Bristol: EasyJet Route News & Base Updates

[Jerry]

It might have a small bearing but as I said earlier if easyJet thought it would be a significant issue they would have reduced these rotations right through the summer. There's been no Jet2 advertising in the West Country. I doubt that many people there are aware of Jet2 at BHX. Jet2 is not a well-known brand in the south.

I've seen some tv ads on ITV but they never mentioned BHX.
When do Easyjet usually release there next batch of flights?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I've seen some tv ads on ITV but they never mentioned BHX.
When do Easyjet usually release there next batch of flights?

Do you mean the winter programme, Jerry? If so, I'm not sure.

 

[Jerry]

Do you mean the winter programme, Jerry? If so, I'm not sure.

I was wondering if Easyjet still had flights to release.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I was wondering if Easyjet still had flights to release.

That's what we are wondering.

It was said by a named senior easyJet figure (I can't recall her name) in the autumn that new BRS routes would be released in the New Year (per local Bristol press). However, Pula and Kefalonia were announced before Christmas (a few weeks after after the report appeared in the local press). Whether that is the total number of new routes that were to be announced in the New Year is not clear.

As things stand, unless more new routes are announced that are to be operated by aircraft from other bases, the scope from BRS is limited given the relatively few gaps that still exist in the schedule and they would be for peak summer only as there don't appear to be gaps in June.

The alternative is for a 15th based aircraft for peak summer which would then open up more opportunities. BRS used to have an additional aircraft in peak summer for a number of years that was then added to the 'permanent' summer complement the following year. That was mainly how the BRS base built up over the years.

So the answer is really that I don't know.

 

[NOSIGWX]

I was wondering if Easyjet still had flights to release.

More to come for Summer 2017

 

[TheLocalYokel]

More to come for Summer 2017

If the 'more to come' involves filling some of the gaps following reductions in July/August over June, they may be 1 or 2 weekly to holiday resorts in peak summer. If that is so then I've thought for a while that BRS is relatively underserved to such airports as Larnaca and Rhodes. easyJet flies to other UK airports, mainly but not exclusively London, from LCA and RHO.

 

[kraktoa]

Another profits warning announced today by easyjet. Share prices down 6%.

Do you think this has a bearing on summer flights that have still to be released?

Stelios, the largest shareholder is also against fleet expansion and now locking horns with the chairman. His shareholding is not providing the dividents he expects. The company is expanding its fleet by 9 percent and blindly following the lead of other expanding airlines like Ryanair. But it will expose them if there is another downturn. The fall out for Bristol airport, which is reliant on a single airline like EZY would be grave.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/37637/stelios-attacks-easyjet-fleet-plans


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business...bulence-warns-105m-drop-profits-due-weakened/

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It appears that the problem is the fall in the GBP which would be likely to affect all UK airlines to a greater or lesser degree. It seems the underlying model is robust.

Stelios has been a vocal critic of the airline for a long time and his fears for the airline a few years ago never materialised in actuality. He might be right this time or he might not be - only time will tell.

If easyJet did hit seriously choppy waters causing it to downsize significantly it's probable that it would not be affected in isolation because the market generally would likely to be the cause.

As for the still fewer flights in peak summer compared with spring/early summer, it might be thought that the spring/early summer period would have been the one to have seen the reduction as fares, loads (and presumably yields) are higher in July and August.

Relying on one customer is never ideal for any business and BRS does lean heavily on easyJet (about 50% of its passenger numbers) but then again, as I pointed out a few weeks ago, so do a lot of other smaller airports.

BRS has been there before. In 1974 passenger numbers declined by 36% on 1973 when Court Line (the airport's major holiday carrier then) ceased to trade. Passenger numbers then were tiny (under 300,000 a year) but the effect on the airport was still substantial.

 

[Marko1]

Is it me or are easyJet's fares from brs very expensive? Just have a look at a range of destinations in July and I'm shocked at how expensive they are . I guess it indicates demand is certainly there. Let's hope for more frequencies plus some competition

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Is it me or are easyJet's fares from brs very expensive? Just have a look at a range of destinations in July and I'm shocked at how expensive they are . I guess it indicates demand is certainly there. Let's hope for more frequencies plus some competition

I've had a random look at about 20 routes looking at the 3-week view of the cheapest fares in July and they don't seem exceptionally expensive for the time of year. Domestic routes still come in at circa £24 per sector and routes such as BCN, AMS and GVA seem to have sector fares in the £30-£50 range. The sun routes are obviously the dearer ones but, as you suggest, the demand usually drives the fare prices.

