BIRMINGHAM - 6
 

Kicking off the new thread with this article:

http://www.birminghampost.net/birmin...#ixzz2JCwrWsy2

OLT has been grounded, which means that LX will need to find an alternative for the use of their F100s on ZRH-BHX. In MAN the schedule has been updated to reflect LX mainline now operating all flights MAN-ZRH, the BHX schedule so far has seen only minor updates for the immediate future - Swiss European and what looks like cancellation of one rotation on Thursday.

Nigel

I wouldn't say it has to be AA operating the route - maybe Delta or United even?

This was mentioned in the article:

planeaddict;

Perhaps if you'd done a little research before posting you'd know that Delta do not have a hub at ORD; therefore there is less than zero chance of them flying the route. :ugh:

United do have a hub at ORD.

Hi Nigel.

Yes the route is a B757 for winter, as the B767 is needed for more lucrative South American routes, but changes back to a B767 on 5th June. It is available to view on the AA website.

But DELTA do not which is what chinapattern said, he didn't say United didn't.

Correct, but the viability of UA launching ORD-BHX has already been debated at length before so no point going over it again.

BHX-ORD
 

Good idea to link up the two "second cities" of each country.

Hope it can be successful!

Oh no, not again!!
 

Sorry, but 11 posts in and we're back on the same treadmill of spotterish wishlists of routes and carriers that in the current economic climate stand some between little and absolutely no chance whatsoever of coming to fruition.

Will we get to post 20 before questions relating to Qatar, Toronto and A380s rear their ugly heads?

Personally I doubt it!!

What are the chances of Qatar fly DOH-BHX-YYZ with the A380?

Sorry, couldn't resist!

No wonder the mods closed BHX-5

Now the plans for HS2 have been revealed and LHR is not on the list, maybe it will be beneficial for BHX after all. Possibility of one way traffic maybe? A lot will depend on routes in 13 years for now, and not even paineaddict can look into his crystal ball.:rolleyes:

Monarch MUC
 

Monarch has cancelled a fair number of further frequencies on BHX-MUC over the next few weeks.

(Was on LH's morning flight MUC-BHX today, near 100% despite the only slightly later Monarch A320/1).

BHX - MUC
 

Was on the LH flight back from Munich on Friday night. Had us up and away early - as there was some threats to the runway with the possible heavy snowfall that thankfully never materialised.

Nice aircraft those E95's first time I have had the opportunity to fly on one.

BHX security was a disappointment again, cant understand why they cant leave the E-gates on, when I asked the security chap why they were not in use he said its because they only had three staff on. So why not switch the gates on and take the burden of the manual checkers - very confusing :ugh:

Well said that man!! BHX, for the foreseeable future at least will only ever be home to a few niche long haul services, primarily because it is stuck between LHR and MAN and does not appear to be able to attract sufficient and more importantly consistent demand to fill the front end with high yielding F & J class travellers - if EK can't do it I doubt anyone else can right now. So get over it and if you are that desperate to see a QR 330 or a flight to YYZ or ORD there are plenty of them down at LHR to go gawp at.

Back to the real world and summer '13 is shaping up quite well on the scheduled side after a slow start, with a couple of legacy carriers cautiously upping capacity. Here's a review to summarise recent news.

AF are going to start using 321's on certain rotations
LX mainline equipment reappears on the morning rotation (sadly it does not seem the midday flight is going to come back)
SK up to 6 a week on ARN and introducing 320 on morning CPH rotations in May
ZB new routes to GIB, SPU and BOD plus continuation of FNC, SSH. MUC it seems is going
BE re-introducing French summer routes BES, LRH, EGC, PGF and AVN(reduced frequency on most routes though compared to 2012)
BE to LYS
BM new base and flights to GOT, TLS and LYS - who will win, BM or BE?
FR to PGF - at the expense of BUD?
SN I heard was back to all AR1 ops at one stage but think this has changed again with VO DH8 still being used on some rotations, need to check
EZY continuing with BFS - it would be so nice to see some more of these guys, good to see they have a sales desk now and is it me or their check in area looks very big for a max of four flights a day, here's hoping.....

