Route Development & Rumours

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray and all, are we due for any new announcement of new airlines due in before the end of this year's out, for any new flights starting next year at all...Andyc

 

[IanFarquharson]

Hi there ray and all, are we due for any new announcement of new airlines due in before the end of this year's out, for any new flights starting next year at all...Andyc

Let's hope so !
It is Expo at the NEC this week hosted by BHX an ideal platform to announce a few !

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi Ian, let's hope for some good shock announcements, this is now the time for the airport to pull the stops to announce the news that we all need and want to hear, but also create some new business for 2017 and onwards... Let's wait and see... Andyc

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think this time of year most of the focus is on the busy summer period, although things will be being done behind the scenes. Usually it's as we head into the autumn that we start to get announcements for the following year.

 

[Karl C]

Hi Ray,

Are you able to share a few snippets about what you're hearing, or have you been sworn to secrecy?

Cheers

Karl

 

[Ray Finkle]

I can't say everything but there will be new routes from Wizz Air and Vueling for next year. Jet2 have been long rumoured as we know and there should be more to come from Monarch.

Air Canada Rouge and Westjet are both targets, along with Hong Kong Airlines (they are part of HNA so who knows what's happening there now after the BCA saga). Long haul markets that they want to get market share back on are Orlando (the biggest), Bangkok and Hong Kong plus more to the USA, obviously we all know that they want Norwegian Long Haul. There are some other European markets identified also.

There are a few others but I'm not going to mention them yet as they're only at the 'rumour' stage and I don't want to build everybody's hopes up and they don't then happen.

We may have an announcement, or two, in the not too distant future.

 

[Karl C]

Thanks Ray,

That was way more than I expected to hear.

Cheers for that

Karl

 

[David_itl]

Air Canada Rouge may be the toughest one to achieve - they are limited in the number of aircraft that they can operate due to a union agreement so there is a prospect of a sense of irony that for BHX to get Air Canada Rouge, they need mainline Air Canada to make a success of their limited operation at MAN this summer in place of Air Canada Rouge!

 

[Ray Finkle]

that for BHX to get Air Canada Rouge, they need mainline Air Canada to make a success of their limited operation at MAN this summer in place of Air Canada Rouge!

Maybe that's the long term plan?

That was way more than I expected to hear.

The ambition is definitely there and they appear to be thinking big. The issues in the south east present a real opportunity for regional UK and BHX seem like they are going to do all that they can to exploit it.

Obviously when push comes to shove it is the airlines that make the decisions. The Route Development Team can do all the talking they like but if an airline isn't interested, then it won't happen. They are trying though, as can be seen by their recent successes, let hope they can get many more.

Aside from the long haul airlines already mentioned I can count 6 more that are rumoured. They vary from having obtained quotes for various operations, another described as 'interested', down to just having held talks (which happens all the time).

We just have to wish the RD team the best of luck and see what they can deliver

 

[thunderchild]

You tease Ray!

 

[User001]

I've heard 2 new routes for Vueling at BHX next year, Palma and Rome. PMI to be 3 weekly, Rome to be 2.

That said, what's rumoured for Vueling always ends up being something completely different.

 

[Ray Finkle]

If we're really lucky then we could well see the return of Riga and another Romanian destination added.

 

[Brum X]

And the airport team have one fantastic fact to promote to thye airlines which im most excited about, the fact that BHX has now seen 15 months of record growth. If BHX can go from 10.2 million to around 11.5 million, then what a great advertisement for the airport.
We all know airlines look at growing airports.

 

[nwoody2001]

certainly good to hear that both VY AND WZ show the potential for sustained growth at BHX, this is what is needed at bhx with other airlines historically stagnating after the big launch....

in 2014, BHX had no Norwegian, no Vueling and no Wizz, we now have 5x routes from Norwegian, 4x routes from Vueling and 6x routes from Wizz equating to circa 40 flights a week during summer 2016, who'd had seen that coming???

 

[Brummiegem]

I have also heard about Westjet talking to BHX.I heard that they are looking at increasing their presence in the UK and taking on Air Transat,even serving markets that are either unused or under served.Definately one to watch out for.
Interesting about Hong Kong,might be a good way of getting into new markets.Use a lesser known airline,either for a charter series,or a limited scheduled service.
It could also be HNA trying to lessen the blow of BHX losing the Chinese flights,but still testing the demand for services out to that region.Very interesting!!

 

[nwoody2001]

In fareness, I wouldn't want to depend on HNA for HK. HK is not limited by the same bilateral as China and as such, any airlines is free to fly the route. Also, the market for HK is much more established in the UK so we wouldn't necasserily need a HK base airline to bring pax in from HK to make the route a viable one. Id love to see Cathey on the route once they have truly bedded in at MAN, which I don't think is beyond the realms of possibility!

 

[CL44]

I have to say that I think it very unlikely that CX would come to BHX. Combined with both LHR and MAN I see no reason for BHX to be attractive to them. There was no indication from the last CX rep that I saw to show any interest in BHX (to be fair it was more a case of holding onto the traffic they have at the moment and building on that instead of opening new routes). I think there is always a possibility of a carrier deciding to go for HKG (or the Far East in general) but don't bank on CX being that carrier.

 

[CL44]

I have to say that I think it very unlikely that CX would come to BHX. Combined with both LHR and MAN I see no reason for BHX to be attractive to them. There was no indication from the last CX rep that I saw to show any interest in BHX (to be fair it was more a case of holding onto the traffic they have at the moment and building on that instead of opening new routes). I think there is always a possibility of a carrier deciding to go for HKG (or the Far East in general) but don't bank on CX being that carrier.

 

[nwoody2001]

what you have just described was Emirates before they launched BHX...

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray and all, now with the completion with the takeover of one of our midland teams now has been confirmed, I don't think that if he's got to travel to and from Birmingham, heathrow to Beijing and back every so often, he's not going to enjoy the distance in travel to get to Beijing via heathrow then Birmingham, so he might start making calls to higher up officials to try and get a direct flight from Birmingham to Beijing hopefully with air China, because if I was him, then I certainly want that charade that's in place at present, I would want to get it sorted out... Andyc