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Isle of Man-3

Old 17th Aug 2021, 22:24
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Belfast is now available to book with easyJet through to the end of September 2022
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 15:51
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virginblue

The load factors on LCY were actually quite good and if it went to only two rotations rather than three I think it would be very good! Yes I do think that an island with its own government which has strong business links into London should have better connections than a once a day Easyjet service to Gatwick! Linking the Isle of Man to London is of strategic importance its as simple as that. And I think you will find there are quite a lot of people who agree with me.
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 16:15
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But loads don't equal profitability. And unless passengers are going pay fares which allow the aircraft to sit around for half the day only doing two rotations a day then it's not going to work with a twice daily as what does the carrier do with the plane the rest of the time. This is the Sun Air approach and again you pay alot more than £150 return for their services. And the people who agree with you evidently don't put their hands deep enough in their pockets to make it work.
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 16:27
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Actually the yield was quite good too .
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 16:33
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And without too much thought the plane does not necessarily need to be on the ground doing nothing . Given it’s an island there is the potential to use it on a rotation to Birmingham, Manchester , Liverpool , Belfast City or Dublin ! I am sure if the right people sat down and put their minds to it all a solution could be found . Otherwise just be negative and full of gloom all the time !
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 17:35
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Better get your business plan written up
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 19:11
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Evidentially you know how to make it work and Flybe, Euromanx, Easyjet, VLM, BA, Stobart and Loganair all haven’t got a clue.

if the yield was decent someone would be operating as you wish. Especially at the moment.
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Old 18th Aug 2021, 22:47
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I am glad you see it all so positively! And of the list you quote Euromanx VLM Flybe and Stobart have all gone so I am not sure about your comment ! If you think the only answer is EasyJet then that’s something of a narrow view in my opinion but one you are entitled to. Like I have said my opinion is couple an EasyJet rotation with an early morning / early evening rotation priced to reflect the service and I think there is a viable solution .
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Old 19th Aug 2021, 07:00
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I think that BA318's point is that history doesn't support your view. Those that have tried have gone, and there isn't a queue forming...
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Old 19th Aug 2021, 08:20
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The aviation sector has a habit of springing surprises only time now will tell.
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Old 19th Aug 2021, 12:01
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And alas those surprises tend to be of the more negative variety but covid has shown always expect the unexpected so really who does know anything about aviation at the moment
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 08:11
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So to sum it up, flights between IOM and LCY in the past were packed to the the rafters and generated breath-taking profits, but the airlines, instead of milking a cash-cow, decided to withdraw sevices just out of wickedness. And just to be sure that nobody forces them to return and to make money again, they went bancrupt as a precaution....

One of the problems with a relatively low-volume route is that it needs to generate decent traffic at both ends. While LCY has improved in that regard, it has always been a tricky destination for airlines as traffic patterns are heavily biased towards inbound traffic.So while you easily get a full load into LCY in the morning, it is not as easy to sell seats for the return flights unless you sell very cheap tickets that are cross-subsidized. I made use of that phenomenon often when accommodation in London was no issue for me - and often I was leaving LCY on morning flights on 50 seater planes with single digit loads. Add to that the problem of what to do with a relatively large aircraft at a low-volume destination during the day - if you canot fill it with mid-day flights to LCY, can you indeed fill it to secondary destinations without literally giving away tickets?.
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 08:40
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You make some fair points here and note I have consistently said it does not need a mid day rotation . But I do think it needs careful thought and some creative thinking how else do challenging situations get resolved or do you just give up ? I have never prescribed to that in anything I do !

For example if in the current climate a return rotation is difficult why not do a morning island flight use the plane during the day to other destinations and then return with an evening flight. Or do what Jersey European used to do and run a Belfast City device stopping at the Isle of Man . It’s too easy to be negative the Isle of Man needs more than one Gatwick service connecting it to the neighbouring capital .
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 09:14
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Operating IOM-LCY in the morning and then LCY-IOM in the evening, needs the plane overnight in IOM, which increases costs if the airline is BACF for example. You then need higher fares to cover the hotel accommodation etc. The world has moved on since Jersey European. How many people are going to book LCY-IOM-BHD when there are direct LCY-BHD flights or any number of low cost flights to Belfast from other places and again if they do, it would be because the flight is cheap. When Jersey European was operating there wasn't anywhere near the competition.
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 10:17
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Well at least I have put forward some suggestions nobody else ever seems to do which leads me to think they either believe EasyJet is the answer or they are not bothered . I have no idea where you are based or if you ever go to the Isle Of Man but I think you are missing the strategic importance of strong London connections. I am convinced somebody somewhere could find a solution but maybe I just live in a parallel universe !
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 11:24
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Don't get me wrong. I fully understand your points and your argument. I'm just pointing out that historically the only way the LCY route seems to survive is with funding from another source. It is then either the IOM Gov need to step up and pay up (seems unlikely given they just stopped paying Loganair) or a business association/consortium/large company needs to guarantee to buy X seats per flight to make sure its profitable. Otherwise I believe the only hope is use Easyjet enough that they see the need to add a second daily.

Would twice daily a couple of times a week work better (even if still Easyjet)? for example on a Monday and Thursday they operate twice daily at decent times and then the other times a bit more random.

The corona staycation boom seemed like the time to push the Island but sadly they stayed locked up, while Jersey and Guernsey did better (albeit they attract a different market). Do the IOM even have a tourism budget? I've never seen an advert for the Island in an inflight or business/travel magazine or at an airport while you do see them for Jersey/Guernsey/Gibraltar. If nobody knows you're there or what you have to offer then you're not going to get the traffic you want.
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 11:30
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Interesting reading your points here which I agree with I do think the IOMG have a role to play in some way shape or form. They need to do more to boost tourism for sure. I don't really see another easyjet as the answer unless its island based for early morning rotation and that's unlikely. That's why I think it needs airlines, IOMG and business and commerce to get their minds round the problem and so something proactive.
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 11:40
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And that's what it comes back to. Airlines don't sit around thinking how can we help the Isle of Man. It needs the IOM to approach the airlines to at least get it on the radar. Do you know how much Loganair was getting to support its route?
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 12:14
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No I dont know. but if you look at my posts I have consistently said the solution involves government , business and airlines all pulling together I recognise airlines cant do it all themselves!
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Old 20th Aug 2021, 18:23
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Tourism ? Trouble is season is what, 5 months and IoM is relatively expensive for what it offers with the big exception of the TT and other events. Not sure what can be done with the other 7 months. Range of accomodation isn't brilliant either. If you are looking for a business friendly service to London are in the off season another solution is required.
Used to be great when I could fly cheap from LTN but wondered at the time how much business 80,000 residents could generate.
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