Bristol: EasyJet Route News & Base Updates

[Severn]

As of today EZY still has 13 aircraft based at BRS; 7xA319s and 6xA320s.
Today EZY has 46 departures, all using BRS based aircraft, except the evening departure to EDI which uses a EDI based A320.

 

[Marko1]

I notice the desktop site on easyjet has been modified to show what days flights are offered to destinations. Having a look at this suggests that easyjet are boosting frequencies on many routes from Bristol particularly over Xmas and new year plus it's using foreign based aircraft more notably from Venice and Lisbon. Any idea when summer 17 be released. I'm waiting for Rome to be released and am trying to hold off from booking ba from Lhr

 

[CraigW92]

I notice the desktop site on easyjet has been modified to show what days flights are offered to destinations. Having a look at this suggests that easyjet are boosting frequencies on many routes from Bristol particularly over Xmas and new year plus it's using foreign based aircraft more notably from Venice and Lisbon. Any idea when summer 17 be released. I'm waiting for Rome to be released and am trying to hold off from booking ba from Lhr

For travel between:

26 March - 25 June- on sale early October

26 June - 10 September - on sale mid November

11 September - 28 October- on sale December

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Venice has been operated by VCE-based aircraft since the route was reinstated last March.

easyJet begins its new route to Las Palmas next Wednesday (28 September). Originally advertised as weekly it will operate 2 x weekly from November. This is the latest route that easyJet and Ryanair compete on.

 

[ezy_brs]

I have heard that the 13th aircraft will be kept at BRS throughout the winter season as a spare. Next summer I have heard some rumours from crew that we will have 15 based a/c at brs!!!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I have heard that the 13th aircraft will be kept at BRS throughout the winter season as a spare. Next summer I have heard some rumours from crew that we will have 15 based a/c at brs!!!

I've heard the same rumour but I'm not sure of its provenance. The fact that more stands are about to be built suggests that the airport may be expecting more based aircraft from somewhere.

 

[Marko1]

I too have heard some rumours of possibly 15 based a/c based next summer. Incidentally early summer 17 is launched next Thursday.

 

[Jerry]

I have heard that the 13th aircraft will be kept at BRS throughout the winter season as a spare. Next summer I have heard some rumours from crew that we will have 15 based a/c at brs!!!

If they go to 15 aircraft then that's the new stands taken up! It would also mean no new based airlines as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

If they go to 15 aircraft then that's the new stands taken up! It would also mean no new based airlines as well.

Two more based easyJet aircraft would still leave one of the three new stands available and no-one has said that BRS has been completely 'maxed out' this summer.

I would be surprised to see two more based easyJet aircraft next year. I would have thought that one more would be more likely which would continue the trend of the last couple of years and the trend before the recession, albeit then there was sometimes an increase of more than one from year to year; but in those days there were far more low growing apples for airlines to harvest from the BRS tree. A lot of extra work would have to be found for two more aircraft and it would mean picking the more difficult apples from the top of the tree, even if some of the rotations currently operated by non BRS-based aircraft (Venice for instance) were switched to BRS-based aircraft.

If a new airline was seriously interested in basing at BRS I can't think the airport management would turn them away. They'd find a way of accommodating any newcomer.

 

[Marko1]

I think there are definite options for new routes in the eastern med plus I'm sure they would fill extra frequencies on popular routes to the costas etc. I quite fancy the likes of Tallinn and tel aviv for instance together with greater frequencies on some key business routes like Ams Sxf Bcn mad fco. Also given ryanairs unpredictabilty how about Malta for example

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

If do find it a bit coincidental that this rumour starts flying around at the same time the J2 rumour re-surfaces it's self. If this is the case of an extra 2 based aircraft at BRS then it would of course, in my opinion, be a defensive move against the potential of another carrier joining BRS and in the hope it would put them off signing the deal. Bit of exercising the strength that EZY has at BRS and how it has the market. However as pointed out by TLY; the management of BRS are more then likely going to make room to accommodate any new potential carrier/s as the old saying goes 'better to spread the risk then have all your eggs in one basket'.

If this is the case; could we see a decent offering on the BRS-NCL route after it's all but certain decline over the last year, 2nd daily CDG service and other such routes. Personally i don't see where they would send the 2 extra aircraft tbh. That is an extra 6 rotations a day (based on 3 flights a day with each aircraft), 42 over a week. Turkey is in decline, egypt is a no go zone still (once that comes popular, do we think EZY BRS-SSH is an option) and there is almost certain over capacity on UK-Spain markets. Greece maybe could see growth but again totalling around an extra 5/6 rotations a week as they don't warrant more then once or twice weekly service some of the destinations. I hope it is true for BRS however would it not be better to see an extra aircraft from both FR and EZY? Just a thought.

