For the sort of flights being offered from CAX, not very long. Hardly "holiday of lifetime" destinations.

Saying that, I thought the announcement of the operator was going to be "early in the new year". Stretching it a bit!

Early in the Chinese New Year, I believe? :}

New operator
 

If the takeover of flybe by Stobart happens then maybe it will be Flybe operating the route.

Or Eastern Airways.

I understood that there was going to be an announcement made at the end of January 2018 about who would be operating the flights on behalf of Stobart.

Do we think that no announcement made is due to the fact that Stobart is considering making a bid for Flybe or that they haven't yet decided who is going to be providing the aircraft and size of aircraft needed yet.....

Just wondering

Can't see the question of who operates the services from CAX troubling either party as they consider their next move.

Could be having a number of impacts, takeover discussions might by diverting the attention of the decision makers and making it difficult to get sign off, cashflow considerations, etc.

Podcast: Clear for take off at Carlisle Airport | Cumbria Chamber of Commerce


Its very worthwhile listening to the latest updates..........

perhaps a brief summary?

30 - 40 seats, be interesting to see what type of aircraft will be used

Tickets on sale "in days, not weeks";

Twice daily SEN, plus DUB and Belfast - some weekend and seasonal "tweaks". Looking to tie in DUB times with "some" transatlantic flights. Sounds like might still be trying to get DUB slots;

Fares to London "very competitive" with trains - "will beat train to London by an hour";

Free shuttle bus to/from Carlisle city centre;

LEP funding increased from £3.75m to £3.95m;

AMS, CDG, LCY top potential destinations from Chamber of Commerce members

Are there any Saab 340s available?

Loganair have just taken one out of MME...

Perhaps the D328 would be better, if available, as it is quite a bit faster than the S340B.

I can't really see the latter part of the quote working. Currently the 0544 train will get you to Euston at 0907 for £182. To arrive into London at a similar time the 'free shuttle' would have to leave Carlisle at 0530 for a 0600 check in, a 0630 departure to connect with a train from SEN around 0800 arriving into Liverpool St an hour later. A lot of arsing about for little time advantage. Flying into LCY would be quicker but not SEN.

The price could be competitive with the arrival into London before 1000 but later trains have the advantage of cheaper fares. Could the flights sell for £50 and survive?

Your example assumes both journeys start on the platform at Carlisle station?

The point made on the podcast was transit times through CAX would be similar to catching the train.

If you take the free shuttle then probably they do.

The other aspect where the plane falls down in the comparison is that to obtain a realistic journey time you have to add in the expected time between when you wanted to travel and when you could travel. This can be estimated as half the average time between departures during the parts of the day someone might reasonably expect to travel, giving 30m for the train... or about 3h for the plane.

On that basis (and assuming that the airport was equally as convenient a departure point for most people) there would need to be at least 4 flights a day (maybe really 5) before the competition was on. If I was them I would actually do this, especially given the size of the intended plane and that they own the airports and handling at both ends. If they want to make it work, and clearly they do and are willing to throw money at it to make it happen, then there's no point setting about a half-baked effort at doing so.

Stobart believe in regional air services. Their work for Aer Lingus, the routes they operate at Southend and the stated interest in Flybe make this abundantly clear. Running routes out of SEN with loads of under 40% hasn't put them off, indeed they're increasing the frequency on some.

So if they only attract a dozen or so on each Southend bound aircraft, it may make little sense to most, but who knows what Stobart's expectations are.

True. I really hope it works for CAX but the prospect of suffering a SEN - Liverpool St journey in the rush hour puts me right off the idea.

The shuttle will be aimed at inbound PAX - most Cumbrian PAX will drive to the station or the airport. If you're driving to the station you have to find somewhere to park, pay, get to the platform. Parking at CAX will be free and right outside the door.