Thomas Cook

[Marko1]

Looking at the timings of some of the flights for summer 17 I suspect there is more to come from Thomas cook. Also nouvelle air is now planned on a weekly Sunday enfidhna service next year and that was definitely not on that timetable I quoted earlier

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Marko - if you are the same Marko1 who posted today in the Dried Plum asking whether all the BRS (and CWL) flights for summer 2017 were now out because BRS seems to have lost some, a count up in the Thomas Cook timetable that you linked to in your earlier post shows 28 weekly rotations.

In summer 2015 there were 29 weekly TCX rotations but this reduced to 27 after the 3 x weekly Enfidha rotations were withdrawn following the events in Tunisia with only one being replaced to another destination (Faro).

I may have got hold of the wrong end of the stick with your DP post though (assuming it was yours).

 

[Marko1]

Hi local. yes it was me. My basic reason to request information on the other site was primarily because it was there that the rumours of expansion were first mentioned. However there appears to be less for summer 17 than this year dlm down from 3 to 2 pmi down from 4 to 3 Antalya down from 2 to 1 ibz down from 2 to 1 but only one increase to zth from 3 to 4. Kos is not on sale and only Malta appears as a new route. However some of the times of flights suggests gaps to fill on certain days. Given the situation in turkey and Tunisia I would have expected some increases in safer options - Spain Portugal Greece

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I'm with you now. This summer there appear to be 34 weekly rotations although without checking dates I assume some might be peak season only. This is certainly well up on summer 2015's original 29 weekly rotations, reduced to 27 after the events in Tunisia.

I haven't checked timings for summer 2016. Do you know how they are going to fit in the extra flights this coming summer as summer 2015 was reasonably well filled most days. The only gaps last year in the main appeared to be night flights when there weren't any, other than those leaving around 1800 and coming back in the early hours.

Not so many years ago charter flights through the night (leaving at say 2200 and returning at say 0600) were regular features not only with Thomas Cook's predecessors but with with other companies as well.

Addendum

Reading another forum it seems that the asterisk denotes part season only rather than the full May-October.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thomas Cook Airlines and P&O Cruises partner for Bristol to Malta flights

Thomas Cook Airlines and P&O Cruises have announced a new partnership that provides Malta cruise opportunities for holiday makers flying from Bristol on new Airbus A321s.

Supported by the recently announced new weekly flights from Bristol Airport to Malta starting in 2017, the partnership supports the new P&O Cruises Malta programme to the Mediterranean.

As well as destination breaks for Thomas Cook Airlines customers purchasing only seats, P&O Cruises customers will also be offering Thomas Cook Airlines flights when booking for luxury cruises departing from Malta next year.

P&O Cruises vice president of sales, Alex White said: “We have a range of new and exciting Mediterranean fly-cruise itineraries departing from Malta and visiting a number Western, Eastern and Central Mediterranean ports - Malta is our 2017 cruising hotspot. Our fly-cruise programme is popular with guests wishing to enjoy the convenience of flying to a destination to board a ship but also wanting to discover a variety of new and interesting ports in one holiday.”

Thomas Cook Airlines’ director of sales and planning, Henry Sunley, said: “P&O Cruises from Malta will offer a fantastic new opportunity for Midlands and South West guests. It’s a really great departure point for exploring the Mediterranean and in luxurious style. Flying out on our A321s with refurbished cabins will be a great start and end to their holiday.”

Shaun Browne, Bristol Airport’s Aviation Director said: “We are delighted to see the relationship between Thomas Cook Airlines and P&O Cruises. This will provide customers from the South Wales and South West region a new and exciting fly-cruise programme for 2017. We are sure the cruise flights will be well received and offer customers a wider choice of fly-cruise holidays using their local airport.”

William Pearson, Aviation Development Director for Birmingham Airport, said: "Cruise holidays are becoming increasingly popular with tourists and with the Mediterranean offers so many beautiful port stops, I'm sure this will be very welcomed news in the Midlands offering even more choice to holiday makers. Thomas Cook Airlines and P&O are trusted and reliable holiday brands and I'm delighted to see this new programme launching from Birmingham to giving our customers an alternative holiday experience."

BRS press release at http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/news-and-media/news-and-media-centre/2016/03/po-cruises

A useful addition to the new Malta Thomas Cook service for summer 2017. Presumably there will be three carriers to Malta in summer 2017: Thomas Cook, Air Malta and Ryanair.

I'm not sure what the comment from the BHX aviation director is doing in a BRS press release.

 

[Marko1]

Thomas cook has officially launched its 2017 programme. No new routes and several decreases from summer 16. After some of the rumours of a third aircraft that have been circulating this looks rather disappointing

 

[TheLocalYokel]

What's missing in 2017 from summer 2016, Marko?

