Route Development & Rumours

[Coathanger16]

Of course I'd welcome any new routes to Canada and the US.

Was there any indication that because Westjet were pleased with the response they had, that they would be investigating potential routes from other UK airports?

 

[BHXsupporter]

All the article said about Westjet otherwise was: 'WestJet spokeswoman Lauren Stewart told Airways that “Gatwick was our target from the beginning because of its connectivity out of London: Some 45 airlines operate from Gatwick, offering WestJet guests low fares and easy connections to and from approximately 200 destinations in 90 countries; more destinations than from any other airport in the UK.' In that sense BHX has reasonable connectivity for Canadian passengers to Europe and further afield now so maybe we are in their sights!

I've also found a quote from Gregg Saretsky the boss of WestJet: "WestJet needs more well-managed and efficient airports like Gatwick to continue to offer the best fares available for our guests. As we look at more international destinations as part of our growth strategy, we will look to airports who share our passion for efficient, low-cost travel combined with a remarkable guest experience." Can BHX meet these criteria? Discuss; probably because we now seem to be attracting more LoCos. Need to keep the passenger flows up though on landing and have a good frequency from BHX on trains/buses.

Westjet currently operates services to Dublin from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and to Glasgow from Halifax. I've a friend who has used this service and thought it was very good value.

 

[thunderchild]

The main issue with WestJet is they simply don't have the aircraft to launch any new long haul routes at the moment.

 

[Jerry]

I they have a lot aircraft on order specifically the 737 Max 7 and 8 but not sure about anymore 767s. They also have agreements with Delta and American airlines so their Toronto base could act as a hub to the US.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Westjet mentioned possible flights to Birmingham back in October 2015. Hopefully discussions are still ongoing.


Gregg Saretsky, chief executive, has told the Financial Times that the airline is in talks with other airports in Europe about additional services — flying from cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Rome, but also considering UK destinations, including Manchester and Birmingham.

https://www.ft.com/content/d978c7d8-6ea8-11e5-8171-ba1968cf791a

 

[Coathanger16]

After New York, Toronto must surely be one of the top North American destinations from BHX in terms of demand. Daily flights on both routes would put BHX in a good position going forward to attract more N.American flights.

 

[ethanegcc]

What has happened to YYZ with Air India?

 

[Coathanger16]

What has happened to YYZ with Air India?

Who knows? I don't think even Air India knows at this stage!

 

[David_itl]

http://www.anna.aero/2017/01/24/europe-thailand-trends/

Forget about the lead story. what is very encouraging is that BHX-BKK is the 8th biggest unserved route between Europe and Thailand. 43,000 passengers. I do wonder if Norwegian is contemplating a long-haul base at BHX whether they may look into this? Or potentially NokScoot. Nice "thin" route for a 787

 

[Ray Finkle]

I've just been reading that, some interesting figures.

Like Manchester, the top two connecting points for Birmingham traffic in 2016 were Dubai (53%) and Doha (23%). Demand between Birmingham and Bangkok has risen at a much faster rate than the unserved Manchester link, with data highlighting that the estimated passenger flow between Birmingham and the Thai capital has risen by 134% during the past four years.

So BHX-BKK has risen 134% in four years. This comes as no coincidence really seeing as we've had rather large capacity increases from Emirates and Turkish along with the addition of Qatar. It shows that the demand is there and as services are added, they are used.

I wonder what numbers BHX could achieve with even more connection options (a second daily Qatar and the addition of Etihad for example), it would be interesting to know.

 

[nwoody2001]

Very very encouraging to read however!

 

[Barry Beeth]

At risk of ridicule (as usual), I SWEAR i've just seen, in the advertising banner on the right of the forum index of this very page (you know, where the delightful Russian ladies reside (or is that just me?!)), an advert from Easyjet, recruiting cabin crew for, er, BHX!

I could have been half asleep (I AM at work!) but I'm pretty sure that's what I saw. Pressing F5 about 600 times didn't help (though the Russian ladies kep coming back, which was nice). Awaiting incoming...

 

[paul]

Hi seen the advert open day in birmingham but for crew for luton

 

[Barry Beeth]

Ah. Ridiculed! Knew it! Mystery solved, thanks Paul...

 

[richard winterbourn]

Mystery solved, but still a mystery..... Why would EasyJet hold recruitment for Luton in Birmingham, a city where they do not have a base. Does it sound odd to anyone else?

 

[Barry Beeth]

Big population in its own right, easy to get to for everybody else, not a million miles from Luton. Much as I'd like it to sound odd, I think it could be legit...

 

[Ray Finkle]

I'm glad that it's not just me who gets those adverts for the Russian ladies

I seem to have Jet2 ski routes at the moment though

 

[Brum X]

Birmingham Airport 'needs a fair deal' to compete with Scotland

http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/birmingham-airport-needs-fair-deal-12509856

 

[ethanegcc]

England and Scotland need to be on a 'level playing field' for most things, which is not the case at the moment, in my opinion.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

We've debated the APD subject many times in the BRS and CWL threads with the Welsh Government still hoping to have APD powers devolved to them which might have a marginal effect on BHX too.

The UK already resembles a quasi federal state with more taxing-raising and other powers on their way to the devolved governments of three of the four constituent countries. This has and will continue to lead to inequitable situations.

Scotland was given further devolved powers, including APD, as a last, desperate attempt to stop its citizens voting for independence from the UK.