Flybe

[TheLocalYokel]

I agree about the aircraft sizes as we've discussed before.

Given the number of additional Flybe flights through this winter the overall passenger figures at the airport were always going to be impressively higher than the corresponding month last year as of course will be the case each month this winter.

The number of flights not operated is certainly a factor although that doesn't affect the average loads/load factors. CWL is certainly not unique in seeing a draught in mid winter especially January. easyJet reduces many of its rotations during the worst of the winter months even on routes such as Rome (FCO) from BRS that operates daily with very high loads for most of the year but which is reduced to less than daily in January.

However, Cork and Faro are particularly disappointing and surprising.

February will certainly be better. The half term factor will kick in for starters and generally the airport will see a lot of business as always via the Six Nations.

 

[Em0866]

6 Nations this year is the year where Wales play Ireland and England away. With Scotland, Italy and France being at home the air lifts are not that popular from those who travel to Cardiff by air. I don't know if they rather drive or make other arrangements but next year there will be more flying to EDI, Paris and Rome.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Winter 2016-2017

Flybe has launched the first part of its programme from CWL for next winter.

DUB has been dropped completely with a new route to Berlin Tegel (2 x weekly) and GLA increased to double daily on weekdays. Geneva will operate 3 x weekly.

Given that DUB had 12 weekly rotations, although in practice not all were flown this winter, and DUS apparently axed as well it means that there are still some slots left with more announcements to come.

[textarea]Flybe confirms new route and extra flights

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, has released the first phase of its 2016/17 winter programme today (15th March). The announcement features a number of exciting features for Welsh passengers including a brand new route to Berlin.

Flights to Berlin Tegel (TXL) will begin operating twice a week on a Wednesday and Saturday from 2 November 2016, with fares available from just £34.99 one way including taxes and charges:

Schedule from 2 November:

Departs CWL 1020 Arrives TXL 1320
Departs TXL 1355 Arrive CWL 1505

Today’s announcement also sees Flybe’s Glasgow route increasing to 11 flights per week, meaning Welsh business passengers have even more day return options from Cardiff.

Ski flights have proven extremely popular this winter which has resulted in the release of even more flights to Geneva for the winter 2016/17 ski season. This route will now increase to three flights per week, departing on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and is a convenient gateway to ski and snowboarding resorts in Switzerland, France and Italy.

The service to Paris Charles de Gaulle will continue to operate daily with the flight times now operating earlier in the day, improving Air France connectivity for passengers travelling onward and to allow families longer trips in Disneyland Paris.

Debra Barber, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, commented: “Flybe’s two aircraft base is fast approaching its first anniversary at Cardiff Airport, and during this time we have seen the network go from strength to strength.

“It is fantastic to see the airline responding to the demands of the Welsh market by adding additional capacity and another new route to its network. It is vital that our customers are offered a wide variety of destinations both for leisure and business travel - at the right price - and Flybe is doing just that. We look forward to another successful winter season and continued success for Flybe at Cardiff Airport.”

Vincent Hodder, Flybe’s Chief Revenue Officer, comments: “Many of our customers have told us they want to plan ahead in order to take advantage of the lowest possible fares so we have ensured that this year we have put the majority of our 2016-17 Winter programme on sale extra early.

“The diversity of our winter destinations is ideal for those wanting to book early, affordable business travel as well as those looking for short leisure breaks especially over the autumn half-term and Christmas/New Year period. To ensure the lowest possible fares, we would advise customers to book their travel for next winter now.”

Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, Edwina Hart said: “The addition of this new Flybe route to Berlin is great news for Welsh passengers and the tourism industry and a sign of growing confidence in Cardiff Airport. Following the recent increase in passenger numbers this is another positive step in the continuing development of the Airport.”

Flights released today, including the new Berlin route, are for travel between 30th October 2016 and 31st January, 2017 with further flights for next winter due to be released in the coming weeks.[/textarea]

CWL press release at http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/201 ... a-flights/

 

[Em0866]

This is great news with a new destination from CWL with Flybe. Although it appears DUB has been dropped, with EI doing that route anyway I am not that concerned. Good news on the increase on the GLA route and also increasing on the GVA route too. With Flybe's track record there may well be further announcements on increased capacity or another route announcement in the coming weeks. On a more personal level I was thinking of going to Berlin on a city break later this year anyway. I think I may wait until the end of the year and use this new service!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

My wife and I have done quite a number of city breaks over the past 20 years and we did Berlin about ten years ago. We flew with easyJet to Berlin Schonefeld, once the Soviet airport for the city.

I can thoroughly recommend Berlin as a tourist destination. There is so much to see and if you have an interest in pre-war and wartime history as I have then the city is full of interest.

Having Flybe and EIR on the DUB always seemed strange and with EIR's transatlantic connections it's the better bet for travellers. If it was Ryanair and EIR that might work, depending how many daily rotations Ryanair flew.

 

[Em0866]

As I studied the 2nd World War in school many years ago I have always had an interest in the subject. I had thought of taking EZY from BRS but I won't know. Being on this side of the Bridge it makes more sense to use my local airport when I can. With destinations from CWL slowly growing then it is more likely that I'll use CWL more often. Although there will be some destinations that could never work from CWL, but then I'll fly from the relevant airports to get to those destinations

 

[jfy1999]

I read a post on the dried fruit forum saying that VLM will be using F50 aircraft to operate CWL-LCY on behalf of Flybe. There will apparently be 24 flights each week from September 12 to October 24.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I read a post on the dried fruit forum saying that VLM will be using F50 aircraft to operate CWL-LCY on behalf of Flybe. There will apparently be 24 flights each week from September 12 to October 24.

