The new 6 x weekly bmi regional Hannover, Munich and Milan Malpensa routes commenced today with Frankfurt going double daily from today as well.
 
The forward coaching lounge that easy jet use in the mornings has now been transformed in to a dedicated bmi boarding lounge, it's been painted in the airlines colours and has art work of the destinations and aircraft around the room.
It has a nice feel about it like the dedicated boarding gates in the US airport.
 
According to both the BRS website and Ceefax the morning FRA did not operate today, or at least neither the departure nor the arrival was shown.

Can anyone confirm its failure to operate and, if so, the reason?

When the publicity blurbs first came out it was said that FRA (and HAM) would operate 12 x weekly from May but it seems they operate 11 x weekly - double daily on Mon to Fri and single daily on Sunday.
 
May 2013

CAA stats now out for the month in which all six bmi regional routes from BRS operated, albeit some did not start until 13 May. I've taken it that all advertised rotations operated.

Hannover and Hamburg are on 37-seat E135, remainder on 49-seat E145.

Frankfurt 1573 passengers, ave load 19.2, load factor 39.2%

Hamburg 1407 passengers, ave load 14.7, load factor 39.7%

Hannover 458 passengers, ave load 13.5, load factor 36.4%

Munich 766 passengers, ave load 22.5, load factor 45.9%

Milan Malpensa 672 passengers, ave load 19.8, load factor 40.4%

Aberdeen 2926 passengers, ave load 30.5, load factor 62.2%

Nothing very satisfying about these figures although Hannover, Munich and Milan only commenced on 13 May so can't be properly judged yet.

Hamburg is the most disappointing on the face of things. It's been running for over three months, albeit single daily to begin with, now double daily on weekdays.

In February its average load was 18.6 and in March 17.6. To have dropped to 14.7 especially in late spring is a cause for pondering.

May was the first month in which bmi regional had the Aberdeen route to itself.
 
TheLocalYokel said:
Hamburg 1407 passengers, ave load 14.7, load factor 39.7%
(...)
Hamburg is the most disappointing on the face of things. It's been running for over three months, albeit single daily to begin with, now double daily on weekdays.

In February its average load was 18.6 and in March 17.6. To have dropped to 14.7 especially in late spring is a cause for pondering.

How does this compare to back when OLT operated double daily flights to Hamburg (using Q400s if I recall correctly)? And easyjet before that (3-4x weekly or so with A319s?)?
 
How does this compare to back when OLT operated double daily flights to Hamburg (using Q400s if I recall correctly)? And easyjet before that (3-4x weekly or so with A319s?)?

Both easyJet and OLT commenced a Hamburg route in the winter of 2005-2006.

OLT had been flying from Filton to Bremen and Hamburg as an Airbus corporate shuttle when it was switched to BRS apparently in the hope of attracting passengers from the general public as well, presumably as a means of defraying costs.

easyJet then announced a 6 x weekly (no Saturdays) service to Hamburg that commenced on 1 December 2005. They made the rather extravagant claim that they expected to carry nearly 100,000 passengers in the first year.

It transpired that Hamburg was one of the few BRS easyJet routes that failed through a lack of passengers (unlike, say, Warsaw and Venice that saw bulging aircraft but the overheads were too high even then). In 2006 as a whole 51,946 passengers used the BRS-HAM route and easyJet, which probably accounted for 90% of them, axed its service at the end of October.

It typically averaged fewer than 100 passengers.

OLT, using mainly Saab 340s initially but later Saab 2000s, did a double drop to Bremen and Hamburg and soldiered on until 2009 when the Hamburg leg was dropped and until 2011 when the Bremen leg was stopped.

The route seemed capricious in terms of load split in that in 2007 over 16,000 used the Bremen leg but just over 1,500 the Hamburg leg.

In 2008 Hamburg was just ahead with 8,781 to Bremen's 7,718 whereas in 2009 Hamburg saw just 1,820 compared with 7,271 to Bremen, albeit HAM had ceased during that year.

Because the load was double drop (at up to 9 x weekly, although this reduced towards the end of the Bremen-only tenure) its combined loads were probably not far removed from the 15-22 currently seen by bmi regional (except for the ABZ), although the individual legs saw fewer than bmi regional.

I was at BRS, probably in 2010, when I saw just one passenger alight from the afternoon OLT Saab 2000 from Bremen.

Incidentally, I read on another aviation site that the new bmi regional routes from Birmingham carried broadly the same sort of passenger loads in May as those from BRS, ie Gothenburg and Toulouse 22 and 16 respectively , so my previous comments ought to be read in this light.
 
As a route predominantly used by Airbus employees, OLT probably charged them £700 per ticket and had a captive market. I suspect that was the reason EZY tried to dip its toes in the sector. I am surprised that they did not make a profit from it, Were the timings not suitable for office hours?
 
