Route Development & Rumours

[BHXsupporter]

As predicted, no revival to BHX from American. Manchester have lost the Chicago route and new European routes from Philadelphia
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/american-unveils-19-new-routes-for-2019-452379/.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I'm not going to bump the Flybe thread but the airport have issued a press release to 'celebrate' the one year anniversary of their 'new' Hamburg route.

Have we reached the point now where the airport are relieved to the point of a press release that a route has not been dropped after a year?

https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk...r-anniversary-of-birmingham-to-hamburg-route/

 

[TM3]

I read elsewhere that Cathay are cancelling their CPH service, which was new last year as of May 2019.

https://www.routesonline.com/news/3...ay-pacific-cancels-copenhagen-service-in-s19/

A reminder of the anna aero article from 2017 that identified BHX as not far down the line in CX's list of potential destinations.

https://www.anna.aero/2017/09/01/ca...announces-service-brussels-copenhagen-dublin/

With HSBC's new retail bank head office opening in Brum next year could we get a route announcement from Cathay?

 

[Deleted member 8277]

I read elsewhere that Cathay are cancelling their CPH service, which was new last year as of May 2019.

https://www.routesonline.com/news/3...ay-pacific-cancels-copenhagen-service-in-s19/

A reminder of the anna aero article from 2017 that identified BHX as not far down the line in CX's list of potential destinations.

https://www.anna.aero/2017/09/01/ca...announces-service-brussels-copenhagen-dublin/

With HSBC's new retail bank head office opening in Brum next year could we get a route announcement from Cathay?

I dont think that a HSBC bank head office will provide enough passengers to warrant a new service from cathay.......... pie in the sky

 

[Ray Finkle]

'In talks' with Cathay?

It wasn't that long ago that BHX were 'in talks' with various Chinese airlines after that infamous run of charters. How did that one work out again? If memory serves they were also 'in talks' with airlines for more to the USA?

Actions speak louder than words!

Toronto unserved for the first time since the 1970's, no flights to New York for the foreseeable, Orlando still at a pathetic once weekly and countless European destinations remain AWOL.

Never fear though as headline pax statistics will soon recover when we add even more to PMI, ALC, AGP........

How did it come to this

 

[Coathanger16]

Toronto unserved for the first time since the 1970's

I did see a post on the Gatwick thread about Air Transat using A321LR on their Montreal to Gatwick route.

Did we ever really know why Air Transat pulled out in the first place?

They have orders for 15 A321LR, so could their return to BHX be a possibility with those? Less seats to fill than the A310/A330, and probably cheaper operating costs as well.

 

[hay677]

'In talks' with Cathay?

Did I imagine it, or wasn't Uzbekistan on the point of signing a deal about a year ago?

There was talk of renaming the airport a while back. How about Birmingham Alicante?

 

[BHX492]

Did I imagine it, or wasn't Uzbekistan on the point of signing a deal about a year ago?

Don’t forget fly Erbil to

 

[Ianbutty]

Promising....

https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/hope-over-number-flights-between-15243579

 

[Ray Finkle]

I did see a post on the Gatwick thread about Air Transat using A321LR on their Montreal to Gatwick route.

It would be ideal for Birmingham but I'd bet we're a long way down the list, if we are even on it.

Did I imagine it, or wasn't Uzbekistan on the point of signing a deal about a year ago?

I believe that Uzbekistan were very close to a return, why it didn't happen I have no idea.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Promising....

https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/local-news/hope-over-number-flights-between-15243579

How many times have we heard that the RD people have been in India recently? All we've seen since is a frequency reduction.

Lets hope that Mayor Street has some better luck.

 

[David_itl]

Whilst the lack of development in long-haul routes is disappoointing, it is the bread and butter routes that BHX needs to allow them to build up the coffers to help with prospective airfield development . To get a route like CX doing Hong Kong may mean 51,000 passengers (I've put in a 35% increase on the Anna Aero figure as that's roughly the boost MAN got when they started). Compare that to get a "boring" based aircraft operating 3 return flights per day in the summer and 2 return flights per day in the winter... that is putting roughly 330,000 seats into BHX.

Anna Aero has assesed the impact of Monarach collapse at BHX along with all other UK airports. 3 destinations lost in winter and 5 in summer. 13 winter routes with reduced capacity and 22 summer routes with reduced capacity whilst increased capacity happened on 2 winter routes and 3 summer routes. At least passenger numbers should start going in the right direction now.

 

[58terminus]

Did we ever really know why Air Transat pulled out in the first place?

They have orders for 15 A321LR, so could their return to BHX be a possibility with those? Less seats to fill than the A310/A330, and probably cheaper operating costs as well.

Except they were filling the seats on the a310/a330 albeit it once a week..Logically you would have thought the next step would have been a frequency increase not a pull out.
But as you say we do not know the real reasons and with the mood on the forum at the moment probably best we don't..

