The rumours at FGS are rife about long haul. Airbus 330, 340, Boeing 777, 767, Dreamliner, all being talked about. Whether anything has crystallised yet remains to be seen. I can’t see them just being content with GVA and TFS from STN.
With an ambition for long haul to the US and Canada, on paper at least, it would make sense to operate trans-Atlantic from STN and use the current EDI/GLA to STN routes as feeders. However, Your Florida Air hits the nail on the head, Scots passengers are pretty well fed up with the nauseating ‘connecting flight roundabout’ in order to get to Canada or the US. YFA is already doing well with its bookings and proves the point.
The one thing that makes FGS special is its national identity. Local Scots have warmed to this airline and have used it in great numbers. Breaking away to STN could alienate core customers and prove to be a dangerous move. If the national identity of FGS is weakened, it will leave the door wide open to someone like YFA to clean up on long haul at the very least.
As I said earlier, on paper it looks fine, but it may also indicate a lack of confidence in being able to sell sufficient tickets for direct flights from GLA, EDI or PIK. By comparison, a STN base provides an enormous catchment area and still gives the company opportunity to sell tickets north of the border. If this were to be the case and passengers north of the border allowed to think that they are getting a direct flight from Scotland, this could let a genie out of the bottle which won’t go back in.
So Tom, there you have it. Don’t f**k it up. Feed the long haul FROM STN not to it.