Route Development & Rumours

[Brum X]

Birmingham-Bangkok is unserved route of the week.

http://www.anna.aero/2016/05/04/sky...ail&utm_term=0_ecdbf41674-408b0285fd-86869353

 

[jfy1999]

I had a hunch that Leicester City's Premier League triumph would draw worldwide attention to the Midlands. Their owners are Asian and will have garnered them a bit of a following over there.

Since a direct flight is unlikely in the immediate future, there's an opportunity for Emirates and Qatar to fill their aircraft with connecting passengers in the meantime.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Interesting stats.

86% is from the UK end.

Dubai has 55% of transfers, Delhi 15% and Ashgabat 10%. A total of 18 different airports were used to connect the two (not including DOH).

A quote from the artice:

An O&D that is not served by a non-stop flight will typically display a low purchase rate and low traffic. In this instance Skyscanner’s Travel Insight indicates a monthly average of just 11.6% for the Birmingham to Bangkok route (see graph below). Therefore, if there was a Birmingham to Bangkok route, and if bookings performed in line with the “Skyscanner market average” for direct services at both airports (12%), the airline operating this route could immediately expect an improved purchase rate of 3% without any increased marketing spend. However, with over 400,000 annual searches, the potential city pair should already be solidly sustainable.

 

[Ray Finkle]

It's also interesting how they identify Thai and Eva Air as potential suitors when both are highly unlikely.

The most likely would be Norwegian, yet they weren't mentioned.

 

[Brum X]

Indeed, i thought the article was really interesting. I always thought Bangkok should be a long haul destination that BHX should try and get. As User001 mentioned last month, it would be unlikely to be Thai Airways as they are not in the best financial position, however Air India wasnt in the best financial position but they still launched BHX flights.

 

[User001]

Air India is different to Thai.

Thai are really in the mire, Air India has always been a basket case and just does what it wants anyway. It's only just started to make money.

Comparing Thai to Air India really is an apples and oranges situation,

 

[Ray Finkle]

If Norwegian were to step in at BHX, that could see TCX losing those passengers totally. In which case, TCX might have to compete.

Kevin

Good point.

It's about time that we saw a little competition in this area. We've seen elsewhere what it can do for growth.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Good point.

It's about time that we saw a little competition in this area. We've seen elsewhere what it can do for growth.

I couldn't agree more, Ray.

I think we've already seen the process in action, although on a more regional perspective. Ryanair, for example stated 10 aircraft based, within a very short time of their start. That never happened.
It seemed they were happy to sit around and just milk the better routes.
BHX then lands Vueling, Norwegian, Wizz and Iberia Express. All of a sudden, Ryanair are stirred into action, adding new routes and frequencies. Hmmmm .

Kevin

 

[Ray Finkle]

Hi Paul, are they any new airlines or routes @bhx_official have yet to announce?????

not just yet. We are working on filling all our current carriers.

 

[Paulsstrange]

I think it will be Autumn now before anything new...

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think so too.

Just looking forwards to a busy summer ahead

 

[Paulsstrange]

Indeed amd it will be flight arrivals getting busier and more to come from various carriers flybe french routes thomson thomas cook plus mobarch aircraft nr 9 and ryanair extra peak flights...august september i think we will start to gear about new things for 2017

 

[jfy1999]

What's the Balkan Holidays programme this summer? There was a rumour of them doing four flights a week to Sofia but I'm guessing it'll just be Burgas again?

 

[Ray Finkle]

They had slots in for a summer based A320, a 3x weekly SOF-BHX-LCA-BHX-SOF was one of the flights planned. For whatever reason their arrangement with the tour operator never came to fruition.

 

[Brum X]

Yeah im looking forward to the summer now, I think all the hard work that has been done will be seen over the next 4/5 months, I wasn't really expecting too much news about new routes/airlines, however I am still waiting to see if Norweigan are going to expand there W16/17 programme from BHX as currently no MAD/BCN/LPA available after October 2016 so this will be one to look out for.

 

[Brum X]

I hope Woody doesnt mind me mentioning this but it appeared on another forum about the Anna-Aero BHX-BKK unserved route of the week and although PK acknowledged that BHX-BKK would be good, he also confirmed what Ray told us yesterday that BHX are currently working on making Summer 2016 a success so any new routes/airlines is officially ON HOLD (ON HOLD are my words, not his)

 

[DaveBham]

He is of course, quite right. Getting the airlines is step one. Keeping the airlines is another matter - People need to use the new flights, otherwise, this success will quickly evaporate. Sustainability is the key.
I was an early user of the AA flight to JFK when it began. I've just booked a holiday with Thomson and set the search engine to From:BHX - Anywhere. (We're going to Thassos).

Insist on BHX with whoever books the flights at your place of work (even if you think they won't listen - just the mention of the option of BHX flights might be enough to bring them into consideration).

I've been doing the (friendly!) hard sell on a very wealthy client of mine who has an apartment in NYC, and other equally wealthy friends. They're using LHR still for NYC, despite 2 airlines serving BHX - a 20m drive for them. The reason, she said, was that they don't like the planes that go from BHX. I just pointed out my experience of flying from BHX means you're not so tired when you arrive, and mentioned the rumour of United possibly expanding to a 767 soon. But they do have a point. The AA flight I went on lacked a lot of the facilities that are standard on the majority of long haul flights. Screens in the back of seats, entertainment, etc, and a generally cramped feeling cabin. That's what they will need to address, be it United or AA, if they are to continue to attract airlines.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Insist on BHX with whoever books the flights at your place of work (even if you think they won't listen - just the mention of the option of BHX flights might be enough to bring them into consideration).

Not BHX but the principle is the same. When BRS had a daily CO link to EWR (2005-2010) my son who was West Country-based then worked for a major US conglomerate and travelled regularly to the USA on business. I asked him one day if he ever used the BRS link and he said he didn't know there was one (he has no interest in aviation other than as a means of travel). It had been operating for over a year by then.

He was reasonably senior in the organisation and before his next trip spoke to the corporate travel company that arranged all his conglomerate's travel and they said they were unaware of the BRS link too. Suffice to say that after that when going to the New York area, and sometimes further afield in the USA, he usually used the BRS link, although on occasions it was still a more effective use of his time to go to LHR and fly non-stop to another US city if he had business there.

I wondered then how many other business travellers were unaware of a US link from their local airport especially as some, like my son, would have travelled in the business-first cabin, the lack of take-up in which was said by CO to be one of the reasons for pulling out of BRS.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

With large companies, they will often guarantee to use so many seats per year with an airline on a certain route and therefore get a discount. If this agreement is in place, it is unlikely that changes will be made until the agreement expires.
A family friend was a consultant in the motor industry and as such, regularly travelled to Europe (usually Germany). Even though he lived in the West Midlands, the majority of his colleagues were London based and his flights were booked from London even though there were frequent services from Birmingham.

Kevin

 

[Ray Finkle]

United are rumoured to be switching to a 763 from March next year. If that happens then hopefully it will appeal to more passengers that currently choose LHR and start the ball rolling. If the rumour of a Delta 763 also comes to fruition it may also mean that American are left with no choice but to upgrade to compete.

Lots of 'if's' though.