I would imagine BHX will start to see at some point in the year the new LH loco taking over TXL and DUS although it all seems to have gone quiet on that front. Perhaps that will be 2014?

I can't think of any other major new route announcements at this stage (or even any rumoured) but you never know.....

here here.....the thread has become a spotters paradise of late.

PS Hanging on to the second city bit is also a tad lame and tedious, airlines have already decided that one and its either LHR or MAN.... makes brummies sound desparate like Stan Colleymore when he describes "second City derbies" and tries to ham them up.....

Eg Villa V WBA etc ....... too right !

Navpi - not sure this is the right place for discussion around which is Englands 2nd city ,the size or success of the airport is not a factor that's ever going to be that relevant.

RE: Summer 13
 

Also TK upping to x10 weekly flights.

Regarding MON; wouldn't be too surprised if they dropped MUC, it struck me as an odd route for them when it was first announced.

Air France - New Loco - "Hop"
 

Read on ARD (German TV) text this morning that AF is setting up a new low cost carrier the are calling Hop to operate umpteen European services. Apparently it comes about by merging Britair, Regional and another I can't remember.

It looks like a copy of the LH strategy with Germanwings (can't remember now what they are going to be called either!), but it will be interesting to see if the strategy is to hive off ops from CDG to places which aren't London; or to develop routes from the French regions, such as LYS and TLS, to places like BHX.

I would say if the latter is the strategy, LYS-BHX is quite likely as it puts the knife into two non French (UK) airlines already scrapping on the route.

Air France / Hop!

Hop! seems similar to the Germanwings (they will keep that name, but grow and include the Bombardier AC op by Eurowings) - but if you look at it in detail, they are actually supposed to feed in CDG and ORY, whilst routes strong on yield from the regions are to remain with AF mainline....

According to this route map, BHX is not touched by the changes for now . http://corporate.airfrance.com/fileadmin...p_press_kit.pdf

I would be surprised to see LYS-BHX by Hop!, more likely a codeshare with BE.

PS: Regarding Germanwings on TXL and DUS: GErmanwings will take over those operations incrementally, they started switching the HAM routes to Germanwings (even though BHX is still Eurowings for LH rather than Germanwings), DUS is the last base to be swtiched somewhen during 2014.

Hmm, as a user of the DUS-BHX route I wonder if Eurowings eventually operating for Germanwings will see a downgrading of the product? That will be a great pity if it does. There was a time when we still had a choice (between LC and Legacy carriers) on short haul routes. Sadly that's rapidly fading away now, and like it or not many travellers are being "forced" to fly LC or walk! :) I do understand that the younger generation are quite happy being treated like cattle as long as it's cheap (they don't know any different). Unfortunately oldies like me need enjoy a few basic comforts in our old age. :O

Gayfriendly..

Re the real World.. and Air France A321s at BHX..

well its just 2 rotations planned at present during the Spring Fair only, summer is showing as 3 A318s.

AT NOTTS.

Andrew am confused, you start off taking a swipe at those talking of possible planned routes... then mention the new AF airline Hop might look at BHX from Lyon, Toulouse..that not a wish list too ??

The fact that they couldn't even fill at 48 seater CR2 from Lyon, and that both BE and BMR are starting both routes from BHX..surely means theres not a cat in hells chance ? :ugh:

Nigel

@BRUpax

It will be Germanwings op. by Eurowings.So the product will change.

If you scroll down on the linked page below, you can see the new fare categories and included services: The 'New Germanwings' - About Germanwings

The Germanwings "Smart Fare" is only slightly more expensive, but incl. onboard catering, luggage, and most importantly, more legroom. That's also the booking class you get when you book Germanwings flights through lufthansa.com rather than germanwings.com.