I thought it might be interesting to compare with Birmingham, where the provisional stats are as follow (with rounding errors):

Code:
May 2013        BHX    BRS   BRS / BHX
Berlin        4500    7600   169%
Dusseldorf   16000       0     -
Frankfurt    22000    1600     7%
Hamburg       3000    1400    47%
Hanover       5700     500     9%
Munich       15000     800     6%
Stuttgart     3600       0     -

since it's a similar (if larger) market, and roughly the same distance to LHR, and I'm sure quite a few local people will consider Birmingham as an alternative to Bristol instead of Heathrow.

The main difference is of course that both Frankfurt and Munich (and also Dusseldorf) are served by LH/*A, with all that entails for connecting flights. I hope that's something bmi regional are working on sorting out. But then, maybe it can't be sorted out, because why would LH do something to cannibalise their own routes out of BHX and LHR?

The Dusseldorf market from BHX even seems large enough to be served by both Lufthansa and Flybe with up to 7 flights a day. Surely that's not just down to a few car manufacturers.
 
I apologise for the mass of figures below but I've set them down as a record for people to read as much or as little as they want.

I am surprised that they did not make a profit from it, Were the timings not suitable for office hours?

In summer 2006 (the main period of the short-lived easyJet Hamburg route) the flight left BRS daily except Saturdays at 1815 and arrived HAM 2100, leaving HAM at 2125 and arriving back at BRS at 2210.

easyJet's stated aim of carrying close to 100,000 per annum on this route is particularly surprising because at 90,000 annually at 6 x weekly an average load of around 140 would be needed all-year round (a load factor of about 90% on the 156-seat A319) to meet this figure.

In summer 2006 OLT's double drop to Bremen and Hamburg operated 9 x weekly (Mon to Fri only with morning and evening arrivals/departures in both directions except Mon which was morning only).

In May 2006 5,988 travelled between Bristol and Hamburg (easyJet and OLT combined figure) and 1,253 between Bristol and Bremen.

I thought it might be interesting to compare with Birmingham,

The Munich and Hannover flights from BRS were only part month of course as the routes didn't start until 13 May.

You're absolutely right about the connecting flights that LH offers. In the 13 months that LH (in the form of Eurowings) operated BRS-Frankfurt until the end of April 2009 at initially 3 x daily (21 weekly) with a 100 seat Bae 146-300, just under 100,000 passengers were carried. In May 2008 the route saw 9,441 passengers.

The route was ahead of LH's business plan, and had connected into all of LH's worldwide routes at FRA within the first six months of the operation, and is believed to have been pulled because the recession was beginning to bite and the airline was concerned about diluting its LHR and BHX operations to FRA, both of which were more mature than the BRS route.

The last full year of BACon to Germany from BRS was 2006.

In that year BACon operated to Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf, with FRA and DUS at 6 x weekly (no Sats) and MUC daily.

MUC and DUS went out at late morning and returned mid afternoon whist FRA left mid afternoon and returned mid evening. FRA and MUC had been operated by the BA franchisee since the late 1990s and FRA had been double daily for a while.

BACon operated the ERJ 145 on these routes and a comparison with the current bmi regional passenger figures is easily accomplished.

In 2006 the FRA route carried 21,315 passengers, the MUC 19,331 and the DUS 9,993 but the last-mentioned route only commenced on 1 June that year.

In May 2006 FRA saw 1,874 passengers (average load 34.7, load factor 69.4%) and MUC 1815 (average load 29.2, load factor 58.4%). Because DUS didn't commence until 1 June I've set down the passenger numbers for that month which were 1,156 (average load 21.4, load factor 42.8%) By August DUS was carrying 1,785 (average load 33, load factor 66%).

I can't remember what, if any, connection availability there was at these airports through BA, certainly nothing like those with LH especially at FRA so the BA and bmi regional comparisons are perhaps more realistic, albeit BA was and is a better known airline name than regional.

I realise I've been talking about passenger numbers and not the yields which are the important factors but it does paint something of a picture of BRS and Germany in the past decade.

The profile of an airline is important. easyJet carries around 80,000 to Berlin most years and in 2012 165,000 to Geneva (there were another 10,000 ski charter airline passengers to GVA as well) whereas the lesser-known Helvetic, although steadily improving its BRS performance still struggles to get to 50% load factor after 18 months of operation between BRS and Zurich with 9,000 passengers in 2012.
 
[textarea]Tour link helps get Bristol-Bastia service off to a flying start

New flight takes off in time for first stage of Tour de France in Corsica

A new flight from Bristol to Bastia commenced yesterday (Sunday 23 June), offering holidaymakers in the South West and Wales the chance to visit the Mediterranean island of Corsica – which hosts the ‘Grand Départ’ of the Tour de France next weekend.

