Originally Posted by
BHD2BFS
With Routes Europe 2017 arriving to NI in a weeks time. Northern Ireland will have a key opportunity to really display itself for the first time to Airlines.... will we see any big route announcements or new airline arrivals after next weekend?
Most cities which host this conference walk away smiling
Here are the number of new routes announced from host cities within 12 months of hosting Routes Europe.
Marseille 2014: 7 new routes - 2 new airlines (Eurowings, Etihad Regional)
Aberdeen 2015: 3 new routes - 1 new airline (Icelandair)
Krakow 2016: 23 new routes (18 Ryanair) - no new airlines
I don't know how many of these routes commenced as a result of hosting Routes Europe.
Regarding new routes from Belfast, I'd say these are our best bets;
Belfast Intl;
Ryanair: 2-3 new routes
Norwegian: Copenhagen or Oslo or Stockholm
Wizz Air: Budapest
Belfast City;
Eurowings: Dusseldorf
Iberia Express: Madrid
Of course I'd be shocked if even half of these actually came into fruition, but given the UK expansion plans of various airlines, these seem to be the most likely.
Even if Belfast doesn't get any new routes, hosting the event will be great publicity for the city.