Skipness - You highlight a great point in mentioning that most travellers will happily book the best deal they find online regardless of air carrier. But this is an area where airport
PR can really help. Returning to the example of Ryanair's axed flights linking MAN with Tours, I'm sure many of us know people who would greatly enjoy touring the chateaux of the Loire. Unfortunately, relatively few of those people would be inherently aware that Tours was the ideal base for visiting that district. Before people will search for flights to Tours the desire to travel there must first be established. Good airport
PR is vital in this education process. Give people a good reason to visit Tours and they will actively consider doing so. Leave them clueless and that flight search will never happen. Clearly, the overseas property-owners' market was insufficient to sustain the route alone. Now that particular opportunity has been lost.
Extending this concept to the NAX situation … how many Mancs are sitting out there thinking: "I must check out leisure fares to Stavanger!" Very few, I suspect. However, if MAG were to put out afew teasers actually educating the public as to why a visit would be a great idea … well, that might just help. Generate travel features in the regional media, arrange occasional competitions etc. Be proactive. Use social media links. If efforts such as this can generate an additional ten passengers per flight (for example), that margin can be the difference between the success and failure of a new route. Proactive engagement with the public. It is worth going for. Naturally, the same principle applies to many other routes. The public generally knows why they wish to fly to Dublin or Malaga; for lesser-known destinations they sometimes require a little help to make up their minds! The airport operator can play a key role in this process.
Of course, regular contributors to PPRuNe are totally familiar with using the internet and wouldn't think twice about booking flights online. But we must remind ourselves that there is still a swathe of people who lack the expertise (or just the confidence) to arrange their own travel online. Many of these will (still) use travel agents. And airports should (still) prioritise keeping them well-informed about their route portfolios also. Generate trip recommendations and the bookings will follow.
I am not a travel agent, but I do help out a good number of friends and neighbours in booking flights online. Knowing these people well, I sometimes suggest destinations they might enjoy visiting, aside from their regular flights to visit family. One lady was quite surprised when I suggested an Icelandair offer to Reykjavik … she and her friend decided to book and absolutely loved the place. They'd never have considered Iceland without that initial prompt. Similarly, I suggested a trip to Keukenhof (tulip gardens) via Amsterdam to some gardening friends. Great success again. BUT … the desire to visit a place MUST be implanted first. The flight search can only follow as 'stage two'. So, in an age where the public are largely left to make their own travel decisions (without professional guidance), airports have a major opportunity to engage with their public and generate interest in their new destinations.
It's actually the classic 'chicken and egg' situation … no desire to visit (awareness deficit) = no search for corresponding flight deals. It has never been more important for airports and airlines to communicate with potential customers and implant that desire to visit those lesser-known leisure destinations, because most of those people no longer consult a travel professional. Yes, they can adeptly fill in the online booking form and select "pay now / confirm". But do they have the expertise to select the destination which would really 'wow' them? Many don't have that knowledge. That is both a challenge and an opportunity for those promoting leisure travel. Let's hope that MAG choose to proactively 'engage' their public rather than abdicating this "non-core" activity to the silent void.