Gibraltar-2
 

Flew home last night from GIB. Just be warned if any of you are checking in bags get there early, took us 45 mins just to check in yesterday.

On a more positive note, it appears that all Monarch routs will keep the same frequency as this year, with some of the Manchester flights now operating 1 hour earlier. EasyJet's schedules have not been released yet so still waiting for news on that.

Phew only 45 minutes, you were lucky! Good old Gibair.

We were at the front of the queue too!

runway closed
 

So, what was the story today then, gib runway closed, hearing bomb scare, local police stopped a Hercules taking off? What's the real story?

You can read it all in the Gibraltar Chronicle, apparently a dispute over jurisdiction between the Gibraltar Police and the MoD about a person on board the aircraft. Runway closed for two hours.

mansp

Google is always your friend with an instant reply rather than posting it on here and waiting 11 hours and 44 minutes for a reply. I love searching the Internet and finding everything I need to know.

Pilot survey says Gibraltar is toughest runway for landings
 

As a Gibraltar resident I can confirm that some landings are quite hair raising!

Pilot survey says Gib is toughest runway for landings ? Gibraltar Chronicle

Just a bit of lighter hearted news than of late.

Well, I would agree that Gib can be tough but tough-est?
The old Funchal was quite challenging and Innsbruck and Samedan have their own tough moments....
In fact JFK 13L off Canarsie with a southerly wind can also be tough!

But I suppose I'm really talking about 'approaches' and not 'landings' (apart from Funchal).

mykonos in the old days pre extension? 737-200's could hack it but it was hairy

Monarch have unfortunately ceased ops. There will be no repatriation flights from here, all will be from AGP.

Maybe EasyJet will pick up the LTN route? I doubt BHX will be returning as I've heard loads have been quite poor.

The Gatwick flight shows as being operated by Titan from GIB.

Manchester and Birmingham from Malaga, Luton to be advised.

As a regular Manchester flyer, I hope easyJet up their frequency. From next month they reduce from 3 to 2 flights a week (Sunday & Wednesday). Monarch had 4 flights a week scheduled, so a massive drop and the loss of weekend travel with no Friday flight.

According to a report in the Gibraltar Chronicle Monarch passengers amounted to 36 per cent of the total number of passengers using the airport. The local tourist industry is deep!y worried about the situation and wants an airline to pick up the routes to the UK as soon as possible. Also Titan have been using a Boeing 757 on a number of rescue flights into GiB. Must be quite a time since B757s were seen there.

Quite a sight to see and as you say very rare..I hope I'm wrong but I can't see Jet2 piling in, as they are one of the few with suitable equipment. After all, with the motorway Malaga isn't that far these days..much better experience via Gib but..... either way that terminal isn't going to pay for itself anytime soon

I also can't see Jet2 coming in. I believe the B738 may not be able to land here as discussed on the Monarch thread.

Personally all I can see is easyJet operating from Luton, Birmingham is out due to not particularly good loadsa and Monarch were stopping there flights from there due to that fact.

I live in Cadiz Province. Maybe you are right maybe not. I personally prefer to fly ex GIB over AGP, particularly in the summer months, simply because AGP is a nightmare for queues and delays, connections to LHR are lousy too, with only two flights a week, whereas GIB is at least daily.

I certainly hope somebody picks up the slack in GIB.

GIB loses MON/OM :(
quite a few flights year round from a number of London airports and UK regionals - not a bad bit of business for them over the years thank you very much - shame their other routes were not as forthcoming for them.

what now?
well as discussed the 738 or MAX is not the plane for GIB so that leaves 320 ops with BA and EZY

Jet2 have 757's - yes a nice route set for them to pick up and could get them into LGW by default if they want it - same as EZY did back then by buying GBairways - that buyout is what made EZY huge at LGW and they took full advantage of it.
Then BA starts GIB again themselves (you cannot make this up)

757's have a few years left but then what for future if Jet2 do take GIB on.

what about the Gaggero's - would they try another go at GIBair/GBairways version three?
plenty of 320's and crew out there....

I was wondering if Jet2 could be a possible contender for picking up the ex-MON flights into GIB

With STN, BHX, MAN being LS's biggest bases now, I could see 2-4 weekly working, with a view to adding LBA/NCL/EDI/GLA at a later date

I wouldn't be surprised if BA add LGW-GIB back into the schedules

When you think about it, the coal burners they would have to rely on are heading for razor blades at a rate of knots.The 757 have too much capacity for Gib. However all will depend on the views of Phil Meeson. If they can make money on the routes they will have a go, if they can't, they won't..

I don't think it'll happen, Jet2 are all about their Holidays arm now, and it's not really a package holiday destination, Could you imagine an All inclusive resort at the tippy top of the rock?

When retired shortly, I hope to visit Gibraltar far more as a holiday destination! Although it will probably not be a package, just a flight and a self-booked room.

Must admit I won't visit Gibraltar if I have to fly via Malaga or any other nearby airport due to (a) lost time (b) having to use public transport (c) a border to cross where there may be queues.

It's Gib's airport or nothing!

