The Sunday night Voyager A330-200 Falkland Island's air bridge will operate from Birmingham between 30 July until 17 September 2018 due to runway light work at RAF Brize Norton. The A330 positions in Sun am and departs 01:10 Mon am

The Fly One route was planned to end 27 Oct 2018, but they are pulling out completely

Did AGP-BHX yesterday with Primera Air, full flight, comfortable clean cabin and good service. I have no hesitation in using them again.

Turkish
 

Turkish

This increase was reported on here a while back!

Not sure what all the fuss is about, they are just adding 2 additional flights per week to make it 14 weekly. Was it not double daily before, until it was cut back?

Quite a few upgrades over August Bank Holiday, with A321s showing on many flights

An A330-200 is scheduled for Monday 3rd September at 16:05

Turkish
 

Summer 2016 it was double daily.

October Half-term & winter shaping up nicel showing some minor increases from the regular airlines albeit still early days although most I have previously reported: -

Ryanair - extra Monday Malaga (making 2) in October and a second Wednesday in half-term (new), Alicante now daily in winter and then the previously reported 4th based for Christmas & New Year, Dublin 6 a day on 6 days, extra Faro on a Sunday
Jet2 - Extra October half-term as mentioned above and Christmas/New Year flights including for the first time two Arrecife's on Monday Half-term, also new 2 flights a week in December Santa charters* plus Iceland and Vienna short season
Thomas Cook - Extra Canaries flights October half-term on top of the previously reported third based aircraft in winter although it has been pointed out than in December and January it doesn't fly much
TUI - Hurghada and Boa Vista double, Goa weekly but Phuket dropped (appalling loads) plus for ski season weekly Kuusamo
Flybe - Managed to get the weekly Ski Lleida back and it appears they have the Sunday Titan Chambery (out to SOU in between?)
Swiss - Evening still showing as the BCS3 (A220-300)
Lufthansa - LH952/3 defaulted at times to the A320 from the A319 although still lays off for 5 weeks in the new year
Eurowings - as reported extra DUS DH8D
Vueling - Barcelona doubled from 2 to 4 a week and curiously in January as well - didn't even operate last year in January
Air Arabia Maroc - Agadir as reported previously twice a week
Wizz - Cluj as reported previously twice a week
KLM - 739 night-stop
easyjet 3 daily Belfast Sunday - Friday from February although GVA is down two rotations a week and Grenoble gone

If Primera had stayed it would have really been a bumper winter

* Jet2 Ivalo dates - 28/11+30/11+2/12+4/12+6/12+8/12+11/12+13/12+15/12+18/12+20/12+22/12+24/12+27/12 - charters

Pete

A good summary there, thanks OltonPete

Do we know who Jet2 are operating the Ivalo Charters for? Would be nice to take the kids to see Santa :)

Jet2 Santa Flights
 

I will PM you

Pete

It's no secret:

Santa's Lapland

What is the situation with Primera Air? I can't work out what is happening. Are they returning in 2019 with the same services planned as this year when they have the aircraft as they said they would or are they leaving for good, in which case what was the point as they're starting to build up a customer base? It is a little confusing as different reports are not clear and vary?

I thought they had made their position perfectly clear. Med. services are gone as demand hasn't met expectations. TATL canned this season because of fleet issues, with a (PR face saving) commitment to decide on North American services next spring which we know is really far too late to be launching a successful programme.

Can't see them coming back, unless it's in the guise of a wet lease to Jet2 - as they have done in previous years at EMA.

Thanks ATNotts for your reply. It's a shame about the Med. services I don't think they gave them enough time to get established. The choice between Jet2 and Ryanair is very limited for the airport's size, it's not an ideal situation, perhaps the airport can try to get Vueling or Norwegian back again? I'm no expert but I'd say that the Med. routes are now woefully underserved from BHX with many destinations no longer served, I presume Primera Air must have lost a lot of money setting up base just for a few months? It all seems rather odd.

Agreed Steve, the Med routes are woefuly underserved fron BHX. You only have to look at the huge decreases month after month on AGP, ALC, TFS amongst others to see that BHX has barely recovered from the loss of ZB. Ryanair have tinkered with some additional frequencies whilst Jet2 have become Monarch...the growth Jet2 would have had at BHX now simply partly fills the ZB void.

The problem is who can BHX approach? Vueling and Norwegian were good whilst they lasted but no hope of either launching these types of routes. Likewise EasyJet.

There is no one apart from Wizz at a very outside chance.

The big worry is why could Primera not make these routes work for them over the height of the season? Or just PR spin as they had so much egg on face over their blink and you miss them TATL ops. It does not send a positive message to the few other airlines who could step in about BHX being a money spinner.

Who says BHX was a money spinner in 2017?? I would suggest that if anything there was over capacity and as a result too many cheap fares, and nobody making adequate money on Med routes in particular.

There is a happy medium to be achieved, and BHX is probably in a better position now, with controlled expansion by one major carrier, in Jet2 than having another upstart piling in on the same old markets and creating too much capacity too quickly.

July Passenger Figures
 

Source: CAA

July 2018 Passenger figures 1313887 (1436756) down 8.55% - 2017 in brackets

Passenger transport movements 10007 (11594) down 12% - Cargo 247 (250) down 1%

The difficult summer continues and only slightly better in August I believe.

What is left of long-haul was not too bad with Qatar just 7 pax down on July 2017, Emirates averaging just shy of 500 and Amritsar/Delhi service was slightly up at just over 13000 and Islambad was also up.

Pete

Pete, have you got a link please. I'm only seeing June still.

July STATS
 

Try this one it is the from the Cardiff thread - all very odd my favourites is also getting June only.

CAA

Pete