LONDON CITY - 2
New route to Bodø in northern Norway, on Monday + Friday, starting 28 October with FlyNonstop.
Yes, I was surprised as well...
The more I think about the routes at City, the more puzzled I am as to what the overall business plan is for City - it seems to have quite a variety of routes, from the hard-core business routes like Frankfurt and NY, to some routes which could at best be described as "very niche", along with plenty of leisure centric routes. I'm aware that for any business, variety of customers is a good thing, and a busy gate is always better than an empty gate, but I'm struggling to understand what City's overall long term airline marketing gameplan is - there seems to be a real mixed bag of routes. Is this diversity of routes intentional, or has it just happened by various coincidences ?
Yes, I was surprised as well...
The more I think about the routes at City, the more puzzled I am as to what the overall business plan is for City - it seems to have quite a variety of routes, from the hard-core business routes like Frankfurt and NY, to some routes which could at best be described as "very niche", along with plenty of leisure centric routes. I'm aware that for any business, variety of customers is a good thing, and a busy gate is always better than an empty gate, but I'm struggling to understand what City's overall long term airline marketing gameplan is - there seems to be a real mixed bag of routes. Is this diversity of routes intentional, or has it just happened by various coincidences ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 12th Aug 2013 at 14:53.
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Not sure if there is a marketing plan. Realistically, LCY has been struggling to attract new airlines over the last couple of years and the number of annual scheduled movements is still well below the 2006-2009 peak. So I guess LCY simply is happy about any airline willing to serve the airport - and they are certainly not in a position to be picky.
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May 2013 was the busiest month ever at LCY for pax numbers, and included the busiest day ever. Aircraft movements may be less than a previous peak but pax per aircraft is obviously up to achieve these records.
Page 5 http://www.lcacc.org/accmins/accmin0713.pdf
The mix of routes is brought about in part by business traffic not being constant through the day; the Palma and Ibiza etc routes of BA, for example, fit in between the morning and afternoon/evening business demand, which in itself reduces during the summer. On Fridays the demand pattern is different, there is not so much business demand in the morning but a substantial amount after lunch so on those days the Balearic flights are operated first thing, with the aircraft continuing to the business destinations later. This is a more revenue-efficient approach than, for example, the old VLM approach with an F50 which just ran every three or four hours all day between LCY and their various points, which looked a fine theory but got them some unacceptably low loads around late morning.
Page 5 http://www.lcacc.org/accmins/accmin0713.pdf
The mix of routes is brought about in part by business traffic not being constant through the day; the Palma and Ibiza etc routes of BA, for example, fit in between the morning and afternoon/evening business demand, which in itself reduces during the summer. On Fridays the demand pattern is different, there is not so much business demand in the morning but a substantial amount after lunch so on those days the Balearic flights are operated first thing, with the aircraft continuing to the business destinations later. This is a more revenue-efficient approach than, for example, the old VLM approach with an F50 which just ran every three or four hours all day between LCY and their various points, which looked a fine theory but got them some unacceptably low loads around late morning.
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I am not doubting that. Fact remains, however, that the number of annual scheduled movements is well below the years 2006 to 2009. It has recovered somewhat since the 2010 low, but the all time high of 2009 is still rather distant. Of course this development of annual scheduled movements is not reflected by the passenger numbers as 30 / 50 seaters have been replaced by more 70 and 100 seaters. Like any airport LCY will be interested to get more wheels on the apron as long as runway and terminal capacity is available. Whoever pops up, is content with the non-peak time slots available and pays the charges will be able to start services - like Flynonstop.
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We don't seem to have covered before that BA are starting a 3 times daily service from LCY to Dusseldorf on 1st September. Not with an Embraer but with a Saab 2000, which appears to be the Eastern one in BA colours currently doing 3 daily rotations to the Isle of Man. This latter route is getting cut back to once daily as just a late morning rotation of the Dusseldorf aircraft - IOM just doesn't seem to work from LCY (says one who experienced a shambolic EuroManx flight a few years ago).
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Indeed. It has been beaten to death in some other threads, though (BA Cityflyer, Isle of Man).
