Archive Route Development & Rumours

[Jerry]

That's excellent but the landing pages of the web site itself are so weighted toward London I'm suprised anybody gets beyind the M25.

Because in the end London is the biggest tourist attraction that the UK have. Yes the rest of the UK has a lot to offer tourism wise but for many tourists a lot of the attractions they want to see are in London so hence they will get promoted a lot.

 

[David_itl]

Another Thailand related event going on this week. You do wonder if these events are going to run into an actual route to Bangkok as it's certainly one way to get a destination in people's minds
https://www.visitmanchester.com/whats-on/manchester-thai-festival-p342611

 

[Dobbo]

I'd be amazed if we don't see someone on the route in the next 2-3 years.

If not TG (hinted they may be thinking when they sponsored a similar event last year) then a TCX or Norwegian.

 

[Aceshigh]

Because in the end London is the biggest tourist attraction that the UK have. Yes the rest of the UK has a lot to offer tourism wise but for many tourists a lot of the attractions they want to see are in London so hence they will get promoted a lot.

But one point of advertising is to promote a new product or offer opportunity not regurgitate the same old message under EVERY banner page ad nauseum?

The problem with the Visit Britain website is the emphasis on London. You have to ALREADY know and want to travel to places outside London to use it effectively.

It is not a marketing tool for UK plc but a self fulfilling propoganda machine for London.

AND it's paid for by the taxpayer !

ie all of us in the UK.

I do realise London is the jewel in the Crown of international tourism and i'm not suggesting we spray images of Prestatyn or Durdle Dor on every page BUT spoon feeding every visitor under ever sub page to London does get a bit waring !

 

[User001]

Scoot are close to announcing SIN-BOM-MAN and SIN-DEL-MAN.

Flights could begin as early as 2018 but likely to be 2019 as awaiting the last bit of the bilateral to be updated (the SIN-India part).

Both flights are to be 3 weekly each on alternative days, and will use the B787. The SQ51/52 will remain unaffected.

 

[ethanegcc]

It would be great to have them in 2018, just to boost the long-haul growth. Can't wait to see if this rumour comes to fruition.

 

[IanFarquharson]

I would read this as Scoot replacing SQ as they say ''Scoot favours flights to Manchester over London to avoid luring customers from its parent company, Singapore Airlines''

The low-cost long-haul revolution is expected to touch down in India next year with no-frills carrier Scoot aiming to launch non-stop flights from Europe to cities including Mumbai and Delhi for around £150.

The budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines says it hopes to start flights between India and Europe using its so-called "fifth freedom" privilege, which allows airlines to carry passengers between two foreign countries as a part of services that connect with their home country.

"Since we have fifth freedom, we can operate direct flights from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata to destinations like Copenhagen, Vienna, Cairo and Manchester," Bharath Mahadevan, head of the airline’s operations in the country, told the Times Of India.

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"A return trip to Europe would cost around Rs 26,000," he added.

Scoot could become the first low-cost airline to fly from Britain to India Credit: 2012 SCOOT/Handout
That equates to just over £310 – a significant saving on the best fare currently available. According to the flight comparison website Skyscanner, the cheapest return flight from Britain to Mumbai during October with set you back a shade less than £400. Scoot’s proposed prices look even better value when you consider that they will include a 20kg checked bag and a meal.

The Indian town of Rishikesh Credit: GETTY
The airline's operations are currently focused in the Far East and Australia, while its route map features Sydney, Melbourne, Manila, Bangkok and Hong Kong. It does, however, offer direct flights from Singapore to Athens, with prices from around £350 return.


Scoot favours flights to Manchester over London to avoid luring customers from its parent company, Singapore Airlines. But budget travellers in the capital could soon have their own low-cost options for trips to India. SpiceJet and IndiGo, the nation’s two biggest no-frills airlines, are reportedly planning direct routes to Gatwick, while low-cost trailblazer Norwegian has also been talking up the prospect of flights to India since 2015 – so far without results.

SpiceJet in particular has very ambitious plans for expansion. While its route map doesn’t currently extend far beyond India (Dhaka, Malé, Muscat, Colombo, Bangkok and Dubai are among its international destinations), in June it announced a massive order for 100 Boeing aircraft (it currently has a fleet of 55 planes), earning it praise from none other than Donald Trump, who thanked it for safeguarding US jobs.

SpiceJet is also hoping to launch flights to the UK
It marked quite a turnaround for SpiceJet. In December 2014 the airline was on the brink of collapse following five consecutive years in the red. It was even forced to cancel more than 2,000 flights because it hadn’t paid its bills and oil companies were refusing to refuel its planes. Since that nadir, however, its stock has risen more than 800 per cent, giving it a market value of $1.2 billion (£0.9bn). According to Bloomberg, no airline on the planet is performing so strongly.


