VLM Airlines
Join Date: Jun 1999
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I very much doubt that will fill 500 seats per week. Furthermore, why have the extra expense of a night stop when one can make a day return from Brussels? It is a 35 minute drive from the centre of Antwerp to Brussels Airport.
Join Date: Aug 1999
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Amazed to see, on another "aviation news page" that VLM are actively looking at moving into the China market with an A330-200. Services,from either Brussels or Liege, to Shenzhen are proposed to start as early as April 2018, according to their COO.
Hotel Tango
It is when neither the Brussels Ring nor the Kennedy Tunnel aren't snarled up, the latter has been every time I've tried to get around Antwerp, the former less often.
Anyway, if they sell the seats for a business price, then they probably won't need to fill all 500 seats, which I agree they are very unlikely to.
It is when neither the Brussels Ring nor the Kennedy Tunnel aren't snarled up, the latter has been every time I've tried to get around Antwerp, the former less often.
Anyway, if they sell the seats for a business price, then they probably won't need to fill all 500 seats, which I agree they are very unlikely to.
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Scottie Dog
VLM are backed by Chinese money these days and are looking at purchasing ex Etihad A330 aircraft to fly China -Europe with feeder hubs eventually in China and Belgium unless they have deviated from their restart plan.
VLM are backed by Chinese money these days and are looking at purchasing ex Etihad A330 aircraft to fly China -Europe with feeder hubs eventually in China and Belgium unless they have deviated from their restart plan.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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VLM Brussels and ex TCX A320s sold on
SHS Aviation have sold on the nascent VLM Brussels business, including the two A320s, to an unnamed Dutch investor.
https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/lucht...m/9983403.html
This leaves the VLM Antwerp business stand-alone with the veteran F50s ploughing on with the London City, Zurich and Munich/Maribor services and the delayed (re)introduction of Birmingham.
It’s a bit, well, deja vu.
https://www.tijd.be/ondernemen/lucht...m/9983403.html
This leaves the VLM Antwerp business stand-alone with the veteran F50s ploughing on with the London City, Zurich and Munich/Maribor services and the delayed (re)introduction of Birmingham.
It’s a bit, well, deja vu.
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Riiiiight. So what's going to make it work out differently this time? I mean apart form the fact the brand is trashed and half their potential customers probably subconsciously still think they've ceased trading?
What are our predictions for their future?
I'm going to use the following to make up my VLM bingo cards:
- Ordering a load of SSJs
- Cancelling an order for a load of SSJs
- Opening a base at Friedrichshafen with a few domestic services
- Closing a base at Friedrichshafen
- Announcing a batch of leisure flights from Liege
- Cancelling a batch of leisure flights from Liege before (m)any operate
- Starting services from Waterford to London and Birmingham
- Starting Services from Southampton and Rotterdam to Hamburg
- Takeover by AF KLM
- Sale by AF KLM
- Merger with CityJet
- Demerger from CityJet
- Another bankrupty
What are our predictions for their future?
I'm going to use the following to make up my VLM bingo cards:
- Ordering a load of SSJs
- Cancelling an order for a load of SSJs
- Opening a base at Friedrichshafen with a few domestic services
- Closing a base at Friedrichshafen
- Announcing a batch of leisure flights from Liege
- Cancelling a batch of leisure flights from Liege before (m)any operate
- Starting services from Waterford to London and Birmingham
- Starting Services from Southampton and Rotterdam to Hamburg
- Takeover by AF KLM
- Sale by AF KLM
- Merger with CityJet
- Demerger from CityJet
- Another bankrupty
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Well SEN has been reborn as a ' new ' and convenient airport for London. Survey after survey rates it top in a number of London airport categories. It has growth capacity and it's potential is being acknowledged within the industry.
Perhaps it's time to look outside the box.
