OSTEND
Join Date: Aug 2014
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BE to MAN would be my guess. It's far enough away by rail/sea to make it worthwhile, if its the Bruges element that's promoted. I say BE because I think anything over 80 seats is too big.
Could Stobart possibly be having ideas from Southend ? The distance by air is so short that the journey between London and western Belgium via OST airport might beat the more diversionary journey involving either Brussels-Zaventem or the Eurostar. In terms of flight distance, it is less than 100 nm so very short flying time.
Bruges-Zaventem takes 1h30 by train (1 direct train per hour) while Ostend-Zaventem takes 1h50 (no useful direct trains). Groningen to Schiphol by comparison takes 2h05 (1 direct train per hour)
Ostend or Bruges by train to Lille takes over 2 hours. Driving Ostend/Bruges to Lille is about 1h10 if traffic is light
Unlike London-Amsterdam and London-Paris, there is no LCC flying London-Brussels (easyjet were slot-sitting in 2013) so airfares can be higher than might be expected. The Eurostar booked less than a month or two in advance is expensive
I'm wondering in particular whether such a route might be appeal more to people living in Belgium (who may happen to have a car in Belgium and can thus easily drive to/from OST airport) wishing to travel to/from London rather than UK residents wanting a trip to Bruges. Presumably the Southend-Groningen route is aimed at Dutch residents rather than UK residents. Of course the fact that Bruges is not far and a big tourist draw might add a few extra Essex/Suffolk residents to the passenger load.
Bruges-Zaventem takes 1h30 by train (1 direct train per hour) while Ostend-Zaventem takes 1h50 (no useful direct trains). Groningen to Schiphol by comparison takes 2h05 (1 direct train per hour)
Ostend or Bruges by train to Lille takes over 2 hours. Driving Ostend/Bruges to Lille is about 1h10 if traffic is light
Unlike London-Amsterdam and London-Paris, there is no LCC flying London-Brussels (easyjet were slot-sitting in 2013) so airfares can be higher than might be expected. The Eurostar booked less than a month or two in advance is expensive
I'm wondering in particular whether such a route might be appeal more to people living in Belgium (who may happen to have a car in Belgium and can thus easily drive to/from OST airport) wishing to travel to/from London rather than UK residents wanting a trip to Bruges. Presumably the Southend-Groningen route is aimed at Dutch residents rather than UK residents. Of course the fact that Bruges is not far and a big tourist draw might add a few extra Essex/Suffolk residents to the passenger load.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 27th Jun 2017 at 01:00.
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Not forgetting LCY to Antwerp, I positioned a crew in to ANR one day and to get back to OST, and this is 20 years ago, they took some kind of train or tram thingy that runs along the coast.
But Ostend is a dump, I lived there for 2.5 years, the sewerage goes straight out so sea so if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction the pong in the toilets can be ... The tap water comes out of the sand dunes full of sand, salt and whatever else, about the most exciting thing about Ostend is the road to Calais ... Don't take the road to Brussels because that's almost as bad!
If I recall correctly they renamed OST adding Bruges, when Ryanair started a route there, now how unusual is that renaming an airport for Ryanair, and whilst Bruges may be a tourist attraction I doubt that it will attract enough travellers from one UK airport to justify a LoCo operation, Ryanair couldn't make it work even with their silly fares.
But Ostend is a dump, I lived there for 2.5 years, the sewerage goes straight out so sea so if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction the pong in the toilets can be ... The tap water comes out of the sand dunes full of sand, salt and whatever else, about the most exciting thing about Ostend is the road to Calais ... Don't take the road to Brussels because that's almost as bad!
If I recall correctly they renamed OST adding Bruges, when Ryanair started a route there, now how unusual is that renaming an airport for Ryanair, and whilst Bruges may be a tourist attraction I doubt that it will attract enough travellers from one UK airport to justify a LoCo operation, Ryanair couldn't make it work even with their silly fares.
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Sorry Harry got to disagree with you about Ostend I find it rather an attractive town and so do many others especially in the summer. Lovely sandy beaches and wide promenade. Some rather expensive property along the the Belgian coast i.e. La Panne, Knocke etc. You can travel the whole length of the Belgian coast by tram if that is your pleasure. No problem with the motorway to Brussels either. You have your opinion and I have mine. As regards a UK service from Ostend it has to be from the North of England or Scotland to make it viable I would have thought. Or by the way the waffles are terrific!
I concur. My favourite places are Koksijde Bad and Nieuwpoort. Neither appear cheap and nasty, like many UK seaside resorts can be, and the Kust Tram us a real bonus, as is the pedestrianised promenade.
No mileage in flights from UK from any further south than Birmingham or East Midlands - even from these areas driving to the Belgian coast via Eurotunnel isn't that far, and once you've left the UK, largely stressless.
