NEWCASTLE - 8
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
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Also used to use STN very frequently (always full as well) and having had some recent horrific trips driving to Essex would love it to make a comeback. But I know it's about profit rather than bums on seats....
Final thought, on possible new routes I'm also surprised the Dominican Republic has never made a comeback from NCL especially with the troubles in Egypt and Tunisa. Went in 2006 on the MON a330 and remember it being relatively cheap for a good hotel but perhaps we just got a bargain.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Gateshead, UK
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I'm also a regular user of NCL-BRS-NCL, and the schedule is pretty appalling... Even Belfast isn't amazing anymore.
I hope to God that one day Bmi regional will pick up NCL-BRS, I think they could easily work 2/3 daily flights alongside easyjet.
EVEN a twice daily Bmir/Loganair co-operation out of Durham Tees Valley would probably have me, as opposed to dragging myself an hour and a half through Bristol at midnight coming from NCL on easyjet.
Again, I hope we'll see Ryanair do NCL-STN or easyjet bring back NCL-LGW with the new connection opportunities available, but I doubt it
I hope to God that one day Bmi regional will pick up NCL-BRS, I think they could easily work 2/3 daily flights alongside easyjet.
EVEN a twice daily Bmir/Loganair co-operation out of Durham Tees Valley would probably have me, as opposed to dragging myself an hour and a half through Bristol at midnight coming from NCL on easyjet.
Again, I hope we'll see Ryanair do NCL-STN or easyjet bring back NCL-LGW with the new connection opportunities available, but I doubt it
Join Date: Nov 2004
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I would loved to have used the Madrid flight to go on to Seville but I wouldn't have landed at Seville until after 11pm which I didn't fancy.
Do the airlines even realise that flight times can be make or break for a route?
Do the airlines even realise that flight times can be make or break for a route?
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Edinburgh
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Loads on Madrid are fairly good but don't know about yield.
If you want Seville, best place to fly to is Malaga or Faro then ground transport from there on.
Speaking of Faro loads - not always particularly great.
If you want Seville, best place to fly to is Malaga or Faro then ground transport from there on.
Speaking of Faro loads - not always particularly great.
Brunel to Concorde
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Virtute et Industria, et Sumorsaete Ealle
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NCL-BRS
I'm also a regular user of NCL-BRS-NCL, and the schedule is pretty appalling... Even Belfast isn't amazing anymore.
I hope to God that one day Bmi regional will pick up NCL-BRS, I think they could easily work 2/3 daily flights alongside easyjet.
EVEN a twice daily Bmir/Loganair co-operation out of Durham Tees Valley would probably have me, as opposed to dragging myself an hour and a half through Bristol at midnight coming from NCL on easyjet.
I hope to God that one day Bmi regional will pick up NCL-BRS, I think they could easily work 2/3 daily flights alongside easyjet.
EVEN a twice daily Bmir/Loganair co-operation out of Durham Tees Valley would probably have me, as opposed to dragging myself an hour and a half through Bristol at midnight coming from NCL on easyjet.
From a high point in the period 2005 to 2008 when annual passenger numbers ranged between 246,000 and 253,000 there has been a gradual decline although the years since 2010 have been relatively static with annual numbers between 165,000 and 176,000.
The worst part of the schedule though is the fact that apart from Mondays it's impossible to do a day trip from either end. Sundays and Fridays in winter both have three rotations, all in the afternoon or evening. Thursday sees two rotations - one in the afternoon and one in the evening - with both Tuesday and Wednesday single daily and Saturday blank. Summer sees marginally fewer rotations each week.
Tomorrow one of the two northbound rotations is sold out and on Monday one of the northbound and one of the southbound are sold out.
You'd imagine that easyJet knows what it's doing but as a former fairly regular user of the route - mainly as a 'day tripper' - it does seem rather an odd set-up to me.
The train operates every hour on a direct route so that might play a part but it's a five-hour journey.
bmi regional does operate against easyJet at BRS on Paris Cdg. easyJet failed to increase its single-daily BRS-CDG despite selling out frequently so bmir came along a year or two ago at 2 x daily and is still there. Another option as Jerry points out would be to use the 2 x daily NCL-CWL with Eastern.
