TUi Airways

[planenut321]

This is how summer 09 is shaping up....

Monday
Ibiza- 07:30
Funchal- 08:50
Gran Canaria- 14:45
Bodrum- 17:55
Tuesday
Palma- 06:50
Alicante- 07:00
Reus- 08:05
Malta- 09:40 (Air Malta)
Kefalonia- 14:15
Gerona- 21:55
Wednesday
Menorca- 06:40
Larnaca- 08:00
Ibiza -20:50
Kos- 20:45
Thursday
Palma- 07:00
Malaga- 07:15
Heraklion- 14:40
Dalaman- 14:55
Friday
Zante- 6:30
Corfu- 07:20
Bourgas- 16:45
Tenerife- 16:55
Saturday
Ibiza- 06:10
Palma- 06:45
Alicante- 13:50
Sharm El Sheikh- 13:55
Sunday
Lanzarote- 07:40
Faro- 12:20
Paphos- 16:15
Malaga- 17:55

Which isn't that bad....

 

[TheLocalYokel]

That's interesting because I thought CWL had been reduced to two based aircraft this coming summer, yet Tuesday morning shows a clear need for three.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Sorry if I'm being thick (quite a usual situation with me) but I still don't follow.

Tuesday is showing the following departures:

Palma 0650
Alicante 0700
Reus 0805

That appears to be three aircraft needed for that early morning clutch of departures.

 

[Em0866]

I think usually (on past years) they have used the 752, but don't know this year. Somebody must know though

 

[Aviador]

In the days of Inter European, they used 737-300 aircraft to operate flights to Corfu, Zakynthos, Heraklion, Larnaca, Paphos, Tenerife and Gran Canaria from Cardiff if I remember right?

 

[Em0866]

Yes they did, and then the A320s came in and 757s.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Around 1991 we travelled from Bristol to Larnaca (and back a week later) on an IEA B 737-300. I remember the flight took over four and a half hours and we made it from Bristol's lay-by without a fuel stop.

IEA of course was part of Aspro Travel, a company run by the Asprou family of Cardiff. The airline actually had a crew base at Larnaca in those days so some of the flights weren't automatic outbound from the UK - on the ground for an hour at Larnaca - then straight back to the UK. Our outbound flight was scheduled to land around teatime but the return was not timetabled to leave until late evening - I remember it was actually several hours late and we didn't get back until after breakfast.

In a roundabout way IEA is now part of Thomas Cook Airlines.

Aspro was bought by the Airtours Group and IEA was absorbed into Airtours airline which later became MyTravel, now in the Thomas Cook stable.

How long before Tui and Thomas Cook merge? :crazy: or am I?

 

[Aviador]

I loved the Inter European livery with it's black, orange, yellow and red stripes (I think) I remember flying to Zakynthos on one of their Boeing 757-200s. Ah happy days. :smile:

 

[Em0866]

I remember they used to fly to other Greek destinations too from CWL , but on a fortnightly basis like Skiathos and Kavala for one or two summer seasons. That's what I liked about them in that they would go to the then lesser known Greek destinations from your local airport (and BRS as well I think). I believe before they were taken over they were going to try Cancun and Acapulco from CWL/BRS, but it never happened

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Em,

IEA certainly did operate a few routes from CWL, picking up at BRS en route, and calling at both airports on the reverse sector. I remember my son and his wife flew to Corfu from Bristol in the early 90s on an IEA 320 that had just hopped across the Severn part loaded.

In fact, he hadn't been married long and my wife and I were there with his inlaws to seem them off. The 320 had a tech problem at BRS that delayed its journey on to CFU and my son's mother-in-law was in a state of panic about it all.

You've also reminded me that IEA did announce a transatlantic route from BRS. I cannot remember the destination now but note your memory is better than mine. I didn't know about CWL but that is more likely given it was IEA's main base and the runway there is more suited. Perhaps the Bristol route would have gone via Cardiff.

They were a good local airline but unfortunately went the way of the likes of Cambrian, Airways International Cymru and Air Wales. Let's hope FFB does get off the ground and stays for a long time.

 

[Em0866]

Cheers Local. My memory for some things is really good. I remember getting an Aspro brochure for the following summer (1st edition) stating that it was Mexico from CWL and BRS.....I suspect it was the same flight. There was also another flight planned with Inasun to Mexico planned for the same year as well with Air Europe. They already flew from CWL to MCO (before SFB was used). They had a weekly flight and 2 fortnightly flights as well if memory serves

I share your belief that FFB gets off the ground and stays with us longer that the previous airlines

 

[Em0866]

Lets not write off S10 yet, anything can happen between now and then. S09 hasn't started yet, lets be a bit more positive. Anything can happen between now and then so lets not write them off just yet.

