SAS - Scandinavian Airlines

[lbaspotter]

Re: SAS

The new SAS route to Copenhagen Isn’t actually just been solely aimed at inbound and outbound leisure travelers. You just need to look at the current Newcastle and Humberside Airport services which have identical flight times to the Leeds/Bradford scheduled times. Even Tony Hallwood is quoted saying the following on the airports website press release today.

Regional businesses and tourism partners will also be pleased that this new direct service will offer a range of onward connections across Scandinavia to Sweden, Norway, Finland and Eastern Europe.''

Look I do agree that a 2x weekly service is not the ideal situation for a business traveler. But hopefully that won’t stop business passengers from using it instead of having to travel over the M62 to Manchester all the time. After all this is what the airport’s management want local people to stop doing.
Now if things go right and bookings/loads are good what's to say that SAS won’t look into introducing extra flights over time? If the doom mongers are right the service will be axed after 6 months.

As the saying goes, Use it, or lose it!

 

[a300boy]

Re: SAS

You can eat pretty well in the shopping malls and the little harbour area of Copenhagen for around £10 per head but beer is expensive. To eat in a proper restaurant you will need a mortgage. Tivoli World for the kids and a boat trip round the harbour making a long weekend up there great fun.

 

[cmj]

Re: SAS

The inbound on a friday could well work for business passengers returning to Leeds - there's nothing stopping them flying out from MAN and back into LBA. If the other flight was monday morning or sunday night it would fit for a business trip.

 

[White Heather]

Re: SAS

I find it slightly amusing that within 24 hours of this announcement, there are suggestions that this flight is all wrong and cannot work. SAS will have done their homework before deciding to fly from LBA, and I know for a fact that LBA certainly do, and they know the market. If the flight timings were all wrong and the flights cannot work, they would not have bothered to introduce them here, or at NCL or at HUY.

Lets just wait and see what happens from next summer rather than instantly starting to criticise. Getting a carrier like SAS into LBA for the first time ever is, in itself, no mean feat, although it is clear that SAS are wanting to expand into regional airports. If LBA can not make this work, how on Earth can HUY that has only a fraction of the catchment of LBA?

 

[LBAYORKIE]

Re: SAS

I dont see timings as an issue, just the frequency. I can't see busienss travellers flying out of MAN and back to LBA, unless they travel to MAN by Taxi or train, they will need to pick up their cars!

Copenhagen is a capital city, so is generally expensive. Restaurants are expensive, as are hotels. Alcohol is only expensive if its bought in a restaurant, supermarket prices are same as over here.

I hope SAS have done their homework, because I struggle to see what they are trying to achieve/prove with only the two flights. As I said before they are really limiting the services appeal by only having two flights.

 

[White Heather]

Re: SAS

I would say they are trying to achieve lots of people taking weekend breaks, at both ends of the route. It is clearly not specifically targetted at business pax with only the two flights. They require not only daily flights but generally at least 2 flights a day to give them the flexibility of a day return without having to stay over. However, if this is successful and SAS are happy, who is to say they won't expand and save the Yorkshire business folk from having to trail over to MAN to catch their flights from there. It is a foot in the door and that is to be welcomed.

 

[cmj]

Re: SAS

Lets just wait and see what happens from next summer rather than instantly starting to criticise. Getting a carrier like SAS into LBA for the first time ever is, in itself, no mean feat, although it is clear that SAS are wanting to expand into regional airports. If LBA can not make this work, how on Earth can HUY that has only a fraction of the catchment of LBA?

I suspect part of the reason HUY can make it work is the off-shore industry.

 

[752]

Re: SAS

http://se.yhp.waymaker.net/sasgroup/rel ... ?id=269245
Looking at SAS group press launch, it suggests that the new routes are reflected because of increased customer demand for new non-stop services, this suggests to me that it could be more suited for inbound tourism, but hey, I am just happy that we have a new national carrier from LBA.
Out of interest, does anybody know what the PAX are looking like on the HUY flights?

 

[whoshotjimmi]

Re: SAS

Just having a brief look at some of the competition, it is clear that there is a deal of two way tourism - perhaps with the emphasis slightly more inbound than outbound. Prices are far higher on a Monday and Friday and, honestly, the premium price set by SAS here may not end up being too much of an issue. The problem is more the frequency of the competition, which is regular with less restrictive timings.

