PowdAir

[superking]

thought this warrents a thread. with new ski flights planned.you never know a summer service might be added as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

thought this warrents a thread. with new ski flights planned.you never know a summer service might be added as well.

From what I understand PowdAir is not an airline itself but will use chartered F100s from the Croatian Airline, Trade Air.

Apart from BRS the plan is to link Sion with other UK airports at Southend, Bournemouth, Southampton, Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as with Belgium and the Netherlands.

The ski slopes served from Sion Airport are reputedly at the high end of the market so it's interesting to see the airports selected in the UK.

A spokesman from the Zermatt Tourist office, one of the ski resorts in Sion's area, is treating the idea cautiously, saying: “If it becomes reality, the new flights will open new chances to develop the UK market. Travel time, comfort and convenience are nowadays a key factor when choosing the holiday destination. Zermatt has a long history with British guest so the direct flights could write a new chapter in this success story.”

Let's hope he is a bit too sceptical.

 

[Sierra3]

Zermatt is (or always was) one of the most expensive of all Swiss ski resorts & those others nearby aren't exactly much cheaper. Rather doubt this link will attract enough to fill up even a small plane.
First went there (by train via Calais) in '71. My guide to inflation in Zermatt was always the cost of a champagne cocktail at Elsie's Bar right in the middle of town; cost at the time 1 Swiss Franc; the last time (in '79) it was 1.50SF. Trouble was the exchange rate which, went from 10SF/GBP to 2SF/GBP in the intervening period.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Zermatt is (or always was) one of the most expensive of all Swiss ski resorts & those others nearby aren't exactly much cheaper. Rather doubt this link will attract enough to fill up even a small plane.
First went there (by train via Calais) in '71. My guide to inflation in Zermatt was always the cost of a champagne cocktail at Elsie's Bar right in the middle of town; cost at the time 1 Swiss Franc; the last time (in '79) it was 1.50SF. Trouble was the exchange rate which, went from 10SF/GBP to 2SF/GBP in the intervening period.

It is an expensive area. I've been in Zermatt and passed through Sion, both in the past few years.

I made the point in my previous post that the ski slopes served from Sion are at the high end of the ski market. What I would say is that for many years the BRS ski market has been and still is disproportionately high for the overall passenger throughput and size of the BRS catchment. It's a wealthy catchment so if any of the smaller regional airports would succeed with a Sion route I'd put my money on BRS.

 

[sierrafoxtrot]

Good news on a different route and something different at Bristol other than EZY and RYR!

 

[Marko1]

Just been announced on social media that powdair will launch a three times a week service to sion starting this December

 

[Marko1]

Flights now on sale thurs sat and sun

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Airport press release:

http://www.forums4airports.com/threads/4120/

It is to be hoped that this augments rather than moves part of BRS's extremely strong ski market.

New airline launches, opening up routes into heart of the Swiss Alps
Created: 13th Jun 2017

New airline powdair has launched ticket sales through its website powdair.ski with a winter schedule that links Sion Airport with eight destinations in the UK, Germany and Belgium.

The skiers airline, based in Sion – the heart of Switzerland’s winter sport region, the Valais, will offer skiers and snowboarders across the UK, Northern Germany and the Benelux Countries the chance to reach some of the world’s most famous winter sports resorts quickly and efficiently.

Flights commence from December 14, 2017 and will significantly cut transfer times to some of Switzerland’s most popular ski resorts for winter sports enthusiasts including Zermatt, Verbier, Saas Fee, Crans Montana and Nendaz. A variety of transfer options from Sion Airport to onward destinations are available to book at the point of ticket purchase, including shared and private journeys to the major resorts in the region.