No mileage in flights from UK from any further south than Birmingham or East Midlands - even from these areas driving to the Belgian coast via Eurotunnel isn't that far, and once you've left the UK, largely stressless.
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Compton3bravo
I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.
I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.
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The pre-Christmas anti drinking and driving campaign, for around $10 the police themselves were selling a list of where all the police checkpoints were ... They didn't catch anybody!
And at the airport about the only people paying income tax were the handling agent, as the police would be coming to do a raid we'd have already had the tip-off and as a squad of police cars would be driving in to the airport we'd be at the traffic lights waiting to exit the airport to go off drinking for the day, an hour or few later the police would come and join us drinking.
As for any viable route well let's just wait and see, the UK Metropolis is London and I find myself reading suggestions of lesser catchment areas as far north as Scotland, I won't argue but let's just wait and see!
And at the airport about the only people paying income tax were the handling agent, as the police would be coming to do a raid we'd have already had the tip-off and as a squad of police cars would be driving in to the airport we'd be at the traffic lights waiting to exit the airport to go off drinking for the day, an hour or few later the police would come and join us drinking.
As for any viable route well let's just wait and see, the UK Metropolis is London and I find myself reading suggestions of lesser catchment areas as far north as Scotland, I won't argue but let's just wait and see!
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Originally Posted by canberra97
Compton3bravo
I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.
I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.
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Oh dear Harry, you seem to have a big chip on your shoulder about Ostend. It can depend on where you go, just like any city or town. But, as already said, the Belgian coast is wonderful. As for the motorway, done it many times. Again it all depends what day and time of the year you use it. Whatever, certainly no worse than the M1 or the M6. As well as the moules frites, you haven't lived if you don't try the tomates crevettes! 
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I love Ostend for all the reasons already posted and the Belgian people are so friendly.
I worked in the Brussels area for 10 years and Ostend was a regular trip on my motorbike.
Cannot wait to get back to Belgium.
I worked in the Brussels area for 10 years and Ostend was a regular trip on my motorbike.
Cannot wait to get back to Belgium.
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I don't have a chip, nor a frite, on either of my shoulders, I lived/worked in OST for 2.5 years, all; in all had a pretty good time there whilst earning a bucket load of money but if I never see the place again it will be too soon.
I left OST to go to live/work in, per capita, the world's richest country of Luxembourg, now that is what one calls a classy and beautiful place, not Ostend!
I left OST to go to live/work in, per capita, the world's richest country of Luxembourg, now that is what one calls a classy and beautiful place, not Ostend!
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Sorry again Harry, but comparing Ostend with Luxembourg is not exactly like for like is it? There are many better places than Ostend as there are many better places than Luxembourg (which I know well too btw), such as where I live for instance The point is that Ostend offers access to the Belgian coast and other areas, both of which have been and continue to be very popular with British tourists. It's a pretty long trip from the north of Britain by land and sea. Arguably an OST route from northern UK could perhaps work if well promoted and seasonal. One thing is for sure, with all the beautiful places along the Belgian coast, tourists would not be restricted to staying in Ostend itself.
It would also be critical to operate such a route with the right equipment. Ryanair failed with Ostend just as they did with Maastricht because neither route could sustain 180 seat 737s on them.
The point is that Ostend offers access to the Belgian coast and other areas, both of which have been and continue to be very popular with British tourists. It's a pretty long trip from the north of Britain by land and sea. Arguably an OST route from northern UK could perhaps work if well promoted and seasonal. One thing is for sure, with all the beautiful places along the Belgian coast, tourists would not be restricted to staying in Ostend itself.It would also be critical to operate such a route with the right equipment. Ryanair failed with Ostend just as they did with Maastricht because neither route could sustain 180 seat 737s on them.
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Actually OST was flown by the Buzz 146s. And they couldn't even fill that. It lasted about 9 months. From memory you could always get £20 returns on that route even quite last minute and at weekends. CAA stats show numbers in the winter were among the best which suggests it was probably more Belgians travelling to London than it was Brits going the other way.
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The Belgian coast is on the heavily polluted English Channel and North Sea whilst Belgium pump their sewerage straight out to sea whilst the cities are littered in dog 
.
People from up north, despite how strange they may be north of the Watford Gap, do not froth at the mouth for annual expeditions to dog city when it's probably a similar fare to get to BCN and PMI etc.
.People from up north, despite how strange they may be north of the Watford Gap, do not froth at the mouth for annual expeditions to dog
city when it's probably a similar fare to get to BCN and PMI etc.
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I'm sure they used to pump their untreated sewage out to sea, as we did until the EU fortunately started enforcing their various directives. You're not suggesting that the Belgians are getting away with ignoring these?