Route Development & Rumours

[Birmingham Aviation]

I dont know what you're using for reference and i have not checked all the airlines you list but all your easyJet dates are incorrect.... plus there are 8 new routes starting from easyjet in march with the launch of the new base, not 4!

The actual New Routes and Start Dates for EasyJet at BHX in March'24 is as follows:

Antalya = 18th March
Barcelona = 18th March
Alicante = 19th March
Tenerife = 19th March
Larnaca = 20th March
Malaga = 21st March
Enfidha = 21st March
Palma = 31st March

All bookable on easyjet.com

Berlin starts 1st April
Jersey starts 2nd April

Sorry mate

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Also from 18th until 30th only one aircraft will be based than from 31st it’s goes up to 3 based

Have you read through the following? -

https://forums4airports.com/threads/6627/

It explains how to get attachments to show as full size images, rather than thumbnails. You should be able to edit your post. It's very simple.

 

[nwoody2001]

Also from 18th until 30th only one aircraft will be based than from 31st it’s goes up to 3 basedView attachment 30307

Looking forward to March and seeing the Base arrive and establish

 

[BHX492]

For those interested in the little details you will notice that the Saturdays return flights from Sharm El Sheikh will be operated by Manchester crew not Birmingham, EasyJet have decided to do a weird routing .

 

[Nibbles]

Interesting article in the Telegraph today, with Simon Calder talking to Nick Barton. Linked on MSN as there isnt a paywall;

MSN

Specifically;

For long-haul flights, Birmingham makes a good proposition when going east: Emirates operates a giant Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777 from BHX to Dubai, while Air India flies to Amritsar.

Yet the daily link to New York disappeared years ago. Barton wants to restore regular transatlantic flying.

“The biggest challenge at the moment is aircraft availability,” he says. “The airlines have got the appetite. It’s just a question of getting the right aeroplanes. They start coming online in ’25.”

....

“I spent a week in the United States and Canada just before Christmas,” the Birmingham boss says. While he “wouldn’t want to overpromise at this stage”, he expects to resume services to North America in two or three years.

Most of the american airlines have orders in for various aircraft - whether this is referring to 737 Max 10s or A321s or something else, who knows. But nevertheless, is intriguing...

 

[Ray Finkle]

Adding to the above.



Barton aims to fill these, and top of his wish list is to restore a US connection – almost certainly New York, where he was lobbying before Christmas.

“We have every reason to believe the US and Canada will feature in our network planning in two to three years,” he said. “We have 500 people a day from our catchment travelling to the US via another airport.”

He cites aircraft availability, in particular the narrow-body Airbus A321LR, as a barrier, but is nevertheless confident. He adds there is also “some case” for a Hong Kong connection.

EasyJet lands at Birmingham airport – but can it take on Jet2 and Tui?

Midlands agents welcome easyJet’s first new base for nearly 10 years as the competition between travel’s new big three hots up

www.ttgmedia.com

 

[TM3]

There are a number of airlines that can provide good or direct links to Hong Kong going east, I would cite CX, SQ MH and Thai.

The first 3 could also obtain rights to serve New York. Thai I understand have some issues with FAA compliance but could also serve in the future.

MH in particular seem keen on growing their network and New York would be their only US flight.

SQ also seem keen to add destinations supported by 5th freedom traffic and are unable to grow further in London at the moment.

Maybe Nick should look east for potential US connections.

 

[KARFA]

I don't get any sense CX, TG, or MH would be in anyway interested at all in doing a KUL/HKG-BHX-JFK. And that isn't specific to BHX, you could substitute any European airport in there to my mind and it would be no more likely.

 

[IanFarquharson]

I don't get any sense CX, TG, or MH would be in anyway interested at all in doing a KUL/HKG-BHX-JFK. And that isn't specific to BHX, you could substitute any European airport in there to my mind and it would be no more likely.

I agree - zero chance in my opinion
But good to see Nick Barton talking up Cathay to Hong Kong this week, hopefully talks are well advanced and we may hear more soon ?

 

[TM3]

I don't get any sense CX, TG, or MH would be in anyway interested at all in doing a KUL/HKG-BHX-JFK. And that isn't specific to BHX, you could substitute any European airport in there to my mind and it would be no more likely.

Why does SQ do SIN-MAN-HOU? Obviously there is a big question mark right now over whether this route is viable.

