Previous Birmingham thread here:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=234732

their response to problems wasnt good enough last summer when they operated flyjem's flights... planes on their way to LPL without the pax....

on this occasion their response was excellent, but it isnt always, and hasnt always been that way.

lfc84

True, I have seen an improvement though now things have settleed down.

Last year was a headache:ugh: , im not going to deny that, but last year is history.

The airline seems to be very much above and beyond all of that now.:ok:

BB

When the RVR at LPL, is still below limits, the clock is ticking and the passengers at both ends are backing up and it's a Friday. It is a wise move to get another aircraft in when the WX improves that can take 2 ATR loads at a time because if you don't the clock will beat you as the airport on the IOM has to close.

So a 737 was the right choice and with a double load makes financial sense.

EMX have improved and learned from the past to look after the customers when things go wrong.

There is a lack of wet lease aircraft out there and having a spares for small fleet is too expensive.

Whats going on
 

The company keeps leasing in aircraft,

Over the last two weeks Air Atlantique has and still is suppling ATR aircraft.

Are the Dash 8s not perfoming or just a little sick on the odd occasion????

Not good for the company have to bring in outsider to fill in gaps.

The ATR72 (EI-REJ) was hit by something on the Isle of Man and the Dash 8-200 OE-HBB is getting an engine replacement!
And just because an airline leases in another airline's aircraft, how is that not good? :=
Lots of others do it, BA lease in from Titan when needed, bmiBaby also!
And Air Atlantique bought them aircraft for that purpose, to do charter work and to lease out ;)

SC

Baby
 

Previous thread here:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=234732

Big X

At the moment BHX have 5 based Baby aircraft, as it was in the
summer and todays routes will make six at 25/3/07.

There are no new routes at BHX at this moment until 25/3/07. I know
that Baby indicated that one extra aircraft would be basedin January
and two in Summer 2007 but the January flights are yet to be
announced (hopefully this will change soon but it is getting late).

Whether one aircraft is sitting spare at BHX now I do not know
but there is definitely no extra flights that have been publically
released until March 2007. Geneva restarts in December but this is
accommodated by re-arranging the existing flights and better
aircraft utilisation.

Pete

Pete,

The 2 DTV aircraft have definately been allocated to BHX, they have not arrived yet as there will now be 2 aircraft in for heavy maintenance for the next few months and they are being used to cover this.
But they will arrive next year .

Make no mistake DTV was sacrificed for BHX

Baby
 

Big X

Was the heavy maintenance planned rather than forced?

Quite a luxury for such a small loco to have two units out at the same time but great if they can afford do it?

Also do you know which aircraft or is a case of two this month followed
by two more next month etc etc.

Flying with Baby in December & February.

Pete

Here comes FlyBe
 

What's the view out there on the rock of the FlyBe BAcon deal. :confused: Presumably now EuroManx will be getting a little nervous :( about competing with acommited regional operator with modern aircraft :ok: in MAN,LPL and BHD rather than whatever fleet they happen to be operating today. Presume FLYBE'll be buying Roaldsway Hanger for maint so will we see lots more IOM based routes? Surely they won't push VLM out and go back into LCY again?:sad: Don't think I'd want to be in EuroManx shoes in march when Q400's :D:D start to appear :{

British Airways Betrayal
 

So BA's betrayal of the British regions is now complete. After the insult of BA Connect a complete withdrawal for every link our supposed "National" airline gave to any British city, just dropped by the BA name. And all for the simple reason that BA couldn't be bothered to plan and market effectively for anywhere except LHR. The problems BA has caused it staff at Gatwick with its stop/start planning was bad enough but at least London still had LHR if theyhad pulled the plug on LGW.

Imagine Lufthansa pulling the plug on Munich, Iberia on Barcelona and so on. And its not like the UK's major cities are minor players in the population stakes. Remember the much trumpeted fact some years ago that 28 million people live within 2 hours of Birmingham (BHX management - if there are any - please take note).

For many years I have said that BA should be renamed London Airways, well now they truly are in all but name. Seriously; legislation should be introduced to force them to withdraw the word British from their company title because anything less like a national company simply doesn't exist.

My sympathies to the staff who have seen their hard work and loyalty unceremoniously dumped.

BA you are a disgrace.

BA
 

banotak

I share your frustration but the fact there was no reaction to the LCC's in the regions other than removing the 319's. That was awful but if GO had come to BHX & MAN then perhaps things would have
been sorted out earlier.

This announcement could even be good if flybe deliver and I know that is a big if.

With shareholders to please, London Airways were always going to be well..London Airways.

Yes it would be lovely it the British could be removed :O

I think it has to be onward and upward for BHX and I hope the fine BA staff in the regions transfer and flybe treat them well.

It is certainly interesting times at BHX and MAN.

I think you are right about Lufthansa at Munich but a bit late
with Barcelona - ala clickair. Also it could be worse, it could be
like France!