 

[Marko1]

Well as far as I can see Kos has been dropped together with one weekly Dalaman , Palma , Ibiza and Antalya. Only increase appears to be Zante. I have to say some of the timings look awful too - one of the four weekly departs at 4 am !!!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

That doesn't sound so clever. I read elsewhere that the Saturday PMI from EXT has been axed in 2017. For several years this has been operated by a BRS-based aircraft on a W diagram. If nothing is added there will be some gaps for the two A 321s unless they are to perform Ws to other airports.

As for the early start there were some complaints at the airport consultative committee meetings last summer about that very thing. In summer 2015 TCX departed at 5.15 and 5.30 on Mondays to Mahon and Zakynthos respectively; at 5.30 on Fridays to Burgas; at 5.15 and 5.30 on Saturdays to Faro (replacing Enfidha) and Palma. Thomson departed at 5.30 on Thursdays to Corfu.

I live about seven miles from the airport but on some occasions when aircraft were using 09 my wife and I were woken up around 5.30 more than once by the early departures.

 

[Marko1]

That doesn't sound so clever. I read elsewhere that the Saturday PMI from EXT has been axed in 2017. For several years this has been operated by a BRS-based aircraft on a W diagram. If nothing is added there will be some gaps for the two A 321s unless they are to perform Ws to other airports.

As for the early start there were some complaints at the airport consultative committee meetings last summer about that very thing. In summer 2015 TCX departed at 5.15 and 5.30 on Mondays to Mahon and Zakynthos respectively; at 5.30 on Fridays to Burgas; at 5.15 and 5.30 on Saturdays to Faro (replacing Enfidha) and Palma. Thomson departed at 5.30 on Thursdays to Corfu.

I live about seven miles from the airport but on some occasions when aircraft were using 09 my wife and I were woken up around 5.30 more than once by the early departures.

There certainly seems to be a trend for earlier departures at Bristol. As for the sat Brs - pmi -ext -pmi- Brs, the Brs based aircraft will still be doing something similar next year presumably to some other uk airport

 

[Marko1]

Just an amendment apparently the official launch is Thursday so may be there is some hope

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Many thanks for all that, Marko.

 

[Marko1]

Something was mentioned on another site about a third weekly Mahon next summer. It doesn't appear on the main Thomas cook web page but it does on their flight only page. Every sat am. Together with a fourth weekly pmi and a third dlm on Friday. Lots of weird timings however .

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Some UK airports seem to have significantly increased offerings from Thomas Cook for summer 2017. Doesn't appear to have included BRS which, as you pointed out in an earlier post, is particularly disappointing given the strong rumours of a substantial increase next year based, at least in part, on several reports that TCX 'suit's had paid a number visits to the airport in recent months.

 

[Aviador]

It's not long since we were discussing the possible collapse of Thomas Cook Airlines. Surely it's better for the airline to look after what it has as the airline continues to make a recovery?

Leeds had one based aircraft. A base that seemed to be performing well. The aircraft had good passenger loads suggesting decent revenues. During the airline's troubles Leeds lost it's based Thomas Cook aircraft and it is yet to return despite the airlines apparent recovery.

#ThomasCookAirlines #Bristol #BRS

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS did well to keep its winter TCX Airbus and its two summer ones a few years ago when the likes of CWL lost its winter presence and now has only a third party summer A 320 masquerading as Thomas COOK. BRS also saw its Airbus presence upgraded from A 320 to A 321 (two in summer).

The reason why there is some slight disappointment is that there was undoubtedly a lot of dialogue between BRS and senior TCX representatives with visits to the airport from the latter during the latter part of 2015 - the evidence is too strong to suggest this is little more than rumour - that all sorts of rumours (with not such strong evidence) about what was planned for 2017.

 

[superking]

the rhodes service from cwl yesterday, aircraft went tech. it was an A320. the pax on that flight was bussed to brs to fly on the rhodes service. A321 is used from brs.does any one know if brs rotation was low numbers or the cwl rotation.one of them or both were low to accomadate both flights into 1 rotation.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

the rhodes service from cwl yesterday, aircraft went tech. it was an A320. the pax on that flight was bussed to brs to fly on the rhodes service. A321 is used from brs.does any one know if brs rotation was low numbers or the cwl rotation.one of them or both were low to accomadate both flights into 1 rotation.

According to another forum there were only four people booked on the BRS-RHO but another poster there said that only the inbound flights were combined (I believe it was the first TCX BRS-RHO of the season so the return would be expected to be low on numbers). The other poster said that the CWL punters bussed to BRS left on another flight after the BRS one had departed.

I can't confirm any of this. I can't believe that only four would have been booked on the BRS-RHO especially as the bank holiday weekend and half term are rapidly approaching, even taking into account the reported lessening of interest in Greece as a holiday destination this year.

If there was a second aircraft taking the CWL punters it couldn't have been the second based A 321 because presumably that had already left for Larnaca. If an additional aircraft was brought in why bring it to BRS if the 'stranded' punters were all at CWL?

Anyone?

 

[big g]

An empty aircraft positioned from MAN to BRS and all the CWL pax went on that. on return the flight operated RHO-CWL-BRS.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Many thanks for that big g.