DURHAM TEES VALLEY AIRPORT - 4

[SimJock]

bye bye RIS, FIS hello Basic etc.

..and there was me thinking it might be the introduction of a new Middleton SID, or the expansion of the military low flying corridor

wont be much on the MME radar after tomorrows news

Are you sworn to secrecy or shall we just start guessing what that might be ?

[skyman771]

I am sure that the 5 people on the information desk are delighted that they are being transferred

Got me puzzled this one. Even allowing for shift patterns extended opening etc. then this does suggest serious over staffing issues at DTV!.
In reality I agree with Paarmo as to the impracticality of any relocation, & to suggest that there is space at LPL is akin to suggesting that Peel are seriously increasing their department of propaganda which actually seems to be achieving it's aims, very nicely thank you, in putting out a complete load of bcks !!

[MME4eva]

It's nearly certain to be the withdrawal of the bmi service to LHR. Keeping it in perspective, MME has still a comparable route network to HUY, BLK, NQY and isn't far behind NWI and this news has been on the wall for some time now.

Just sad on a personal note as this was a long established, once profitable route which marks an end to an era for MME.

[Facelookbovvered]

Sim Jock

Not at all, its common knowledge among the Regional flight deck, the guy i had a coffee with earlier said it was to be announced tomorrow (LHR gone) amongst other restructuring elsewhere in bmi

[SimJock]

this news has been on the wall for some time now.

..is that the wall of the Gents, next to the newly repaired condom machine ?


Well with LHR gone, maybe someone will look at a LGW link with useful times and an aircraft that is bigger than a sardine tin. The ERJ135 is seriously cramped for anyone who is anything other than waif like. Tried it, didn't like it, so stopped using it. The A319/320 was a treat when that was going.

Rail fare to Gatwick £110, flexible timings, come back when you like within a month.

[INKJET]

I gather that Flybe are looking at MME-LGW, with slots becoming available due to the slow down in LGW traffic, its not LHR but it would be better than nothing and baby did ok with one rotation a day on that route

[perusal]

No consolation at all but it would appear that LBA gets the chop as well.

Originally Posted by FT

BMI will announce on friday it is axing two of its mainline services between Heathrow and Leeds Bradford and Durham Tees Valley – a total of seven daily departures – in addition to the previously announced closure of the twice-daily service between Heathrow and Jersey.

FT.com / Companies / UK companies - BMI cuts routes amid rising costs

[aeulad]

If MME can get a BE DH4 in with 3 daily LGW, daily SOU and weekend JER, maybe LHR going isn't such a bad thing.

Regards

Mike

[N707ZS]

With the Bmi flight gone does that mean the compertition can use jet aircraft between London and Teesside.

I see we have the possibility of a Gatwick flight how well would a Stansted Ryanair flight work?

[SWBKCB]

Co-incidentally (?) flybe have been making plenty of noise about their domestic services to LGW, tied into London Fashion Week (!) i.e. from Opodo Travel News:

The carrier, which is the third largest slot holder at London Gatwick airport, said it had seen 'exceptionally strong sales' on its routes to London, which are offering 44% more connections than at the same time last year.

Three new Flybe routes currently offer access to the English capital from Aberdeen, Newcastle and Newquay, alongside other popular flights from Belfast, the Channel Islands, Inverness and the Isle of Man.

Mike Rutter, the airline's chief commercial officer, said: 'Flybe is committed to supporting business and to keeping Britain on the move during these challenging economic times.'

He added: 'Flybe operates five times more domestic routes than any other airline and we're happy we can now provide even more routes to London Gatwick so that our customers from across the UK can enjoy their first major 2009 fashion fix.'

Seems the best hope - can't see any other operator doing anything. If Peel are on their toes, they should have something lined up and we can expect a quick announcement (as with GSM/RYR the other week). If the FT story is confirmed, expect Local Authorities and Development Agencies to kick up a fuss, as the loss of LHR will be seen as a major blow to local pride and damaging to inward investment (KLM will be rubbing their hands...)

[mattfalcus]

Just noticed on DTV's website that they're asking where people want to fly to:

Media Centre | Press Releases | Help Shape our Destination

[DTVAirport]

We should see a lot more F100s on the KLM service now, if not all F100s, which means we should eventually get E190s. Not much consolation I know, but what with all the bad news coming from DTVA in recent months, I'm very very close to giving up the hobby, so looking on the bright side is all I can do.

Can't really see Flybe launching LGW when they operate the same service up the road. Having said that, I agree with SWBKCB - Peel should be able to find a quick replacement.

[MME4eva]

Future routes

I really can't believe bmi they really do just go from one knee jerk decision to another-both mme and lba have long been served by them but who knows even if bmi will be in existence for much longer or if it will be called 'lufthansa britannia'??