If I recall correctly, the Saab 2000 will also do an LCY-ABZ rotation in-between DUS flights (whereas IOM will get a single daily E170).
If I recall correctly, the Saab 2000 will also do an LCY-ABZ rotation in-between DUS flights (whereas IOM will get a single daily E170).
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LCY-IOM is being dropped for the winter and being reviewed for a relaunch in the spring when flybe drop IOM-LGW. The plan at LCY is to have fewer movements with larger aircraft, hence the pricing that drove Eastern to dump LCY-NCL on the J41 and CFE to buy the ERJ190.
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Originally Posted by Skipness One Echo
LCY-IOM is being dropped for the winter and being reviewed for a relaunch in the spring
Last edited by lfc84; 13th Aug 2013 at 07:55.
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LCY-IOM will operate once a day on the 170, The Saab 2000 will only do the DUS route not ABZ and I don't think the airport pricing had anything to do with Cityflyer buying Embraers!
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That's a change, it was initially axed for the winter if you read back. The pricing structure was changed to make operating the smallest aircraft prohibitively expensive though. The Saab was bookable for the Sunday ABZ rotation last week.
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 13th Aug 2013 at 09:16.
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From the 7th of September the Saab will operate an additional rotation on LCY-ABZ.
It will operate a Saturday morning rotation LCY-ABZ. It is then staying in ABZ until Sunday lunchtime where it is operating a new rotation back down to LCY.
I would imagine this could possibly be for MX as Eastern have got maintenance facilities at ABZ.
It will operate a Saturday morning rotation LCY-ABZ. It is then staying in ABZ until Sunday lunchtime where it is operating a new rotation back down to LCY.
I would imagine this could possibly be for MX as Eastern have got maintenance facilities at ABZ.
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CityJet are withdrawing from LCY-EDI leaving BA alone on the route. I'd imagine that CityJet will also stop their LCY-DND service as they're unlikely to leave DND as their sole Scottish outpost. Sad to see, but given the loss-making nature of the routes for CityJet, the writing has been on the wall for a while...
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The London City Airport to Edinburgh route will be discontinued from October 26th 2013.
After operating a service between London City Airport and Edinburgh since 2007, CityJet has made the difficult business decision to discontinue the route.
Following a significant period of consultation, it has been decided that the route is no longer a commercially viable option for the airline.
Flights will not operate and seats will no longer be bookable after 26th October 2013.
If you have a booking in place departing after 26th October, CityJet ensures that you will be rebooked with another airline or are happy to offer a full refund. CityJet is doing all it can to ensure a smooth, seamless transition for passengers that may be inconvenienced by this change.
If you would like to get in touch please call us on 0871 66 33 777. If you have a booking that departs before 26th October, your flight will run as scheduled.
While the Edinburgh route will no longer be available, CityJet will continue to serve Scotland via its route to and from Dundee.
After operating a service between London City Airport and Edinburgh since 2007, CityJet has made the difficult business decision to discontinue the route.
Following a significant period of consultation, it has been decided that the route is no longer a commercially viable option for the airline.
Flights will not operate and seats will no longer be bookable after 26th October 2013.
If you have a booking in place departing after 26th October, CityJet ensures that you will be rebooked with another airline or are happy to offer a full refund. CityJet is doing all it can to ensure a smooth, seamless transition for passengers that may be inconvenienced by this change.
If you would like to get in touch please call us on 0871 66 33 777. If you have a booking that departs before 26th October, your flight will run as scheduled.
While the Edinburgh route will no longer be available, CityJet will continue to serve Scotland via its route to and from Dundee.
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After operating a service between London City Airport and Edinburgh since 2007
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Indeed. Scot Airways started up in 2000. Before - IIRC, starting in 1996 - Air UK / KLM uk served EDI with BAe 146s (I remember taking a flight in 1998 on a saturday morning from an otherwise deserted LCY). At one point, Scot Airways had up to 14 daily departures on the route - although it must be said that BA with its 8 departures on the E-Jets still offers twice the capacity.
Last edited by virginblue; 15th Aug 2013 at 09:55.