Perhaps it's time to look outside the box.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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The birth of the original VLM 1993 was in a very different landscape. The long established niche LON-ANR link with its attendant regular patronage was being messed about, both by Sabena from LHR and by a succession of small airlines from LGW. Freddy Van Gaever started VLM (with heavy Flemish political reasoning) on a shoestring using cheap second hand F50s and cleverly got slots into LCY who were desperate at that time to attract business. VLM successfully concentrated on this and the equally niche LON-RTM for years during the whirlwind changes to aviation in Europe. The later affiliations, mergers, demergers and network expansions and contractions leading to ultimate bankruptcy are well documented. Antwerp Airport itself no longer relies on the London traffic, it has also moved on. St Pancras to Berchem or Antwerpen Centraal is now no more than a regional rail journey. We’ll see how StobartBe get on with their second attempt on the route from SEN.
Starting a handful of disparate and random routes from Antwerp will have been relatively cheap with the assets on hand from deadVLM. But there are now no other plans for this standalone Antwerp based enterprise and they need to be making money pretty fast on their erratic routes on noisy, ancient and increasingly obsolete F50s. My sources tell me that, so far, the fleet is transporting a lot of air around.
Starting a handful of disparate and random routes from Antwerp will have been relatively cheap with the assets on hand from deadVLM. But there are now no other plans for this standalone Antwerp based enterprise and they need to be making money pretty fast on their erratic routes on noisy, ancient and increasingly obsolete F50s. My sources tell me that, so far, the fleet is transporting a lot of air around.
Last edited by Steviec9; 18th Feb 2018 at 22:42.
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And how would you describe such types as SF340, S2000, BAeJ31, BAeJ41, Do328, F70, F100 etc. because there are plenty of operators out there making money from such types because these types annual depreciation can be low, if at all, compared to newer models.
Last edited by Harry Wayfarers; 19th Feb 2018 at 01:54.
Join Date: Jul 2005
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There used to be. The issue though is that there are far less people making money out operating these types than before. It's a sector that's really dying out all across Europe, with a lot of what's left not being commercial passenger services.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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A number of posts on other airport specific threads, but I'll summarise here. The reinstated Flybe service between SEN/ANR has restarted, causing some of us to comment on the effect (or not) on the VLM LCY/ANR service. This caused a wider ripple of interest noting that VLM have apparently requested slots at MAN for a ANR-MAN-OST-MAN-ANR service. However, they themselves have flatly denied any interest in starting this service, despite it being reported in the slot allocation report for MAN S18 and various other sources.
So VLM (Antwerp) now have the LCY/ANR service up and running, together with ANR-ZRH and ANR-MBX via MUC and the ANR-BHX service, which finally started today. And, apparently, no interest in MAN and OST at this time.
The fleet of 6 F50s is actually only 4 operable at the moment and this may well stop any further expansion (MAN/OST) for the moment.
Passenger loads are (anecdotally) struggling, except on LCY although that has been <40% on a significant number of occasions. The fares being charged cannot be offsetting the low numbers onboard across the network.
This still seems like a very odd restart.
So VLM (Antwerp) now have the LCY/ANR service up and running, together with ANR-ZRH and ANR-MBX via MUC and the ANR-BHX service, which finally started today. And, apparently, no interest in MAN and OST at this time.
The fleet of 6 F50s is actually only 4 operable at the moment and this may well stop any further expansion (MAN/OST) for the moment.
Passenger loads are (anecdotally) struggling, except on LCY although that has been <40% on a significant number of occasions. The fares being charged cannot be offsetting the low numbers onboard across the network.
This still seems like a very odd restart.
Join Date: Jan 2018
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A number of posts on other airport specific threads, but I'll summarise here. The reinstated Flybe service between SEN/ANR has restarted, causing some of us to comment on the effect (or not) on the VLM LCY/ANR service. This caused a wider ripple of interest noting that VLM have apparently requested slots at MAN for a ANR-MAN-OST-MAN-ANR service. However, they themselves have flatly denied any interest in starting this service, despite it being reported in the slot allocation report for MAN S18 and various other sources.
