Surely it can't be possible Easyjet are adding flights, rapidman told us they were unhappy with Manchester and we should all be prepared to eat our words about any expansion by them at Manchester. Or am I incorrect

Delta reduce MAN-ATL in Jan/Feb/Mar
 

Just a short reduction for the winter period from daily to 5 weekly.

This was from another site but I checked the DL website and the
last Wed departure is 6/1/10 and Monday 11/1/10 for a couple
of months.

All seems back to daily from the summer schedule.

On the positive side it appears that CO will go back to double daily by mid-March - certainly two flights bookable 11/3/10

Pete

I'm very surprised ATL does so well during the winter - it is definitely a Florida stop during the summer and don't DL know it!

If they could upgrade it to a 777 once again, then I think they would.

pwalhx

You are incorrect in one fact - I believe the name you should be referring to is rapidman47 not plain old rapidman

Perhaps he will now eat his words in our new tower restaurant? :)

Suzeman

EZY
 

EZY says HEL starts 28 March. It is nonetheless bookable from Feb

As has been rumoured 4th A/C would seem to arrive to fit in with this and arrive in Feb. Frequency on some other routes also increased. will new A/C be 320 or 319

During early summer the days and frequency of some flights vary. By July if not earlier frequency on AGP TFS and others have dropped again. MUC also increased to 6 a week by July.

Is a fifth A/C to arrive if so when because by July 5 A/C are needed on Mon, Tues Thurs and Sat afternoons. Will these flights be by based A/C or will they position in because they will not be W pattern.

The GVA isn't affected by above because this remains throughout a W pattern from LPL

easyJet Manchester operation for S10 looks like five based aircraft - 2 x A319, 3 x A320. In addition to today's announcement of Helsinki, there is a daily Zurich and 4 x weekly Mahon still to appear plus minor frequency increases versus last summer on other routes.

Have the recent announcements by EZY done anything to expand MAN's route network, or just are they just further examples of the airport attracting a Lo-Co onto an existing route to compete with a full service carrier...?

EZY MAN
 

Does EZY A320's have the legs to reach SSH, if so anyone think they might give it a go from MAN?

Also MAD may be a good route for EZY at MAN, as this is currently unserved at MAN?

AndyH52

It looks to me that Easy have taken the CAA monthly stats and decided to open up city routes to destinations that have healthy passenger numbers and only one operator ie Copenhagen, Helsinki and Munich.

Its probably a good way to do it as easy will undercut the fares no doubt.
Whether this is good for Manchester airport or SAS and Finnair is debatable.

Routes
 

New entrants on established routes are welcome if they stimulate traffic, but I am a little concerned about the effect of EZY going head-to-head on a thin route like Helsinki and risking forcing the flag carrier off it. Especially when there are other routes crying out for a service. I would say it's a pressing need for MAN to get service re-established to some high profile EU cities to where there are currently, and unaccountably, no direct flights. Madrid and Berlin both being examples which were served by flag carriers for many years. The economy and profile of Manchester (the City of) can hardly be helped by lacking direct links to EU capitals, however good the airport's bucket-and-spade offerings are.

ILS
 

ILS is now up and running, all be it CAT 1. Lets start the 300hrs burn time before CAT 3 returns :ok:

5 aircraft are required for the Summer operations. As someone pointed out, on certain days per the current released schedule, 5 aircraft are needed to cover the PM wave of flights. None of these flights appear to be W patterns indicating based a/c operation. EDIT: With HEL this means that the PM bank of flights require 5 aircraft every day.

According to some of my colleagues on the Flightdeck, the U2 320's can just about make SSH and this route has been rumoured for a while but still hasn't materialised. Looking at the current schedule, there is now no basis for SSH to be launched without a 6th aircraft. I guess there is always a possibility for next Winter.

Other rumours around the base include.....

Rome... Could be launched and operated by FCO
LCA..... Looking at the schedule, unlikely.

