BIRMINGHAM - 5

[GayFriendly]

Not good news about SN but yes I have noticed that loads are not exactly on fire and haven't been for a while. Trying to be positive, maybe it will be less flights but perhaps on 319's?

On another thread apparently a deal has been done to buy BMIBaby, reported by Bloomberg? A German airline investment group who set up Eurowings then turned around DBA before selling it onto AB.....Baby turns into UK Wings? Or Air Birmingham? I can think of worse things to happen

[jabird]

OK, LGW-TAB-POS would include a domestic sector, but afaik TAB is routed via GND & POS via UVF, so this doesn't occur. Even if it did, not sure if that would count strictly as cabotage, as the domestic sector wouldn't be sold.

BE operate a domestic sector first, then international INV-LSI-BGO, but even though Norway isn't in EU, they are still in open skies.

[OltonPete]

Brussels Airlines

This is what I have noticed in one GDS - earlier this week BHX was five daily for summer 2012 in the week using the RJ85 (default setting) and with the usual reductions in school holidays.

Today GDS shows five daily but 2 x RJ100 and 1 x RJ85 and 2 x Q400!!!!

The Q400 is on the 11.35/12.05 and 15.30/16.00 services and this is a new
listing this week.

However Brussels Airlines website changes to three flights daily with a mix of RJ100's and RJ85's.

Have they yet to load the Q400 flights or has the agreement with Austrian terminated?

Looking at the times listed for the three flights, it makes little sense

I would say it is not a bright idea to have nothing arriving in BHX between 09.00 and 19.50 if you want to maintain your business traffic and if you want to maximise your hub connections I don't think a gap of 9.45 to 20.20 ex BHX is very bright either.

I hope for some more changes before late March.

The two daily Q400's would be quite a significant change in their own right and to be honest it would be a logical one but three a day at the wrong times would be a disaster for business.

Pete

[OltonPete]

December Route Analysis - scheduled International

Averages per my records for schedule pax, BHX blog and libhomeradar 2010 in
brackets. Some excellent ones and some bad even for December although little point comparing to December 2010 as it was a total mess due weather.

Obviously Istanbul averaging 100 for the first time in December is good and
solid performances on Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Hanover & Newark.

Emirates due to the capacity cut looks quite good at 78%. Only nine 442 seat
aircraft assuming BS & BT are now 428 as per planespotters.net.

DUBLIN 41,392 (35838) - 117 pax - 64%
DUBAI 39,471 (41793) - 318 pax - 78%
AMSTERDAM 37,048 (31694) -100 pax - 76%Â
PARIS (CHARLES DE GAULLE) 28,801 (22603) - 87 pax - 72%
TENERIFE (SURREINA SOFIA) 14706 (13194) - 156 pax - 76%
FRANKFURT MAIN 20,639 (18453) - 95 pax - 60%
ALICANTE 14483 (13310) - 161 pax - 83%
ARRECIFE 6792 (6796) - 142 pax - 71%
MUNICH 12,507 (9778) - 81 pax - 76%
MALAGA 12,362 (10379) - 165 pax - 82%
ZURICH 11,550 (11310) - 63 pax - 63%
DUSSELDORF 11,114 (11003) - 44 pax - 53%
GENEVA 6731 (3692) - 112 pax - 73%
BRUSSELS 8,405 (8487) - 42 pax - 48%
ISLAMABAD 8,174 (255 pax) - 72%
NEW YORK (NEWARK) 7,568 (6928) - 151 pax - 86%
FUERTEVENTURA 2924 (1510) - 133 pax - 69%
SHARM EL SHEIKH (OPHIRA) 6,672 down -28.92 %Â
LAS PALMAS 3071 (2977) - 128 pax - 64%
COPENHAGEN 6,119 (5527) - 71 pax - 65%
CORK 5,906 (5229) - 49 pax - 68%
FARO 5,144 (4511) - 143 pax - 70%
HANOVER 3963 (3723) - 55 pax - 70%
ASHKHABAD 5,084 (5802) - 150 pax - 79%
PRAGUE 4,668 (3845) - 111 - 75%
ISTANBUL 4,616 (3205) - 100 pax - 64%
BRATISLAVA 4,276 (4513) - 153 pax - 81%
BYDGOSZCZ 4,125 (3846) - 147 pax - 78%
IRELAND WEST(KNOCK) 3,359 (2954) - 99 PAX - 66%
LARNACA 3,325 (3718) - 185 - 86%Â
STUTTGART 2,867 (2878) - 41 PAX - 52%
SHANNON 2,744 (2477) - 46 PAX - 64%
CHAMBERY 451 (395) - 56 PAX - 72%
GDANSK 2,506 (2373) - 139 pax - 74%
MALTA 2,381 (2884) - 149 pax - 79%
GERONA 2,322 (3030) - 145 pax - 77%
RZESZOW 2,289 (2606) - 143 pax - 76%
KATOWICE 2,148 (2628) - 134 pax - 71%
KAUNAS 1,917 (nil) 137 pax - 72%
HAMBURG 1,722 (2104) 37 pax - 48%
LYON 1,568 (1723) - 30 pax - 60%
MILAN (MALPENSA) 1,468 (2178) - 35 pax - 45%
GOTEBORG 788 (1573) - 19 pax - 40%

Pete

[OltonPete]

Brussels Airlines

What an IT mess for a business that relies the web.

