Route Development & Rumours

[lbaspotter]

Okay seen as the info is posted elsewhere on the Internet understand Eurowings applied for Munich - Leeds service operating 3x weekly at the recent ICAO world slot Conference which was held in Atlanta earlier this month.

Operates = Mon Weds Fri - arr LBA 19.35 dep LBA 20.15

Interestingly Eurowings have also applied for Munich slots for 2 other new UK routes to Liverpool and Glagow.

 

[leedslad]

Great news will be so useful for the business I work for... looking forward to some sort of announcement.

Handy for long weekends too!

 

[752]

Just looking at the LBA-PMI route for next summer, as it stands it is looking quite impressive, with a total of 7 YES 7 flights on a Thursday in summer.

We have:

6:30AM - TOM
6:30AM - LS
8:40AM - LS
9:30AM - FR
9:35AM - FR
16:10PM - ZB
16:20PM - LS

That is approx. 1,200 seats one way to Palma on a Thursday!

 

[ChurchFenton]

Operates = Mon Weds Fri - arr LBA 19.35 dep LBA 20.15

One of my first thoughts when I saw the operating days and times for the rumoured Eurowings flights was how similar they are to the short lived SAS service we enjoyed (and I was lucky enough to make use of).

Hopefully, more people will use this service, if confirmed.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Just looking at the LBA-PMI route for next summer, as it stands it is looking quite impressive, with a total of 7 YES 7 flights on a Thursday in summer.

We have:

6:30AM - TOM
6:30AM - LS
8:40AM - LS
9:30AM - FR
9:35AM - FR
16:10PM - ZB
16:20PM - LS

That is approx. 1,200 seats one way to Palma on a Thursday!

In light of this post i've decided to look at our biggest markets out of LBA next year;

As to be expected PMI is the biggest market from LBA with a remarkable 35 weekly flights peak summer -

Monday - 4 Flights
Tuesday - 5 Flights
Wednesday - 4 Flights
Thursday - 7 Flights
Friday - 4 Flights
Saturday - 6 Flights
Sunday - 5 Flights

The 2nd largest may surprise you with it been AGP and 26 weekly flights.
Monday, Friday & Saturday see 3 flights
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday see 4 flights
Sunday sees 5 flights

Joint 3rd is ALC and FAO.
ALC:
Monday, Thursday & Sunday see 4 flights.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday see 3 flights.

FAO:
Thursday, Saturday & Sunday see 4 flights
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday see 3 flights.

4th is TFS
Sole daily flight on Wednesday and Thursdays with 2 for the remainder of the week each day.

Remarkable this little airport pulls can attract that many flights a week to these destinations.

 

[ex_crew]

I understand that the SAS route was axed due to the agreement with Binter Air , not necessarily a reflection on the recorded loads at that time.

The route was given a go previously by British Midland which also was stopped , so there could be some truth in it.

Eurowings would be a great move forward for LBA , the more foreign carriers we have parked on the ramp , the higher potential there is to attract more.

The success of the route does depend on the loads , which also depends on the correct marketing , like any new brand.

Im amazed that we could have quite a selection of German routes but still missing Frankfurt

 

[whoshotjimmi]

There are a few points that I would like to make about Eurowings considering the potential interest, a couple of which concern me and a couple of which give me hope.

Firstly, it should be noted that they would be operating on a route that had previously not fared particularly well at LBA using, theoretically, the same type of aircraft. A start up operation to Munich would be far more suited to an A319 - particularly with LBA weather performance in mind - but Eurowings currently does not have any of this type. This could leave the route significantly over capacity to begin with. Additionally, Eurowings - and German aviation in general - has faced a difficult period and the airline is currently undergoing significant restructuring including the takeover of part of Air Berlin's operation.

The good news is that Eurowings is a still expanding airline with potential for other new routes for LBA to tap into should it be a success. They have bases across Germany and Austria and also codeshare with Lufthansa, which is significant when taking the Lufthansa Munich base into account. They operate a "blindfold" ticket across their network where passengers pay a low price and are sent to an unknown destination, increasing the potential for inbound custom (Eurowings would undoubtedly do a better job of marketing two way travel), Yorkshire is doing a better job of marketing itself abroad since Monarch flew the route, Britain has become more attractive to European visitors as the pound is slightly weaker and LBA is slowly starting to do a better job at attracting non based airlines.

