Charters

[TheLocalYokel]

Pula is back for summer 2010 with TUI - a weekly flight.

It was dropped a couple of summers ago.

 

[Aviador]

I seem to remember the former Yugoslavia destinations been extremely popular back in the late 80's early 90's with 'Yugotours' which was the main operator on the routes. At one stage it seemed as though the area would become more popular than Spain. The best ever summer flights programme to the region was planned for the year the war broke out. Needless to say it all came to a grinding hault. Such a shame.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Most regional airports had Yugotours holidays with the airlines usually being JAT, Inex Adria or Aviogenix.

We never went on one of those holidays but I remember the brochures. We were tempted to holiday at Lake Bled in Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia of course) but never got round to it. In later years we visited Bled from Austria.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

A post in the Dried Plum suggests that Viking Airlines will base an aircraft (B 738?) at BRS in summer 2010 to operate the following routes.

They may be trying to go some way to replicating the XL network, with of course some of the former XL people now associated with Viking.

There seems scope for more routes as the timetable given in the DP has some gaps.

Monday - Corfu
Tuesday - Heraklion (w leg to East Midlands)
Wednesday - Kos (w leg to East Midlands)
Thursday - Arrecife
Friday - Skiathos, Tenerife
Saturday - Kefalonia (w leg to East Midlands)
Sunday - Zante (w leg to East Midlands)

Nothing to do with 2010 but I have noticed a bmi A320 operating weekly to Heraklion this August. Doesn't seem to be a stand-in for existing carriers to Heraklion.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks for that, Humberside.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Reference Kiss Flights and Viking in summer 2010 a fuller programme has now been put on the BRS website.

Monday Corfu and Dalaman

Tuesday Heraklion

Wednesday Kos

Thursday Arrecife and Sharm el Sheikh

Friday Skiathos and Tenerife

Saturday Kefalonia

Sunday Zante

All the destinations are also flown by existing operators except Skiathos which seems to come and go with regularity. Lost a few Greek destinations in recent years - Chania, Santorini, Volos and Kavala are some that come to mind.

Getting some way to covering the departure of XL with ten weekly departures with Kiss/Viking in summer 2010. XL had 15 weekly departures at the time it went bust.

 

[Aviador]

This reminds me of a former Leeds based operator Sunseekers. They operated a similar array of Greek destinations using a leased BA 737-300 operating to Zante, Larnaca, Paphos, Corfu, Heraklion, Kos among others. In fact that was the last time that we (Leeds) had flights to Kos.

How long have Kiss operated out of Bristol?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Kiss only came in this year so far as I am aware.

They seemed to have stepped in to fill the gap left by XL.

Another new company was Teleticket who don't seem to have done so well. They were going to have their own flight (Air Europa) through the summer to TFS and other flights at school holiday times to places such as Paphos and Gran Canaria using Air Europa and bmi. The flights don't seem to have taken place.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Winter 09/10 Sharm el Sheikh

With the onset of the winter charter season next week there will be four weekly flights to Sharm with a fifth commencing at Christmas for the rest of the winter.

Mondays Thomson B 757

Thursdays Thomson B 757 and Koral Blue A 319*

Saturdays Thomas Cook B 757

Sundays Thomson B 757**

* Koral Blue has operated Sharm flights for the past two summers but this is the first winter.

** Commencing after Christmas

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Winter 2009/2010 ski charters

It looks as though BRS will have 13 weekly ski charters this winter which is, I think, one or two down on last winter. The record was 17 per week about four years ago but that was before easyJet and to a much lesser extent, Ryanair, got into the act in a major way.

Given the recession and the merger of the major holiday companies this isn't a bad effort.

Flights are - in order of departure:

Saturdays

TCX Salzburg 320
TOM Geneva 752
TOM Chambery 752
AUA Innsbruck 738
BGH Sofia 320
TOM Verona 320
TOM Salzburg 738
TOM Grenoble 752
TOM Sofia 752


Sundays

TOM Toulouse 752
TOM Turin 752
AEU Chambery 735
MON Kittila 321


Taking in the facts that easyJet flies to Geneva 18 x weekly in the ski season and that easyJet and Ryanair between them also fly to Toulouse, Innsbruck, Grenoble and Turin it shows the ski market is holding up pretty well.