Its Easy-er to challenge a 'flag-carrier' on an existing route
than to start a new route from scratch.Why spend time and money building up a demand when you can piggyback it!Easyjet will 'Ryanair'
any route it likes because its the nature of the low-cost business
plan.
How are the routes doing that Easy currently operate (at MAN)
for the airlines that have been established on those routes since
the year dot?Are they generating more volumn?

Easyjet are Ryanair without MOL.

MM

Another rumour I was privy to was a North African destination.

There will always be many rumours with U2, I think it is more the amount of aircraft they can get into MAN.

It is so under served by an large LCC on a serious scale its like a boy in a sweet shop.

People say Ryanair are powerful but when you think that U2 are major players in some of Europe's largest airports, including being the largest at both LGW and MXP, it really is a credit to them.

When MOL pulled his routes out of MAN he basically said to U2 - the airport is yours. Yes LPL is key to the network of U2 and they have made huge sums from the airfield but MAN has so much potential that is currently untapped, I just hope they can see this and take advantage!

Berlin, Madrid, Warsaw and Krakow would be nice additions to the network.

Mickyman... that is a somewhat unfair allegation. Easyjet, to their credit, have successfully built up routes on their own merit. LPL-AMS, BRS-BCN, NCL-CIA to name but a few. They operate out of regional airports offering flights to destinations that those airports could only dream about. They have made flying more accessible and affordable. In other words, on many routes, they have increased volume.

On key routes such as LON-CDG, as a relatively new airline, they were always going to be the "newcomer" on such routes but their very presence has made fares much more competitive. Furthermore, it makes good business sense to exploit busy/lucrative markets....it's business. With that in mind whilst I do believe that MAN should have and could sustain SXF, MAD etc a business will go where the most money can be made. Easyjet does not have an obligation to ensure MAN has a flawless route network. That is the airports problem so to speak.

As an MAN enthusiast, I too want MAD and SXF etc to return to our departure boards and think it is a dying shame that they disappeared in the first place. However you also have to look at it from oure business logic. That said, I am confident that eventually these destinations will return, very possibly courtesy of U2, if not another carrier.

Mancry

I take on board what you have written and agree with
a fair amount - but would also ask (in the case of Gatwick)
have other airlines been pushed off routes by Easy?
Has the overall volume increased - in these recessionary
times ?What totally new destinations have they added to the
airports network?
Its business - I agree - but change the name to Ryanair and
all hell brakes loose!

MM

You've summed this forum up in one sentence. U2 are seen as the 'good guys' making prices more competitive. Ryanair are seen as the 'bad guys' wrecking competition.

MancRy - some very good comments which I agree with.

But in the case of LGW do you not agree that at the same time BA were pulling/changing routes left right and centre. As you know, BA LGW has since placed a large emphasis on leisure routes but they still compete with EZY on ALC etc etc. It just so happens that these routes are the type of route that BA don't want to use valuable LHR slots on. So, in other words if it wasn't for EZY could we still expect to see routes like CDG, AMS by BA at LGW? Generally speaking i don't think we would.

Change the name to Ryanair and all hell breaks loose? Maybe. Change the name from Easyjet to BA and oh praise the lord, the saviour has landed?

BA still fly to AMS from LGW

Bmi & Ezy
 

Two comments tonight:

BMI: Reports from the BMI thread suggest that MAN-LHR is reprieved (for now!). Seven aircraft are to leave the fleet, including two of the A330's which left sunny Manchester for the Heathrow base afew months ago. One of the routes facing the axe is LHR-TLV on which some of the A330 capacity had been deployed. Further details have been posted on the BMI thread.

EasyJet: Can anybody comment on the *rumour* that certain destinations are "embargoed" from MAN as part of EZY's operating agreement with Liverpool Airport? If routes such as Madrid and Amsterdam were on a "protected" list it would explain some of the interesting route choices at the MAN base. If this is total rubbish then so be it, but the notion does feature in gossip around Ringway. Is anybody on here at liberty to confirm / deny?

