Route Development & Rumours

[Aviador]

Potential Routes

Potential Routes or maybe just a wish list.

Where do you think Leeds Bradford airport should be looking to go within the capabilities of it's catchment area?

To start the thread off, A few years ago the defunct Airline Knight Air operated the route between Leeds & Cardiff. The aviation industry has changed tromendously since then and I think the route would be more successful these days. The obvious operator would be Flybe?

What are your thoughts about operating this route and other potential routes that have either been operated before or new routes altogether.

What other International routes do people think would work from LBA scheduled or charter?

 

[yorkshire]

Re: Potential Routes

I would like to see Canada back on again(Wardair if there still on the go) and Florida would be good.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Potential Routes

Wardair went under many years ago, such a shame. I remember as a child going to the hill opposite the airport to watch the Wardair come and go. The 747 was such a fantastic sight to see at LBA.

Wardair landing on runway 32 at Leeds

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Potential Routes

Great picture, brings back some memories.

Wardair used to operate to Toronto from Cardiff in this neck of the woods, the B 747 is too big for Bristol.

Well Bristol Lulsgate anyway. The A 380 can get in at Bristol Filton and has visited several times................but that's another story.

 

[White Heather]

Re: Potential Routes

I would like someone else to take over the ex Jet2 routes to Madrid and Valencia, both of which seemed to do well enough to justify their existence. Ideally we need Copenhagen back again and I also think Frankfurt, and Munich in Germany. Hopefully we will get flights back to Cork before too long too.

On the holiday front I would like to see someone operating to Funchal, Madeira, a route served byAstreus a couple of years ago, and I agree that Jet2 should operate to Corfu. I can't see why they have restricted this to Newcastle again this summer. One charter a week doesn't seem enough from LBA, especially with so many tour operators having a seat allocation on it. Surely there would be sufficient demand for a split loader from LBA, part low cost, part Jet2 holidays, and part other IT operators?

 

[Bigman]

Re: Potential Routes

Cardiff would be nice. 2 x DH8/4 flights = 156 seats. That would be less seats than a single Cross Country Voyager unit.

Funchal would be nice. Madrid would be even better.

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: Potential Routes

Hi.

Funchal would be a nice route to add to are charter flight destinations. I wonder if Thomas Cook might take a look at this in the future if they decided to expand even more for summer 2010 season??

Then there is Orlando that might happen hopefully one day when some operator decides to bring a Boeing 787 Dreamliner into LBA.

On the Scheduled front, Well where do I start? I’d love to see somebody restart direct flights somewhere in London sooner rather than later. (Well before the bmi Heathrow route stops.) Then there are the Cork, Copenhagen, Madrid routes that have been lost within the last year along with the long lost Toronto route.

And to finish off how about a new Frankfurt service.
I’m not too picky I’m I?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Potential Routes

Aviador posed a similar question in the Cardiff message board and I responded that CWL-LBA ought to work but pointed out that CWL-MAN has been tried by more than one operator with WOW the last at 2 x weekdaily, fewer at weekends, but that like the previous operators' services was withdrawn because it was said not to be profitable.

In fact, the route was Newquay-Cardiff-Manchester-Cardiff-Newquay x 2.

I make this point because the LBA-Bristol route is not breathtaking in load terms on a 50-seat DH 8-300 twice a day (it's probably all right but we don't know how much WOW is making from it of course), and the route enables through journeys to Plymouth and Newquay, sometimes with a change of aircraft en route but WOW seem to have this down to a fine art, which may make the route worth doing.

Any CWL-LBA route ought to be 2 x daily on weekdays for business passengers. Would a single daily be a goer, especially on a Q 400? That size aircraft would surely be too big for 2 x daily, unless Flybe revamp their routes and decide on something like EXT-CWL-LBA-CWL-EXT.

I note that Funchal has been mentioned. Would Jet2 be interested? easyJet operates to Madeira from Bristol and it seems to have done for the TOM charter route, a route of over twenty years' standing, although it was a First Choice route before they became part of Tui.

When the economy returns to something like normality (when!) a New York route ought to be near the top of most people's reasonable wish list. Jet2's experiment last autumn/winter might encourage them to go fulltime when things pick up in the world.

I know from experience that if a route is a possibility there are none better than John Parkin and Tony Hallwood at persuading a carrier to fly it.

What they did for Bristol they will do for LBA, so long as the owners let them. At Bristol it is fairly common knowledge that they were allowed to negotiate some interesting agreements with carriers to get their services.

