Helvetic Airways

[TheLocalYokel]

I take your point about disappointing support for the route, alphagolf, but I said from the outset that starting to run this route through BRS in the midst of winter with about three weeks notice and, so far as I can see, very little advertising apart from the airport's and airline's websites was always going to be a big ask.

Having run CWL right through summer 2011 it will be a shame if they don't give BRS/CWL combined a go this summer.

Suggestions on the Welsh forums are that the double drop should be Cardiff and Belfast or even a mainland European destination rather than Bristol.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Summer 2012

Helvetic announced today that it will operate the CWL-Zurich route in summer 2012.

There wiill be three weekly rotations as opposed to four in summer 2011 and the route will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays leaving Zurich late morning and arriving back at teatime.

The service will perpetuate the practice introduced in December last year of calling at Bristol in both directions.

It's reported on another forum that 15 Viva! Business Class seats will be offered on each flight, reducing the overall seating capacity to 85. Furthermore, it's also being reported that the allocation of the 85 seats will be 50 for BRS and 35 for CWL.

There are some who complain about the Bristol stop but I suspect that without it there would be no Helvetic route to CWL at all this coming summer.

 

[Aviador]

They're a determined bunch what more can I say other than it has to be seen as excellent news for both Cardiff and Bristol airports.

 

[Em0866]

It is great that they are continuing this route from CWL and if they have to do it via Bristol then so be it. What I don't understand it why it is Zurich-BRS-CWL-BRS-Zurich when it could be Zurich-BRS-CWL-Zurich. Am I missing something here?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It is great that they are continuing this route from CWL and if they have to do it via Bristol then so be it. What I don't understand it why it is Zurich-BRS-CWL-BRS-Zurich when it could be Zurich-BRS-CWL-Zurich. Am I missing something here?

I thought that too.

Some years ago one of the daily KLM Cityhoppers routed that way (AMS-BRS-CWL-AMS) and five or six years ago a First Choice Malaga charter in spring routed BRS-AGP-CWL-BRS for several weeks.

In the past airlines such as Cambrian, Airways Cymru and Intereuropean (all Welsh airlines, or at least originally) as well as Dan Air and others regularly 'double dropped' at BRS and CWL in their routings, though this often meant doing what Helvetic is doing and visiting the intermediate airport, whether BRS or CWL, in both directions.

I always thought that Air Wales missed a trick by not doing this. Some of the routes from CWL that didn't work in themselves were not served from BRS at the time and might have done so had they included a BRS stop, though I realise that double drops can incur extra cost.

To get back on topic, I sense that there is optimism that the Helvetic continuation of involving Bristol will succeed. BRS or CWL may not have worked on their own - not least because Helvetic is not a well-known name in the area - but linking them is good sense in my view.

 

[big g]

I think it could be to do with them offering a direct flight to ZRH from BRS as it looks more attractive to business in the area, I guess as the loads from CWL were low they don't see it affecting the client base they currently have from CWL.

 

[Em0866]

Thanks for the insight. It just seems daft to me though, then again that's just my opinion. Those in the know have a better idea of things than I do. At least they are still present at both CWL and BRS, it's better than nothing

 

[TheLocalYokel]

January 2012

CAA stats now available for the first full month of the extended route - the inclusion of BRS in both directions.

477 passengers travelled between Zurich and Bristol with 251 travelling between Zurich and Cardiff. This is a total of 728 travelling between Zurich and Severnside.

Not fantastic figures but January is invariably a poor month for UK air travel and there are certainly signs for optimism.

 

[Aviador]

I know this information wont be available anywhere but it would be interesting to know how many of the passengers have been using the flight to go skiing. The airline has done everything to keep this route going, I really hope it pays off for them after all their hard word and persistence.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I know this information wont be available anywhere but it would be interesting to know how many of the passengers have been using the flight to go skiing.

When the route was CWL only it was said that the majority of passengers were Swiss-emanating.

BRS has a phenomenally busy ski programme and has had for many years. This year there are 14 weekly ski charters and about 35 scheduled weekly flights to ski destinations with 18 each week to Geneva alone by easyJet.

It's true that Zurich Airport does not feature in Bristol's ski programme so might attract a some skiers who want to try slopes nearer ZRH but I would think that most pasengers are business orientated at this time of the year.

CWL has no ski flights this winter so some people might well be using Helvetic for the slopes.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Helvetic between Zurich and Cardiff February 2012

CAA stats how that 330 people flew the route in February plus 611 between Bristol and Zurich.

The combined total of 941 was up from 728 in January with the ratio of 'Bristol' passengers to 'Cardiff' passengers roughly in similar proportions in the two months under review.

If the route can build steadily I see no reason why the combined monthly load factor can't get up to around 75% later in the summer.

The February total would need to rise by about 77% to reach a 75% load factor - up from 36 to 64. The Helvetic F100s on the route are now 85-seaters following the launch of the business class programme.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

2012 to date Zurich-Bristol-Cardiff

The first full four months of the 3 x weekly Helvetic route to CWL taking in BRS both ways en route have seen the following loads on the 85-seat F100 (business section reduces the normal 100-seat capacity).

I've shown the monthly passenger loads in three columns, on the left between BRS and ZRH, in the middle betwen CWL and ZRH, and on the right the combined load.