 

[Ray Finkle]

Except they were filling the seats on the a310/a330 albeit it once a week..Logically you would have thought the next step would have been a frequency increase not a pull out.
But as you say we do not know the real reasons and with the mood on the forum at the moment probably best we don't..

It was rumoured that Air Transat were going to pull out a few years ago but Canadian Affair meant they stayed a little longer.

A 2x weekly A321 could have been ideal

 

[Ray Finkle]

Anna Aero has assesed the impact of Monarach collapse at BHX along with all other UK airports. 3 destinations lost in winter and 5 in summer. 13 winter routes with reduced capacity and 22 summer routes with reduced capacity whilst increased capacity happened on 2 winter routes and 3 summer routes. At least passenger numbers should start going in the right direction now.

Stockholm can also be added to that list after it went....again.

I am convinced that when Jet2 get suitable slots they will add Nice and I wouldn't rule out Lisbon in the future. I hoped that Thomas Cook would start Preveza but they look to be yet another airline in retreat.

Beyond that I am at a loss as to who can fill the void? With no easyjet and Ryanair seemingly not interested, where next?

 

[rollo]

Stockholm can also be added to that list after it went....again.

I am convinced that when Jet2 get suitable slots they will add Nice and I wouldn't rule out Lisbon in the future. I hoped that Thomas Cook would start Preveza but they look to be yet another airline in retreat.

Beyond that I am at a loss as to who can fill the void? With no easyjet and Ryanair seemingly not interested, where next?

There is an easy way to get easyjet or Ryanair to take BHX Seriously offer one of them a deal they can't refuse and stop chasing dreams of Cathy or whatever, David-it made a very good point in my opinion .

Totally unrelated Ray are you still off to the Blues today if you are best of luck just remember you can never trust them!

 

[Ray Finkle]

There is an easy way to get easyjet or Ryanair to take BHX Seriously offer one of them a deal they can't refuse and stop chasing dreams of Cathy or whatever, David-it made a very good point in my opinion .

Totally agree

Get the basics right and the bigger fish will follow.

Totally unrelated Ray are you still off to the Blues today if you are best of luck just remember you can never trust them!

Despite the ghastly weather I'm leaving in half an hour or so.

Even if we're 3-0 up heading into injury time I still won't relax until the whistle goes

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there all, yes totally agree with what Davids is saying about EasyJet, as I and others have pointed out before, they're not going to offer easyJet what they want, because bhx will lose Flybe... Andyc

 

[Coathanger16]

Hi there all, yes totally agree with what Davids is saying about EasyJet, as I and others have pointed out before, they're not going to offer easyJet what they want, because bhx will lose Flybe... Andyc

Flybe operates to plenty of airports where easyJet also operate from without much if any trouble and there are very few destinations, if any, that easyJet would launch from BHX that Flybe already operate. IMO, it has nothing to do with Flybe. The reason why BHX aren't giving easyJet the deal they want is likely because easyJet wants a cheaper deal than BHX are willing to offer. They supposedly avoid the Midlands because of lower yields, and so higher airport charges (which will cut into yields) will most certainly put them off.

 

[TM3]

Most of the European destinations are pretty much covered already from BHX.

I really could not care less if Easyjet come in as they are most likely going to offer the same destinations someone else already has or ones that could possibly be taken by flag carriers in those cities.

I think this is where the airport keeps going wrong, adding more an more flights with different airlines to the same destinations only for the existing carriers to move out.

The growth 2 years ago was really about Jet2 coming in, having a price war with Monarch and forcing them out.

I think the situation with United and American and then Primera was the same, and now there is no-one left to operate what was once a high yield niche route.

Holiday routes like the ones Jet2 sell are highly seasonal and they see the airport infrastructure really busy in summer but quiet off season.

As someone said earlier regular scheduled long haul flights actually don't add that much in overall numbers. This sort of sustained growth is actually better as it doesn't need lots of infrastructure to be built only to service demand 4 months out of the year.

If you read the article Dublin which now has 4 daily flights with Cathay had 40k indirect passengers to HK in 2016 where as BHX had 38K in 2017. Only Geneva has more now in Europe and is not served by direct flights to HK.

Birmingham has the advantage not only of HSBC coming but of cargo demand and transit demand on the Kangaroo route, plus UK has strong demand for HK in general.

Really we should be next in the queue for European destinations with Cathay, and they have shown they are willing to expand out of London. If the airport aren't courting them they should be.

I think we need to shake off the attitude that we aren't good enough for proper airlines as the likes of Primera, Beijing Capital, Biman etc are never going to make a success out of Birmingham and when they come and fail or end up not operating the flights at all it reflects badly on the airport.

PS. If Easy did come in and take any route Flybe operated Flybe would be toast as there is no way they could compete with Easyjet's economics - if you want cheaper seats that is good but if you want frequency you will lose out.