Rumours about new destinations or airlines?

[White Heather]

In the past we have had similar size aircraft operating to GCI - for example KLM UK operated an ATR72, but I am sure it had charter passengers on rather than scheduled.

A couple of summers ago, LBA announced a very short season of charter flights to GCI, leading to more if it was a success. I think they may have been intended to operate on an Air Southwest Dash 8-300, although I may be mistaken on that. However, I seem to recall they never actually operated, so I can only presume the bookings were not sufficient.

It is strange really as for many years GCI was a regular route from LBA. I even have a photo of a Guernsey Airlines Viscount 700 at LBA, which must date back to the late 60's/very early 70's as it was taken in the days when there was an open air viewing area right in front of the main apron. Jersey remains popular, so I wonder why Guernsey isn't any more?

 

[Aviador]

Rumours are doing the rounds about more flights coming from Ryanair. Some people have even spoken about the possibility of an additional aircraft coming. I don't know about the reliability of the source but I guess we will find out soon enough if it's true.

My guess is a winter route announcement to Tenerife and Gran Canaria with perhaps more Polish routes coming to compete with Wizz at Doncaster.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Probably find that one or two of the French routes and Ibiza will be regarded as summer-only and will disappear for the winter.

Canaries are very likely I would think as Ryanair has started such routes from most of its UK bases in the past year with some (perhaps most) becoming year-round routes.

 

[White Heather]

I too would expect a switch in winter to the Canary island routes and a challenge to Wizz's domination of the Polish routes from Donny. I would imagine we would see a gradual increase in routes to include those already in operation from Liverpool, with a few exceptions. It would be nice to get something to the Latvia area (Riga area) too. I haven't seen any passenger figures but I did see that loads were described as 'already ahead of expectations', which sounds promising at least.

 

[White Heather]

They may try and avoid doing the same routes at Liverpool but I can't see Ryanair shying away from Polish routes out of LBA just because Wizz do them from DSA. They are already doing Krakow, which effectively competes with Wizz flights to Katowice from DSA. If the market is there, Ryanair will be too. It will all depend on demand and the number of passengers in the LBA catchment area who want to fly to Poland (and vice versa at the other end).

 

[White Heather]

I only mentioned LPL as the obvious one where both airlines operate. Since Wizz do not operate from LBA I cannot see Ryanair ignoring Poland expansion if the market is there. As far as I am aware a significant number of Poles live in these parts, particularly Bradford, and at present most have to travel to DSA. That should not be the case if LBA are intent on stopping leakage to other airports.

 

[eastcoaster]

thanks for the reply Humberside. I wonder if we would get Bydgoszcz....can you imagine some poor beggar at LBA trying to type that on the arrivals page and how many months would that take? LOL

Bydgoszcz.... what a god awful name, however, it is easy to pronounce I'm told. Phonetically it is called BID - GOSH. Easy really! :wink@

 

[rhinoscrazy]

im still waiting for a perminant american route what leeds bradford airport promised like last year O.O

 

[rhinoscrazy]

possible new airline to fly from lba.. easyjet they pulled out of dsa maybe come to leeds? we have jet2 and rayanair why not easyjet eh? :spiteful:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

im still waiting for a perminant american route what Leeds Bradford airport promised like last year O.O

I've just updated the Cardiff page with the latest on that airport's attempt to get a route from CWL to JFK with Delta.

It seems that Delta would have had a route running by now (reportedly 5 times a week) if the Wales Assembly Government had come up with a financial guarantee to make good any shortfall against the Delta profit target.

The WAG couldn't do so (they say for legal reasons they were unable to provide the guarantee though in the current financial climate I can't see public money being spent like that) so the CWL management is now hoping that local business interests plus some input from WAG might save the day.

If CWL with its much smaller and less affluent catchment than LBA can get an airline like Delta interested there ought to be hope for LBA.

Just needs a public body and/or local business interests to stump up a million or two and LBA could find itself linked to New York.

If only it were that easy.

 

[Runway 32]

Biggest problem with LBA gaining a New York link is any possible American carrier that would serve that route already serves MAN from NYC so I really cannot see us getting a link with NYC.

 

[rmac]

Biggest problem with LBA gaining a New York link is any possible American carrier that would serve that route already serves MAN from NYC

I do not really see that should be a problem, Continental serve both Edinburgh (twice daily) and Glasgow and these cities are only about 75 mins away by motorway. If an American carrier can see a viable demand from Yorkshire then I think it is possible. After all Yorkshire has a bigger population than the whole of Scotland so you would think a LBA - New York service should work. However a priority must be the Terminal expansion and a better road or preferably a rail link. Then the idea of a transatlantic link will be of more interest to an American airline and to the business community in West Yorkshire.

 

[rhinoscrazy]

Runway 32"]Biggest problem with LBA gaining a New York link is any possible American carrier that would serve that route already serves MAN from NYC

I do not really see that should be a problem, Continental serve both Edinburgh (twice daily) and Glasgow and these cities are only about 75 mins away by motorway. If an American carrier can see a viable demand from Yorkshire then I think it is possible. After all Yorkshire has a bigger population than the whole of Scotland so you would think a LBA - New York service should work. However a priority must be the Terminal expansion and a better road or preferably a rail link. Then the idea of a transatlantic link will be of more interest to an American airline and to the business community in West Yorkshire.

i agree but the route would support the whole of yorkshire because the americans want to come see york but the english want to see new york this is why i think the rout would work very well

 

[masere]

Rhinoscrazy I too think it would be good if Easyjet did flights from LBA. More competition for Jet2 and Ryanair can only lead to lower prices. And I too think we are long overdue a regular direct link with the USA, not just Jet2's xmas flights. Surely an airline can do what PIA are doing to Islamabad and run two flights a week to begin with to one of New York's airports, then if the demand is good they could lay on more. They'll never know 'till they try!

