the terminal coming on well and exciting times ahead.....I thought with a new agency on board, the PR machine would be far better than it is.

I received this email from the airport.

 

[White Heather]

So I see Jet 2 are now promoting "get your refund from Easyjet and book with us and fly from LBA instead of elsewhere" Clever marketing from both Ryanair and Jet 2 but where is LBA marketing in all this?....As someone who has worked in marketing all my life, I just don't understand why the airport have not responded and given a positive message even if its teasing the new re-development of the terminal coming on well and exciting times ahead.....I thought with a new agency on board, the PR machine would be far better than it is.

LBA are definitely promoting this too, and the Jet2 ad I saw on FB was also sponsored by LBA as it had their logo on it. LBA also emailed this to me so presumably are sending it to everyone registered on their distribution list.

 

[lbaspotter]

This is on LBA’s own Facebook page

 

[Aviador]

The airport did tell the Support Group they were concentrating mainly on social media such as Instagram and Facebook as they capture a large proportion of their target customers.

 

[SierraHotel]

https://simpleflying.com/easyjet-cuts-flights-full-list-of-6-axed-airports/

 

[Aviador]

https://simpleflying.com/easyjet-cuts-flights-full-list-of-6-axed-airports/

"Barely an hour from Manchester" - They've never traveled the route then?

 

[White Heather]

"Barely an hour from Manchester" - They've never traveled the route then?

That's probably what the Easyjet planners think too! Easy to look at a map and make travel time assumptions......

 

[Aviador]

That's probably what the Easyjet planners think too! Easy to look at a map and make travel time assumptions......

Well that's fine though because people who are sick to death of making the journey across the M62 will genuinely only seak flights from LBA. That can only be a good thing for airlines that continue to serve LBA. Coincidentally I've made the trip across the M62 almost weekly for about the last 25 years and it has only got worse with hold-ups happening more frequently. LBA know this too. One of their recent marketing releases mentions over night closures of the M62.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Finger66]

Now someone is getting the idea. Take the opportunity to offer a counter punch - I like it

 

[Len Fish]

It’s is barely an hour to MAN if there’s no traffic, the weather is good, there’s a following wind and you’re in a Ferrari. Unfortunately this only ever happens when there’s a total eclipse in the UK.

 

[dmrodgers]

That's probably what the Easyjet planners think too! Easy to look at a map and make travel time assumptions......

Had a nightmare journey on the M62 last Monday picking the family up from MAN off the Qatar Airways flight from Doha. Journey time 1hr 45 mins there from Leeds and over 2 hour coming back due to the weather once crossing the border into Lancashire, lashing it down with rain and then three separate accidents on the return causing miles of queing traffic. Unless it's long haul that's why we always use LBA.

 

[AviatorYorks]

I received this email from the airport. View attachment 33629

Good to see the airport trying to keep any lost passengers to a minimum, but playing devils advocate here, I can’t imagine actively pushing people to get a refund and rebook with Jet2 will do much to keep the relationship with easyJet sweet.

Then again, it probably doesn’t matter too much as I fully expect that any future opportunity for easyJet to base at Leeds will be closed off by Ryanair and Jet2 who will ensure its very difficult for them to revisit LBA

 

[Aviador]

The M62 is probably the best marketing tool LBA has to be fair.

 

[LBA4EVER]

I believe its this weekend that the M62 is actually closed on an evening around J22-24 from memory. Last thing anyone wants after arriving at MAN at 2am is a closed M62 and mass diversions.