Rumours about new destinations or airlines?

[Malaga]

Just filled in a survey for Jet2 about possible future destinations, page copy which I have attached. Makes interesting reading.

Regards

Malaga

 

[tleeds]

I remember they physically handed out a survey on our flight possibly 5 years ago, and then it wasn't a multiple choice, just write the places down..

Pretty much all those destinations on there we on the forum have speculated they could start!

 

[User0001]

Iceland seems to be picking up a bit now.

Low cost wise, It had Iceland Express for a few years, but now has Wow and Easyjet on the route.

With it being a great place for a weekend break (Northern Lights, Blue Lagoon etc), it is surely only a matter of time before Jet2/Jet2 holidays get in on the act.

I could imagine flights from Leeds, Newcastle and East Midlands. Manchester could be a tricky one due to Icelandair and soon to be announced Easyjet.

St Petersburg would be a very niche route, and due to the current size of the market and the visa situation, I would only expect that to be served from Manchester initially.

I would imagine Bergen is high on the LBA priority list, given the lack of Scandinavian connections. However, its an incredibly seasonal destination, mainly revolving around the English Premier league season, hence why SAS increases MAN-BGO to 4 weekly (from 2) once the Premier League kicks off.

Vienna and Egypt are the last 2 I would have doubts with. Vienna's charges are very high for a low cost operation, and thats part of the reason you see no regional routes to Vienna. Egypt, well the situation is even worse than when the revolution started now, with regular troubles on the Sianei Peninsula for the first time in years, so cannot see tourism recovering to that area for a while

As for the others (RAK, NAP, AYT) all standard destinations which I see no reason why they couldn't work from LBA on a 2-3 weekly basis.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

My wife and I would use the Vienna service at least once a year, maybe more. Remember the only direct flights to Vienna are from Heathrow and Gatwick, plus there are a lot of Slovakians working over here.

Could be a good one.

LbaYorkie

 

[User0001]

Remember the only direct flights to Vienna are from Heathrow and Gatwick,

And thats my point, there are no flights to the UK regions. VIE airport fees are very high so it automatically puts a strain on any low cost service.

plus there are a lot of Slovakians working over here

They would be better served by a Bratislava flight, which is something Ryanair do from a few UK airport. Its almost the low cost airport of Vienna (its only 40 odd miles away). Before that, SkyEurope were big on the UK-Bratislava route.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

I would probably try Bratislava, but it depends on flight timings, dont want to arrive late or depart early because it takes time to get to Bratislava from Vienna.

Would probably stick to LBA-AMS-VIE

Incidentally, I suspect that although Jet2 are asking the question about Vienna they probably have in mind serving from Bratislava.

I would say that Vienna service from the north is justifiable as you would get business as well as private travellers, which coulkd well off-set the (apparently) highger charges at VIE.

Also...VIE have recently opened their new terminal, idea is to open up the old one to budget carriers.

LbaYorkie

 

[leedslad]

Any chance of a link to said Jet2 survey please?

 

[Malaga]

No! They are targeted at specific individuals through personal e-mail through Jet2's market research company.

Regards

Malaga

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Following the incredibly teasing post by White Heather hinting at expansion by a current airline, I just wonder if the loss of a based FlyBe Q400 at Exeter is significant at all.

 

[White Heather]

I am a tease aren't I? But so are the airport and that is all they said. However, I didn't say airline, I said operator. It may, or may not be an airline. See, I just can't help it!

It already looks as though we are losing Exeter at least for the winter (according to posts on the Flybe forum). Lets hope it returns for summer 2013.

 

[Galaxy]

What's this about Marrakech, St. Petersburg and Rekyavik then?

 

[Seasider]

Received my e-mail today, entered the competition and it is St Petersburg, Marrakesh and Rekyavik.

 

[Aviador]

PM has been wanting to fly to St Petersburg for years. :s_yes

 

[Galaxy]

I don't know which email you are referring to Seasider, but I can tell you that I overheard the above from reliable sources judging by their uniforms! It pays having big ears!

I really don't get Marrakech, it's not the best place, and with the still turbulent situation in nearby Tunisia and Libya it can't be that attractive - but they must have done their homework. Rekjavik must be a winner - a great addition, and St. Petersburg too - visa permitting. Don't forget if you want to visit Russia it is currently prohibitively expensive for many budget airline flyers. I believe that you need a letter of invitation from the Russian embassy to visit as a tourist - which was around £120 when I last looked (some years ago).

 

[User0001]

On the basis they will only be offering a handful of departures to each destination, the risk is much lower than if they were offering a full scheduled flying programme

 

[Aviador]

Rumours circulating Eastern Airways are looking at basing at LBA once again. Not sure how true or whether we'll be getting any new routes out of it, but it's once to keep an eye on.

 

[tleeds]

Well with BMIRegional also looking to be setting up new routes due to the new management, it will be one to look out for! I have never flown Eastern, but I have heard they can be reasonable pricing wise, and also offer a good customer service!

 

[Malaga]

Another survey from jet2......make up your own minds about the destinations and whether some may become permanent!

Regards

Malaga

 

[White Heather]

So the only ones on there that Jet2 don't already operate from somewhere, plan to operate, or have operated already, are Bulgaria (doesn't say which so could be Varna, Bourgas or Sofia), Naples and Verona. They are clearly not thinking of a return to the likes of Madrid, Valencia, etc.

 

[tleeds]

Marrakesh is currently showing up on the Jet2 Destinations map, with flights being shown from LBA and NCL - St Petersburg and Iceland aren't currently showing at all!

In the booking system:

Iceland - LBA/NCL/EDN
Marrakesh - LBA/NCL
St. P. - LBA/NCL/EDN

I was unaware that the flights were on sale, on a similar format to that of the New York Christmas Charters..!