On your point camparing TCX amd TOM, I have flown with both. For me TOM has the edge with TCX a close second. Miles better than AIH were though

 

[TheLocalYokel]

planenut,

Neither TOM, FCA nor XL have flown a winter charter from BRS to Palma for a number of years. In fact, no-one has.

Majorca passengers have to rely on easyJet and this winter their rotations (never daily in winter) have been reduced even more.

Furthermore, BRS gets no ALC winter charters and only a weekly Malaga charter at the beginning and end of each winter which is now a TOM one (formerly FCA). This situation has obtained for a number of years in winter so CWL may not be as badly off as it might seem, in comparison.

For ALC and AGP, BRS passengers have to rely on easyJet in winter. The Big Orange has always flown double daily to both summer and winter UNTIL this winter when some days there was no rotation at all. Perhaps that's why Ryanair is starting a daily ALC later this summer.

I also note that this winter CWL has had more charters to TFS and LPA, reversing a situation of recent years where BRS had twice as many charters to those Canary islands.

I don't think it's a case of CWL being dumped by TOM for BRS. Both airports are seeing reductions. The economic situation is probably the main culprit.

 

[Aviador]

Strange as it seems PMI is a weak route from most UK airports in the winter months despite it's summer popularity. I'd have to say that this is mostly down to the weather there during the winter months, infact it has been known to snow in past.

 

[Em0866]

I won't count my chickens yet, we are on the doorstep of S09 so don't jump the gun just yet. As for Mexico, given the current situation on swine flu maybe they are waiting to see how it pans out

 

[TheLocalYokel]

We are in uncharted territory right across the aviation scene what with the worst world economic situation for three-quarters of a century and now the stirrings of what might be a world-wide pandemic or might (let's all hope) turn out to be something far less serious.

All the Mexico flights have been temporarily axed, including the Bristol to Cancun route, ostensibly until early May, but who would bet on these flights resuming that quickly? Let's hope they do because it would mean the swine flu is becoming much less serious, but I cannot see many holidaymakers wanting to go to Mexico in the present circumstances.

The Florida summer 2010 flights that have been released may not be the full list although at the moment the list does include Bristol to Sanford, so whether that makes a CWL route less likely is hard to tell.

Although Bristol is my nearest airport and I like to support it I have to confess I am perplexed why Tui ditched their CWL Florida operations and kept on the Bristol one, which is a relatively new initiative anyway.

Cardiff's Florida flights were well supported, not just the Thomson ones, whilst to be honest Florida is not the sort of destination that is as popular this side of the Severn. Passenger figures aready show that. Furthermore, outbound flights from BRS almost always have to make a tech stop to take on more fuel (usually at MAN) before setting off across the Atlantic.

Some people say the First Choice executives within the Tui Group have a bigger say in such matters and are more disposed towards BRS whilst others maintain the transatlantic charters from BRS are being worked up to await the B 787 that, according to Boeing, will be able operate non-stop without payload penalty.

I don't know the truth but it does seem odd that a proven route such as that from CWL to Florida has been axed this summer.

 

[Em0866]

Thanks Local, it baffles me why there are no Florida flights from CWL this year, given that they've been flying from CWL to SFB and before that MCO, for years. The only transatlantic flights from CWL these days are the cruise flights to Barbados and such like during the winter. Seeing that these flights are usually full to capacity I wonder whether they could have a fortnightly service to the Caribbean throughout the winter. Perhaps when there's a turn in the economic climate we may see some new additions. We can hope!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Since my last post I note a poster in the Dried Plum, who used to be employed at BRS by First Choice and who has recently been working in the travel trade away from the airport, is saying that there will be no Tui flights to Florida or Mexico from CWL in summer 2010.

If that is so then there might be a chance that someone else will step in, especially if the recession begins to ease. World stock markets over the past two days are giving some tiny hope that the end of the dark economic tunnel may be sight (stock markets of course tend to anticipate movement in economies several months in advance) so perhaps summer 2010 might be a better time for aviation than currently seems the case.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The BRS-SFB (B767-300ER) will now operate non-stop in both directions.

Perhaps that has a bearing on TOM's decision to retain the operation at BRS.

Will be interesting to see if the aircraft can really operate non-stop for the entire season, especially if the weather is hot and the winds are out of the east.

 

[Aviador]

Monistir and Antalya

That seems to be the way to go. Thomas Cook seem to be adding the same destinations from other airports as well.

It's a good line up and it's far better than the Thomson offering from here in Leeds.