Gatwick-2

[T250]

Originally Posted by canberra97

According to a post on another aviation site Air China 3 weekly Chengdu to LGW will move to LHR and will be increased to 5 weekly.

If true yet another long haul airline and another Chinese destination lost from the LGW route portfolio :-(

I wonder how long China Eastern will hang around at Gatwick for with their Shanghai flights before they too are eventually moved to LHR!

I know that the market speaks volumes but on a personal note I find it a great shame that Gatwick can't sustain these airlines and routes.

I know that circumstances and the markets have changed and many airlines have either merged or ceased trading or have relocated to LHR but to think of how many long haul airlines were serving Gatwick thirty years ago compared to now.

I've got time on my hands so I'm going to list them, I'm using the year 1989.

Air Afrique
Air Gabon
Air Gambia
Air Lanka
Air New Zealand
Air Seychelles
Air Tanzania
Air Zimbabwe
All Nippon Airlines
American Airlines
Avianca
Azerbaijan Airlines
CAAC
Cameroon Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Continental
Delta
Emirates
EVA Air
Garuda Indonesia
Korean Air
Northwest Orient
Philippine Airlines
Piedmont Airlines/US Air
Royal Brunei Airlines
Royal Nepal Airlines
Sierra Leone Airways
Trans World Airways
Uganda Airlines
Wardair
Yemenia

Emirates and Cathay Pacific are both operating at Gatwick again.

[AirportPlanner1]

You say it yourself, times have changed.

In the interests of balance though, how many long-haul routes, weekly departures and even based aircraft does LGW have these days compared to then? A lot of those airlines back in 1989, even through the 90s, flew in perhaps once or twice a week with few routes. Westjet for example must outdo Canadian. Air Transat are bigger than I recall back then. Thomson and Thomas Cook fly to all sorts of places that were off the radar until more recently. Norwegian must be bigger to the USA than TWA, US Air and Northwest combined.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Summer 2018 ;
BA 12 daily B777
DI 10 daily B789
VS 5/6 daily B744/A330
WS 4 daily B763/B73M
TS 3 daily peak A330/A310
EK 3 daily A380/B77W
QR 2-3 daily B788
CX daily A359
CI 5 x weekly A359
WB 2 x weekly A330

and of course FI to KEF and TK to IST/SAW.....
GS have moved to LHR and CA are moving to LHR yet again it seems.

[True Blue]

Interesting article in The Times today re how will Lhr finance the new runway. A time will come when it will look like the better decision would have been to proceed with Lgw and a second runway.

[True Blue]

Re the discussion above about long-haul routes/airlines. When you look at that list, a number of airlines have found that Lhr is not the pot of gold they thought it would be. The market is badly disrupted by snobbery, the impact of rewards programmes, big deals. By keeping as much long-haul at Lhr as possible, they can all control prices better. One reason in some quarters, there is no love for Norwegian. And why yields at Lhr are supposedly better.

[canberra97]

Originally Posted by T250

Emirates and Cathay Pacific are both operating at Gatwick again.

I AM TOTALLY AWARE OF THAT THANKS.

My list comprised ALL of the long haul airlines that were serving Gatwick in 1989.

[T250]

What you shouting for?

and my point is there’s no need to mention airlines that have ‘gone’ and have since returned permanently.

[AirportPlanner1]

Originally Posted by True Blue

Interesting article in The Times today re how will Lhr finance the new runway. A time will come when it will look like the better decision would have been to proceed with Lgw and a second runway.

Actually a better decision would have been a couple of new runways at LHR and and extra one at both LGW and STN and for them to have been built by now.

[AirportPlanner1]

Originally Posted by canberra97

I AM TOTALLY AWARE OF THAT THANKS.

My list comprised ALL of the long haul airlines that were serving Gatwick in 1989.

To come back to my question, now we have a figure for long haul now how did the numbers look in 1989?