Seems to be four daily on weekdays and two daily on Saturdays and Sundays.

The dates suggest that the service will operate during the period the Severn Tunnel is closed for electrification work.

 

[CraigW92]

Back from a lovely few days in the Algarve flying with Flybe, both flights well loaded, 89 outbound and 92 inbound, lovely comfortable aircraft as well, both flights on time so I can't complain at all with the service

Departure lounge is looking increasingly better, more vibrant with renovation works that have taken place, I unfortunately didn't take any pictures however I notice today that there is a YouTube video showing the updated departure area:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Welcome back, Craig and very glad you enjoyed your stay in the Algarve. The departure lounge area looks good.

 

[CraigW92]

Thanks Local, it does look a lot better in person too, less cramped and messy for a start, good progress has been made in revamping the airport from the outside, arrivals, check in and now departures , next step is convincing more airlines to use it !

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks Local, it does look a lot better in person too, less cramped and messy for a start, good progress has been made in revamping the airport from the outside, arrivals, check in and now departures , next step is convincing more airlines to use it !

The last remark is certainly the big test. I've been reading for a while now that Cardiff and the neighbouring Vale of Glamorgan are growing rapidly both in terms of population and new jobs with a large proportion in the private sector. Obviously that can only be extremely positive for Wales's economy and potentially very important for CWL. Wales needs to rebalance its disproportionate reliance on public sector jobs and this is a good start along that path.

I didn't listen to the Queen's Speech today but I believe a new Wales Bill was included in it. It remains to be seen whether devolution of APD will be one of the elements in the Bill when its contents are revealed in due course. If it is and it subsequently becomes law it's bound to have a profoundly positive effect on CWL's fortunes as the Wales Assembly Government has already said it will reduce APD to nil.

Of course, the more that CWL grows its passenger numbers the more tax revenue the WAG would forfeit if it abolishes or nil rates APD.

 

[Jerry]

Flybe's CWL-TXL Berlin will start on the 1/10/2016. It'll be every Saturday for october and then go to every wednesday and saturday from november. This is due to high demand which hopefully bodes well for the route!

 

[Aviador]

Back from a lovely few days in the Algarve flying with Flybe, both flights well loaded, 89 outbound and 92 inbound, lovely comfortable aircraft as well, both flights on time so I can't complain at all with the service

Departure lounge is looking increasingly better, more vibrant with renovation works that have taken place, I unfortunately didn't take any pictures however I notice today that there is a YouTube video showing the updated departure area:

Spacious and airy, looks great. Hope you had a great time.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Flybe's CWL-TXL Berlin will start on the 1/10/2016. It'll be every Saturday for october and then go to every wednesday and saturday from november. This is due to high demand which hopefully bodes well for the route!

Encouraging. A November commencement is always going to be testing but Berlin is a very attractive destination.

 

[Jerry]

Encouraging. A November commencement is always going to be testing but Berlin is a very attractive destination.

It's also on an E190 so i don't know what the LCY Q400 will do on Saturday afternoon. I did wonder if thats what they were using.

 

[CraigW92]

More the case that Verona is ending earlier than originally scheduled, ends on September 24th... Hence the early introduction on Berlin.

 

[Aviador]

Encouraging. A November commencement is always going to be testing but Berlin is a very attractive destination.

Should be a great time to start Berlin. Just in time for the German Christmas markets.

23rd November – 31st December 2016

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/berlin_christmas_market.php

 

[Em0866]

More the case that Verona is ending earlier than originally scheduled, ends on September 24th... Hence the early introduction on Berlin.

It is usual for holidays to the Lake Garda area to end at the end of September. If you look at departures from LGW on Thomson Lakes and Mountains they also end at the end of September. This indicates the end of the season for this area, which is probably why the flight ends at this time.

 

[Jerry]

Have been looking at the CWL-LCY flights and this is the schedule
Mon-Thurs
CWL-LCY 05:35-06:50
LCY-CWL 07:20-08:20
CWL-LCY 09:05-10:20
LCY-CWL 10:50-11:50
CWL-LCY 13:35-14:50
LCY-CWL 15:20-16:20
CWL-LCY 18:25-19:40
LCY-CWL 20:10-21:10
Fridays
CWL-LCY 05:45-07:00
LCY-CWL 07:30-08:30
CWL-LCY 09:15-10:30
LCY-CWL 11:00-12:00
CWL-LCY 13:15-14:30
LCY-CWL 15.00-16:00
CWL-LCY 18:25-19:40
LCY-CWL 20:10-21:10
Saturdays
CWL-LCY 07:05-08:20
LCY-CWL 08:50-09:50
CWL-LCY 10:35-11:50
LCY-CWL 12:20-13:20
Sundays
CWL-LCY 13:35-14:50
LCY-CWL 15:20-16:20
CWL-LCY 17:15-18:30
LCY-CWL 19:00-20:00
There are no Saturday afternoon flights or Sunday morning flights so I wonder if the Q400 will be flown back to it's original base on Saturday with a different one flown in on a Sunday so that potentially 6 different aircraft could fly the route with their crews based temporarily in Cardiff for a week at a time?