Norwegian Air Shuttle

[IanFarquharson]

It is about the Swissport strike and BHX have no Norwegian flights on the days of the strike ?

 

[58terminus]

Wonder what happened to the BHX/Norwegian relationship?

It could be an Easyjet Belfast situation where they want more than the airport will offer. Or they might
be upset that having come in to operate unserved or underserved routes these routes are now possibly overserved.
When they started Madrid i doubt that they thought that in 12 months or so they would be competing with 3 other airlines.
In their position i think i would be a bit p####d off with the airport.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Or they might
be upset that having come in to operate unserved or underserved routes these routes are now possibly overserved.
When they started Madrid i doubt that they thought that in 12 months or so they would be competing with 3 other airlines.
In their position i think i would be a bit p####d off with the airport.

Definitely.

Lets just say that the extent of the Jet2 base was likely the final nail in the coffin.

 

[nwoody2001]

I wouldn't say it's the fail nail in the coffin, more a delay. The reality is, Norwegian could have easily have pulled out of BHX, but they haven't.

I suspect that with Jet2 arriving into BHX in 2017, BHX is very much an unknown entity and airlines are waiting to see what impact it has, and understandably so. The reality is, Norwegian themselves are also playing a big risk - 737M from the uk to tertiary US airports have never been done. Consequently, BHX + Norwegian = one whole lot of risk!

I therefore then don't think its a shock that PK seemed pretty excited by The prospects of 2018. By then, assuming Jet2 has been a success and BHX Will be carrying circa 12.5+ million pax, the prospect at BHX should be good.

As for Norwegian, they started big at BHX and it appears they wimped out or lost interest ...Vueling, Wizz and even Blue Air will all be offering more flights a week out of BHX then Norwegian biting deeper into their potential market share. Let's hope they implement any plans they may have for BHX before other get in there before them!

 

[Ray Finkle]

Hmm, not sure about a delaying tactic, if they can't compete out of Birmingham now I'm not convinced that 2018 will be any easier.

- Jet2 will have had a full year and will be securing repeat business. 2018 will also see another two aircraft with more holiday routes added.

- Vueling will have even more routes with a much greater market share.

- If Ryanair's 6th aircraft is off for next year I'd say 2018 would be likely to see it.

- Wizz and Blue Air will both have a greater presence.

- Monarch will be receiving their 737's with expansion likely.

I'm also not convinced that EDI is less of a risk than Birmingham. They have a strong inbound market but it is highly seasonal, I can't see loads being spectacular outside of July to September.

One has to wonder if EDI having the same owners as LGW had any influence.

 

[Coathanger16]

I think perhaps its not just Jet2 setting up shop at Birmingham, but the fact that they've stolen the spotlight from Norwegian that's put them off. I suspect Norwegian wants to be front page news and Jet2 are already overshadowing Norwegian and they haven't even started flying from Birmingham.

As time goes on it will be harder for Norwegian to compete at Birmingham as other airlines add new routes/frequencies. Norwegian could still work flying from Birmingham, but with each passing year they'll have to launch something bigger and better than the rest to attract passengers.

 

[thunderchild]

In retrospect perhaps we came to expect too much from Norwegian. Yes they arrived (or technically, returned) in a blaze of glory by offering Madrid and with the announcement of winter routes and whispers of long haul it all sounded rather promising.

These days Norwegian just seems a bit all over the place - short haul bases, long haul bases across Europe, MAX flights, intra Caribbean routes, domestic Argentina flights etc....now Dusseldorf is the latest one doing the rounds! This isn't sour grapes that they haven't added anything more from BHX, just a general observation. What is said one week changes to the next, rumours of a MAN base, a BHX base....nothing has panned out the way it is has been rumoured/reported.