 

[backtrack]

Definately not a bad line up at all ther for BRS to say the times we currently in.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]New destination for winter sun-seekers

Cape Verde

Specialist tour operator, The Gambia Experience, is now offering sun-seekers from across the South West and South Wales the chance to experience another exotic West African destination from Bristol Airport.

For the first time this winter, the company’s Bristol-Banjul flight will continue to the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde, famed for its breathtaking beaches.

The Cape Verde service will operate weekly between December 2010 and March 2011, with a convenient Friday departure.

For additional comfort, an Airport Gold package is available, including access to Bristol Airport’s business lounge, an extra 10kg luggage allowance and a complimentary drink on board the aircraft.[/textarea]

http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/news-an ... ekers.aspx

Perhaps people are becoming a bit bored with The Gambia. It's been running in winter for nearly ten years and used to be twice weekly.

Imaginative idea nonetheless - I hope it works out.

 

[backtrack]

Good addition. One that is getting increasingly popular. Do you know what airline will operate the route for The Gambia Experience, and/or what aircraft they will use?

 

[Aviador]

"the company’s Bristol-Banjul flight will continue to the island of Boa Vista in Cape Verde"

Does this mean that the Boa Vista flight is to operate via The Gambia? It's a shame if The Gambia Experience are no longer able to fill the aircraft to The Gambia but Cape Verde sounds like an excellent addition and certainly one which I would like to try.

[rimg]http://www.capeverdeexperience.co.uk/sharedresources/photolibrary/destinations/cape-verde/properties/boa-vista/parque-das-dunas-hotel/web/parque-das-dunas-hotel-9~Expanded.jpg[/rimg]

http://www.capeverdeexperience.co.uk

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Sounds as though the aircraft will continue to Cape Verde.

Last winter the Banjul route was operated by Hamburg International with the A319.

Perhaps the tour operator will use bigger equipment next winter to take account of the additional destination.

Not so many years ago First Choice operated the Banjul route with a B 757 in competition with The Gambia Experience. One went on Tuesdays, the other on Fridays.

In the past the Gambia Experience has operated the BRS flight beginning and ending at East Midlands. Can't remember if this happened last winter. If it did, an increase in available seats could be achieved by flying from BRS alone.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Newmarket Holidays have added the following charter holiday flights from Bristol in summer 2011 using Small Planet Airlines:

Dubrovnik (2 departures in the season)

Verona (1 departure in the season)

Catania (1 departure in the season).

This is part of an extended summer 2011 programme of one-off or limited season holiday flights by Newmarket Holidays using the Baltic State-based Small Planet Airlines from a number of UK airports.

There was some talk on a major aviation web site a couple of weeks ago that Small Planet might be basing an aircraft at Bristol in summer 2011 but I've heard nothing further.

If an aircraft is based at BRS it might find most of its time committed to the one-off or limited season charters from the various airports that will feature them.

 

[Aviador]

Catania, where's that?

 

[pmscb]

Hi Aviador, Catania is on the island of Sicily

 

[Aviador]

Hi Aviador, Catania is on the island of Sicily

Thanks for that 'pmscb' I had no idea. :smile:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Gambia and Cape Verde

According to a poster on the DP the Bristol-Gambia-Cape Verde route will only operate at Christmas this year with Monarch the carrier.

Bristol-Gambia (Banjul) has operated continuously every winter for well over a decade. At one time it went 2 x weekly.

The poster says The Gambia Experience hasn't been able to source aircraft to operate the routes from Bristol and Stansted to Banjul.

The designated carrier, Hamburg International, went bust a couple of months ago.

With so many aircraft 'laid up' for the winter it seems odd that equipment cannot be found. More likely they cannot be found at a price suitable to The Gambia Experience.