First LBA, now MME - sounds like Thomson are consolidating at large bases :{

Could their LPL base (also just a one aircraft base) be at risk next?

I don't believe it! Surely though Thomsonfly should be just as replaceable as bmibaby were?

Perhaps this would be a good time for MyTravel to relaunch their old base operation at MME with an Airbus A320? Other than that, I wouldn't like to see another base operation at MME to replace TOM, instead, I would like to see a wider variety of charter carriers, e.g. the likes of MON and FCA.

What routes are TOM keeping?

If TOM wanted they could have expanded at MME and replaced bmi baby - lets just hope GSM prove to them that they missed a good oppurtunity

Cant see TOM pulling out of liverpool it's a much bigger catchment area than DTV.

Bad news if this is true.

Thomson
 

Do they not pull out anyway at the end of the summer season and return the following season ?.
Is it the case that they are not basing an aircraft during summer 2007. They are still taking bookings for next summer!.

Yes they won't be returning for Summer 2007, so we'll have to wait and see what happens on that, they are still selling the flights for now, but apparently the closure has been known about for months now.

As for Flyglobespan, are the rumours of MME-JFK still going around :confused: However I'm not sure about that one, Tenerife is an almost definite I would have thought for next summer for the base.....the second aircraft isn't due to arrive until May so not so much of a rush to get things on sale for that one. Expect some firming up of the schedules for the first aircraft soon.

Some news about Eastern, of course the new Brussels route starts next Monday. Also, the Sunday Aberdeen, as from next week, will not operate from/to Humberside on each end of the rotation. This flight will now be done from the Aberdeen base, to the schedule of the Mon-Fri 587/588 (67L/68L) - thats great news as it means that MME now has the whole aircraft to fill, rather than sharing it with HUY. :ok:

NEW ROUTE: Warsaw with Wizz Air!
 

http://www.durhamteesvalleyairport.c...d=28&month=Oct

Wizz Air will fly to Warsaw three times weekly from 28th July 2007 with fares from £23.99! Brilliant news for the airport!

Well done to MME for getting Wizz. And it if it does well I would expect Gdansk and Katowice to come

As for Eastern, the Sunday service is operated by a NEMA aircraft (NEMA-ABZ-MME-ABZ-NEMA) with HUY-ABZ going non stop. The NEMA aircraft used to do a LBA flight on a Sunday which is now done on a LBA based aircraft instead of LBA-SOU

According to Aviance, bmi are adding a fourth LHR service, daily except Saturday for the winter. It's a slot protector, I guess for the Mumbai. BD345 departs MME at 2150 so no night stopping aircraft. The BD330 operates inbound at 0740 to turnround as the BD331 to LHR at 0815.
Hands up all those who said bmi would pull out of MME :=

Aviance have been awarded the Flyglobespan contract. :D

Well done DTVA
 

Well done DTVA in getting the Wizz Air flights, hopefully it will wake the management up the road at NCL into recognising that the NE Competition for routes is starting to heat up.

If Sir Richard Branson gets his way they will!

The bmi website confirms a fourth daily rotation.

Thats two great bits of news.

BD330, hey? Thats a first...

Great news for Aviance. I was concerned after the announced withdrawal of WW, especially with Aviance having invested in ramp handling recently at MME. I'm sure they will do well looking after GSM - best of luck to them.

I hope the long haul rumours are true - I reckon if they operated a MME-LPL-JFK service it could work, but a B763 just out of MME? To be convinced...

Didn't MYT used to operate a 763 out of MME to SFB via PIK? I'm sure that lasted a few years so no reason why other operators should fail! Good luck MME!!!

BD345 is also a first, and if someone did decide to try Durham Tees Valley - New York (which I believe could be very successful) they would use a 757.

Any more news on the Thomsonfly story?

At this moment in time, I'm being told the aircraft will definitely return next summer.

Just caught part of a news article on ITV Tyne Tees news about a Turkish tour operator increasing flights to DTVA, I think that was it anyway, I presume from summer 2007, can anyone shed any light?

Good news regardless.

This would be Holidays4u who are operating a full season next year? Or is it someone else offering new destinations? We still don't have an Antalya.

As for other routes, well there are some that would work nicely from here....

Prague (B733ish)
Nice (B733ish)
Cork (ATR72/DH8D)
Southampton (ATR42/DH8C)
Newquay (ATR72/DH8D)
Bristol (ATR42/DH8C)

To name just a few..... they would all surely work well, and the point I'm getting at I guess is every destination will work properly given the correct fares/times and aircraft types.

mmeteesside

The Turkish operator is Holidays4U, it is on the airport webiste, flight running all summer, not just the peak time.

I am guessing the withdrawl of Thomsonfly is true, but you can still book flights and holidays and the times of the flight are for a based aircraft, maybe they will use Air Europa or Spanair:confused:
Maybe they will do W patterns from other bases. Who knows?

And to be very sad, sorry, I belive we have had a BD345 before. In the 80's(??), on a weekend the flight numbers used to be BD341-BD349 as they used Viscounts and F27's! I know I am sad. But I don't think we have ever had a BD330!
And yes we did have AIH B763's going to Orlando and Dominican Republic, but it was via Glasgow, I think.

'I am guessing the withdrawl of Thomsonfly is true'

Based on what?:*

I think it was a Monarch A300 on behalf of Airtours Holidays via Glasgow and Bangor