BTW this might be a silly question and I ought to know the answer :rolleyes:, who ownd, maintains and pays for Gibraltar airport? The MOD. our government as a whole or a private company (or a mix of all three)? Thanks :ok:

I too can't see Jet2 being at all interested in Gibraltar, nor any of the other major operators (Thomson, Thomas Cook...). Flybe could potentially be a good match?

In the short term, all we can hope for is more Manchester flights with easyJet - there is certainly demand as most of their flights for this month are sold out or being sold at extortionate rates.

I've chosen to double the journey time and go with BA via LHR - cheaper, better product and at least I can build up tier points to work towards getting some of the perks I was accustomed too with Monarch's Vantage Club.

In terms of BA from LGW - they should look at Monarch for a reason why to not bother. They tried muscling in on Sleazy's territory (I heard in response to EZY starting MAN-GIB) with similarly timed flights from Gatwick and having flown with MON a few times, the flights were barely half full.

Plus how many more London flights does GIB need :ugh: 2 or 3 a day and the North is now served by only 2-3 flights a week!

howard h

Regarding your last paragraph all your answers are easily found on the Gibraltar Airport Wikipedia page.

Owned/maintained by the MOD and the terminal/pax side of things is HMGoG as far as I am aware.

All of Jet2's newer 737 800's are fitted with the short field package, which allows GOL to operate in and out of runways considerably shorter than GIB, so landing distance shouldn't be a problem for the 738.

Airlines also operate non-short field 738's into and out of places such as Skiathos every day, on sector lengths of up to 2 hours. They've even been known to operate direct back to the UK, loads permitting.

There will still be 737 300's around for a few more years, and who knows, Jet2 might end up with some MAX's

When you consider "Jet2CityBreaks" is one of the "Jet2/Jet2Holidays" spin offs, the fact that Gibraltar has been seeing huge growth over the last 18 months and has become a more popular place to visit, and the fact that they've lost almost half their traffic - as well as all the potential to serve the Western costas for holidaymakers... I hope Jet2 do pick up ops at GIB, because I think they could become a big player there. They've made a success of Almeria.

I just got back from Estepona yesterday, and I'd have killed for a GIB-NCL flight, rolling in from the bar at 4am to get to AGP

I agree, I'd have thought EasyJet from LPL would be a potential from next year as they are basing an extra aircraft there, and previously served the route from there with load factors of between 85 and 91%. No idea why it was pulled with those figures.

I would not be to hasty about the BA product Lee J. A friend of mine flew last week from GiB and said the flight was 'absolute :mad:'. Only one trolley for the whole aircraft, took 90 minutes to get two thirds down the cabin and having to pay £1.10p for a packet of crisps. Return flight not much better and terrible seat pitch, so beware.As regards Liverpool it is yield dear boy not load factor.

I know EasyJet are due to announce some new routes from Liverpool in November as well.

I've done the route with BA a few times and can vouch that since the introduction of the M&S menu, it can be a slow process for the trollies. Usually 3 of the 4 crew work economy so I think they're doing the best they can but it seems their payment taking is not up to speed. Top tip is to order a hot item when they take pre-orders and at the same time they'll usually take the rest of your order so you don't have to wait for the trolley to reach you.

I was on a easyJet flight a month or so ago and by row 4 they'd run out of hot food and I do like their ham & cheese melt :O

In terms of Liverpool flights with EJ, been and done about 4 years ago so would be surprised to see them return although with less competition down the road in MAN, maybe its a good time to try?

https://worldairlinenews.com/2017/11...and-gibraltar/

Only from Gatwick and Bristol though, though heard EasyJet will be basing more at MAN Next year so hopefully some expansion from there too.

You could always pre order your ham and cheese melt (or any other meal deal) and save yourself £1 in the process. https://preorders.easyjet.com/

Charter flights to be Trialled from Belfast International, Humberside, Exeter, Bournemouth, Durham Tees Valley and East Midlands. Not sure who the Operator will be yet.

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.1...lled-next-july

rumour is Titan i was told on Hurn forum

BA launching Seasonal flights to Gatwick from 28th May. Will be Seasonal but will run every day except Tuesdays.

Yay even more flights from the South... that will be up to 5 daily flights from LGW / LHR compared to only 3 a week from Manchester.

:ugh:

What happened to the Jet2 flights? :rolleyes:

were they on the cards?

I doubt it, the 737-8 does not perform like an A320 into GIB.

Gibraltar handled 571,184 passengers in 2017, a 4.2% Increase compared to last year, however significant drops in passengers from October onwards for Obvious reasons. Hopefully big improvements on this in 2018.

For now, the 737 300's and 757's would do well out of GIB, so short/medium term there shouldn't be any problems.

Their new 737 800's have the Boeing Short Field Package included. "Basic" 737 800's and 737 900ER's (which have the SFP as standard) operate into shorter and less developed runways worldwide. Look at European operators into the Greek islands, as well as Indonesian and Brasilian operators, to name a few.

Payload restrictions might be necessary on some days, but I wouldn't have thought it would be too much of a problem to overcome.

Who knows, Jet2 might order some MAX8's, cseries or Airbii... Or maybe they'll try and get the A330's into GIB?