The potential for growth in India really is staggering. The country’s population stands at at more than 1.32 billion, and it is projected to overtake China (which has 1.38 billion residents) by 2022. Airlines have been rushing to cater to its growing middle class, and a clutch of carriers have been established in the last decade or so. The most successful has been IndiGo, which in 11 years has gone from start-up to low-cost behemoth, with 138 jets, 46 destinations and more than 41 million annual passengers.

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[User001]

I've been told directly by SQ that these Scoot flights are in addition to the SQ51/52 and not a replacement. These flights are primarily about MAN-India and SIN-India rather than SIN-MAN.

 

[IanFarquharson]

Someone on my BHX group has also said Scoot is definetly on for MAN and also another airline from the Far East is close to annoucing a new MAN route.

 

[IanFarquharson]

Someone on my BHX group has also said Scoot is definetly on for MAN and also another airline from the Far East is close to annoucing a new MAN route.

I just hope Scoot can overcome the red tape in India ?

 

[User001]

I think I know who the other Far East airline is, MAN have been in discussion with them for a long time and it is a growing market, let's just hope the turmoil in this particular country doesn't put paid to the route.

In terms of Scoot and India I agree, BHX in particular knows how much the red tape can be a pain in the preverbial!

 

[ethanegcc]

I hope we can see Scoot soon. It certainly sounds like they are making progress on the bilateral, with their Indian spokesperson making positive sounds. As long as it doesn't come at the cost of Singapore, and I'm pleased to see User's assurances.

For the Far East route, I would say Asiana to Seoul. I really hope we can get another BIG route in the bag soon. Any of these would do!

 

[IanFarquharson]

I am off to Seoul (unless something kicks off) next month so I will have a word !

 

[User001]

I am off to Seoul (unless something kicks off) next month so I will have a word !

Wonderful place South Korea. Been a few times and particularly liked the skiing in Phoenix park, about 2 hours out of Seoul.

 

[User001]

Also, it's worth pointing out that Scoot are being a bit, shall we say, loose with the truth about London.

They say it's because they don't want to dilute their SQ loads, when in fact, it's because they are not allowed to fly India-London under the current bilateral, and that situation is unlikely to change anytime soon.

So, it's not that they don't want to fly India-London, it's because they can't.

 

[7griffinjack]

Regarding a long awaited route to Bangkok and thinking a little bit outside the box - how about Qantas flying MAN -BKK - SYD? With the development of their upcoming London - Perth flights as well as the change back to Singapore via Dubai and ambitions for nonstop London - Sydney, could this be a nice addition to their UK - Australia network?

This could be an extension of their existing daily Sydney - Bangkok service. Through traffic could be catered for but SYD - BKK and MAN - BKK could be the main traffic flows on the route. BKK has previously been used as a stop on many UK - Australia flights by Qantas in the past.

Might be an unlikely suggestion, especially for the immediate future but it would be a nice route to have and finally fulfil the goal of direct flights to BKK!

 

[Aceshigh]

Would Air India not object to Scoot especially if it scuppers a Birmingham service?

Given Indian families travel "in numbers" , there would be significantly savings using a new Manchester service.

 

[Dobbo]

Its great to see and hear positive noises in various places about new routes to the Indian subcontinent and the far east.

MAN has an India shaped hole for some time and it now seems as though Scoot and Jet are in the mix. I hope we don't see a VS/TCX SFO scenario which may yet end in disappointment for all parties. I don't think SQ want to undercut SQ51/52. As things stand, the MAN-SIN sector in particular is strong and should be able to withstand another one stop competitor to SIN (it competes with the MEB4 for this as well).

As regards the new far east route, I am cautiously optimistic, albeit the news from HU (4 > 3 weekly in W18) is a slight concern and something to keep an eye on.

 

[Dobbo]

Regarding a long awaited route to Bangkok and thinking a little bit outside the box - how about Qantas flying MAN -BKK - SYD? With the development of their upcoming London - Perth flights as well as the change back to Singapore via Dubai and ambitions for nonstop London - Sydney, could this be a nice addition to their UK - Australia network?

This could be an extension of their existing daily Sydney - Bangkok service. Through traffic could be catered for but SYD - BKK and MAN - BKK could be the main traffic flows on the route. BKK has previously been used as a stop on many UK - Australia flights by Qantas in the past.

Might be an unlikely suggestion, especially for the immediate future but it would be a nice route to have and finally fulfil the goal of direct flights to BKK!

I don't expect to see QF colours back at MAN any time soon, but their recent change of emphasis towards EK means it is much more likely now than a couple of years ago. The renewed QF/EK deal has about 5 years to run, and I'm not expecting anything before then.

 

[Dobbo]

I am off to Seoul (unless something kicks off) next month so I will have a word !

Keep your head down Ian, and thanks in advance for any intel!