I checked the Brussels Airlines website earlier and for a
brief moment it was showing five flights on Monday 14th May
(I think that was the date). I then tried the next day and
three flights were shown, so I went back to the Monday and
it was three!

All further searches took ages so I filled in a contact form.

Within an hour I got a reply (very impressed) and they stated
five daily in the week and gave me a contact number to book
the flights. I was also screen-printed the schedule showing
five flights to choose from. No reason was given why only three
flights are showing on their website.

Website still showing three

Pete

[BRUpax]

That's interesting Olton Pete, thank you. They've already lost my business in May as a consequence of that apparent error. I booked with LH from DUS instead.

[GayFriendly]

SN

Still no change - website showing five timetabled flights a day BHX-BRU at timings broadly similar to now. When you try to book though, only three flights come up......0630, 0940 and 2020 from BHX. Confused? I am! Timings are though suitable for day trips to be made in both directions. Perhaps this is a necessary rationalisation of flights to secure the future of the route?

[OltonPete]

Lyon

The Air France site indicates that the service ends 25/3/12.

flybe shows it direct but "full".

GDS just shows the flybe code-share.

Another Brit Air/AF route under review at the same time was Hamburg and this appears to be ending the same day.

Pete

[Jonnyf]

looks like the start of the A45 diversion has started, vegetation being taken away and a builders cabin has been placed.

[nigel osborne]

Johnyf

Yes initial drainage trenches bein dug,although works very low scale at present.Just 1 digger and vehicle.

Will be the West Midlands biggest construction site when it fully kicks in,July.

Nice to see them on the other side clearing all the trees and taking down the fence.Good view now of the ATC tower.

This area will have a new surface car park taking up the field too.This as the new extended taxiway goes straight through where the surface car park is presently near the end of fuel farm

As part of Solihulls Council planning approval BHX has to plant 4 new trees for every one cut down,and 3 hedgerows for everyone removed.They have bought a plot of land to plant a new wood .

Nigel

[GayFriendly]

AF to LYS

As BHX loses its AF to LYS so (according to another forum), SOU gains it, albeit a once a week service using a CRJ900 - yields must have been dead duck dire from BHX for AF not to consider first reducing frequency from BHX before chopping it altogether....

[mattjwood]

What kind of new Aircraft can we expect to see once the runway has been extended? If anything new?

[Occams Razor]

Ryanair Announces Budapest - Birmingham Airport

[Jonnyf]

Great news about Budapest, Finally a Ryanair route to a major city!

[Monty Gordo]

A major city

Johnyf I think I know to what you are alluding and also welcome the addition of Budapest, but don't you think that Dublin, Gdansk, Malaga, Bratislava and a few others are also major cities?

[Jonnyf]

I do agree with what you say, what i mean is in terms of Spreading from the areas of the likes of Spain, Poland and starting to connect business center's such as Budapest to Birmingham, I know this route will be more suited to city break customers with 2 flights a week but it is nice to see encouragement from Ryanair from trying a route that is not just for tourists but also business Travelers.

[ATNotts]

Jonnyf:

Only a desperate business traveller would use FR ahead of LH, KL, LX to get to BUD. I used them twice (on business), to and from Dublin, and frankly if the boss is paying I wouldn't touch them with the proverbial barge pole.

Incidentally, in English we spell the word "centre" - the other spelling is American (another language similar to, but different from my mother tongue!!)

[jabird]

AtNotts,

Only a desperate business traveller would use FR ahead of LH, KL, LX to get to BUD. I used them twice (on business), to and from Dublin, and frankly if the boss is paying I wouldn't touch them with the proverbial barge pole.

I beg to differ. To BUD, the FR route is DIRECT - that is a big advantage, whatever you think of the airline. Some pax can fit their trips around these schedules, was exactly the same when they did the BLQ route a while ago. You then have various options of getting home, without purchasing a one-way legacy ticket (£££) - a) fly back to London (or LPL / MAN...), b) continue overland to another city and fly back from there - in the case of BLQ, PSA or MXP, for BUD I'd look at BTS, c) add in a day's sightseeing and go back to BHX with FR.

So I'm with JohhnyF - most pax will prob be leisure, but not everyone's business trip follows the same rush for out and back same day that would take the connections you suggest. And there is also the half-way-house of educational and historical trips, which I would expect to generate a better yield than another bucket and spade route, where price is the key driver.

[chinapattern]

Air France

Just noticed this picture;

http://4.bp.********.com/-5FSNTaECiY...2012.01.21.jpg

I thought Air France had moved ops to what was the old Terminal 2 with FR and Flybe. Are they now back to the old Terminal 1 or is it just a case of now the airport is all one terminal they park where the stands are available?

EDIT: Link doesn't appear to be working; go to the BHX photo blog and scroll down to the 21st Jan and look at the first picture.

[revo]

Air France

Yes Air France moved back to the old T1 in March 2011

Revo