SHED.

Hmmm ... that software really doesn't like capital letters in the title line, does it?

I would guess as far as it could possible go is a gentleman's agreement as it would be against both UK and EU laws for the companies to sign a 'pact' concerning routes from the North West.

I think it is more of the former and also that they don't want to affect what is clearly a very good base for easyJet at Liverpool.

Very interesting to see easyJet adding ZRH to their network from MAN.

I used to be a regular (nearly every week!) with Swiss MAN-ZRH-MAN and whilst the loads were often very good, the bulk of the pax are connecting at ZRH.

Same with HEL many passengers connecting with Finnair long haul network.

STATSMAN

As yet EZY haven't added ZRH to their Manchester network and if they do there's no guarantee it will be daily - non of their other recent European additions from MAN have been.

As for not duplicating certain routes between MAN and LPL my take is that the region can only sustain demand for the current level of frequencies on certain routes (let's face it, RYR couldn't find sufficient pax to keep LPL - MAD going against EZY). EZY is unlikely to risk the health and profitability of these routes by adding them from MAN as well. MAN may well get ZRH, as well as Milan, Rome and Venice from EZY and possibly Palma and Faro where there is a large existing Manchester market to eat into, but again there is no guarantee these will be daily services...

Saudia to axe MAN
 

The last Saudia flight to man will be 28th Dec 09.

Good riddance

Roy Hudd -

Please elaborate. I flew with Saudia from MAN last year and considered them excellent. What have they done to upset you?

SHED.

But I've seen elsewhere that SV's withdrawal is only a temporary thing and the service will be resumed late March or April?

My dad's flying to Goa on Monarch this afternoon, 16.15 is departure time at the moment, although this has changed more than once.
Will this be operated by a A300 or A330?

Thanks for a prompt reply.

Will be on A330.

Thanks for the reply.

SV
 

Travelling as crew positioning with this airline has been an unpleasant experience, as has the entry and exit through JED. The Saudis have seemed an arrogant and superior lot to me, and I am not alone in this viewpoint.

However, it is sad if inevitable to see MAN losing so much business.

Well with the ILS being back on 23R, it means that the LHR Shuttles can "safely" land on 23R:ok:
The other day, a BAW Shuttle asked for an ILS approach to 05L....
"because he could NOT accept a VOR/DME approach to 23R"
Makes you wonder...:hmm:
bb

As some have predicted, it was announced today that easyJet add Sharm El Sheikh to their network from Manchester next summer... however you can't book it just yet! ;)

Fascinating information, that.

Funny that cus can't see any news for it anywhere????and a certain base just up the road has been told that they are getting this route.

For the Sharm route I personally think it would be better to open it from Liverpool rather than Manchester due to the Manchester market being rather saturated with the route already whereas Liverpool has none. Maybe more routes like that from Liverpool would make more money than from Manchester due to no competition e.g. Paphos etc. If this was to happen I'd guess another A320 on the way to LPL.

I would still like to see Manchester have a very large presence at Manchester but do think those routes would be better off at LPL. Are there any other routes this year to be released from MAN? I hope so!!

I would still like to see Manchester have a very large presence at Manchester

Eh?

Andy

Whilst you are quite correct, it MAY be that there is still some agreement between U2 and the airports which prevents them not only duplicating routes from each airport but which ones go from where. It might be that some of U2s current LPL services would be better operated from MAN and vv but there is some sort of agreement on what goes from where. But hey, who knows?

There were several "false starts" before U2 set up at MAN and it was rumoured that this was because U2 & LPL had some exclusion clause about ops from MAN. I seem to remember hearing that at one stage it was going to court, but in the end it didn't and the MAN ops eventually started. But maybe this is just a rumour and we will never know for sure.

Suzeman