[strawberry Ribena]

Anyone know what the 2 jet2 are here for? Stand 131+132

[canberra97]

Originally Posted by AirportPlanner1

To come back to my question, now we have a figure for long haul now how did the numbers look in 1989?

The airlines that I listed wasn't about passengers numbers it was about the variety of long haul airlines that were serving LGW in 1989 compared to thirty years later.

From your posts I'm assuming that you weren't even born thirty years ago and I hope that your aware of the fact that LGW was under 15 million passengers p/a back then.

[AirportPlanner1]

Originally Posted by canberra97

The airlines that I listed wasn't about passengers numbers it was about the variety of long haul airlines that were serving LGW in 1989 compared to thirty years later.

From your posts I'm assuming that you weren't even born thirty years ago and I hope that your aware of the fact that LGW was under 15 million passengers p/a back then.

A strangely defensive comment, I certainly was around 30 years ago not that it’s relevant. As I said, it was a genuine question and note that I asked about weekly flights, not passenger numbers specifically. Surely there is less variety across the board, not just long haul at LGW.

[adfly]

W18/19 Long Haul Summary

As there is unlikely to be any significant changes from now, here is a summary of long haul from Gatwick this coming winter. Let me know of any errors etc and I'll update the post. Norwegian are now very nearly the busiest long haul carrier at Gatwick it would seem, when you consider their seat advantage compared to BA!

Air China

Chengdu - 3 weekly 333

Air Transat

Toronto - 7 weekly 313/332 (6x/1x)

British Airways - 13x 772 based

Antigua - 7 weekly
Barbados - 11-12 weekly
Bermuda - 5 weekly
Cancun - 3 weekly
Cape Town - 3 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 3 weekly
Grenada - 2 weekly (via UVF)
Kingston - 3 weekly
Las Vegas - 3 weekly
Male - 3 weekly
Mauritius - 5 weekly
New York JFK - 7 weekly
Orlando - 7 weekly
Port of Spain - 5 weekly (via UVF)
Providenciales - 2 weekly (via ANU)
Punta Cana - 3 weekly
St Kitts - 2 weekly (via ANU)
St Lucia - 7 weekly
San Jose de Costa Rica - 3 weekly
Tampa - 6 weekly
Tobago - 2 weekly (via ANU)

Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong - 7 weekly 359

China Airlines

Taipei - 4x weekly 359

China Eastern Airlines

Shanghai (New) - 3 weekly 332 (from 07/12)

Emirates

Dubai - 21 weekly 388

Iraqi Airways

Baghdad - 1 weekly 738/320
Sulaymaniyah - 1 weekly 738/320

Norwegian Long Haul - 11x 789 based (?)

Boston - 7 weekly
Buenos Aires - 4-7 weekly
Chicago - 4 weekly
Denver - 3 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 7 weekly
Las Vegas - 4 weekly
Los Angeles - 7 weekly
New York JFK - 20 weekly
Oakland - 3 weekly
Orlando - 5 weekly
Singapore - 4 weekly (ends 12/01)
Tampa (New) - 2 weekly

Qatar Airways

Doha - 14-16 weekly 788

Rwandair

Kigali - 3 weekly 332/333 (via BRU)

Thomas Cook Airlines - 1-2 332 based

Banjul - 2-4 weekly 321/753
Barbados - 1 weekly 332
Cancun - 1-2 weekly 332
Cape Town - 3 weekly 332
Goa - 1-3 weekly 332
Mauritius - 0.5 weekly 332 (cruise charter?)
Sal - 1 weekly 321/753

TUI - 2x 789, 1x 788 based (?)