Pete

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding the whole situation, but to me this purchase of BA Connect by flybe, as I mentioned in the crew thread in Rumours & News, has the potential to be more successful for both companies, consumers & staff than had the two companies each gone their separate ways. This newly merged company is focused on regional flying, will be operating an environmentally efficient fleet of modern aircraft, has a sound mixture of business & leisure destinations throughout Western Europe with more destinations set to be announced and a popular brand standing for "fly british european." BA will be maintaining a 15% shareholding in the company, so despite not being BA-branded, they will be able to maintain some influence in the regions, but leaving the actual business decisions to a group of professionals who actually know how to run a low-cost airline. bmibaby adding more destinations means that there will still be competition on many routes where there wouldn't have been room for three, particularly domestic sectors which must also compete with Virgin Trains, and today's proposed new facilities at Birmingham New Street station. Interestingly, flybe are proposing BHX-based expansion to Eastern Europe, and the airline was already known to be looking at replicating their success of flights to French regions in Spain, possibly including the Canary Islands.

I hope flybe will remain in T2, and by all intentions it sounds as if they will as they have indicated they want to take over BA's lounges in the regions and also the airport will be keen to utilise the newly renovated check in area well. T2 offers exactly what business passengers want, quick check-in & security facilities, relatively little walking distance to the gate and not being bombarded with the plethora of shops which are more suited to longhaul and leisure passengers. It will be interesting, given flybe's purchase of BACON does not include ground handling, to see the effect this will have on Swissport who have aggressively expanded to take on this contract, or British Airways Regional Handling who may start wearing flybe outfits.

BA/BE
 

bmibaby.com

I think that for the fare paying BHX passenger and for the airport itself
it is good alternative to BA Connect just dying. Obviously we need to
wait for the route announcements before singing from the roof- tops.

I mainly use Baby and BA (all leisure flying) but have my first flybe
flight coming soon and although their taxes annoy me I feel that
flybe will be fine.

I hope the Connect staff give it a shot as well, always found BA BHX crews great and will be a great addition to flybe (I have seen one or
two less flattering trip reports re flybe).

As for T2, I suppose it needs one large operator and flybe or baby
are the most obvious unless BHX shifts all full service carriers. This would
mean Servisair moving some ops over as well and I am not too sure about the widebody stands and enough terminal seating (non-starter really).
Perhaps flybe is the best choice for T2?

Pete

I haven't heard anything about bmibaby wanting to move over to T2, I would think that the airport would be keen to keep low-cost airlines in T1 in order to try to maintain some of the costs lost by landing charges back through retail fees, I believe this is the way airport operators work. flybe often touts the benefits of regional airports (small walks from car park to aircraft, small security queues, less shopping mall more transport interchange) which T2 seems to fit perfectly. Also the average size of their aircraft (78-seat Q400s and 118-seat EMB-195s) seem to fit T2 better than baby's 148-seat B737-300s.

Good points by all recently. Just like to say though, that BIA would willingly take any operators into T2! Keeping LCC's in T1 is not part of their 'make-up'. BIA needs airlines (and retail outlets) badly in T2. Flybe/Baby, gate lounges, departure lounge, retail outlets - are these sufficient for them to start?

Oh hum !

So Leo Hairy Camel was right all along - BA would be gone from BHX within 3 years. Wouldn't be surprised to hear him pipe up with an, 'I told you so!'

BA couldn't cope with LOCOs and LOCI (Lack Of Commitment and Imagination). It's a shame. The staff @ BACX and Maersk were brilliant -but the product was tired and jaded.

Just took a look at Google Earth to remind me of what T2 (Eurohub) was like in its pomp. Things felt very different then.

One can only hope.

Lancing the BACON Boil at BHX
 

I think today's announcement is excellent news for BHX - because the alternative would have been BACON pulling out in 2007 then BHX being in a very vulnerable position negotiating to try and cover the routes and pax.

It's been 'plane' to everyone (except perhaps the board and some of the management at BHX:ugh: ) that BA hasn't given two hoots about the second city for some years now. It's only the greed of the shareholders that kept BHX hanging on to BACON instead of getting in willing carriers such as EZY who would pay less per pax but actually add GROWTH. The obsession with BA has held BHX back for some years now; well the management have now had their precious toy taken from them.

BHX has cut a few jobs in recent weeks; apparently to cut some costs. Perhaps they'll start being a little more flexible with charges to airlines that are actually interested in B'ham.

Giddy

BA hasn't really given two hoots for 20 years about either second city, whether it be Birmingham or Manchester!:)

Let's just hope that flybe at BHX and MAN can reverse the BA-dictated decline and start to restore proper links from our two cities, and claw back some passengers that they've forced to retreat into LPL and EMA.

Having seen Fly Be in operation I think they are more likely to send more passengers to LPL and EMA, at the expense of MAN and BHX.

Can just imagine the passenger response if Fly Be replace Embraer 145s with Dash 8s on routes such as Dusseldorf, Frankfurt or Paris.

BA/Flybe
 

Oh well at least it is good for the BHX publicity and media relations department.

It has solved one of their big headaches as the excuse box was empty for the poor passenger figures.

May 2007 ditto May 2008.

The drop in passengers figures this month is due to the rationalisation of the BAcon and flybe operations, however there was strong groth in the following areas...............


Centre cities