Belfast City Airport-2
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Middx.
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They were forced to provide slots for up to 3 flights a day to enable another operator to fly LGW/BFS.How those slots were sourced was at the discretion of IAG. They chose to find the slots by cancelling the LGW/BHD route.
If they wanted to continue to op the route at that time they could have sourced the slots by cancelling or reducing frequency on another LGW route.
When Ryanair handed back to slots IAG have had to operate other services to maintain grandfather rights on the slots.Since they haven't reinstated
LGW/BHD they have chosen to use the slots elsewhere.
There is no restriction on them operating to either BFS or BHD if they wanted to.
If they wanted to continue to op the route at that time they could have sourced the slots by cancelling or reducing frequency on another LGW route.
When Ryanair handed back to slots IAG have had to operate other services to maintain grandfather rights on the slots.Since they haven't reinstated
LGW/BHD they have chosen to use the slots elsewhere.
There is no restriction on them operating to either BFS or BHD if they wanted to.

Join Date: Feb 2007
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Sorry mate but you are wrong.
If you google 'Regulation 139/2014 Aerlingus/IAG' , there is a 175 page document which all aspects of the merger from engineering to ground handling to routes.
There is a big different between IAG being barred from operating the route and their choice which so far is not to.
If you google 'Regulation 139/2014 Aerlingus/IAG' , there is a 175 page document which all aspects of the merger from engineering to ground handling to routes.
There is a big different between IAG being barred from operating the route and their choice which so far is not to.

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I'm asking because there was a post on the loganair thread, translated from Dutch, which I interpreted as a threat to services using smaller a/c. Essentially, Schiphol is limited to 500k flights per year and is reaching that. They were looking to squeeze more seats into a 190, and use other operators such as Loganair or Widero to feed into City hopper routes. There was no mention of routes which used smaller a/c......

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BHD-AMS is still bookable after 27th October because officially, KLM are still operating from BHD in W18/19. There hasn't yet been an announcement from either KLM or BFS, so why would KLM change their booking system if it was still an internal matter? Their intention to move is still a 'secret' after all - it just so happens that we now know. When (or indeed if) the announcement is made, KLM will simply contact everyone booked on BHD-AMS from 28th October and say that the flight will depart from BFS instead.

Join Date: Nov 2006
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This is a sad state of affairs for BHD. They recruit a new carrier, to a major hub airport , and at the face of it, it seems they may lose same route due to its success. It certainly isn't a level playing field, with a restricted runway and early closure and 0630 opening, the odds are firmly stacked against them.
Without getting back to a BHD v BFS debate,if they can't remedy these items and also holiday parking, the likes of BA (/IAG) will be gone up the road too..
Without getting back to a BHD v BFS debate,if they can't remedy these items and also holiday parking, the likes of BA (/IAG) will be gone up the road too..
Last edited by EI-BUD; 2nd Apr 2018 at 21:07.

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But surely this is part of the problem of Bhd wanting to expand beyond what it originally wanted to be? At the start, having a 5.55am departure to Ams was not part of the plan and maybe Bhd should have concentrated on what it was set up to do, rather than try to compete with Bfs. We have had posters on here wondering if certain airlines could fly from Bhd to New York/Toronto etc. Bhd was never designed for that, yet has been moving towards that, maybe not long haul, but certainly aspirations towards various european destinations. They have lost their way. They knew what the rules were from the start, but have taken the view that they could bust the rules by expansion, but it hasn't worked. The Vueling service was not impacted at all by opening hours, and maybe also not runway length.

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VY was just not marketed in any way or did it appear to be linked to any tour operator. It does the BE BA etc business traveller justice but a few sun routes could help or reach out to some other Cities. Maybe even try and get VLM or Brussels back.

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But surely this is part of the problem of Bhd wanting to expand beyond what it originally wanted to be? At the start, having a 5.55am departure to Ams was not part of the plan and maybe Bhd should have concentrated on what it was set up to do, rather than try to compete with Bfs. We have had posters on here wondering if certain airlines could fly from Bhd to New York/Toronto etc. Bhd was never designed for that, yet has been moving towards that, maybe not long haul, but certainly aspirations towards various european destinations. They have lost their way. They knew what the rules were from the start, but have taken the view that they could bust the rules by expansion, but it hasn't worked. The Vueling service was not impacted at all by opening hours, and maybe also not runway length.
I often agree with you but if BHD had to be bound by it was 'set up to do', then surely a short flight to AMS should be within scope. I am in favour of a one sustainable airport approach for Belfast, but the City Airport has done extremely well given its current restrictions, irrespective of which airport i'd prefer, it never has a chance. It is inevitable that the two airports will compete for the same business, expecially on short flights up to 1.5/2 hrs.