 

[Jerry]

Personally i don't see where they would send the 2 extra aircraft tbh

They could just use it too increase frequency on a route and then do another route out of that airport ie BRS-CDG-FCO-CDG-BRS. That could reduce their basing costs and take up stand space that a rival might take up ie Jet2 or Ryanair.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I think there are definite options for new routes in the eastern med plus I'm sure they would fill extra frequencies on popular routes to the costas etc. I quite fancy the likes of Tallinn and tel aviv for instance together with greater frequencies on some key business routes like Ams Sxf Bcn mad fco. Also given ryanairs unpredictabilty how about Malta for example

If do find it a bit coincidental that this rumour starts flying around at the same time the J2 rumour re-surfaces it's self. If this is the case of an extra 2 based aircraft at BRS then it would of course, in my opinion, be a defensive move against the potential of another carrier joining BRS and in the hope it would put them off signing the deal. Bit of exercising the strength that EZY has at BRS and how it has the market. However as pointed out by TLY; the management of BRS are more then likely going to make room to accommodate any new potential carrier/s as the old saying goes 'better to spread the risk then have all your eggs in one basket'.

If this is the case; could we see a decent offering on the BRS-NCL route after it's all but certain decline over the last year, 2nd daily CDG service and other such routes. Personally i don't see where they would send the 2 extra aircraft tbh. That is an extra 6 rotations a day (based on 3 flights a day with each aircraft), 42 over a week. Turkey is in decline, egypt is a no go zone still (once that comes popular, do we think EZY BRS-SSH is an option) and there is almost certain over capacity on UK-Spain markets. Greece maybe could see growth but again totalling around an extra 5/6 rotations a week as they don't warrant more then once or twice weekly service some of the destinations. I hope it is true for BRS however would it not be better to see an extra aircraft from both FR and EZY? Just a thought.

I've been surprised that easyJet hasn't re-started Milan Malpensa in some form. They'd be up against Ryanair's Bergamo but several years ago easyJet and Ryanair operated daily to MXP and BGY respectively. This was clearly an overkill and it eventually went from that to a summer-only 3 x weekly Ryanair Bergamo, albeit this winter will see the route extended year-round.

bmi regional's Milan Maslpensa is a relatively low-key affair with high fares which seems to rely significantly on Augusta Westland personnel using the service. easyJet's much greater economy of scale, lower fares and better known name would be likely to attract sufficient punters at say 3 or 4 x weekly, even against Ryanair's Bergamo. Obviously the yield must be right; maybe that's what's cautioned easyJet about re-starting what seems an obvious route, bearing in mind others that have either been re-started or started as new routes in the past couple of years.

Since easyJet began at BRS (following their acquisition of Go in 2002) they have seen some routes come and go. This may not be a full list of BRS routes they axed but I think it's pretty close:

Bilbao 2003-2004 restored in 2015
Copenhagen 2003-2004, restored in 2012
Biarritz 2008-2009
Budapest 2005-2006 now operated by Ryanair
Gdansk 2007-2008 now operated by Ryanair
Hamburg 2005-2006 now operated by bmi regional
Rijeka 2006-2007
Warsaw Chopin 2008 now operated by Wizz Air with Ryanair to Modlin
Venice MP 2003-2009 restored in 2016 with Ryanair now competing on the route
Valencia 2004-2009 now operated by Ryanair but they switched it to Castellon in 2015
Milan Malpensa 2007-2010 now operated by bmi regionalwith Ryanair to Bergamo
Bastia 2009-2010 now operated as charter flight by bmi regional for tour company

Since Ryanair opened its base at BRS in 2007 the airline has been opening and closing routes almost as quickly as a croupier shuffles the pack.

These are the axed routes in that time although some were brought back and others are now served by other airlines. Again, it might not be a complete list but I think it's pretty close:

