I see Air Asia are returning to Europe with Barcelona as their first destination, starting in October. I wonder if London is under consideration, and whether STN may benefit?

I think LGW will get that one myself but would be good to see them back at STN.

New Abellio Greater Anglia Franchise
 

Only considered SEN as half the Jet2 fleet is 737-300 series.

In terms of Jet2 routes it would be nice to see some completion on popular destinations from STN.

Jet2 current fly regularly to Barcelona and Reus from just about all of their current uk airports and the option to fly there with a carrier other than Ryanair should bring some much needed route competition. Luton/Gatwick/Heathrow all have multiple carries to BCN

Any route competition with Ryanair will be good for the passenger but Ryanair has very deep pockets to see off that competition so I can't see Jet2 taking them on.

whitelighter - I couldn't agree more.

If you look at maybe ALC, FAO, LPA, REU... bar maybe 1 or 2x flights a week, FR is the only carrier. MAH is still only served by TOM and MT to date, HER only by TOM (though FR do go to CHQ).

Even some of the smaller regional airports like BHX, EMA, LBA and NCL have at least 3 or 4 carriers on most of these routes, and as for MAN... There's undoubtedly room for another carrier at STN and LS seem the least phased by competition from FR.

The popular sun destinations ie Mainland Spain, Balearics, Canaries and Portugal would be a given I'm sure. Would be nice to see them have a go at some of the city routes too, though perhaps would be a much braver move?

Jet2 flying to the Med and Canaries from STN would certainly be a good development for the customer, Ryanair are overdue a bit of competition.

Jet2 are not stupid, they won't go up against Ryanair in it's own back yard on routes where they don't have a starting allocation of "protected" traffic courtesy of Jet2 holidays.

They also have little brand awareness in London so I can't see them being positioned to compete in the London-Barcelona market for a while unless, again, they can deliver a strong city breaks programme through Jet 2 holidays.

I think the competition they bring to the market will be as much with Thomas Cook and Thomson as with Ryanair. Overall therefore I think they will be a good fit for Stansted.

Ryanair to add 2x weekly Stansted - Agadir from November.

They will also now continue with Pescara 5x weekly over the winter and may also reopen Alghero from as early as November should an agreement be made regarding their Alghero base.

And before anyone mentions the previously announced Brexit cuts... there are still a number of reductions with GOT, GLA and EDI now seeing some quite significant frequency reductions over the winter.

Has this been mentioned previously?


NEW ROUTE: British Airways has announced a new route from London Stansted to the French Alps. The twice-weekly service to Chambery will start in December

So much for the Ryanair bullsh!t about cutting back on UK expansion.:=

I think you are bring a bit harsh there LTNman. Practically all the new routes will be operated by non-UK based aircraft and there will be a considerable reduction scheduled for Stansted. if you read the statement it said that UK based expansion would not happen and be replaced by expansion in continental Europe.

BA Cityflyer
 

Can the E190 make it to say Tenerife? Winter sun routes like the canaries could be a winner especially with a Club Europe cabin. Some pretty rich folk in Essex and Herts who would pick this over Ryanair.

pamann, I think they can just about but the question is would the rich folk want to be tied down for a week? A lot of the rich Essex folk I know would rather go to the Carribbean, Thailand etc in winter anyway, especially if they've got that long away from the office

Would have thought so as it doesnt have the weight restriction problem that it would have from LCY due runway length

But you could also argue: who wants to go to Berlin Sunday back Friday?

Yes there's a market for shorter breaks. But people still clearly go away to the canaries for a week.

Thomson and Thomas Cook have also opened up the longhaul leisure market and the flights are selling very well. Who would have thought this would be the case just five years ago.

The market is in evolution and Stansted isn't doing too bad from it.

Sunday to Friday in Berlin might not be too popular, but Friday to Sunday in London is quite attractive. Regardless, I'm not sure that BA are making a serious effort to serve the STN-Berlin market - it's more a glorified ferry to get the aircraft in place for the sunshine flights.

I don't disagree that many want to go to the Canaries for a week, I'm questioning whether it's a market for the well heeled. There are also practical considerations - a round trip to the Canaries takes a while and the aircraft is needed back at LCY on the Sunday too early.

But those E190's have a whole day Saturday that could make it work. There's some untapped rich pickings in terms of routes that could be served weekly in the summer months too, such as Sicily/Sardinia/Italy in general. Greece JTR/JMK which similarly operate ex LCY also.

Anyhow, only my thoughts.

Any more rumbles from the Jet2 rumours? It doesn't seem to be discussed on the Jet2 thread, so where exactly are these 'rumours' coming from?

In winter 2015/2016, did Ryanair operate between Stansted and Ponta Delgada in the Azores ?
It's not available for winter 2016/2017, weekly frequency is low and fares on the route are not particularly high. I'm wondering if this route depends on marketing support that may end soon and is at risk of not returning for summer 2017.