Obviously the cheapest fares might not be widespread and there may well be very high fares at other times.

I posted a comparison of the WOW and easyJet cares on BRS-KEF in the BRS WOW thread recently and easyJet is considerably more expensive, with many sector fares around £200 and over £300 on at least one date.

A member posted that last week he had flown to Keflavik for a short break: BRS-KEF with WOW and return with easyJet. Sector fares were £49 and £200 respectively. Both aircraft (WOW used an A321) were full - in mid-January.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Summer 2017

I've read a couple posts (here and on another aviation website) suggesting that there might be a 15th based easyjet aircraft for summer 2017. Number 14 will arrive this summer (13 in summer 2016) and appears to have work before peak summer (July/August early September)* which is the period in past years when an additional based aircraft would be introduced (and then brought back for the entire summer the following year).

Given that there are some gaps in July and August this year and there are still those who believe that more routes will be announced it's just possible that aircraft 15 might arrive to operate routes in peak summer. There are still five months to go until then so there would be time for bookings to come in, accepting that normally it would be pretty late to announce new summer routes now for the entire summer. I'm not confident that this will happen but you never know.

* For example this is the first group of flights on Monday 12 June this year.

0550 Catania
0605 Malaga
0605 Palma
0635 Edinburgh
0640 Murcia
0640 Amsterdam
0650 Faro
0700 Newcastle
0700 Inverness
0700 Belfast International
0705 Paphos
0715 Glasgow
0715 Pisa
0720 Funchal

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Winter 2016-2017

Having had a look at this summer's easyJet offering (see #484 previously in this thread) where there are 323 weekly rotations on 55 routes in June, I checked February and find that there are 239 weekly rotations on 44 routes. Much of January would have been slightly less than this; nevertheless it's good to see winters gradually becoming stronger (Ryanair is up 25% on last winter). This winter is significantly busier in terms of flights than recent ones. Obviously some of the 44 routes in winter are winter-only in the same way that some of the 55 routes in summer are summer-only.

Unsurprisingly, with the half term holiday upon us many services are sold out at the end of this week and through the weekend.

I hadn't realised that EDI is now 27 x weekly (the last time I looked it was 26 x weekly):

Monday 5 rotations; Tuesday 4; Wednesday 4; Thursday 4; Friday 5; Saturday 1; Sunday 4.

All 4 of tomorrow's northbound sectors are sold out, with 2 on Friday, 3 on Sunday and 1 on Monday also sold out. Southbounds have fewer sold outs at present.

 

[Marko1]

I see that easyJet have launched two new routes from Luton so there is still time for some new routes hopefully

 

[Marko1]

There is some tinkering going on with the schedule this summer. Mahon goes 4 weekly in June and Nantes goes 3 weekly in June. Something more to come ?

 

[Jerry]

Are they increases or decreases?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There is some tinkering going on with the schedule this summer. Mahon goes 4 weekly in June and Nantes goes 3 weekly in June. Something more to come ?

Are they increases or decreases?

These are increases on the original early summer schedule. Mahon was 3 x weekly and Nantes 2 x weekly in June originally. However Mahon drops back to 3 x weekly from July onwards and Nantes was only scheduled to operate in May and June this year and currently that's what it still does.

Unless other routes have been reduced in June the disparity between June and peak summer is now even greater.

 

[Marko1]

Just had a look now again at June and Palma goes up to 3 x daily on certain days in June but not in august ! Something very strange or something imminent?

 

[Marko1]

and faro has a third flight on tues

 

[Marko1]

Almost the end of Feb. Are we likely to see any more routes or frequencies now for the summer or is this likely to be it?

 

[superking]

Almost the end of Feb. Are we likely to see any more routes or frequencies now for the summer or is this likely to be it?

any thing is possible with EasyJet and Ryanair come to that. the loco airlines for some reason seem to get away with late announcements. many routes announced near the time of start have done well and doing well.