Nigel

Not quite the same and perhaps I didn't phrase very carefully! What I was conjecting is that Hop! might think about muscling in on the route, which clearly won't sustain 2 carriers, let alone three. With their deep (French government) pockets they would be able to sustain the losses longer than either BMIR or FlyBe - who for financial reasons would almost certainly blink first.

The last thing I would wish for is a third carrier on BHX-LYS!

Thanks for that info and link insuindi. Interesting and perhaps not so bad after all. Not many miles away from the Virgin America product. I'll be interested to see what the DUS-BHX "standard" fare will be.

BHX-LYS
 

AF operated twice a day with a 48 seat aircraft and loads were generally good 70%+ and fares were high (I'm sure OP will confirm this). I think it was Brit Air (who operated the service on behalf of AF) removing the 48 seat CR2 from their LYS base that caused the service to end. If BMIR operate LYS as their last rotation of the day after GOT and TLS then this would be more advantageous to travelers, this of course would be too simple and BMIR have probably planned LYS for a midday departure :ugh::{, we will have to wait and see when the schedule comes out on the 5th of Feb.
The Flybe flight will most likely carry an AF flight code.
Daza

A nessage for spotters!
 

You have a forum for your questions and, hopefully, your answers. But if you continue to make a nusiance of yourself on the main forums you may find that you are no longer welcome on PPRuNe. Already, there are daft posts, which I have deleted so you are close to being a deletion yourself.

PPRuNe as I have said many times, and other mods have said many times, is here for your enjoyment. If you want to play stupid you will be treated as stupid. Get the message?

We have better things to do with our time but we choose to make your days on PPRuNe more enjoyable. So, the short answer is don't push us too far or you will wish you hadn't.

AA&R mods

THIS IS THE BIRMINGHAM THREAD!!!!
 

Navpi wrote Why do you insist on mentioning other airports in the Birmingham thread? You mention Manchester and Manchester Airport in the Birmingham thread all the time! We realise that you have an interest and passion about an airport and city in the North West of England, so why not comment on that thread? Remember the moderators said stick to comments about Birmingham Airport.:ugh:
Daza

Well said Daza! And since when have airlines dictated the geography/history of a country??? :ugh:

BHX could be sold
 

Hi friends,
just heard on local news that due to Birmingham city council needing to find
millions of £s to maintain services one possibility could be to sell major assets
to raise much needed money.
BHX is one of the assets mentioned as well as the NEC(or parts of).
With the airport well into it's expansion plans I wonder how much of this could be a factor when looking for a buyer.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out with this one!

LX/AF/LH/LYS
 

Daza

Lyon base fare was around £140 return for economy going up to about £450 the day before departure.

Loads were pretty constant over the years with around 60% load factor in deepest winter and 75-80% high summer, which averages out as you say around 70%. BHX I think was not the last 50 seat CRJ service from Lyon but one of.

GF/Nigel

I have found some more Air France A321 flights: -

Friday 8th x 2 Morning and afternoon

Sunday 10th - evening

Friday 15th - Morning & afternoon and LH 321's on LH959, 954 & 958 plus the lunchtime Swiss operates!!!

Sunday 24/2 - Lunchtime

LH 321's Wed 6/2 lunch, Friday 8/2 lunch, Monday 11/2 lunch, Wed 13/2 lunch, Thursday 14/2 night-stop, as mentioned above Fri 15/2 lunch and night-stop.

Swiss - 16/2 - All three, yes three flights on the A320.

Swiss

Next three nights showing as Swiss European RJ100's and then Helvetic operating both services!

Air France

As Nigel said showing as 3 x A318 in summer at present

Brussels back to two flybe (inc night-stop), Tyrolean and two x SN RJ100's.

EI Regional

Also from June there are three extra EI flights on the ATR72 wherever they may end up going but Dublin could be a red-herring.