In an ideal world, you would be looking for it to be successful, for Eurowings to then depose Jet2 from the Dusseldorf route (which we know to be profitable but doesn't fit into the Jet2 portfolio) and to then slowly expand to places such as Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna and Salzburg. Eurowings would certainly do more for an LBA - Munich route than Monarch ever did or could and, given the right support, could be a success. More importantly, it is exactly the sort of thing that LBA needs to continue to grow. If the owners are not going to wholeheartedly throw themselves into development, the management needs to expand using the untapped potential of the quieter times.

 

[rmac]

I wholeheartedly agree with whoshotjimmi regarding the possible new route with Eurowings to Munich. A A320 might seem a bit overcapacity to begin with but hopefully, and with onward connections possible, the route will become firmly established. I read somewhere that Glasgow and Liverpool were also in the application to serve Munich. Many years ago with British Airways you could fly to various European cities such as Paris, Madrid, Milan via Birmingham from both GLA and EDI. I remember flying to Paris CDG on a BAC 1-11 - we had disembark at Birmingham then re-board before continuing on the CDG. It was no problem. So why not Eurowings operating GLA-LBA- MUC on say 5 or 6 days until each airport can sustain a direct service.
I also think Yorkshire has so much to offer for inbound tourists and LBA is ideally placed for The Dales, Harrogate, York, and of course Leeds. Several friends of ours in Scotland have spent time in Harrogate and York and loved it and want to go again. This should also boost foreign tourists using MUC -LBA. Of course carrying on to GLA and all that Scotland has to offer must be a bonus too!

 

[White Heather]

If Eurowings did something like you suggest rmac, with (in the short term) the continuation of the flight to Scotland, then EDI would be a better bet for LBA given its own tourist attractions and the complete absence of any airlink from LBA to EDI - although that would be dependent upon them obtaining a licence to carry LBA - EDI, which I doubt they would even bother applying for. Airlines these days don't seem to like split loads because although it enables them to fill the aircraft, operating costs are significantly increased, with double airport landing fees and using additional fuel for take off twice each time instead of once. The aircraft spends significantly less time at altitude in the cruise where the fuel consumption is reduced. It also doubles the risk of disruption at times of poor weather and generally due to various operational delays. The vast majority of such operations have failed in the past so I cannot see it happening.

 

[rmac]

I agree I cannot see it happening. Having said that when in the US I have been on several flights which do just that. I was only saying it used to be a practice years ago. For instance you could change in Birmingham to a different flight which had come down from say Glasgow for the next onward leg. After all, was it easier to change at Birmingham compared to going on down to Heathrow!

 

[LBA787]

Just looking at the LBA-PMI route for next summer, as it stands it is looking quite impressive, with a total of 7 YES 7 flights on a Thursday in summer.

We have:

6:30AM - TOM
6:30AM - LS
8:40AM - LS
9:30AM - FR
9:35AM - FR
16:10PM - ZB
16:20PM - LS

That is approx. 1,200 seats one way to Palma on a Thursday!

Are Ryanair's flights really 5 minutes apart!

PMI is such cash cow right now you could probably add more flights to it! Alas from what I've seen demand is so high from all UK departure points so much so the only thing stopping more flights is the near 100% hotel occupancy rates! Yes it's the second of December yet the island is already at near full capacity for the summer!

As I haven't been for a number of years would those of you who have care to share your thoughts on it? What I mean is will the Spanish government allow developers to build mega hotels like Benidorm!? Potentially ruining the very charm that many flock to see.

How is the Airport coping? A look on google earth clearly shows a small terminal extension, will this be enough?

Sorry for the thread drift!

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

LBA787 - it is a cash cow alright. When you say however hotels are at near 100% occupancy rate does this mean with all the contracting for tour operators? Bed Banks etc?

Cause i can get a family of four, peak summer, nearly a choice of 125 hotels with Jet2holidays alone without searching with the likes of Thomson, Thomas Cook, Monarch.

 

[Aviador]

A look on google earth clearly shows a small terminal extension

Where you looking? I can't see anything.

 

[LBA787]

LBA787 - it is a cash cow alright. When you say however hotels are at near 100% occupancy rate does this mean with all the contracting for tour operators? Bed Banks etc?

Cause i can get a family of four, peak summer, nearly a choice of 125 hotels with Jet2holidays alone without searching with the likes of Thomson, Thomas Cook, Monarch.

Yes that's correct the big tour operators from across Europe have pretty much bought the lot already! Of course you can still buy holidays to Majorca through them but as it stands hotels are selling out extremely fast well for jet2 they are anyway! PMI airport will be bursting next summer!