Barbados - 1-3 weekly 787
Boa Vista - 4 weekly 752
Cancun - 3-4 weekly 787
Colombo - 1 weekly 787
Goa - 1 weekly 787
Liberia - 1 weekly 787
Mauritius - 1 weekly 787
Montego Bay - 3-5 weekly 787
Phuket - 1 weekly 787
Phu Quoc - 1 weekly 787
Puerto Vallarta - 1 weekly 787
Punta Cana - 2 weekly 787
Sal - 4 weekly 752
St Lucia - 1 weekly 787

Virgin Atlantic Airways - 4x 744, 2x 332 based

Antigua - 4 weekly 332
Barbados - 7 weekly 744/332 (4x/3x)
Cancun - 2 weekly 744 (ends 12/01)
Grenada - 2 weekly 332 (via UVF)
Havana - 2 weekly 744
Las Vegas - 4 weekly 744 (ends 30/03)
Montego Bay - 2 weekly 744
Orlando - 7-10 weekly 744
St Lucia - 5 weekly 332
Tobago - 2 weekly 332 (via UVF)

Westjet

Calgary - 3 weekly 763
Toronto - 7 weekly 763

Summary:

Average weekly departures = 281-307.5 (270.5 - 284.5 last winter)
Average daily departures = 40-44 (39-41 last winter)

Busiest Routes:

New York JFK - 27 weekly
Barbados - 20-23 weekly
Orlando - 19-22 weekly
Dubai - 21 weekly
Doha - 14-16 weekly
Toronto - 14 weekly
St Lucia - 13 weekly
Las Vegas - 11 weekly
Antigua - 11 weekly
Cancun - 7-11 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 10 weekly
Tampa - 8 weekly
Hong Kong - 7 weekly
Los Angeles - 7 weekly
Boston - 7 weekly

Largest Airlines -

British Airways - 79-80 weekly departures
Norwegian - 66-73 weekly departures
Virgin Atlantic - 31-40 weekly departures
TUI - 25-30 weekly departures
Emirates - 21 weekly departures
Qatar Airways - 14-16 weekly departures

[toledoashley]

Originally Posted by adfly

As there is unlikely to be any significant changes from now, here is a summary of long haul from Gatwick this coming winter. Let me know of any errors etc and I'll update the post. Norwegian are now the busiest long haul carrier at Gatwick it would seem!

Air China

Chengdu - 3 weekly 333

Air Transat

Toronto - 7 weekly 313/332 (6x/1x)

British Airways - 13x 772 based

Antigua - 7 weekly
Barbados - 11-12 weekly
Bermuda - 5 weekly
Cancun - 3 weekly
Cape Town - 3 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 3 weekly
Grenada - 2 weekly (via UVF)
Kingston - 3 weekly
Las Vegas - 3 weekly
Male - 3 weekly
Mauritius - 5 weekly
New York JFK - 7 weekly
Orlando - 7 weekly
Port of Spain - 5 weekly (via UVF)
Providenciales - 2 weekly (via ANU)
Punta Cana - 3 weekly
St Kitts - 2 weekly (via ANU)
St Lucia - 7 weekly
San Jose de Costa Rica - 3 weekly
Tampa - 6 weekly
Tobago - 2 weekly (via ANU)

Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong - 7 weekly 359

China Airlines

Taipei - 4x weekly 359

China Eastern Airlines

Shanghai (New) - 3 weekly 332 (from 07/12)

Emirates

Dubai - 21 weekly 388

Iraqi Airways

Baghdad - 1 weekly 738/320
Sulaymaniyah - 1 weekly 738/320

Norwegian Long Haul - 11x 789 based (?)

Boston - 7 weekly
Buenos Aires - 4-7 weekly
Chicago - 4 weekly
Denver - 3 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 7 weekly
Las Vegas - 4 weekly
Los Angeles - 7 weekly
New York JFK - 20 weekly
Oakland - 3 weekly
Orlando - 5 weekly
Singapore - 4 weekly (ends 12/01)
Tampa (New) - 2 weekly

Qatar Airways

Doha - 14-16 weekly 788

Rwandair

Kigali - 3 weekly 332/333 (via BRU)

Thomas Cook Airlines - 1-2 332 based

Banjul - 2-4 weekly 321/753
Barbados - 1 weekly 332
Cancun - 1-2 weekly 332
Cape Town - 3 weekly 332
Goa - 1-3 weekly 332
Mauritius - 0.5 weekly 332 (cruise charter?)
Sal - 1 weekly 321/753

TUI - 2x 789, 1x 788 based (?)

