I understand there wasn't much contact with some very local members of Cumbria's business community when the runway was closed with 48 hours notice to relocate... :confused:

I refer the honourable gentlemen (and ladies)to my previous post..95

General Manager of Carlisle stated yesterday at a local conference that the airline starting ops from CAX will be named in January...(negotiations with several)...Ops to commence in June`18 with minimum 2 daily to SEN/DUB & BRU...

Think BRU should be Belfast?

VIDEO: Airline to fly from Carlisle Airport to be named | News & Star

It's interesting that they are speaking to several other airlines to see who will operate the 3 planned routes. You would have thought that it would have been stobart air that would have been operating the flights. Least we only have to wait until the end of January to find out who the airline or airlines will be.

Who's betting it's Stobart air...

Does seem odd that it might not be Stobart flying between two Stobart airports - maybe the discussion is whether they will be Stobart in their own right or as a Flybe franchise or as an Aer Lingus franchise, or some other combination?

Who could be other candidates?

Eastern have spare E170's now that Flybe have less work for them, would need to upsize other routes to free up the smaller aircraft to operate from CAX though

So it looks like it's to be a new startup airline that will launch the flights. Firnas Airways are the only new startup in the UK, they just took delivery of a J31, and have yet to announce any routes.

With a capacity for 19 passengers... now we know why the terminal can only accommodate 20 passengers!

start-up as in service, not in airline

4th June 2018
 

Carlisle to London for under £100, reveals city airport | News & Star

:D

Eastern or Loganair

Suppose it could be any other airline who offer ACMI, doesn't mean it has to be either loganair or Eastern. Could even be Stobart air. Just have to wait for the new year announcement I guess.

I’m actually putting my hat in the ring for Firnas.

New start up that will be looking for incentives to help them start up. They have an emphasis of wanting to serve ‘unserved’ routes, will use the J41 so ideal for Carlisle and so on. They need to put their aircraft somewhere and can’t think of many other unserved UK domestic routes that would be an obvious fit for them?

Also, as this is a Stobart airport, why would they be so coy if Stobart Air were operating the routes, would hardly be a ‘didn’t see that one coming’ moment, would it?

If it's reportedly less than £100 per seat, presumably including all taxes so net quite significantly less than £100, how many passengers would a Jetstream need to break even.

Straight away I can think of crew & engineering accommodation and transport, maintenance, airport navigation, landing, parking and handling charges, in flight catering, Eurocontrol.

Jetstream start-ups in the UK don't have a great record - when was the last successful one? Can't see why Stobart would take the risk (and don't Firnas have a J31?).

I had assumed that the Dublin link would be linked into the Aer Lingus franchise to allow interlining, if so presumably they would have an interest in what was being operated in their name also.

Also, doesn't this route have the regional fund subsidy - isn't that linked to a named airline?

The break even figure would be more than the number of seats of the Jetstream. One remembers the BEA Heralds operating the Scottish Highlands and Islands routes with 48 seats - break even 52!

On the other hand I remember the Air UK Y44 F27's operating ABZ/SVG/BGO whereas the break even load factor was just 7 but then on their LBA/BFS route it might have been 30!

- with free parking
 

Considering the size of the car park and that it also acts as the car park for the Stobart HQ offices, would probably cost more to collect than they'd make.