Luton gain Volareweb!

[Buster the Bear]

Flights to London Gatwick from winter timetable are switched to London Luton, daily from Venice and Rimini (four times a week on Mo-we-fr-su).

With effect Dec. 2nd. 2003 new three times a week from Cagliari to London Luton on Tu-Th-Sa.

So will Ryanair respond to this?

[donder10]

Where does this expansion stop?
Prob on the apron I guess if the new proposed taxiway keeps getting delayed?:ugh:

[Powerjet1]

Excellent news. Saves me trekking around the M25 to STN for my bi-monthly flights to Venice. Looks like things could get pretty `heated` at LTN as all the various proposed flights pan out.

[LTNman]

The taxiway concreting was finished yesterday with just a few narrow strips to be filled in on the main apron. Hopefully less than a months work left on various odds and sods before the closed stands and new taxiway opens. The construction teams are working 13-hour days, 7 days a week so it is clear they are working to some sort of deadline.

[BAe 146-100]

Hi,

That is great news for LTN :ok:.

BAe 146-100

[Buster the Bear]

You can book on their web site right now, strange no local publicity for this coup! I calculate around 200,000 extra passengers at a 70-75% load factor.

[FlyLowCost]

Rumors suggest to think they decided to move from LGW not only for airport fee, but cause they need slots to start new summer service to south Italy.
In the list Rome FCO, Naples, Bari and Catania.

[Buster the Bear]

FlyLowCost, Franco Bear will be pleased, so will half the population of Bedford!

2004 could be a good time to get very cheap fares to Italy, I bet easy and Ryan respond to this!

[EasyServis]

Its about time someone started flying to Rimini from the UK.

Since Ryanair stopped operations when the ownership of Rimini Airport changed, the only flights to Rimini from the UK is a charter flight with MyTravel Airways once a week from LGW and MAN.

Rimini and the Adriatic Coast are great places to visit for a holiday and so its nice to see that someone will be starting cheap flights to make this area more widely available once again.

[GrahamK]

EasyServis, there are also charter flights to Rimini from NCL,GLA and BRS(?) From the UK.

[Powerjet1]

Just a small point, but noticed that ryan seem to have Venice Marco Polo(VCE) showing in their booking system with flights to STN(although you can`t actually book these at the moment) but would indicate they may well be about to announce this route. Are they going to switch from TSF(Treviso)and compete head to head with easy at STN and Volareweb at LTN. Surely not both.

[Nothrills]

Don't think so Powerjet1; FR used VCE recently when TSF was closed for some reason; the icon stayed since then.

[LTNman]

As reported to Luton_Airport_Friends

Flights seem to start late October, but after Cagliari (Sardinia)
flights start on Dec 2nd, the schedule will look like this:

Venice - Luton Arr 1010 Daily VA8521
LTN - Cagliari Dep 1040 TuThSa VA8528
LTN - Rimini Dep 1040 SuMWF VA8526
Cagliari - LTN Arr 1510 TuThSa VA8529
Rimini - LTN Arr 1510 SuMWF VA8527
LTN - Venice Dep 1540 Daily VA8524

Rumour has it that the reasons for moving from Gatwick are first
lower fees, second more availability of slots for projected next
summer season operations to Rome FCO, Naples, Bari and Catania.

[Powerjet1]

Strange no mention of this on LTNs website or any local advertising. However, an email to Volareweb provoked a response, confirming all flights transferred to LTN from LGW wef 26 Oct 03, so it is true.

[OLNEY 1 BRAVO]

If you refer to the previous thread "Massive Volareweb Expansion" http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99851 you will see that No, No, No said that it was a slot problem at Gatwick.

Funnily enough, I suggested on that thread that they should move to Luton ... now where is my commission?????
:D

[Buster the Bear]

I think this move has a major significance for Luton in so much that Volareweb are moving from a BAA airport in order to gain the required slots to maintain and expand their UK operation and that they did not move to BAA's Stansted which presumably could not offer the capacity?

If you expand this theory, scarcity of slots at the BAA's London airports means that Luton could directly benefit from this. With future infrastructure upgrades planned we could well see increased usage of Luton's runway and tinminal facilities.

Mr 1 Bravo, you have no idea what real money looks like, so no commission for you!

With all these extra planes, how is Mr Morris Dancer going to cope?

[Powerjet1]

Flights to Venice, Rimini & Cagliari from LTN, now confirmed on Volare's website. Strangely, no mention on LTNs website. Would have thought they wanted to advertise this asap.

[Buster the Bear]

As I keep saying make me the head of marketing!

I assume Volareweb told TBI they were leaving BAA's Gatwick?

[No comment]

Nothing to do with Gatwick slots, its just Luton is a cheaper alternative.... VA dont like paying for quality it seems....

[Powerjet1]

Buster

Looks like TBI have twigged at last. First of several new announcements i'm led to believe.

[LTNman]

From Luton airport's website

Established airline VOLARE today announced the transfer of all its UK operations to London Luton Airport, with the launch of low cost services to three prime Italian destinations.

Under their new low-cost branding of VOLAREWEB.COM the airline are moving their entire UK base to London Luton Airport, where from 26th October they will be flying daily services to Venice (Marco Polo), Rimini and Cagliari.

The schedules have been designed to appeal to a wide range of potential customers - allowing convenient timings for both business travellers & leisure and holiday flyers en route either to London or these three iconic Italian destinations.

Tickets starting as low as 19.99 Euros one way (plus taxes) are on sale at the airline's website www.volareweb.com. The website also contains full details of flight schedules.

Using a fleet of modern, comfortable, wide-bodied Airbus A320s to serve all three routes, VOLAREWEB.COM promise to break the mold, bringing a fresh approach to the growing budget flying market.

Commenting today on the announcement, Mr Giovanni Baldoni, Press & Public Relations Manager of Volare, said "This new partnership is significant for us. London Luton Airport has always been at the forefront of the budget flying revolution in Europe and has virtually unrivalled experience in the market. It was this - combined with the great facilities that Luton can offer us and our customers - that made it important for us to transfer our operations to Luton from Gatwick".

Paul Kehoe, Managing Director London Luton Airport said today “This is wonderful news. A growing number of airlines are recognising the benefits of choosing London Luton over the other London Airports".

"We are a convenient for both airlines and passengers to use, with first class facilities and less crowding. With our close proximity to London, combined with excellent transport links, travellers have easy access to both the capital and all parts of the UK".

"The arrival here of an experienced high-quality operator like VOLAREWEB.COM is testament to Luton's prominence as a London Airport - and we of course are delighted to announce this new partnership".

[Voldermort]

It will be interesting to see how many pax can they fit into one of their "wide bodied Airbus A320`s";)

[No comment]

"high-quality operator like VOLAREWEB.COM".....

hmm yeh....!