Ticket pricing for powdair will be completely transparent with very little fluctuation across peak dates, meaning that families won’t feel hard done by during the busier school holiday periods – it means booking up fast, but at little or no extra cost than during the non-peak times. Tickets can be purchased through its website www.powdair.ski

Marcelline Kuonen, Head of Experience and Market Management at Valais Promotion, said:
“We are looking forward to seeing direct flights into the Valais region commencing in December this year with powdair and welcoming more guests into our fantastic region. The Valais is one of Europe’s premier winter sports regions in the very heart of the Alps with destinations such as Zermatt, Saas Fee, Verbier and Crans Montana - some of the world’s top ski resorts within easy reach of Sion Airport. The new flight routes with powdair will make it even easier for skiers and snowboarders from Great Britain, Germany and the Benelux Countries to visit the Valais and we very much welcome this new initiative”.

Aline Bovier-Gantzer from Sion Airport said:
“We are really excited to welcome powdair into Sion and fly to new destinations in the UK, Germany and Belgium. The chance to bring in winter sports tourists into Sion Airport is a great opportunity for the region and we are looking forward to welcoming our new guests here. Our airport is ideally located to easily reach the well-known ski resorts in the Valais and we hope that it will also provide a link from Sion to destinations such as London and Edinburgh as well.”

Zoë Ombler, Head of Commercial for powdair said:
“It’s not every day that we get to launch an airline and especially one that opens up a completely new route into an airport that is so close to some of the world’s best ski resorts. The response we have already seen on social media shows the kind of interest people have in the area and regular, scheduled flights into Sion are long overdue. Every winter sports enthusiast knows about the sheer quality of ski resorts in the Valais region and we are proud to be able to help our customers reach those resorts faster than any other available option”.

 

[Jerry]

Anyone know what airline are operating the flights? I've heard the aircraft will be an E170.

 

[Ray Finkle]

It seems that Powdair will now be using a CRJ200 from Backbone Aviation.

The good news is that ticket sales appear to be doing well

http://newsroom.aviator.aero/powdair-announces-new-operator-to-further-bolster-its-backbone/

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Two months before this operation is supposed to begin between BRS and Sion, Switzerland. They have a website and a booking engine showing that BRS will operate 4 x weekly (Wed, Thurs, Sat and Sun) from mid December until mid April.

They have entered into some sort of partnership with BackBone Aviation that will operate the flights under its BOB flight numbers. No aircraft type shown but I read somewhere that the CRJ200 would feature.

Sion is also supposed to be served from London City 6 x weekly, Luton 5 x weekly, Southend and Southampton both 4 x weekly and Manchester 2 x weekly.

There is still some scepticism on the Dried Plum about the entire programme. I've never been confident about it. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Marko1]

Powdair now increasing its sion service from 3 to 4 weekly from 20 Dec

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Powdair now increasing its sion service from 3 to 4 weekly from 20 Dec

Is this a recent announcement by them? They were showing 4 x weekly on their website a couple of weeks ago when I did my previous post. Still a lot of argument on the fruit website about the likelihood of this venture even beginning.

 

[Marko1]

Sorry I couldn't have noticed LY. I know the original plans were just 3 weekly.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Oh dear..............

There is a post this evening on another message board saying that Powdair's main financial backer has pulled out. They now have two options: postpone until next winter or try to raise £3 million to operate this winter including £1 million by the end of this week. Even then it seems a reduced operation would apply this winter. They are desperately seeking investors to put some money into the company immediately. I think I'll give that particular investment opportunity a miss.

Nothing yet on Powdair's website that confirms this but the scepticism that has been around for many months might prove to be justified.

I posted six weeks ago that I wasn't confident about the whole thing. Obviously I hope that they can make a go of it but it seems an extreme long shot at the moment.

 

[Seasider]

Like me, TLY, you have been interested in the Airline scene for many years and have the experience of watching other fledgling airlines start up. You get "the feel" from the initial proposals whether they have a good chance to survive.

I'm not critical of people wanting to set up an airline, good luck to them, but they should have a real sense of reality.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There was optimistic talk from this 'airline' that after last winter's proposed programme was cancelled across the board they were hoping to make a go of it in the following winter.

That seemed, as many aviation followers thought then, to be highy unlikely (to phrase it politely). In the absence of any further news I assume they have accepted reality and called it a day. Their website although extant seems moribund.