To celebrate the launch of the new service, operated by bmi regional on behalf of specialist tour operator, Corsican Places, a group of local cyclists took a break from training on local roads to enjoy refreshments with passengers checking in for the weekly flight.

Cycling enthusiast, Richard McColl from Brislington in Bristol (pictured with fellow members of the Weasels Cycling Club) will be jetting off to Corsica next week to catch the action at the world’s most famous bike race – the first three stages of which will take place on the island. He commented:

“Corsica is a beautiful island with incredible beaches and great scenery. Seeing ‘Le Tour’ up close will be the icing on the cake!”

Corsican Places is offering the service for 13 weeks through to September. With a short flight time of just two and a half hours on board a comfortable 47 seater aircraft, pre-allocated seating and convenient Sunday departures, Corsica is an attractive new option for families and couples yet to book their summer break.

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“We are thrilled to see the first Corsican Places departure of the summer and, with a flight every week until September, there are still plenty of opportunities for holidaymakers from across the South West and Wales to explore the beautiful island of Corsica.”

Corsican Places have been providing holidays and flights to the island for 26 years and company’s dedicated team, both in resort and the UK, offer visitors a wealth of knowledge of the island with a choice of over 160 handpicked properties.

Accommodation options include premium villas with private pools which are characterised by their superb locations and awe-inspiring views plus rural cottages, contemporary apartments and family residences as well as hotel options ranging from the simple 2* family auberge to the best in Corsica.[/textarea]

This is a BRS press release so posted in full. The link is:
http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media-c ... astia.aspx

It's good to have Corsica back and good that bmi regional now has two weekend summer charter routes from BRS with the other being to Verona for Inghams.

A charter service to Bastia operated from 2004 until 2008 at summer weekends flown by SN Brussels with ARJ aircraft on behalf of Corsican Places (so good to see them back too), Holiday Options and Thomson at various times.

easyJet then operated a summer Bastia service in 2009 and 2010.
 
I was passing BRS this morning when I noticed three bmi regional aircraft parked at the far end of the western apron instead of the eastern apron where passengers usually board from the forward coaching lounge.

I later checked and found that the Hannover and Milan Malpensa flights didn't appear to operate today. A check with the airline's web booking engine shows the HAJ is reduced from 6 x weekly to 5 x weekly (no Tuesday as well as the original no Saturday) for the remainder of July and for August, although it seems to be back to 6 x weekly in September. The MXP remains at 6 x weekly so I don't know what happened today.

CAA stats show an improving situation over May with bmi regional's loads from/to BRS in June, viz:

Aberdeen average load 31.3 load factor 63.9% (ER4)
Frankfurt 23.9 48.8% (ER4)
Hamburg 20.4 55.1% (ER3)
Munich 24.8 50.6% (ER4)
Hannover 17.2 46.5% (ER3)
Milan Malpensa 25.6 52.2% (ER4)

I've taken it that all timetabled rotations operated except in the case of FRA, HAM and HAJ when I know that at least one rotation to each was cancelled in the month - believed for operational reasons.

Note. I didn't copy someone else's post from another aviation board because that someone is my alter ego.

Addendum 17.7.13

I've noticed that I mis-read the CAA stats on which I based the MXP figures.

In June 1281 people travelled between BRS and MXP but 144 were charter passengers meaning the bmi regional figures for the MXP route should have been:

Average load 22.7, load factor 46.4%.
 
July 2013

bmi regional's loads improved again this month, except for Hamburg. The CAA stats show the following figures:

Aberdeen (E145) 3192 passengers, average load 31.9, load factor 65.1%
Frankfurt (E145) 2662, 26.6, 54.3%
Hamburg (E135) 1845, 18.4, 49.7%
Hannover (E135) 986, 20.5, 55.4%
Munich (E145) 1560, 28.9, 59%
Milan Malpensa (E145), 1463, 27.1, 55.3%

I've based these figure on all advertised rotations actually operating.

Not bad for the first summer with some of the routes only two and a half months' old.
 
August 2013

Aberdeen (E145) 2907 passengers, average load 30.6, load factor 62.4%
Frankfurt (E145) 2232, 23.5, 48%
Hamburg (E135) 1677, 17.6, 47.5%
Hannover (E135) 1004, 22.8, 61.6%
Munich (E145) 1471, 28.3, 57.7%
Milan Malpensa (E145), 1319, 25.4, 51.8%

Apart from Hannover, which ironically was reduced from 6 x weekly to 5 x weekly for August, all load factors are slightly down on July.

I've based these figures on all advertised rotations actually operating.

The full bmi regional programme from BRS has now reported the first four month's passenger figures, albeit May was only a part month for some of the routes.

These are the load factors (%) for the six routes beginning with May and ending with August in each case.