From a high point in the period 2005 to 2008 when annual passenger numbers ranged between 246,000 and 253,000 there has been a gradual decline although the years since 2010 have been relatively static with annual numbers between 165,000 and 176,000.
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Gateshead, UK
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It's blatantly clear that easyJet can make more money elsewhere, which is why (in my opinion) the airport need to try and find a carrier that is actually going to serve the local area and economy the way it needs to be. Such as, I hope Eastern and Flybe come to an agreement to serve NCL-BHD with a few daily flights, because the easyjet schedule isn't amazing there either. At least day returns are possible though.
Knowing the south west, how awful the traffic is and (at times) how badly connected places can be... By the time you've paid £200 for NCL-CWL, got yourself into Cardiff, then into Bristol and to whatever your destination is (or paid the best part of £100 for a taxi) I'd rather spend £60 on an easyjet flight and £39 a night at premier inn, or splash out £60-100 for Hilton/Mercure... You're not making your 9 o'clock meeting in Bristol, by flying into Cardiff. You'd be pushed to get there for lunch!
Unless it is on a Monday, a day return to the south west of England is impossible by plane and implausible (and prohibitively expensive) by train. You could drive... But there's 12 hours of your day gone.
Bmi regional offer very reasonable fares of £49-69 one way on similar length flights across their network, and a very efficient, friendly and welcoming service I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed.
Knowing the south west, how awful the traffic is and (at times) how badly connected places can be... By the time you've paid £200 for NCL-CWL, got yourself into Cardiff, then into Bristol and to whatever your destination is (or paid the best part of £100 for a taxi) I'd rather spend £60 on an easyjet flight and £39 a night at premier inn, or splash out £60-100 for Hilton/Mercure... You're not making your 9 o'clock meeting in Bristol, by flying into Cardiff. You'd be pushed to get there for lunch!
Unless it is on a Monday, a day return to the south west of England is impossible by plane and implausible (and prohibitively expensive) by train. You could drive... But there's 12 hours of your day gone.
Bmi regional offer very reasonable fares of £49-69 one way on similar length flights across their network, and a very efficient, friendly and welcoming service I for one will be keeping my fingers crossed.
which is why (in my opinion) the airport need to try and find a carrier that is actually going to serve the local area and economy the way it needs to be
Such as, I hope Eastern and Flybe come to an agreement to serve NCL-BHD with a few daily flights
Bmi regional offer very reasonable fares of £49-69 one way on similar length flights across their network
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Bristol
Interesting comments re Bristol. In summary of 3 travellers ( a wide sample I admit!) they all find it far from traveller friendly. Cardiff is an alternative but does always work. Reading between the lines the other contributor is either happy with the route or doesn't have any need to use it!!
While every company is responsible to its shareholders, the airport's job is to get more people through the door to spend more money while there! I'll be taking the train down and flying back so the airport gets nothing from car parking or the money I may spend in the terminal. So it does come back to the airport to work with airlines to provide services that work for its customers. Admittedly the c80k passengers that are no longer using the route any more may not have been making anyone any money or perhaps the airport has managed to get them to fly to the places served by multiple operators such AGP, ALC and PMI where the bar takings pre flight will be much higher 😀
While every company is responsible to its shareholders, the airport's job is to get more people through the door to spend more money while there! I'll be taking the train down and flying back so the airport gets nothing from car parking or the money I may spend in the terminal. So it does come back to the airport to work with airlines to provide services that work for its customers. Admittedly the c80k passengers that are no longer using the route any more may not have been making anyone any money or perhaps the airport has managed to get them to fly to the places served by multiple operators such AGP, ALC and PMI where the bar takings pre flight will be much higher 😀
"The other contributor" doesn't think he has a right to fly where he wants, when he wants at the price he wants to pay and accepts it's down to market forces (but, come the revolution... 
).
