easyJet to axe some CPH routes?
 

It appears from some reliable sources that U2 will axe some CPH routes notably BRS, NCL and SXF. I've heard that CPH is doing really badly from those three airports and that brand recognition hasn't really picked up in the scandinavian city.

Anybody also hear this rumour?

From what I've seen at NCL, CPH is doing really well. Got no figures to back it up however. That is from general observation.

CAA provisional statistics for May show 6336 pax used the BRS-CPH-BRS route. This gives an average load of 102 or 69pc on easy's 737s.

The statistics for May show 5586 pax used the NCL-CPH-NCL route. This gives an average load of 90 or 61pc on easy's 737s.

The June figures have not been put on the website yet and the April figures have been taken off. However, from memory the April pax figures for the BRS route were similar to May's, and the April figures for NCL were about the same as BRS.

Obviously load factors are only one aspect of potential profitability. We don't know the yields.

I flew BRS-CPH-BRS in March when the Bristol monthly figures were remarkably similar to May's. The sectors I flew seemed to replicate the above average loads for BRS, and the majority of pax that I was aware of in the departure lounges and around me on the aircraft seemed to be British although there were some of apparent Danish extraction.

Whether this suggests that brand awareness is a problem in Denmark I don't know. It might be that not many Danes want to fly to Bristol.

Yields are probably pretty low seeing the routes are rather new and have been subject to quite a lot of marketing. Though easyjet may infact decide to keep them up as the cost of launching a route is always somewhat expensive.

I've heard GVA will be served by EZ from 3 new British Airports and possibly 2 German ones.

Also does anybody have any news about BRU and U2?

NCL - CPH was off to a slow start, hence the low yields, but I would wager that June's figures will show a 3 figure average. Don't see it reaching the levels of PRG or the costas, so it may be they're consdering dropping it for a route with better potential, rather than as an outright loss-maker.

Just wondering if easy's announcement yesterday, by coincidence, to start NCL & BRS to BUD, could end up being a substitution destination, should CPH be pulled from those respective bases.

Easy New press release from BRS states that it will be adding BUD to its routes from October not substituting it for one, making it their 17th route from BRS.

Out of interest their normal loads on the BRS/CPH route are 110+.

BRS-CPH only started at the end of last year. I've been on it several times since then & it's always nearly full. Unless the yields are awful, it can't be doing that badly. Just had to pay £100 x3 for the family in August, so it doesn't look like they're desperately trying to fill seats.

Every time I've flown BRS - CPH its been about 110 or more so it doesn't look like a route due for the chop. easyJet/Go have only ever chopped 2 routes out of BRS and they were Rome and Ibiza which featured in the startup of the base.

Compared to some airlines one could mention their record for not closing routes is good.

Who wants to go from Bristol to Budapest is more of a mystery - but then what do I know!

Cheers

WWW

Budapest is rapidly becoming the new Prague - to which every regional airport has flights to (Liverpool being a notable exception) - watch out for more Budapest regional connections.

The eight based easyJet 737's at Liverpool are all fully utilised every day except for one aircraft on Saturday evenings.

So unless Liverpool is served on a route from another base all will stay the same until the next based aircraft arrives (rumours suggest another two sometime in 2005).

At present it is not possible to book flights on the easyJet website to/from CPH from any easyJet UK or German airport (BRS, NCL, STN and SXF) after 30 October 2004.

Most of the other routes, but not all, from UK airports are now bookable after 30 October 2004.

Whether this is because the booking system has not been loaded with the Copenhagen flights yet or whether easyJet is abandoning CPH as a destination will doubtless become clear over the next few days. Bilbao is in the same position at present.

The June provisional CAA figures are now out and the CPH-BRS route shows 7008 pax and the CPH-NCL route shows 6255 pax.

This is an average load of 117 (79%) for BRS and 104 (70%) for NCL.

This evidence suggests the route is building up to/from these regional UK airports and it would be a shame to lose it.

Of course, we are not privy to yields and other financial parts of the route equation.

3 figure average from NCL - told you so.;)