Derry/Londonderry 2

[cuthere]

Unrealistic and unpalatable

Nobody forced you to use them, though I do wonder how it was unpalatable. I thought the pseudo-business class would have pleased you. As for 737 operators, who have you in mind?

[Amelia Earhart]

Ryanair lol?

[Fly757X]

Smaller regional operator it will be. You will almost never find an aircraft over 120 seats operating a PSO.

[TartinTon]

I suspect this will be seconded across to Loganair who will probably benefit most from their sister companies demise at least in terms of the opportunity to expand and take over warm/hot markets

[Fly757X]

Originally Posted by TartinTon

I suspect this will be seconded across to Loganair who will probably benefit most from their sister companies demise at least in terms of the opportunity to expand and take over warm/hot markets

Wonder will it hand the SAAB 2000s a little longer in the meantime or will we see for ER3/4s going across earlier...

[jmdavies86]

Originally Posted by Fly757X

Smaller regional operating it will be. You will almost never find an aircraft over 120 seats operating a PSO.

The only other suitable regional operators [with PSO experience] would be Flybe or Loganair.

Seeing as BE are transferring their LGW-NQY flights over to LHR from 31st March and have sold their LGW slots to Vueling, a LGW-LDY route is pretty much out of the question, plus I highly doubt that LHR-LDY could be operated on a twice-daily basis due to a lack of slots. My bet is that Loganair will more than likely take it over out of STN and will use either a Saab 340 or ERJ135.

[TartinTon]

The jets are all owned by the same company, AIL, so I suspect that unless they've managed to sell them as a job lot quite a few will transition over

[Fly757X]

Originally Posted by TartinTon

The jets are all owned by the same company, AIL, so I suspect that unless they've managed to sell them as a job lot quite a few will transition over

I’ve heard conflicting reports on what ones are owned. I know for certain G-EMBI/J/N are leased of course but the rest I’ve heard all sorts of stuff.

[jamessh]

It would make most sense for Loganair to take the route. However I think a Saab 340/ERJ135 is way to small for the route. With these small planes the per pax cost is extremely high. I would like to see eastern with an E175 operate it but I doubt eastern will be around for much longer. As things stand at the moment a Saab 2000 from Loganair seems the best option. I fully believe there is enough demand for 150k pax a year. I think the reason passenger numbers are down on the route is due to small aircraft and higher fares. Because of this CODA has lost it’s price conscious leisure market.

[Fly757X]

Originally Posted by jamessh

It would make most sense for Loganair to take the route. However I think a Saab 340/ERJ135 is way to small for the route. With these small planes the per pax cost is extremely high. I would like to see eastern with an E175 operate it but I doubt eastern will be around for much longer. As things stand at the moment a Saab 2000 from Loganair seems the best option. I fully believe there is enough demand for 150k pax a year. I think the reason passenger numbers are down on the route is due to small aircraft and higher fares. Because of this CODA has lost it’s price conscious leisure market.

Loganair we're due to get more of BMI's ER3/4s so if they go through maybe we could see one deployed here...

Eastern have got rid of their E170s, plus I would highly doubt we would've seen them here anyway, they do still have their ER4s however, but again I don't know how long that can be sustained, plus they've recently been deployed on more sectors from ABZ.

[mmeteesside]

Originally Posted by jamessh

It would make most sense for Loganair to take the route. However I think a Saab 340/ERJ135 is way to small for the route. With these small planes the per pax cost is extremely high. I would like to see eastern with an E175 operate it but I doubt eastern will be around for much longer. As things stand at the moment a Saab 2000 from Loganair seems the best option. I fully believe there is enough demand for 150k pax a year. I think the reason passenger numbers are down on the route is due to small aircraft and higher fares. Because of this CODA has lost it’s price conscious leisure market.

The whole point is it's not a commercially viable route hence fares will be high... without the funding then fares would be even higher.

[SWBKCB]

What's the process for re-allocating the PSO - can it just be awarded to a suitable candidate, or does it need to be re-tendered?

[jamessh]

Originally Posted by Fly757X

Loganair we're due to get more of BMI's ER3/4s so if they go through maybe we could see one deployed here...

Eastern have got rid of their E170s, plus I would highly doubt we would've seen them here anyway, they do still have their ER4s however, but again I don't know how long that can be sustained, plus they've recently been deployed on more sectors from ABZ.

aha I don’t realise eastern has got chucked their E170’s. Who do you see operating the route?

[cumbrianboy]

Stobart on an EJET would be a good compromise. Decent capacity and lean cost base would give competitive fares

[Fly757X]

Originally Posted by cumbrianboy

Stobart on an EJET would be a good compromise. Decent capacity and lean cost base would give competitive fares

That's who I would've seen as a good option other than Loganair, however with LDY's persistence in STN would SEN be a good enough compromise in the short term?

[jamessh]

Originally Posted by Fly757X

That's who I would've seen as a good option other than Loganair, however with LDY's persistence in STN would SEN be a good enough compromise in the short term?

I completely agree with both of you. However I don’t see Southend as convenient at all. I hope if they were to take the route they’d stick with Stansted. Maybe even use Luton or Gatwick. An E195 would be ideal for the route however even an ATR would suffice short term.

[owenc]

The small size of the aircraft and the price was a problem for me. If they're just going to bring in another small aircraft, with similar £120 return fares, they may as well can the route.

[owenc]

Originally Posted by jmdavies86

185,843 passengers used the airport in 2018, a 58% reduction since its peak in 2008, and the airport's lowest passenger figures since 2000. [According to the City of Derry Airport page on Wikipedia]

EZY/FR might be able to make it work as they already have substantial bases at STN, but based on the above data, is there really enough demand to fill a B737/A319?

Well, Ryanair used to operate a 2 daily 737, following the removal of that, the airport lost passengers. You can see this now, where passengers to Stansted are only 54,000 - that statistic was near 150,000 at one point. So, clearly people aren't fussed on Bmi-regional's offering.

[rog747]

Originally Posted by jamessh

I completely agree with both of you. However I don’t see Southend as convenient at all. I hope if they were to take the route they’d stick with Stansted. Maybe even use Luton or Gatwick. An E195 would be ideal for the route however even an ATR would suffice short term.

Nothing wrong with flying in and out of SEN - great little airport, much nicer experience and a direct train to London (same as STN) which stops at West ham a Jubilee Line interchange so you dont have to go into the City

[owenc]

It's a fairly small airport and doesn't have Stansted Express type services.