Barbados - 1-3 weekly 787
Boa Vista - 4 weekly 752
Cancun - 3-4 weekly 787
Colombo - 1 weekly 787
Goa - 1 weekly 787
Liberia - 1 weekly 787
Mauritius - 1 weekly 787
Montego Bay - 3-5 weekly 787
Phuket - 1 weekly 787
Phu Quoc - 1 weekly 787
Puerto Vallarta - 1 weekly 787
Punta Cana - 2 weekly 787
Sal - 4 weekly 752
St Lucia - 1 weekly 787

Virgin Atlantic Airways - 4x 744, 2x 332 based

Antigua - 4 weekly 332
Barbados - 7 weekly 744/332 (4x/3x)
Cancun - 2 weekly 744 (ends 12/01)
Grenada - 2 weekly 332 (via UVF)
Havana - 2 weekly 744
Las Vegas - 4 weekly 744 (ends 30/03)
Montego Bay - 2 weekly 744
Orlando - 7-10 weekly 744
St Lucia - 5 weekly 332
Tobago - 2 weekly 332 (via UVF)

Westjet

Calgary - 3 weekly 763
Toronto - 7 weekly 763

Summary:

Average weekly departures = 281-307.5 (270.5 - 284.5 last winter)
Average daily departures = 40-44 (39-41 last winter)

Busiest Routes:

New York JFK - 27 weekly
Barbados - 20-23 weekly
Orlando - 19-22 weekly
Dubai - 21 weekly
Doha - 14-16 weekly
Toronto - 14 weekly
St Lucia - 13 weekly
Las Vegas - 11 weekly
Antigua - 11 weekly
Cancun - 7-11 weekly
Fort Lauderdale - 10 weekly
Tampa - 8 weekly
Hong Kong - 7 weekly
Los Angeles - 7 weekly
Boston - 7 weekly

Largest Airlines -

Norwegian - 66-73 weekly departures
British Airways - 63-64 weekly departures
Virgin Atlantic - 31-40 weekly departures
TUI - 25-30 weekly departures
Emirates - 21 weekly departures
Qatar Airways - 14-16 weekly departures

You're missing Rio (Norwegian), which is to be announced formally shortly.

[Vokes55]

Which will begin at the start of the Summer season, not Winter.

[vectisman]

I actually make the BA long haul departures about 80 weekly. Some weeks it will be more, as flights to Bermuda per week can vary depending on the month.

[vectisman]

During the Summer 2019 season early indications are that additional BA 777s will be required as several destinations have frequency increases.
Thanks adfly for information. I was hoping you would post it some time.

[adfly]

Originally Posted by vectisman

I actually make the BA long haul departures about 80 weekly. Some weeks it will be more, as flights to Bermuda per week can vary depending on the month.

You are correct, I've tweaked the numbers! To work out routes where the frequency varies, I picked a random week in Nov and just after Xmas, which is usually a fairly good indicator of the quietest and busiest periods of the winter.

[canberra97]

Originally Posted by toledoashley

You're missing Rio (Norwegian), which is to be announced formally shortly.

As already pointed out Norwegian LGW to GIG starts at the beginning of the IATA summer season.

Flights commence on the 31 March 2019

DI7501 LGW 12.00 GIG 19.25 1357 B789
DI7502 GIG 22.25 LGW 13.25 1357 B789

Norwegian will operate four flights a week between London Gatwick and Rio De Janeiro on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun.

[canberra97]

Originally Posted by vectisman

During the Summer 2019 season early indications are that additional BA 777s will be required as several destinations have frequency increases.
Thanks adfly for information. I was hoping you would post it some time.

It has been mentioned on other aviation forums that LGW will probably receive an extra B777 for summer 2019 bringing the total based to 14 aircraft.

I wonder if British Airways have any plans to add an additional long haul destination at LGW with the extra B777?