Derry 2007-2008
Dinard 2007-2008 was advertised as restored in 2012 but then axed before it commenced
Gdansk 2008-2009 restored in 2010 and still operating
Grenoble 2008-2009 now operated by easyJet
Salzburg 2007-2008 now operated by easyJet and charter market
Turin 2007-2009 now operated by easyJet and charter market
Katowice 2007-2009 and 2011-2014 now operated by Wizz Air
Szczecin (Stettin) 2008-2009 and 2013-2014
Shannon 2005-2010
Cagliari 2009
Eindhoven 2009
Pau 2007-2009
Perpignan 2009
Montpellier 2009
Toulon 2009
Trieste 2009
Bydgoszcz 2010 lasted two months and was then suddenly withdrawn
Budapest 2007-2010 restored in 2012 and still operating
Bratislava 2007-2010 and 2011-2014
Rimini 2009-2010
Porto 2008-2010 now operated by easyJet
Belfast City 2009-2010
Marrakech 2009-2011 now operated by easyJet
Seville 2009-2011
Riga 2007-2012
Lodz 2012-2013
Reus seems to come and go not currently shown for summer 2017 now operated by charter market
Valencia 2010-2015 then it was switched to Castellon in 2015

So in summary these easyJet routes have been tried at BRS at some point but are now not served by any airline: Rijeka and Biarritz. They were summer-only routes; a number of routes mentioned above were seasonal, either summer or winter.

As for Ryanair, these routes have been served in the past but are now not served by any airline:

Derry, Dinard, Szczecin (Stettin), Shannon, Belfast City, Rimini, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Pau, Perpignan, Montpellier, Toulon, Trieste, Bydgoszcz, Lodz, Bratislava, Riga, Seville and Valencia.

I've also looked at the easyJet routes at Gatwick and Luton and the following are routes not served from BRS by any airline:

Bari, Brindisi, Hurghada, Ljublijana, Stuttgart, Tallinn, Tel Aviv, Brest, Essaouira, Figari, Izmir, Ostersund, Preveza, Santiago de Compostela, Tivat, Agadir, Almeria, Friedrichshafen, Athens, Kalamata, Luxembourg, Mykonos, Palermo, Ajaccio and Zurich.

So there are a few to choose from although not too many jump out as obvious contenders at BRS. The only thing I would say is that Ryanair tried half a dozen routes mainly to destinations in Italy and France for a limited summer season in 2009, right in the middle of the recession. 2009 was the only year during the recession that BRS saw a fall in overall passenger figures. Perhaps one or two of these might be looked at again by someone if not easyJet.

if BRS is to reach 10 mppa at some point then some new routes together with added frequencies on existing routes will clearly be essential.

 

[Severn]

Not forgetting that with a based number now reaching 14/15 frames, one frame could feasibly being placed as a STBY airframe..... Summer 16 was difficult at times when aircraft went tech as there was absolutely no give in the schedules for the 13 based aircraft.. Just my two-pennies worth!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Not forgetting that with a based number now reaching 14/15 frames, one frame could feasibly being placed as a STBY airframe..... Summer 16 was difficult at times when aircraft went tech as there was absolutely no give in the schedules for the 13 based aircraft.. Just my two-pennies worth!

When the BRS-easyJet 5-year agreement was made two or three years ago rumours at the time suggested that it would lead to at least 16 based aircraft by the end of the five years.

Between 2002 and 208 easyJet increased its summer BRS base size (winters were usually at least one less aircraft and they weren't all used fully throughout each day - still aren't) with additional aircraft each year to 12 A319s by 2008. Came the recession and base growth stopped for a few years and actually reduced to 11 for a while. In the past two or three years the summer base size has increased to 13 (by now a mix of 319s and 320s), so it would not be a complete surprise if the trend did continue next summer, at least by one aircraft.

 

[big g]

It will be 14 based aircraft next year and 15 in 2018, with regards to flex in the schedule your be amazed what the guy's and girls do to try and minimise disruption swapping aircraft around.

The airport was maxed out on number of occasions over the summer, but that was mainly due to tech aircraft occupying stands. my understanding of the new stands will be, tht all aircraft will need to be towed on and off so i can see them as last resort stands.

 

[Marko1]

Early summer has been released. Extra flights to Barcelona Tenerife Berlin Ibiza and Venice so far

 

[Severn]

A quick comparison of June 2017's schedule to August 2016 sees the following changes:

BCN - 2x daily (up 3 per week)
GLA - 4x daily on Mon & Fri, other days remain 3x daily except Sat on 1x Daily (up 2 per week)
SXF - up to 6x weekly (up 2 per week)
VCE - up to 6x weekly (up 2 per week)
PSA - up to 6x weekly (up 1 per week)
TFS - up to 4x weekly (up 1 per week)
NAP - up to 3x weekly (up 1 per week)
IBZ - up to 3x weekly (up 1 per week)

LRH - nothing in the schedule (loss of 3 per week)
RAK - nothing in the schedule (loss of 2 per week)
GVA - down to 11x weekly (down 2 per week)
PMI - down to 13x weekly (down 1 per week)
MRS - down to 2x weekly (down 1 per week)

Given that June will not be "peak" season, plus this is only the first release of the schedule that still gives an increase of 4 flights per week in June 2017 in comparison to August 2016..... i'm sure there'll be more to come. I'll also take a look at number of aircraft required.

