Originally Posted by
A320.b744
Delta are starting flights to Glasgow, a mere 40 miles away from Edinburgh where they also fly to JFK. Clearly the vast majority of people what fit in Glasgow's sphere of influence also fit into Edinburgh's, but they've still decided to fly to both airports. Hence, I find it reasonable to assume that Delta would not ignore Belfast just because Dublin is relatively close by.
Apples and Oranges.
Yes United cancelled the route, but other airlines have cancelled routes before and they've been reinstated - sometimes even by the same airline - so I can't see why you find it absurd that Delta would commence flights to BFS. Norwegian seems to be the most likely option, given that BFS is unable to hold onto anything other than low cost operators, but for all we know American, Delta, heck even Aer Lingus or Virgin Atlantic could be the other two airlines that have sparked an interest in starting BFS-NYC flights. Only time will tell who recommences NYC flights, but there's no use in saying that Delta or any other airline will never start flying to Belfast.
Norwegian are the only option. With brexit, all the American 3, are cutting cutting cutting. Nobodys going to start. Aer Lingus have said they won't do TA from Belfast and Virgin don't have suitable aircraft for the New York service (A330?-No)
I'm sure most people thought that Virgin Atlantic operating the B744 out of Belfast was an impossible dream, but here we have VA adding a second weekly frequency to their MCO route.
Surprising alright, but that's a niche holiday route.
And with regards to Ryanair; just because Shannon has a hard time holding onto European connections doesn't mean that Belfast will suffer the same fate. Shannon is a failing airport that would inevitably close down if American tourists stopped coming. There are fewer people who live close to Shannon than Belfast, and there's a severe lack of industry in the west of Ireland to successfully maintain business links. There's simply not enough demand in the west of Ireland to maintain a comprehensive network of European destinations. That's the reason why Ryanair has pulled out of so many routes from SNN. Belfast doesn't suffer from this setback - NI already handles 8 million passengers per year across the two Belfast airports, with demand for more routes on the rise.
Having digs at Shannon in order to gain points for Belfast isnt helping anyone. I'm realistic about Shannon too, not in fairy land like many here.
I'd like to see you back up the assertion that Shannon is a failing airport, and as for you remark about the Americans, well that's just plain stupid. Belfast city would close down if the English stopped coming to Belfast. Completely absurd comment.
Also worth digging to find Ryanair haven't actually pulled many routes this time. They've maintained alot of what they've had.
A realist would see that there is potential for further Ryanair routes, as well as new routes from easyJet and other airlines. Holding a grudge just because Ryanair don't fly to the destination that you want to from your local airport isn't helping anyone.
A big problem, which I see all across PPRuNe is that when an airport begins to grow, people imagine it won't stop and then get angry when it does.
My point on Ryanair was not keeping to their promises, I did not compare markets because Belfast is completely different to anywhere else. Ryanair said they'd bring a 3rd aircraft, they haven't, that's to be expected. It's naive to expect them to do exactly as they say given the history of Ryanair.
Belfast and NI is a very different market to the republic. Discretionary income is much lower, and industry is fairly negligible too. There is a reason that Westminster pumps billions into the NI economy every year. The percentage of private jobs is much lower. Dublin, and even the Mid West (because you so loved to dig at it a second ago) has much more international investment than NI does, there are many reasons for this, and we are not just stealing it as lovely Arlene has suggested. The economy in NI is still mending, and it is getting much better, but, especially with the current political situations (brexit) let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Ryanair is a great airline, but they won't fly your little fantasy routes to satisfy you. I said there wouldn't be a 3rd Aircraft for next summer and it looks like I'm right. Be realistic. Ryanair are currently testing the waters in Belfast. If they like what they see, they may well add more. Word of Warning is that this more may be very much be hitting current established routes as well as one or two others. If Ryanair find the market marginal, you don't know what will happen.
I'd like say what I'm surprised hasn't arrived yet, and that's West Jet. Was sure they'd announce something for this summer. Again this could be related to the economic uncertainty.
This economic uncertainty will hinder Belfast's hopes of a Transatlantic service. It is a marginal market that isn't being helped by the mass expansion of a hub down the road. Belfast still does have potential for growth, don't get me wrong, but this will certainly not be as pronounced as it has been.
I am surprised EWR was dropped so easily. I don't see it coming back quickly though. I hope I'm wrong but I'm likely not.
Take on board these points, and don't just go off with petty remarks. You know what my points were and twisting words does nothing to help this. It just makes the discussion futile.