Route Development & Rumours

[thunderchild]

No KLM are not pulling out, they are here to stay. They are not reinstating the 4th daily weekday (MON-FRI) service this summer season, instead AMS-LBA route will remain operated 3x daily.

Gotcha! Thought something must have been amis there!

 

[Finger66]

It's just another example of an airline messing about at LBA. Wasn't it three years ago when KLM went four daily mon to fri. Then went back to 3 and then back to 4. Now we are back at 3. I am sorry but that's just pathetic. Jet2 and Ryanair seem to be the believers in LBA, just has been said the planes are too big to develop the required shorter business routes that need a min double daily frequency so we have to convince a Flybe, Eastern or bmiregional to pick up on these. The demand is clearly there so come on you airlines it's time to take the LBA bull by the horns

 

[a300boy]

I cannot find any flights to Guernsey from Leeds on the Aurigny website so I can only assume they have dropped the route.

 

[lbaspotter]

I cannot find any flights to Guernsey from Leeds on the Aurigny website so I can only assume they have dropped the route.

Are you sure about that "a300boy"? I've just checked Aurigny's website and the Leeds/Bradford - Guernsey route is still bookable for me.
I agree that the route dose not show on its timetable section though for some unknown reason

Screenshot I just took
https://flic.kr/p/RVRZyu

 

[a300boy]

Thanks I will try again !When was the last time we had one arrive ?

 

[a300boy]

I think thats what I did ! Looked at the timetable.

 

[lbaspotter]

Thanks I will try again !When was the last time we had one arrive ?

Todays flight was operated by ATR42, G-HEUT and it arrived at around 14:35.

 

[a300boy]

Panic over I must have missed it !

 

[lbaspotter]

Good to see that Hurtigruten Cruises are returning to Leeds/Bradford next year. They are currently offering a "Classic Round Voyage" 12 day cruise departing on March 17th 2018 using the ship MS Richard. A charter flight will operate from Leeds to Bergen and back, flight schedule timings or airlines details are unknown at this time.

https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/

 

[Bhowani]

Good to see the round trip option back from LBA , even though they are using a modern ship like ms Richard With which was built in 1993. I did the last "round trip" in 2014 with Germania flying us to Bergen & back they were struggling to fill the plane. Just put your laptop and mobile in the boot and go for it. Pricey but well worth it.

 

[imagineif]

It's just another example of an airline messing about at LBA. Wasn't it three years ago when KLM went four daily mon to fri. Then went back to 3 and then back to 4. Now we are back at 3. I am sorry but that's just pathetic. Jet2 and Ryanair seem to be the believers in LBA, just has been said the planes are too big to develop the required shorter business routes that need a min double daily frequency so we have to convince a Flybe, Eastern or bmiregional to pick up on these. The demand is clearly there so come on you airlines it's time to take the LBA bull by the horns

KLM's decision to not return the 4th rotation is explained in the KLM section of this forum. They have added a plethora of new routes this summer out of Amsterdam as well as making Inverness a night stop destination and flying to London City 4-5 times daily. The Alitallia code share agreement on Milan flights is also coming to an end so they have had to cover this capacity requirement at the 11th hour. KLM's cithyopper fleet will be worked to the max with each aircraft doing 6 to 8 rotations a day. The 4th rotation out of Leeds had promising loads last year but like any sensible airline - better to max out 3 rotations instead of having "good loads" across 4 - then you can free up an aircraft to cover these new routes. If they had enough aircraft make no mistake - the 4th rotation would have been back this summer. Its not a case of KLM messing about with Leeds its simple airline business flexibility. 300 seats to Amsterdam a day with connectivity is far from pathetic and KLM is one of LBA's longest serving carriers - it believes very much in Leeds and its UK network forms a massive part of its business.

 

[lbaspotter]

I know this is highly unlikely but saw a press release yesterday that stated that Qatar Airways are going to add 2 new UK routes by the end of this year.

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/interna...r-india-betting-on-futuristic-pm-modi-1674261

Now I know 2 years ago the Qatar Airways UK manager was quoted as saying the airline was looking to introduce flights to Gatwick and Ireland, since then Dublin has been announced and will commence in June. The South West of England and 'possibly' another Scottish airport were also mentioned.

Now we all know things can change and do change, but I wonder if Leeds might have be looked at even though they serve the big bad Airport on the other side of hill?

 

[rmac]

I would have thought so. Leeds has no Middle East connections and there must be a percentage of Yorkshire people who would prefer to fly direct to Doha and then onwards rather than traversing the M62. I appreciate the train direct to MAN from Leeds but there are those who would rather drive to the airport, leave the car or be dropped off at their local airport. Leeds has a big catchment area, relatively wealthy, big industrial base, legal centre, etc. Qatar also have the right equipment to fly from Leeds. Of course the LBA management stated some time ago that they were not concentrating on attracting Long Haul so that might have a factor.
Nice if it happened though!

 

[mdobuk21]

Probably Bristol and Belfast unfortunately

 

[lbaspotter]

Probably Bristol and Belfast unfortunately

Hummmm

What's to say they won't chose Cardiff, especially if the Welsh government owned airport offer a deal they can't refuse along with a promise of removing APD in the future. Also why Belfast? as plenty of passengers travel Dublin just like they do from here to Manchester..

Same can be said for LBA, offer Qatar a deal they can't refuse..

 

[752]

Was just thinking about 2 untapped routes realistic for LBA which I hope management are chasing;

Iceland - Keflavik, WOW air and Icelandair are adding extra frequencies throughout the UK, Thomson has started several UK destinations, as WOW air do not have Northern destinations, I was thinking maybe we could attract them to compete with Icelandair at MAN.

Also Bucharest seems to be a strong performer from the regions, with Wizzair serving it at DSA and Blue air at LPL, Blue air seem to be expanding the UK a lot recently, with their new LPL base opening this week, maybe LBA could attract them in for a couple of weekly flights?!

As for Qatar, if LBA could attract them, that really would be a fantastic achievement! we can only hope!

 

[Bigman]

Qatar...as if....nearly 1st April don't forget!!

 

[mdobuk21]

yeah Cardiff is a possibility , apparently in 2015 Qatar mentioned about operating a western UK route? I cannot see them operating from LBA when they have a good network from MAN. Would be fantastic seeing there 787 on the end of 14!

 

[jason1-11]

Based on Manchester currently having ~ : Emirates at 21, Qatar 16 and Eithad at 14 weekly flights and not even considering Oman Air and Turkish, it’s an absolute a “no brainer” that Leeds could and should have a link into one of the Middle East Hubs. The 787 would be perfect especially with a lunchtime arrival when most of the spring / autumn fog has lifted.

How many passengers originate from Yorkshire on these flights (10% - 20 %) bearing in mind the huge potential into Pakistan alone ???

The issue here is potential vs. reality which often leaves us disappointed when it comes to LBA unfortunately . Prove me wrong Qatar !

 

[lbaspotter]

Wouldn't have to be Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated. as i'm sure Qatar Airways have some Airbus A321NEO's on order now as well.