If the flights are aimed at inbound tourism, with an arrival into LBA at 19.50, (using public transport) the earliest one could realistically aim to be in York by is 22.00 with the likelihood that buying a ticket at Leeds station would force one to miss the connection making a 22.30 more likely. For the record, if one were to arrive into MAN at the same time, a realistic arrival time into York would be 22.38 with the first realistic direct service arriving at 23.00. I would like to see the ability to buy a through bus and train ticket from LBA to York which could mean that an earlier connection be made at Leeds station. Though I would like to see the return of the York shuttle, I think it was a little on the slow side.

I am a huge supporter of inbound tourism and encouraging the further development of excellent routes such as this. I just think, of many things that need addressing (it has been well documented), LBA is still a little behind concerning connectivity. If my arrival into LBA the other day taught me nothing else, it is that the options for the onward journey need to be far clearer and more user friendly.

I hope this excellent news can help to boost the public transport options already available and, certainly, I think the two could be mutually inclusive.

One other thought, could this be the catalyst for Ryanair to start a Malmo route?

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: SAS

whoshotjimmi I'm sure there is already the set up to allow ability to purchase a through bus and train ticket from York or any other station to Leeds/Bradford Airport. There is also the ability to purchase through bus and coach tickets using National Express as well.

I think the lack of advertising of integrated travel doesn’t help the matter. I’m sure if either a one of the rail companies or National Express installed a ticket machine in the airport's arrivals hall more people would use the public transport option. In the long term it may even drive more people on to using the current public transport options to/from the airport.

 

[LBA787]

Re: SAS

I'm late to the party as usual but this is great news!

I cannot of wait to see SAS operate their CRJ's into LBA and am sure it'll perform well. 5 stars LBA route development team!! :good:

:crazy:

 

[752]

Re: SAS

Would this be the first time that we have had a CRJ900 jet doing regular services from LBA? & also does anybody know which stands the jet is most likely to use?

 

[Aviador]

Re: SAS

Good Question. Not sure about the 900 series but I'm sure Jersey European (now known as Flybe) used to operate CRJs on the Belfast City route some years back if anybody can confirm. It's probably going back to the late 90's.

 

[a300boy]

Yes they did CRJ-200 series I believe.

 

[Seasider]

Yes, British European briefly operated the CRJ200 on some BHD services.
Haven't Iberia Regional (Air Nostrum) operated CRJ 900's earlier this year/late last year?

 

[cmj]

Re: SAS

whoshotjimmi I'm sure there is already the set up to allow ability to purchase a through bus and train ticket from York or any other station to Leeds/Bradford Airport. There is also the ability to purchase through bus and coach tickets using National Express as well.

There certainly used to be - about 5 years ago or so I got a ticket from York to "Leeds Bradfort Airport" at York station. It was for a train to Leeds, then the bus to LBA. At the time there were manual barriers at Leeds station and the guy almost took the the ticket off me!

Just checked and LBA is still in the National Rail system and the online planner does find journeys to it (station code XLB).

 

[adam]

I think the point been made is that for any inbound passengers there is no facilities for onward connection Except for a bus ticket or a taxi.

 

[Bigman]

...and don't forget the CRJ's that Tyrollean used to operate on the Innsbruck service. It will certainly be the first scheduled operations into LBA with the CRJ900. They are cracking aircraft to fly on. I flew to Dusseldorf on one from Manchester this year and the leg room is fantastic compared to a 737 or even a 319. (Yes, I apologise for having to fly from Manchester but it was the best fit with the plans we had).

At least the flight times mean that there will be no early morning fog related issues!!

 

[White Heather]

Interesting to note also that SAS have just announced flights from Bristol to Gothenburg, with very similar Friday and Monday departure times. Their company is quoted as saying that that service is targeting long weekend leisure travellers, so it seem highly likely that this applies to the LBA - CPH route too. It also opens the possibility further down the line that LBA might itself get a Gothenburg and/or Oslo route also with SAS.

 

[rmac]

Thought it was Bristol to Stockholm, not Gothenburg...... using a 737 800 too!