So VLM (Antwerp) now have the LCY/ANR service up and running, together with ANR-ZRH and ANR-MBX via MUC and the ANR-BHX service, which finally started today. And, apparently, no interest in MAN and OST at this time.
The fleet of 6 F50s is actually only 4 operable at the moment and this may well stop any further expansion (MAN/OST) for the moment.
Passenger loads are (anecdotally) struggling, except on LCY although that has been <40% on a significant number of occasions. The fares being charged cannot be offsetting the low numbers onboard across the network.
This still seems like a very odd restart.
So VLM (Antwerp) now have the LCY/ANR service up and running, together with ANR-ZRH and ANR-MBX via MUC and the ANR-BHX service, which finally started today. And, apparently, no interest in MAN and OST at this time.
The fleet of 6 F50s is actually only 4 operable at the moment and this may well stop any further expansion (MAN/OST) for the moment.
Passenger loads are (anecdotally) struggling, except on LCY although that has been <40% on a significant number of occasions. The fares being charged cannot be offsetting the low numbers onboard across the network.
This still seems like a very odd restart.
The whole operation is odd.
I hope that the Chinese backers have enough money.
Join Date: Jul 2010
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VLM should get into a partnership with Flybe. VLM started flights to BHX and have applied for slots at MAN (I know they claim they will not fly to MAN). This would connect Antwerp to the 2 big Flybe hubs and LCY (ops VLM) on top of the first link with Soutend (Stobart as Flybe) which also started this week.
Flybe had no flights to Belgium until this week. Would offer them away to open a new market for them. It is not easy to travel from Belgium to some regions in the UK. There are no flights to Belfast and Glasgow (FR to CRL will end in October) fe. So a connection to a Flybe hub would be useful for travellers.
Flybe had no flights to Belgium until this week. Would offer them away to open a new market for them. It is not easy to travel from Belgium to some regions in the UK. There are no flights to Belfast and Glasgow (FR to CRL will end in October) fe. So a connection to a Flybe hub would be useful for travellers.
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Useful for pax but not for Flybe...
Also 2 Airlines flying ex antwerp to London is to much with both Brussels around the corner.
All routes operated today ex antwerp have failed in the past.. matter of time for now.
LCY/LON can work if an airline with strong distribution channels has the monopoly
Also 2 Airlines flying ex antwerp to London is to much with both Brussels around the corner.
All routes operated today ex antwerp have failed in the past.. matter of time for now.
LCY/LON can work if an airline with strong distribution channels has the monopoly
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According to VLM (regional) its all a mistake as they didn't apply for slots at MAN.
So perhaps we are looking at the wrong VLM and VLM(Brussels) have applied for slots this summer.
Mmm, VLM (Brussels) with their 2 A320's from ANR??? No way indeed but the 2 A320 will go to TCA Balear and VLM (Brussels) is looking for replacement planes.
In the past when new VLM wasn't separated they were talking of replacing the F50 by F70 perhaps, VLM(Brussels) is getting their hands on these ones(ex KLM??).
So they could both fly from ANR and OST.
So perhaps we are looking at the wrong VLM and VLM(Brussels) have applied for slots this summer.
Mmm, VLM (Brussels) with their 2 A320's from ANR??? No way indeed but the 2 A320 will go to TCA Balear and VLM (Brussels) is looking for replacement planes.
In the past when new VLM wasn't separated they were talking of replacing the F50 by F70 perhaps, VLM(Brussels) is getting their hands on these ones(ex KLM??).
So they could both fly from ANR and OST.
Join Date: Jan 2013
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They definitely did apply for slots at MAN, it’s publicy viewable on the ACL start of season report.
I think it’s just a case of VLM seeing their ass because the news broke before they wanted to about future routes.
I think it’s just a case of VLM seeing their ass because the news broke before they wanted to about future routes.