 

[lbia]

Re: Potential Routes

My two cents ...

Firstly, bmi isnt going to be at LBA for long so ....

Ryanair - Madrid, Marseille, Turin, Reus, Stockholm, Berlin, Hamburg.

FlyBe - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gatwick, Rennes, Cardiff, Cork, Copenhagen.

Brussels Airlines - Brussels .

Lufthansa - Frankfurt.

PIA - Lahore.

Thomas Cook - Madeira, Sharm El Eheikh year round, Toronto, Florida.

Thomson - Anything.

Jet2 - I think they have taken over the world already.

 

[yorkshire]

Re: Potential Routes

Why not a route to India, i would have thought there was a large indian community around the bradford/keighley area.

 

[Bigman]

Re: Potential Routes

What you have to remember about MAN-CWL is that there is an hourly train service to compete with. There are no trains at all from Leeds to Cardiff. This in my book makes LBA-CWL a far more viable prospect.

As far as India goes, I wook like to see a Leeds-Sharm-Goa service. Another very popular long haul route, which could be doubled up with the existing Sharm service, which is just about the right place for a splash and dash in any case. Similarly, I would like to see Florida, maybe via Toronto.

 

[White Heather]

Re: Potential Routes

I forgot to mention Dubai last time.

Right now anything would be good as it is awfully quiet and in only 3 weeks time we lose Heathrow. It is beginning to look as though there will not be a London route in place in time and for a while at least National Express East Coast will be rubbing their hands at the thought of some extra passengers heading South.

 

[bobleeds]

Re: Potential Routes

"at least National Express East Coast will be rubbing their hands at the thought of some extra passengers heading South."

They now have a virtual monopoly of coach and rail services. I think we will see the fares rising and some of the less productive train services being cut within the next 6 months.

 

[Bigman]

Re: Potential Routes

Not just NXEC. What about Grand Central who start to LKX from Interchange later this year.

 

[drpiruthivi]

Re: Potential Routes

On different note, why cant AF/KLM start a city hopper route LBA-CDG-or move one of the KL roatations to CDG. It should open up lots of longhaul. Sorry if it has been discussed already.

 

[backtrack]

Re: Potential Routes

Possibility for the future id say. As im sure you're aware, LBA currently doesnt offer many long haul flights.

 

[WYIA]

Re: Potential Routes

LM cityhopper, operates from AMS to various outstations back into AMS only... no other destinations. Unless the AC is on a charter contract.

They will not put on a LBA-CDG, AF/KL Group would use AF Regional or Airlinair subsid to operate this kind of route, Cityjet perhaps. Why on earth would they use a FK70 from a Holland based airline to fly from LBA to CDG? Come on guys.

 

[WYIA]

Re: Potential Routes

I did not say a route exchange was far fetched. I was pointing out that a FK70 of KLM cityhopper operating from LBA to CDG.... was indeed far fetched.

Its like saying lets see if Air France come in and operate a LBA-AMS, Lufthansa come do a LBA-MAD & why not get SAS in to do a LBA-LIS. Its just pretty unrealistic talk really isnt it.

Like i said, if in future AF/KL group do look at LBA-CDG they will use either Cityjet, Airlinair, Regional or Britair. A french subsid to operate on a french route. The regional carriers of both KL & AF are indeed part of a group but are seperate brands completely working in very different ways.

In terms of route exchanges on regional networks, since AF/KL took ownership of VLM & Denim - the LCY-AMS route has gone to Cityjet on the RJ as the F50 of KLC's are leaving and the route deserved a jet. Eindhoven and Rotterdam routes have gone to VLM and Cityhopper now concentrates on the AMS hub.

In closing anyway, further to my recent post regarding the VLM F50 in Cityjet scheme, AF/KL group confirmed that VLM will be merged into Cityjet.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Potential Routes

I know that there is the argument about diluting traffic on existing routes but is it completely inconceivable that we won't see Air France through one of its subsidiaries flying LBA-CDG alongside KLM on LBA-AMS?

They do it at Bristol - 3 x daily KLM F 70s to AMS and 3 x daily AF (Airlinair) ATR 72s to CDG.

LBA and BRS are very similar airports in so many ways.

 

[White Heather]

Re: Potential Routes

I certainly hope so, because the winter offering on this route from Jet2 is simply not good enough. We need a proper service geared up to the needs of the business flyer as well as the leisure traveller, and once a day is pretty hopeless.