January 477 251 728

February 611 330 941

March 554 285 839

April 639 345 984

The April figure gives an average combined load of just under 38/load factor of just over 44.5%.

The winter and early spring have revealed a pattern of passenger numbers roughly 2:1 in BRS's favour which is probably not a surprise given the make-up and size of the respective catchments. It will be interesting to see if summer alters this load balance in any way.

It would also be fascinating to learn how the progress to date of the combined route, plus forward bookings, relates to the airline's business plan for it, not that we shall ever know.

 

[alphagolf]

Had a look at the Helvetic Airways website today and noticed that the booking engine now includes flights up to January 2013.

Unfortunately there is no sign of Bristol or Cardiff in the flight schedule after October 2012, it maybe a case that they want to see how the summer pans out but not looking good at this stage! :sad:

alphagolf

 

[Aviador]

One thing is for sure and that's nobody can say they didn't try with this route. I would say Helvetic have given the route long enough to know whether it will ever make money, certainly from Cardiff at least.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Helvetic is showing only flights between ZRH and BRS this coming winter. It looks as though CWL may have been dropped.

June figures for ZRH were BRS 829 and CWL 402 - a combined load factor of 55%.

This year the monthly totals are - left to right: BRS CWL Combined:

January 477 251 728

February 611 330 941

March 554 285 839

April 639 345 984

May 707 387 1094

June 829 402 1231

In 2011 when the route was CWL-ZRH with no BRS stop the best month for passenger figures was July when 1131 were carried. In June 2011 773 passengers travelled. It must be remembered though that last year it operated 4 x weekly whereas the combined route this year operates 3 x weekly.

1231 against 773 is progress especially in view of the reduced weekly rotations this year (though the additional costs of a double drop must be factored in of course) but CWL actually performed worse this June than last, even taking into account the fewer rotations, with the route mainly driven by BRS, as has been the case all year.

This might be regarded as a microcosm of the way niche routes are handled by airlines on Severnside.

Some wouldn't work on their own from either BRS or CWL but BRS usually needs less 'top-up' than CWL, hence the reason why airlines tend to plump for it over its Severnside rival.

BRS will now need some of those passengers who have been travelling/would have travelled in the future between ZRH and CWL to use BRS instead, as well as increasing the numbers from its own primary catchment, if the route is to stand a chance of permanently succeeding from there.

In hindsight, it might be thought surprising that Helvetic opted for CWL in the first place. There was certainly evidence of business and leisure connectivity between Wales and Switzerland and the route did not suffer from a lack of governmental publicity in its early days in Wales.

However, it's not been supported in Wales anywhere near as well as was hoped, and even expected in some quarters, with the result that yet another much-needed route seems to have bitten the dust.

So far as I know it's not been officially axed this winter but then how many airlines make a big noise when they cease to fly a route? Routes are usually quietly discontinued though the Wales media may have something to say about this one if it is to disappear.

The hard-working CWL team must be frustrated beyond measure.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

July 2012

CAA stats show the loads continue to build though one would hope so in the main summer months.

In July 986 passengers flew between BRS and ZRH and 536 between CWL and ZRH, giving a total of 1522. This gives an overall load factor of 69% and is slowly reaching the sort of load factor I mentioned in my post in March this year - see quote.

If the route can build steadily I see no reason why the combined monthly load factor can't get up to around 75% later in the summer.

The monthly passenger figures this year are (BRS, CWL, Total):

January 477 251 728

February 611 330 941

March 554 285 839

April 639 345 984

May 707 387 1094

June 829 402 1231

July 986 536 1522

The CWL sector increased by over 33% compared with June whilst the BRS sector increased by 19%. The combined load increased by 24%.

 

[Aviador]

Just had a look at the Helvetic Airways website and there is still no sign of flights from Cardiff Airport (CWL) in the booking engine. Where as Bristol Airport (BRS) is still showing until the end of March 2013.

It will be sad if they can't manage to keep the route going from Cardiff but nobody can say they didn't give it long enough to work. I imagine the airline will be taking a chance that many of the passengers that would have used flights from Cardiff will now cross the Severn to fly.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

CWL-ZRH - September 2012

CAA stats show that 388 passenger travelled between CWL and ZRH in the month, with an additional 930 between BRS and ZRH.

I've updated the monthly list (below) with from left to right BRS monthly figures, CWL monthly figures, the joint total monthly figures (in bold).

I've also added the BRS percentage - to the nearest whole number - of the total load each month and the results are remarkably similar month after month at around 65%.

January 477 251 728 65%

February 611 330 941 65%

March 554 285 839 66%

April 639 345 984 65%

May 707 387 1094 65%

June 829 402 1231 67%

July 986 536 1522 65%

August 903 612 1515 60%

September 930 388 1318 70%

The best two months saw a joint load factor of around 69%.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Final flight

The final Cardiff to Zurich via Bristol flight operated last Friday and the service continues this winter as ZRH-BRS-ZRH only.

Reports emanating from the Wales Government suggest that the CWL leg might be brought back next summer though at present all traces of CWL have been removed from the Helvetic website.

It may be all be down to persuading a sufficient number of tour companies to take seats on the route.

 

[Em0866]

I hope it does come back and that they can get some tour operators on both sides to get some of those available seats. I guess we'll have to wait it out and watch this space.