 

[Severn]

June 2017 schedule requires 14 aircraft. And there aren't many gaps!

I forgot to add to the post above, all the other routes in August 2016 will continue with the same number of flights per week in June 2017.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

A quick comparison of June 2017's schedule to August 2016 sees the following changes:

BCN - 2x daily (up 3 per week)
GLA - 4x daily on Mon & Fri, other days remain 3x daily except Sat on 1x Daily (up 2 per week)
SXF - up to 6x weekly (up 2 per week)
VCE - up to 6x weekly (up 2 per week)
PSA - up to 6x weekly (up 1 per week)
TFS - up to 4x weekly (up 1 per week)
NAP - up to 3x weekly (up 1 per week)
IBZ - up to 3x weekly (up 1 per week)

LRH - nothing in the schedule (loss of 3 per week)
RAK - nothing in the schedule (loss of 2 per week)
GVA - down to 11x weekly (down 2 per week)
PMI - down to 13x weekly (down 1 per week)
MRS - down to 2x weekly (down 1 per week)

Given that June will not be "peak" season, plus this is only the first release of the schedule that still gives an increase of 4 flights per week in June 2017 in comparison to August 2016..... i'm sure there'll be more to come. I'll also take a look at number of aircraft required.

I don't think that La Rochelle began in summer 2016 until late June so will likely be on the list when the rest of the summer is released. Marrakech will be a surprise though if it's not included. It's been a year-round easyJet flight for nearly three years averaging around 142 passengers per flight for the entire year of 2015 - Ryanair stopped flying to RAK after 2011. Maybe Basel is taking some of the Geneva passengers (but stats don't suggest that) and Marseille seems an acquired taste; weekly rotation numbers on MRS seem to fluctuate a bit from summer to summer.

I've had a look at some selected easyJet routes for July:

Venice Marco Polo - re-introduced in March this year after being axed by easyJet after 2009, operating 4 x weekly by VCE-based A319 aircraft. 5332 passengers used the route, average load 148.1, load factor 94.9%. Ryanair operated to its version of Venice at Treviso in July and carried 4523 passengers, average load 174, load factor 92%.

Ryanair has now switched its own BRS flights to Marco Polo. This summer there were seven weekly flights across both airlines to Venice. With easyJet increasing its service to 6 x weekly next summer and Ryanair increasing from 3 to 4 x weekly (having increased from 2 to 3 x weekly for the current summer), there will be 10 x weekly flights all to Marco Polo in summer 2017: 6 by easyJet and 4 by Ryanair. The coming winter will see 6 for the most part: 2 by Ryanair and 4 by easyJet except in parts of January and early February when easyJet reduces to 3. It's almost reaching the stage of a few years ago when both airlines went daily to their respective versions of Milan (MXP and BGY). That was unsustainable in the end but the recession played a part then.

Nantes

Commenced this spring at 2 x weekly on A319. 1877 passengers used the route in July, average load 117.3, load factor 75.2% on A319 aircraft. Not great numbers but the route is back for summer 2017.

Vienna

Commenced at the beginning of last winter at 2 x weekly on A319 aircraft. 2620 passengers used the route in July, average load 145.5, load factor 93.3%.

Basel

Also commenced at the beginning of last winter at 4 x weekly on A319 aircraft. 4991 passengers used the route in July, average load 138.6, load factor 88.8%.

There is clearly a market for Switzerland if the product is right. In July easyJet carried 17,978 on its BRS-Geneva route, up 27% on July 2015 so it's surprising that GVA is being reduced slightly in summer 2017.

Isle of Man

Commenced last summer (2015) at 4 x weekly which was too much. It was reduced to 2 x weekly for last winter and carried on at this level this summer, which will continue through the coming winter and into next summer. 2716 passengers used this A319 route in July, average load 135.8, load factor 87%. It's quite remarkable when it's remembered how the likes of Flybe and Eastern (admittedly the latter at eye-watering fares) struggled to make anything of the route in terms of passenger numbers.

Bilbao

Brought back last summer after an absence of eleven years at 2 x weekly on A319 aircraft. It was originally intended to operate throughout the year but it was dropped for last winter and only re-commenced this summer in early June. It's perhaps surprising then that it will continue through this winter and into next summer from the beginning of the summer schedules, all at 2 x weekly. July carried 2669 passengers, average load 148.2, load factor 95%.