DERRY/LONDONDERRY

[Jamie2k9]

TFS during the winter would do well but what it will all boil down to is the price of oil which is being watched by all airlines closely.

Also do the figures for July include the TOM B738 and JK A320 (both once weekly).

[CARNMANORLAD]

Also do the figures for July include the TOM B738 and JK A320 (both once weekly).

Yeah I accounted for the charters.

I see the builders hard at work on the new Information desk area today.

[NorthernCounties]

I was in there today myself as well dropping the sister at the airport and seen them working away! I thought the building work was actually dismantling for the terminal/security improvements.

Also done a spot of airplane spotting down by emergency gate 8? Mum wanted to see my sisters flight off and I decided I'd take some pictures to update the Wiki page. I'll send you a link to them in due course. A number of other cars appeared whilst I was there too, you don't happen to drive a Fiesta or a Golf Carn?

[CARNMANORLAD]

NC, no i was flying out today. The security clearance was great today as they had 2 machines going, very efficient.

[cuthere]

Here's a link to the article Carnmanorlad was referencing last week or the week before.

LIFT-OFF AT CITY OF DERRY AIRPORT

[CARNMANORLAD]

Ryanair are cancelling 31 routes from ALC with effect from Winter schedule due to having to use airbridges. Derry is one of the cancelled routes. Im quessing that unless AENA backtrack and allow stairs boarding then these cuts will be for good. I do see RYR replacing LDY-ALC with LDY-AGP for summer 2012?

With all the spare aircraft a LDY Winter route is looking even more likely!

[Stewart28]

Carnmanorlad all your rumours have been great I do hope Ryanair start a winter route and I do hope its AGP

[Jamie2k9]

AENA backtrack and allow stairs boarding then these cuts will be for good.

Most of the routes being cut from October will return next summer. Half of the routes from the press release being cut did not operate last winter. Ryanair had only 5 based aircraft (may of being 4) aircraft last winter. They should be comparing this winter with last winter and not with this summer.

[cuthere]

As Jamie2K9 said, this is a slightly disingenuous press release from FR. We'll only know what's really happening come spring next year, when they decide on their summer schedules.

It will be interesting to see how LDY fares when the winter schedules are released over the coming months. One would imagine with the number of aircraft FR park up, there must be enough airframes around to allow the continuation of 2xdaily STN on Mondays and Fridays, and also the TFS, once weekly.

It's just a shame BE wouldn't commit to some year-round routes from LDY.

[NorthernCounties]

It's just a shame BE wouldn't commit to some year-round routes from LDY.

It could still happen, if I remember correctly, the EDI route from NOC was announced around Dec/Jan, but it was only recently announced that it would now be year round. Hopefully in a month or two we'll be informed of the same.

[CARNMANORLAD]

I doubt the 2x STN on Mon & Fri is going anywere but getting more rotations on the other days. As Damien stated in the City of Culture Magazine LDY had 91% of their catchment area in 2007 when STN was double daily. The airport can sustain this again! TFS should stay although i still imagine their a/c to be too big for Winter routes, probably why they havent went into it bigtime at any airport? If they had 60/70 PAX per flight would it be profitable?

[cuthere]

I think it was mentioned somewhere that BE can make a profit out of 12 pax per flight......which when you look at some of their prices is understandable (though MAN-LDY isn't too expensive).

[CARNMANORLAD]

Derry - Tenerife 10th-17th May for £35.98 return. Unbelieveable! What a great price and such a cheap holiday for those on a budget

[NorthernCounties]

Has anyone heard of a DUB flight departing/arriving at all this week... they're a bunch of unorganised idiots. The sooner they're out, the better. Thank god they didn't take on the EDI & MAN routes in the end last year, because it's left room for a professional operation to actually look at they routes. All hail FLYBE!

[frfly]

I dont think there's a question of filling the aircraft. The question is what yields it returns. If 9 weekly is just enough capacity to meet demand then fares can creep up to stay profitable in the difficult winter months. If capacity goes up but demand needs to be pushed by weakening the fares, then yields fall and what was once a profitable route becomes unprofitable very quickly. Remember, the UK wasn't facing such high APD when LDY was 2xdaily from STN.

[Kinocker]

Has anyone heard of a DUB flight departing/arriving at all this week... they're a bunch of unorganised idiots.

PSOs will be the lowest priority for Aer Arann at this stage. If a plane goes tech during the day these flights will be the first ones to lose out. If the MAN and EDI flights had worked out they wouldn't be treated in the same way as the PSOs. That said, you're almost certainly better off long term with flybe...I get the impression that if a thin route can be made to work, they will make it work.

Hard to see many having confidence to book the PSO flights now as there is such a high risk of cancellation, to be honest they'd be as well to pull them now rather than keep them going intermittently until July.

[NorthernCounties]

FRFLY, I think there's definitely room for another 2 days a week to go double daily. (Saturday and either Wed/Thursday.) Even if prices must go up, the demand is definitely there!

I agree K'er, the route might as well be shelved now, but as the route continues to falter, at lease come Augusts pax announcement, there'll be no visible fall!

I much prefer Flybe's presence, and I'll prefer it all the more when they operate around three routes. I did tweet Flybe today as they announced a sale on flights from LGW. They said no word of a route to there yet, but it doesn't hurt to mute the interest.

Finally, I'd love to see the airport gain a 200-300 metres of runway to get a length of 2,200m. Not only to ensure Ryanair can get the highest volume on flights and we can serve longer routes more sustainably and possibly entice other airlines.

If a third airline made a move, who do you think it would be?

[CARNMANORLAD]

I'd like to see WW give a route a go cause once EZY start MAN an possibly BHX from BFS then WW are gonna struggle more at BHD. Surely they could try EMA from LDY. EZY are neva gonna try LDY with giving BHD a try without success, didn't they say they were gona focus on BFS from now on?

[cuthere]

I'd like to see WW give a route a go cause once EZY start MAN an possibly BHX from BFS then WW are gonna struggle more at BHD.

Why? And based on what? BE are consistently more expensive on any routes which compete/crossover with EZY. In my experience BD are often more expensive than EI. Yet, lots and lots of people still use them both from BHD. Listening to the views of some people who work for competing airlines, whilst living on another island won't get to the crux of the matter. Furthermore, judging WW on ONE MONTH'S worth of Ops is foolish (remember the FR flight from EGGP operated by Eirjet which landed at Ballykelly with a grand total of 39 pax on board?). This in my mind prohibits WW as a third operator for LDY in the short term.

As for RE, are they not still being paid ROI taxpayers' money to provide the PSO routes, including LDY-DUB? I think they are, in which case they should remove thumb from an&s and fulfil their obligations, no matter what other priorities they have. Otherwise, they are (allegedly) breach of contract and should forfeit any taxpayer subsidy paid or outstanding.

[CARNMANORLAD]

CU, my point is WW hasn't got the same fanbase as EZY or BE and EZY being NI's favourite airline people are always gonna use them. WW are clearly the weaker airline in the long run and i bet they decrease routes first. Oh and i wasnt judging them on ONE MONTHS figures as stated above i feel they're the weaker airline.