DERRY/LONDONDERRY

[CARNMANORLAD]

Really good load factor for TFS, i'm sure the management at CODA should be happy with it. With RYR reducing for Winter I no longer hold any hope of it going year round?

[cuthere]

Tenerife year round? I will be happy if STN, LPL, BHX and PIK are maintained.

With RYR cutting routes across the board (PIK-STN now gone amongst others), and an airport like NOC STILL not having any winter flights loaded into the FR system, LDY will do well to consolidate what it has this winter.

The only hope for extra flights may well be BE. However, with their strategy involving LDY-MAN being a "summer" route, I don't hold out much hope there either.

Interesting times ahead nonetheless.

[Jamie2k9]

In regaurd to PIK, Derry escaped FR cuts there last week which I was suprised at. Did it operate daily for winter 2010/11?

[NorthernCounties]

I don't know how Ryanair will prevail through this seasonal operation. I'm hoping this provides adequate opportunity for BE. Would be nice to have a reliable airline operating the majority of routes at LDY.

[cuthere]

RAPA Pilot, please, do elaborate.

All of them were either dismissive or aggressive towards me and my crew and my passengers

Huh? I assume you were operating a private charter?

All I can say is that in my many, MANY trips through City of Derry Airport as a passenger, I have never experienced anything other than courteous, helpful staff.

[NorthernCounties]

I think you'll take your passengers where ever they pay you to go.

Edit - After a little detective work, you must have been piloting OO-JDK or D-IRUP.

[ILS25]

Flew RYR to Tenerife in late May with my wife and 2 kids, my first time in LDY and all in all I found it a quick,efficient and pleasant experience. Security staff were in no way rude and I can easily say it made air travel stress free for once !

[cuthere]

May stats are in. 35279, +34.3%.

Individual routes/% change on May 2010/pax per flight/load factor.

Stansted: 11607/+52%/163.4/86.4%

Birmingham: 4601/+22%/129/68.3%

Liverpool: 6694/+44%/134/71%

Manchester: 640/-/29/37%

Prestwick: 5433/+63%/124/65%

Dublin: 710/-36%. Pax per flight/LF n/a due to unknown number of cancellations

Faro: 2765/+29%/138/78%*

Tenerife: 1465/146.5/83%*

Reus: 1237/+92%

Palma: 189/-81%

*Based on 177 seats.

Generally very good figures for LDY. Dublin is still proving to anyone interested that is ISN'T commercially viable as it stands. Also, I'm slightly disappointed by the figures for Manchester. It is evident that this route is having no impact whatsoever on the well-established Liverpool route.

Cheers,

Cuthere.

[NorthernCounties]

Thanks as always CU for an indepth breakdown!

I'm not going to lie, I'm not overly impressed by the load factor on MAN. 640 passengers used the route whilst 1039 used the 3 weekly service between EDI and NOC. It is still early though and we must keep our fingers crossed that this one dip in the pool scares BE of for another while. I think EDI would be better for BE out of LDY due to the distance between EDI and Preswick.

Hopefully BE can get the extra 10 passengers per flight that I believe would be needed to make this sustainable. And besides they haven't got scared of by the route numbers pre operation. So it must be somewhat profitable even if the pax numbers aren't magnificant!

Look forward to using the route in August and the mothers booked on the service in 5 weeks time!

[Jamie2k9]

There is no restrictions on the FAO flights.

It interesting that the amount of passengers carried on TFS are different to the Spanish stats. I have had this problem before when it comes to CSO stats as well.

[cuthere]

Jamie, my sister flew LDY to FAO, and she reported that two rows of seats were closed off. Believe it or not, I've also seen rows closed off on fully booked LDY-BHX flights. It always makes me wonder how the crew on board aren't aware of the fact 189 seats have been sold. Consternation normally ensues when the last twelve pax realise there are no seats for them, only for the cabin crew to open the closed rows.

Anyway, NC, if it is true BE only require twelve pax to make a profit, then they're doing alright on the route. I would prefer to see pax numbers in the 40s, though if you think back to when Eirjet operated into Ballykelly on the LPL-LDY route by accident years ago, there were only 30 something pax on board. Now look at the route.