Aberdeen 62.2, 63.9, 65.1, 62.4
Frankfurt 39.2, 48.8, 54.3, 48
Hamburg 39.7, 55.1, 49.7, 47.5
Hannover 36.4, 46.5, 55.4, 61.6
Munich 45.9, 50.6, 59, 57.7
Milan Malpensa 40.4, 52.2, 55.3, 51.8

So after May they all seem to be settlng down in the 45%-65% range. I read on another aviation site this evening that BHX's bmi regional routes seem to have the same sort of load factors.
 
Not striking passenger numbers but as it's a business operation hopefully the yields can hold on low(ish) load factors.
 
BHX's bmi regional routes seem to have the same sort of load factors

Billund, Toulouse and Gothenburg are seeing an average of 25-27 per flight giving a load factor of around 50% give or take, so not too dissimilar to BRS.
 
Looks like hannover has been dropped.

It seems to be non-bookable after early November. Originally it was shown as 5 x weekly this coming winter. It was the surprise one when the routes were announced despite it being one of Bristol's twin cities. Maybe it will be back for next summer.
 
[textarea]bmi regional wins 'Airline of the Year'

European Regions Airline Association Awards Silver Airline of the Year to Re-launched Carrier

bmi regional has won the prestigious Silver Airline of the Year award at the annual European Regions Airline Association (ERA) conference in Salzburg, Austria.

bmi regional became independent from bmi in June 2012, and established its own operational, commercial and support infrastructure within four months, and within a year launched 12 new routes across UK and Europe. This year’s judging panel – consisting of independent industry experts including former airline CEOs and aviation journalists – drew particular attention to the way bmi regional has re-launched itself as a standalone operator. Since its introduction, the ERAA Airline of the Year Award has grown to become the most widely recognised industry award in the aviation sector.

Cathal O’Connell, CEO of bmi regional, said: "Winning this award is a special honour for the airline. It is a testament to the commitment of every member of the team at bmi regional in the eighteen months since we became an independent airline: what we have achieved in the last year or so has been nothing short of incredible. The airline has demonstrated how a dedicated team can act quickly and decisively to implement the commercial and operational infrastructure necessary to create a flexible and efficient airline. I would like to personally thank the bmi regional team for all their hard work – and, of course, our customers and trade partners for their loyalty and support during this huge transition period.”

He continued: “bmi regional now has the agility of a start-up business with the heritage of a great brand, whilst continuing to deliver a quality offering to our customers across eight European countries. This award is especially meaningful for bmi regional because it comes directly from our peers in the airline business."

Commenting on the Airline of the Year award given to bmi regional, the Judging Panel said: “The airline has managed to survive and develop through a dramatic period of transformation. Their re-launch and cut-over to a stand-alone airline was effectively executed in a short timeframe. It has established itself as a reliable airline with an expanding network.”

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“We are delighted that bmi regional has been recognised and awarded Silver Airline of the year at the annual European Regions Airline Association (ERAA) conference. Since bmi regional developed an airline base at Bristol Airport they have worked hard to appeal to both business and leisure travellers and encourage additional inbound visitors to the South West and South Wales regions. This award is a demonstration of their hard work and commitment during the recent transition period”.[/textarea]

BRS press release at: http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media-c ... award.aspx

Well deserved it would seem. Passenger experience reports on such as Skytrax is universally exceptionally favourable (not just the BRS routes).
 
September 2013 figures

Aberdeen (E145) 3107 passengers, average load 33, load factor 67.3%
Frankfurt (E145) 1952, 20.8, 42.4%
Hamburg (E135) 2054, 21.8, 58.9%
Hannover (E135) 18.6, 22.8, 50.3%
Munich (E145) 1504, 28.9, 59%
Milan Malpensa (E145), 1435, 27.6, 56.3%


I've based these figures on the assumption that all advertised rotations operated.

The full bmi regional programme from BRS has now reported the first five month's passenger figures, albeit May was only a part month for some of the routes.

These are the load factors (%) for the six routes beginning with May and ending with September in each case.

Aberdeen 62.2, 63.9, 65.1, 62.4, 67.3
Frankfurt 39.2, 48.8, 54.3, 48, 42.4
Hamburg 39.7, 55.1, 49.7, 47.5, 58.9
Hannover 36.4, 46.5, 55.4, 61.6, 50.3
Munich 45.9, 50.6, 59, 57.7, 59
Milan Malpensa 40.4, 52.2, 55.3, 51.8, 56.3

Frankfurt has to be seen as something of a disappointment so far.

Five years ago Lufthansa operated the route for just over 12 months and carried nearly 100,000 passengers, averaging between 50 and 60 each month on the Bae 146-300 of Eurowings with a high percentage transferring onto LH's worldwide network. The lack of onward connections is clearly a problem for bmi regional.
 

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