 

[Paulsstrange]

Nick Barton is clever, very, let's see where bhx is by 2026.

 

[TM3]

I agree - zero chance in my opinion
But good to see Nick Barton talking up Cathay to Hong Kong this week, hopefully talks are well advanced and we may hear more soon ?

Isn't it just about understanding that an opportunity exists?

All of the existing US and UK airlines are invested in supporting their slots/hubs at LHR over and above growing their connections to UK cities.

To an Asian airline, particluarly one that has no links to the US, Europe represents an inevitable stop to Eastern Seaboard USA, why wouldn't they pick BHX if BHX was in fact a good unservered market for US connections.

 

[KARFA]

Isn't it just about understanding that an opportunity exists?

All of the existing US and UK airlines are invested in supporting their slots/hubs at LHR over and above growing their connections to UK cities.

To an Asian airline, particluarly one that has no links to the US, Europe represents an inevitable stop to Eastern Seaboard USA, why wouldn't they pick BHX if BHX was in fact a good unservered market for US connections.

And yet doing Asia-Europe-US is very rare. CX, MH, and TG don't do anything like that at all.

I am afraid you paint a very simplistic picture. Stopovers like that have massive disadvantages as well in terms of crew and frame utilisation, much higher costs, and limited upside since you are not going to have a whole plane's worth of seats available for sale between the stopover and final destination. This is even worse when you are effectively taking the long way around from say HKG-US as opposed to going over the pacific, and also when the second part of the flight (the UK-US) is already highly competitive. And that is all after setting aside whether BHX would actually be the best choice if you wished to do that.

So I guess airlines have mostly looked at that opportunity and said no.

Why does SQ do SIN-MAN-HOU? Obviously there is a big question mark right now over whether this route is viable.

If you believe SIN-UK-US is reasonable why is there a question of viability in your mind? And if SIN-MAN-HOU is not viable, why would SIN/KUL/HKG/BKK-BHX-US be viable?

 

[gulftraveller]

KARFA is entirely correct. Suggesting fifth freedom over MAN is not viable but a SIN-BHX-JFK would be, makes no sense. SQ have made clear they are extremely happy with the MAN route and as a conservative airline would have pulled it long ago were they not. That said, I expect to see SQ retreat from fifth freedom operations in Europe in the next few years.

We have been round this circuit many times.

 

[Birmingham Aviation]

I would even be happy with air India doing a stopover for example LAX.

 

[IanFarquharson]

I would even be happy with air India doing a stopover for example LAX.

Why would Air India go to LAX via BHX ?
I would settle for them to restart BHX-YYZ which did really well

 

[Paulsstrange]

Nick Barton has already stated US and Canada plus Hong Kong all on the agenda hopefully by 2026 il take that!!

 

[Nethercote2019]

There was talk of Singapore & Helsinki recently but that’s all gone very quiet.

 

[IanFarquharson]

There was talk of Singapore & Helsinki recently but that’s all gone very quiet.

Hong Kong & Helsinki not Singapore !

 

[TM3]

And yet doing Asia-Europe-US is very rare. CX, MH, and TG don't do anything like that at all.

I am afraid you paint a very simplistic picture. Stopovers like that have massive disadvantages as well in terms of crew and frame utilisation, much higher costs, and limited upside since you are not going to have a whole plane's worth of seats available for sale between the stopover and final destination. This is even worse when you are effectively taking the long way around from say HKG-US as opposed to going over the pacific, and also when the second part of the flight (the UK-US) is already highly competitive. And that is all after setting aside whether BHX would actually be the best choice if you wished to do that.

So I guess airlines have mostly looked at that opportunity and said no.



If you believe SIN-UK-US is reasonable why is there a question of viability in your mind? And if SIN-MAN-HOU is not viable, why would SIN/KUL/HKG/BKK-BHX-US be viable?

You are contradicting your own argument here.

Furthermore what you are saying is not geographically correct, there is only an extra 500 miles on the shortest direct polar route from KUL to JFK, which in any event would need a fuel stop somewhere, as would any final destination further down the eastern seaboard of USA. It is not the long way around.

With a 5th freedom the seats are available for sale on all legs, not really sure what you mean about empty seats here.

Also not sure how you can say airlines have already looked at it as it is the job of airports to ensure airlines keep looking at potential new routes, particularly when airlines are growing.