[Wycombe]

I think you'll find that FR sometimes close off a few rows front and back for W&B reasons when a flight is not expected to be full, irrespective of whether the departure or arrival airfields have operational restrictions for the aircraft.

[cuthere]

I think you'll find that FR sometimes close off a few rows front and back for W&B reasons when a flight is not expected to be full, irrespective of whether the departure or arrival airfields have operational restrictions for the aircraft.

.....would suggest FR don't know how many seats they've sold on their aircraft....! Surely this can't be the case?

[Kinocker]

my sister flew LDY to FAO, and she reported that two rows of seats were closed off.

As stated by other posters, this does not automatically mean the route is restricted in terms of load.

It interesting that the amount of passengers carried on TFS are different to the Spanish stats. I have had this problem before when it comes to CSO stats as well.

I think there is definitely an issue with the accuracy of the CAA stats. The CSO and AENA stats are usually in agreement with each other but the CAA ones are generally all over the place.

I think EDI would be better for BE out of LDY due to the distance between EDI and Preswick.

Edinburgh and Prestwick are really well connected by road and rail though. The half price train to Prestwick makes the trip very enticing from the east of Scotland. My opinion would be that, based on the hold Ryanair have on the Scotland to Derry market at Prestwick to date, their increase in flights towards a daily service, the larger presence of people from the NW of Ireland in the west of Scotland compared to the east, and the early stats on LDY-MAN, I don't think a flybe route from Edinburgh is a goer at this point in time.

[cuthere]

As stated by other posters, this does not automatically mean the route is restricted in terms of load.

Thanks for that insight. And there was me thinking they blocked off certain rows for the craic.

their increase in flights towards a daily service

LDY-PIK has been daily for the last couple of winters. I also take issue with Prestwick being easy to get to from Edinburgh. By train Edinburgh is 2-2.5 hours from Prestwick, so see no reason why a LDY-EDI would not work.

Furthermore, the CAA stats are called "Provisional" for a reason.....

[NorthernCounties]

though if you think back to when Eirjet operated into Ballykelly on the LPL-LDY route by accident years ago, there were only 30 something pax on board. Now look at the route.

I suppose that's true. I sometimes just check the amount of booked seats (I do know that not all passengers book seats) but there's always a significant amount of seats booked at the weekend with Thursday looking the weakest day for the route. If the route comes back, I think we'll see Thursday dropped. The route does prove that the market is there for passengers who prefer convenience over price. LPL is established but I bet September would be a very good month for the route as new students go to MAN and having not got into the habit of using FR.

Edinburgh and Prestwick are really well connected by road and rail though.

I do believe the station is of great benefit to PRS, but mostly for Glasgow originating passengers. After you include the price of the train tickets from Edinburgh and the time, it would be handier to fly from EDI. Plus its easier to get to Dundee and Aberdeen from EDI.

[Ringwayman]

If the MAN-LDY service started 19th May as noted on the MAN website then 20 sectors were operated so with 640 pax, it comes in at 32 pax per flight. Slightly better reading?

[cuthere]

Ringwayman, you're spot on. My mistake for counting the 31st which was a Tuesday. Good spot. That brings the LF up to 41%.

Cheers!

[NorthernCounties]

Ah any improvement is an improvement. I think there might have been two diversions. Whether that helps the situation I'm not sure. But LDY had circa 45 passengers from Sligo. (Thanks to the way RE were operating.)

[Kinocker]

Thanks for that insight. And there was me thinking they blocked off certain rows for the craic.

Not really sure what you are getting at there, but it was pointed out that there are various reasons why they block off rows, not just because the flights are weight restricted by runway length. If you already know all this, then why did you calculate your loads for Faro on a max of 177 seats based on something your sister saw that can often be seen on Ryanair flights from any airport?

By train Edinburgh is 2-2.5 hours from Prestwick, so see no reason why a LDY-EDI would not work.

I don't think it would work based on what I see living in this part of the world because people here will happily travel those distances to avail of Ryanair prices before they will pay twice as much to fly BE. Same reason they are struggling on MAN-LDY. For those that do not drive (80-90 mins) the half price train adds to the sense of getting a good deal. That said, if flybe think otherwise, I'm sure they'll give it a lash and then we will know either way.

Furthermore, the CAA stats are called "Provisional" for a reason.....

The finalised stats are no better.