If Zoon could not make Toronto work (and that was before Air Transat built up its presence at Dublin)... ...why would anyone consider a BFS route?
We all understand the basic economics of making a routes successful, demand and yield. We have seen EI try Budapest and EZY try summer GVA and they just didn't work, so are pulled after a season or so. However with Canada, let us not forget, these services operated in consecutive years since at least the early 80's. Air Canada with L1011, 747, 767, Air Club International 747, A310, Air Transat L1011, A330, A310, 757, Canada 3000, Worldways, and more recently Zoom and Flyglobespan. These airlines transporting huge numbers of passengers year in year out from Belfast.
So Northern Ireland had an established operation, Chieftain, Globespan and American Holidays amongst others, sold the flights and mostly using Air Transat metal, just before the arrival of Flyglobespan and Zoom. All running smoothly year after year.
Then Zoom entered with weekly Toronto, via Halifax. Then added additional rotations, then added Vancouver and then went year round with both routes (via Cardiff). Not something I would imagine an airline would do if demand and yield did not exist. Yes Zoom went under, but none of us know that Belfast specifically was profit or loss making.
Again when Globespan started up their own airline flying to Hamilton, together with Zoom completely affected the dynamic of the market. With Zoom especially taking trade away from the established consolidators, so their demand drastically fell. Then since the demise of Zoom and Flyglobespan, while the demand that has existed for the past 30 odd years is still there, now the operators that had their fingers burnt in the past aren't returning. Personally I think it is ludicrous to think that if Exeter can have direct Canada, albeit via Newcastle, that BFS could not sustain the link once more. Yes there are people who will chase the pounds and fly from DUB, but there are others who are prepared to pay for convenience and fly from BFS. It's just trying to convince the likes of Canadian Affair to re-enter the Belfast market, after Zoom caused them much headache.
For all intents and purposes Belfast may have had absolutley no influence in the demaise of both these carriers, however has suffered greatly as a result.
Just remember we have to new airlines starting at BFS this year Monarch and Olympic Airlines.
Haven't heard about Olympic Airlines. Where are they operating to, when??? Know that Olympic Holidays have added Rhodes, think using Fly Hellas, but in saying that have cut capacity vastly to Cyprus due to the demise of Eurocypria.