I'm not convinced Jet2's arrival has stalled them, they don't seem to have a problem with competition at other airports but if that is the case the you can't really fault BHX for throwing their weight behind an airline who have come in with based units and firm and concrete expansion plans.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that Norwegian have a presence at BHX, they are a great airline and can still offer a great deal but I really can't see them basing anything for in the near future. It's a shame they dropped MAD but lets face it, someone was always going to.

 

[richard winterbourn]

Norwegian have been a very welcome addition to the list of airlines serving BHX and long may they continue to do so.

But seriously what do we think BHX want from them, adding more routes to European sun and city destinations alongside Monarch, Jet2, Ryanair et al?

I would have thought the BHX team want them primarily for long haul, and to the likes of New York, Boston etc. That is where they could play their biggest role in the airport's development.

So irrespective of tweets on social media, i would hope that behind the scenes 'the team' continues to have a friendly and workable dialogue with Norwegian and that the aims of both parties are still very much in focus and in the frame.

But as we so often say, time will tell.

 

[58terminus]

Just a thought but didn't Norwegian announce their first routes just after the Flybe cull when BHX was at a low ebb.
You now what they say about rebound relationships.

 

[IanFarquharson]

Norwegian left the negotating table when Jet 2 announced their BHX base.
True !

 

[58terminus]

Norwegian left the negotating table when Jet 2 announced their BHX base.
True !

Wasn't there hope of a couple of Scandinavian routes? But no they want the the same old sun routes.
BHX is staring to look like 1970's Luton on steroids.

 

[Jerry]

Wasn't there hope of a couple of Scandinavian routes? But no they want the the same old sun routes.
BHX is staring to look like 1970's Luton on steroids.

Problem for BHX is airlines know the sun routes will work so go for the guarenteed seller rather than the more riskier city routes like Oslo. Sun routes are the money maker in the UK.

 

[58terminus]

airlines know the sun routes will work so go for the guarenteed seller rather than the more riskier city routes like Oslo.

Hopefully as the airports profile increases they might take a few risks.Nice to hear about Vienna.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Although I'm starting to take anything this guy says with a pinch of salt it's nice that we're being mentioned again, especially as it seems a direct quote.

Norwegian has 100 737 MAX jets from Boeing Co on order and expects to receive five in 2017. These planes are equipped to traverse the Atlantic but are smaller than most jets that currently do so, making them a better size for international flights to cities such as Birmingham in Britain, Kjos said.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/bus...st-flight-Europe-to-New-York-for-69-only.html

 

[58terminus]

Although I'm starting to take anything this guy says with a pinch of salt it's nice that we're being mentioned again, especially as it seems a direct quote.

I notice the article is dated 31/12/2016 and it refers to an interview give last year. 2015

 

[jfy1999]

Unfortunately LPA has now been given the axe and will end at the end of next month. With all three remaining routes seeing reductions on last year Norwegian's position at BHX is getting ever more precarious despite all the promising comments.

Norwegian's choice of new routes out of the U.K. (ALC, AGP, Canaries etc.) would surely have indicated to rivals and customers that they weren't scared of competition. So I'm a little mystified as to why the Jet2 announcement, big as it was, apparently made Norwegian throw their toys out of the pram but didn't seem to affect any other airlines competing on pretty much the same routes – Vueling for example?

 

[Ray Finkle]

I missed the 'last year', I just saw the date.

In other news BHX & MAN to LPA are no longer bookable after the end of February (MAN-TFS also isn't bookable after March). Hopefully it's just a reshuffle and they'll be back soon.

 

[jfy1999]

Dang...I concluded LPA was axed without looking at MAN-LPA. But, back to my question in the above post, why have Norwegian been seemingly the only airline to retreat in the face of the Jet2 base while others have reacted positively?

 

[Ray Finkle]

I wouldn't like to predict anything when it comes to Norwegian.

I do have a feeling that we may not have heard the last of this though.....we shall see.

 

[thunderchild]

A shame if Norwegian are in retreat but with Jet2 coming in I doubt it will effect the passenger numbers too much. I think we've perhaps been guilty of trusting too much in the rumour mill.