I have to say that some of these upgrades are annual with Spring Fair and the half-term break shortly afterwards but the AF A321's are new but you only have to look at the load factors to know that certain flights could see frequent sell-outs.

Pete

LX/AF/LH/LYS
 

As always OP very informative. Thanks! :ok:
Daza

Nice aerial view in this video of the runway works so far, if anyone is interested. The article that comes with it seems to be the usual promotional stuff.
Apologies if it's been posted previously...:O

I think they will stay on DUB, EI have retimed the mainline A320 flight back to 06.30 dep from DUB between Mar-June until the regional start up to allow full T/A connections. You can be sure that the 07.15 from BHX and 09.00 from DUB will stay at least. I know there is talk of a new route but that will be from that airport into BHX, however at early stages.

I've seen that video, don't know how old it is though so it may have changed now. Would be interesting to see where they have gotten to now.

@OltonPete

thanks for the informative listing.

Re Swiss: LX425 on 9FEB is now op. by LH B737-5 (morning of same day on LX A320). Numerous further Feb dates with A319/320 3 daily.

Flybe & EIR
 

insuindi

Thank you for the update, quite impressive the number of Airbus flights, in fact the half-term weekend 16/17/2 is now all Airbus.

See your point re Monarch Munich, it was definitely not twice a week in April when it was first released either.

flybe

Aberdeen in the summer has reverted to BHX based timings per the flybe website, the first leaving at 06.50, next 10.50, then 14.55 and finally 18.55.

I make that ten based flybe, plus the SN DH8D and no doubt the spare 195?

New night-stop additions include BM and EI Regional, nine Monarch which could make 40 night-stoppers if Olympic Holidays has an aircraft based although with the summer IT flights they are never all on the ground at the same time.

EI-A330-300

I agree with your reasoning behind the first out but I still have my doubts about at least one of the other two AT72 Dublin flights. Last summers figures I think were about 70-80% load factor depending on the month, which does not indicate a great need for extra seats unless they are spoiling for a fight.

Pete

2013 @ BHX
 

Thanks for your 2013 summary and updates, as ever very informative. I really feel some positivity in the air at BHX this year for scheduled flights, yes as has been debated before, there are gaps in European destinations but it's good to see capacity growth on key routes (I forgot to mention TK now at 10 weekly in my previous post) and you never know there could still be more announcements for summer, although getting more unlikely as time marches on. Shame about TS but at least they still fly to BHX, although consolidating to just LGW, MAN and GLA must be something they (Canadian Affair) are thinking about unless they up BHX frequency, i'm sure it was 2 weekly a few years ago?

So, 40 night stop aircraft, impressive. I have counted 84 scheduled destinations from BHX this summer (high season Jun-Sep) which is the highest number served since 2008 when there were 90 (this of course was FR base launch year and when WW had 8 based units). Compared to last year we have lost LIS, PRG, DND, BUD but of course have gained LYS, TLS, SPU, BOD and GOT (this could have operated last summer, I can't remember!)

I am hanging on for BM to release their schedules for LYS to see how they stack up against BE, would like to fly both! It's a great city for a weekend away with amazing food and normally it's hot and sunny over the summer.

EI are up to something? I wonder if there could be a new destination (for them) on the cards? BHD? Kerry? Or a head to head with FR on the DUB route?

Any idea what this new EIR route may be? It does seem like overkill having 3x ATR and 3x A320 on the DUB route, albeit great frequency. Was wondering about BHD or maybe NOC instead of SNN based.....or just increasing NOC because last summer it was 90% + L/F.

Birmingham Summer 2013
 

GayFriendly wrote You forgot that scheduled services new for Summer 2013 are Stockholm and Gibraltar and on the charter flight front new are Preveza, Marrakech and I think Hurgada also returns this Summer. (I'm not sure if TCX operated it last summer)?
Daza