 

[Runway 32]

Rhinoscrazy I too think it would be good if Easyjet did flights from LBA.

Easyjet originally approached LBA before they even step foot in the door of Liverpool but the management at LBA at the time decided that they didn't want to go down the low cost route. Just think where LBA could be now if Easyjet had have set up a base. Would we be at higher passenger numbers than Liverpool with our bigger mix of traditional airlines and low cost carriers. I am sure that Jet 2 would not have set up their home at LBA.

Until LBA create more parking spaces I think we can forget about any new airlines setting up bases at LBA. We may get new airlines doing flights from other bases but until more space is created for over night staying aircraft I think we can forget about Easyjet setting up a base at LBA.

 

[lbia]

John Parkin stated in a meeting I held with him that to establish his NY route from Bristol it took 15 years in the planning, similarly for the Emirates route from NCL 8 years in the planning. So using those figures as benchmarks we could expect a NY route in what, maybe 2020-2025? It doesn't happen overnight, and to be quite honest if I was an American carrier there are much better and largers markets to tap into throughout Europe.

New York is a dream, that until LBA is handling around 7-8mppa, won't happen. What we need to concentrate on is making LBA a good user experience, with a wider range of european routes that we are still lacking. This can in the short term really only come from Ryanair who can operate W routes, or unless taxiway Alpha is closed and the smaller stands are extended for 737 operations.

In five years time maybe we should re-examine the NY route, it is not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Runway 32]

John Parkin stated in a meeting I held with him that to establish his NY route from Bristol it took 15 years in the planning, similarly for the Emirates route from NCL 8 years in the planning. So using those figures as benchmarks we could expect a NY route in what, maybe 2020-2025? It doesn't happen overnight, and to be quite honest if I was an American carrier there are much better and largers markets to tap into throughout Europe.

LBA has been talking of linking LBA with NYC for at least ten years. It has been on their wish list for quite some time so I would assume that talks with airlines started at least ten years ago. Maybe that means we could be looking at a NYC route in about 5 years if we go by the figures John Parkin has stated not that I personaly can see a LBA NYC route starting anytime soon.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Interesting idea that the BRS NYC route was 15 years in the planning which would mean plans were first laid in 1990 when the airport's annual passenger throughput was less than 800,000.

JP took over as CEO from Les Wilson when the latter was sadly killed in a car accident in 1995. Les had been at BRS for 15 years, was passionate about the place and had dragged it up from half a dozen flights a day. I'm not surprised that he would have thought about a New York route all those years ago because he was larger than life and full of enthusiasm about 'his' airport, but whether he really believed that BRS would be able to support one then is a moot point. Had he lived he would have been in Dreamland when the airport handled over 6 million passengers in 2008.

JP left BRS for NCL in 2002 and Tony Hallwood was routes director at the time BRS secured its EWR route in May 2005.

In evidence to a Competition Enquiry a couple of years ago a senior BRS management source said this about the CO route to EWR.

If my sales director, marketing director were here today and you said,
“What are you selling?”, he would say, “I am selling Bristol”. Not the
airport. I am selling the community of Bristol and the greater Bristol
community as well and the opportunity for an airline to serve that
community is the thing that we are selling.

So when, for example, we brought Lufthansa across or indeed Continental under Project USA, we got the local community into a local hotel and they sold the catchment
area to the principals of Lufthansa and Continental alongside us. They
said, “These are the reasons why you should be here”, and of course we
backed that with the evidence of the number of trips being made by
businesses in the southwest via other hubs and it is a very powerful
marketing tool to get other people selling your airport.

We never ever sold the airport facilities in themselves. In fact, if you looked
at the airport’s facilities at Bristol, with its very short runway of 2011 metres, most
airlines would probably cross it off their list because it is a too short
runway but actually the compelling argument is it is a great market
opportunity and fortunately with both Lufthansa and Continental they
have the right equipment that can use the runway.


A point that is equally relevant to LBA as it is to BRS is that the CO route to EWR carried between 80,000 and 90,000 passengers each year of its existence yet the airline still decided to axe it because it wasn't making the money it desired. The same applied to the Lufthansa BRS-FRA that lasted one year until April 2009, carried almost 100,000 passengers in that year which was ahead of the airline's business plan but in the looming recession LH was concerned that BRS would dilute its LHR and BHX routes to FRA which were well established (source: information from a senior figure at BRS to me).

Now many of us on forums4airports are well aware that a big very reservoir of potential passengers does not necessarily mean an airline will commit to a route because it might decide that there are better pickings to be had elsewhere. It's worth mentioning this because some fans of airports think that if enough people live in the catchment area then a route 'will work'.

 

[Runway 32]

Easyjet

I know what I am about to say goes against what I posted the other day about that I did not think Easyjet would ever operate from LBA but apparantly Easyjet have been in talks to the LBA management team with regards to basing two aircraft at the airport. Not quite sure where the management team are planning on parking these aircraft at peak times or over night but has anybody else heard the above?

Would be fantastic if we had another operator at the airport.

 

[Galaxy]

Re: Easyjet

Haven't they just pulled out of Donny because they didn't have anywhere to park the aircraft and were flying them in from elsewhere, which wasn't economical?