The following article may answer some questions:
Airline in the making, Europort Express announced last week its intentions to fly to 9 different destinations from its operating base in Rotterdam, famous for its vast port and closeness to The Hague and Amsterdam.
Six destinations in the UK & Ireland are featured, these include struggling airport Durham Tees Valley alongside major hubs of Manchester and Dublin, many of the destinations also have close sea port links which suggests that the airline are looking to compete with the North Sea ferry operators.
During an interview the airlines Press Officer Meilina Crampton stated that the airlines main intention was to focus on the business traveller, however said “it would be a major issue if we ignored the leisure market, therefore our marketing campaigns will look to draw in both business and leisure flyers”
The aircraft chosen have been specifically selected so the airline will be able to operate multiple rotations per day therefore they are more suited to the traveller, the example being used that on some flights there may not be a demand for the 50 seat Fokker 50 a Dutch made aircraft, so the smaller 19 seat Jetstream 32 can be used to save on operating costs whilst keeping the airline competitive.
Europort Express also hope to have the exclusive use of these routes, as they believe there is only so much demand so the bigger companies such as the Dutch flag carrier KLM will not try to compete, nor will Cityjet who have cut back on routes since their take over of VLM.
The airline also hope to be seen as a substitute to flying to Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam Schiphol, where the likes of KLM and British Airways fly, as they believe there is a gap in the market for Rotterdam services.
The airline hopes to enter the market on a semi-low cost objective therefore providing affordable prices, but still being able to make profit and supply a good service, some of which has already been announced, such as the inflight catering service, in which every passenger will be entitled to a meal.
Due to the small size of the aircraft that will be used it is hard to offer a totally low cost method due to the operating costs for an aircraft carrying between 19 and 50 passengers. Unlike Ryanair who can carry in excess of 150 and make a tidy profit whilst offering low fares.
The ambitions for the airline have been made perfectly clear with their intentions being to hold a Dutch Air Operators Certificate within 2 year, but up until that stage the airline will use chartered aircraft and operate as a ticketing agency like the highly successful Manx2 airline which flies to many short-haul destinations from the Isle of Man.
Set to start operations on September 17th 2012, most flights will not start until January, therefore giving enough time to gain public interest and establish a good customer base at the destinations.
Bobster