Obvious route to LTN and BRS... Lord I hope not!!! And MAN, BHX, or LGW...
Total over capacity on Belfast-London routes, with even FR selling their 1p seats or £4.99 one-ways and still flying empty seats. All this will do after the short term consumer bonus of day trips to the capital or weekend breaks, (and as the public start tightening their belts), the market will correct itself with reduction in capacity. Less frequent flights with a particular airline. Less choice therefore of flights, and with two airports here, if you fly out of BFS with car parked there, its not handy to get a more suitable timed flight home with FR but to BHD!! Maybe not so bad with the LHR flights for connections, but STN, oh come on...
Already pretty good competition in Belfast with BE and EZY competing on many routes, so why on earth bring more airlines in on the equation?? Like I said, short term gain of incredably low fares, but sooner or later, market will correct, and customers have less frequency by airline.
Bristol is a concern. If FR started flights there from BHD, Easyjet may respond, or overtime, pull the middle of the day flight. This then leaves the NI consumer worse off, with less frequency with say morning and evening departure with EZY and the same with FR or perhaps even only 1 day with FR. How does that benefit someone with their car at BFS and wants to travel in the middle of the day, or needs a morning flight one day and home the afternoon next???
In my opinion FR have basically offered nothing new to the NI consumer, short term cheap flights, but to no new destinations, unless you class PIK as not Glasgow. Yes, they're very good at what they do, so bring us European routes, new destinations. Not just over capacity on what was already a good number of destinations from both airports and good service, with prices you'd expect to pay!! Get the runway extension at BHD or move to BFS and offer us NI citizens something new and beneficial.