As for the future, surely flyBE will announce LGW and hopefully a JER (if HUY can surely MME can) or possibly eastern might announce a LCY purely for th business travellers bmi attracted.

As for FR, I would be very surprised of they announce a STN given BLK lost theirs even before FR pulled out altogether over the £10 fee debacle.

So fingers crossed for either;

2/3 x daily LGW FlyBE
1 x weekly JER FlyBE

or

2/3 x daily LCY eastern
1 x weekly JER FlyBE

[DTVAirport]

Problem is, nearly all London airports are very close to capacity (at least all the ones suitable for a MME route anyway), so slots will be very hard to come by.

Eastern won't launch LCY because of the above mentioned slot problem and the high fees at LCY (which is why they axed NCL-LCY). Ryanair won't launch STN because - they just won't, I can't be anymore specific than that.

As far as I can see, Flybe are our only hope for a London route and I can't see that either to be honest.

[mattfalcus]

Regarding London flights - if we get a new route to STN, LTN, or even LGW to some extent, it becomes mainly a leisure route since few business pax will find those airports useful for the capital. It will also be fairly useless for connections (LGW may be ok).


Also, regarding Jersey - am I right in thinking our Jersey routes in the past have been largely chartered by travel agents, rather than an airline deciding "we are flying MME-JER"? If so, surely us getting a Flybe Jersey route would again depend on travel agents wanting it.

[SimJock]

it becomes mainly a leisure route since few business pax will find those airports useful for the capital.

Don't agree with that. Rail links from LGW to London are excellent, with the added benefit you can go South easily and to some extent East and West too. OK there are fewer onward flights, but that is perhaps a different type of business traveller. I have found that better connections are available from AMS than LHR, especially with the MME-LHR timings that were available with BMI.

To the person seeking to do business within the UK, meetings in London/South etc the requirement has changed over the years. There used to be a time when you strived to minimise the time away from desk/office for which an early flight was required and an evening one returning. This can provides unnecessary time constraints. With modern portable technology however, time away from desk/office need not be unproductive and it is far more preferable I think to have a 9-10am departure, arrive for lunch, meetings in afternoon, stay in budget hotel, return at respectable time following day. The flight price however should reflect that it is 'off peak' to encourage this sort of travel pattern.

No doubt there is similar opposite direction traffic with meetings in the North.

If a day return is required then the train is far more flexible.

[aeroDellboy]

I used to use bmi a lot, but recently their timings have been rubbish, so have had to use train instead. Disappointing news, hope for a LGW or STN link. Bristol would be useful as well.

Agree with connections - AMS is much better than LHR and usually cheaper, also gives KLM a chance to lose the luggage.

[paulwelch101]

And here comes the news we expected...

Dear XXX


We are sorry to let you know that unfortunately we are ending our Heathrow-Durham Tees Valley service on 28 March 2009.
The decision to withdraw services between London and the North of England was a tough one, as we've operated these routes since 1969. However a decline in demand, higher-than-inflation cost increases at Heathrow and higher Government Air Passenger Duty (APD) charges have made operating these routes unsustainable.
If you have a booking on one of the affected services, we will, where possible, reaccommodate you on other bmi services. We will contact you in the next few weeks to discuss your options.
We are also making the following changes to our summer 2009 flying:

• Increasing our Heathrow-Beirut and Amman services to ten per week from 22 May 2009
• Reducing our Heathrow-Addis Ababa service to three per week, now being served over Amman, instead of Damascus from 29 March 2009
• Decreasing the frequency of our Heathrow-Amsterdam service to four per day and Heathrow-Dublin to six per day from 29 March 2009
• Operating our Heathrow-Aberdeen service on all Embraer aircraft from 29 March 2009 and Heathrow-Brussels on all Embraer aircraft from 18 April 2009
• Closing our Heathrow-Leeds Bradford service on 28 March 2009

We'd like to thank you for your loyalty and support of our Heathrow-Durham Tees Valley service and apologise for any inconvenience.
Regards
Keeley Downing Diamond Club Manager

[MME4eva]

mme and lba-lhr cuts

This is from the LBIA website:

John Parkin, Chief Executive of Leeds Bradford International Airport commented, “This announcement by bmi mainline is of course disappointing news. We are well aware of the importance to our region of regular air links to London and we expect to be in a position to announce new services to the capital shortly.”

As for MME management? A big nothing-I'm surprised the spin doctors that be haven't issued a denial! I'm not as confident they have had the foresight to line up a replacement somehow.

[N707ZS]

MME Managment probably don't know about it, got their heads stuck somewhere!

So the prophets were right about bmi, so when is the first house due.