 

[LBA787]

Where you looking? I can't see anything.

Look at the difference between google maps and bing maps. Bing has the updated image... There is clearly a new addition with a white roof and around 5-6 new air bridges added where there used to be vehicles parked.

I don't know how to post pictures Aviador so if you find the difference you could post the pictures so others can see.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

I was reading an article in the local Palma paper in summer that noted a record of 1054 aircraft in and out the airport in one day a new record.
In addition it noted a scarcity of landing slots in the peak late morning and late afternoon time slots and with over 25 million passengers the runways coming under pressure.
With regard to occupancy levels even on the main land because of an uplift in tourist numbers great pressure, the hotel we stay is virtually full for next year and they are independant and dont offer through booking sites. We have already had to book for Easter 2018 to secure the dates we want, we booked Easter 2017 in May this year.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Yes that's correct the big tour operators from across Europe have pretty much bought the lot already! Of course you can still buy holidays to Majorca through them but as it stands hotels are selling out extremely fast well for jet2 they are anyway! PMI airport will be bursting next summer!

Majorca is & imo will always be the no.1 summer destination from most northern european countries. Short flight time coupled with nicer warm weather. However i wouldn't say anyone is selling extremely fast; December is a traditionally quieter time of year for bookings. Once the Christmas blues hit - that is when sales peak for every tour operator, travel agent, online agency and airline.

It is going to be a very challenging time for PMI in the heart of Summer next year. I would expect to see delays due to slots stemming from the amount of traffic going in. To expand into PMI i would say an airline either

*needs to fly earlier from the UK (i.e 05:30 departures)
OR
*later at night form the UK (i.e 19:00 departures)

or both.

 

[Seasider]

Eurowings has announced the setting up of a base at Munich from 31 March 2017, over 30 routes. No mention of flights to LBA, sad to see the rumour didn't materialise. One for "believe it when you see it"

 

[imagineif]

8:40AM - LS
9:30AM - FR
9:35AM - FR
16:10PM - ZB
16:20PM - LS

There are a few points that I would like to make about Eurowings considering the potential interest, a couple of which concern me and a couple of which give me hope.

Firstly, it should be noted that they would be operating on a route that had previously not fared particularly well at LBA using, theoretically, the same type of aircraft. A start up operation to Munich would be far more suited to an A319 - particularly with LBA weather performance in mind - but Eurowings currently does not have any of this type. This could leave the route significantly over capacity to begin with. Additionally, Eurowings - and German aviation in general - has faced a difficult period and the airline is currently undergoing significant restructuring including the takeover of part of Air Berlin's operation.

The good news is that Eurowings is a still expanding airline with potential for other new routes for LBA to tap into should it be a success. They have bases across Germany and Austria and also codeshare with Lufthansa, which is significant when taking the Lufthansa Munich base into account. They operate a "blindfold" ticket across their network where passengers pay a low price and are sent to an unknown destination, increasing the potential for inbound custom (Eurowings would undoubtedly do a better job of marketing two way travel), Yorkshire is doing a better job of marketing itself abroad since Monarch flew the route, Britain has become more attractive to European visitors as the pound is slightly weaker and LBA is slowly starting to do a better job at attracting non based airlines.

In an ideal world, you would be looking for it to be successful, for Eurowings to then depose Jet2 from the Dusseldorf route (which we know to be profitable but doesn't fit into the Jet2 portfolio) and to then slowly expand to places such as Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna and Salzburg. Eurowings would certainly do more for an LBA - Munich route than Monarch ever did or could and, given the right support, could be a success. More importantly, it is exactly the sort of thing that LBA needs to continue to grow. If the owners are not going to wholeheartedly throw themselves into development, the management needs to expand using the untapped potential of the quieter times.

FYI Eurowings does operate the A319 as they have the aircraft at Germanwings (x43) at its disposal. Germanwings is now just a name on a plane and Eurowings is the actual operating entity. In time the Germanwings livery will go and the aircraft painted into Eurowings livery. I have seen several Germanwings A319s about ... operating for Eurowings.

 

[lbaspotter]

Eurowings has announced the setting up of a base at Munich from 31 March 2017, over 30 routes. No mention of flights to LBA, sad to see the rumour didn't materialise. One for "believe it when you see it"

Sadly it looks like Eurowings used LBA code as a slot holder at Munich for another route. If I remember correctly bmi regional did this a few times in the past, so the not the only airline to do it and there is nothing to stop others doing it again in the future.