I think people over emphasise the influence of airports, they can't make people do what they don't want to do or pay a price they don't want to pay.
ps I don't use BRS, but have colleagues who do and have had to fly out via DUB in the morning and back via BFS in the evening this summer because EZY reduced the BFS service!
).I think people over emphasise the influence of airports, they can't make people do what they don't want to do or pay a price they don't want to pay.
ps I don't use BRS, but have colleagues who do and have had to fly out via DUB in the morning and back via BFS in the evening this summer because EZY reduced the BFS service!
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Gateshead, UK
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I don't think I have the right to fly where I want, when I want, and for whatever price I want. I'm going to Abu Dhabi in 2 weeks, so I'm flying from Edinburgh... I'm going to Riga in November, so I'm flying from Leeds... Without complaint. But I would hope that an important business/leisure/VFR route would have a schedule reflecting that - but beggars can't be choosers with low cost airlines, who fly the route purely for maximum revenue, rather than balancing revenue and customer service. We have 2 airlines, operating utterly crap schedules to 3 cities in the South West, and one operating an extortionately expensive route to Wales... And it's ridiculous
I've driven Newcastle-Bristol many times, I've gone on the train, I've taken the megabus... I've flown direct from Newcastle, I've flown via Dublin, and once (I got lucky with sales) I flew back via Tenerife for £60 because it was, in fact, the most viable and cheapest option to be back in Newcastle in time for work at 07:30 on a Sunday morning... The other option was £200 via Amsterdam or £160 for the train.
Flying NCL-BRS has always been the cheapest option, and for a long time, will continue to be the most convenient option. Door to door, from mine to the missus' works out at 3.5 hours on a bad day, flying. No other method can even come close to competing with that. It's just frustrating that the schedule is woeful.
SWBKCB, a week or two ago, bmir had the majority of their flights NCL-SVG-NCL on sale for £69-79, Aberdeen-Bristol is selling for £62-79 two months out, and £79-110 a month out. If you can book with 1-2 months notice EMA-BRU is selling at £66-90, granted NCL-BRU is £79-160 but BRS-CDG is a steal at £61-80
i'd happily pay £120-160 for a day return NCL-BRS
I've driven Newcastle-Bristol many times, I've gone on the train, I've taken the megabus... I've flown direct from Newcastle, I've flown via Dublin, and once (I got lucky with sales) I flew back via Tenerife for £60 because it was, in fact, the most viable and cheapest option to be back in Newcastle in time for work at 07:30 on a Sunday morning... The other option was £200 via Amsterdam or £160 for the train.
Flying NCL-BRS has always been the cheapest option, and for a long time, will continue to be the most convenient option. Door to door, from mine to the missus' works out at 3.5 hours on a bad day, flying. No other method can even come close to competing with that. It's just frustrating that the schedule is woeful.
SWBKCB, a week or two ago, bmir had the majority of their flights NCL-SVG-NCL on sale for £69-79, Aberdeen-Bristol is selling for £62-79 two months out, and £79-110 a month out. If you can book with 1-2 months notice EMA-BRU is selling at £66-90, granted NCL-BRU is £79-160 but BRS-CDG is a steal at £61-80
i'd happily pay £120-160 for a day return NCL-BRS
But I would hope that an important business/leisure/VFR route would have a schedule reflecting that - but beggars can't be choosers with low cost airlines, who fly the route purely for maximum revenue, rather than balancing revenue and customer service. We have 2 airlines, operating utterly crap schedules to 3 cities in the South West, and one operating an extortionately expensive route to Wales... And it's ridiculous
Flying NCL-BRS has always been the cheapest option
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Gateshead, UK
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Please accept my apologies, 10 hours on Megabus is about a tenner cheaper than flying easyJet. Apart from that, every other way is more expensive.
A weekday service to Exeter is crap because it used to be 2 daily services to Exeter
I know markets change, but the NE/SW market can't have changed that much, it's not like the NE/SE market that has understandably lost out to frequent, fast train journeys
A weekday service to Exeter is crap because it used to be 2 daily services to Exeter
I know markets change, but the NE/SW market can't have changed that much, it's not like the NE/SE market that has understandably lost out to frequent, fast train journeys