Deltahotel. Don’t forget to turn the oven off!

I have a relative, who has been re-allocated onto EZY flight, from now defunct Stobart Air. They have asked me if I can provide lift and collection to/from airport. I was well aware of the £2 for 10 mins drop off fee, and that it increased to £3 for 5 mins pre Covid, but on looking at website today, was very surprised to see it now £5 for 5 mins. I guess they have to get their lost money back some how,

I understand that Victor taxiway onto the Eastern apron is to be re-profiled to facilitate aircraft manoeuvring. I would imagine primarily in relation to B744F/B748F size aircraft onto stand 83.
As all expenditure on non-essential works is likely to be on hold at the moment, it would suggest that this is deemed a pressing requirement?
Have UPS confirmed if/when they are to introduce B748F equipment onto their EMA schedule, I have heard October suggested?

EasyJet just arrived from BFS on its inaugural flight. Am I right in thinking this is the first A320neo to operate a passenger service to/from EMA?

As a scheduled flight I believe it to be so, EMA did have a La compagnie A321neo charter Aug last year.

Reports airfield currently closed due to apparent undercarriage collapse of a training aircraft (articles claims it is a Rolls Royce training aircraft). No reported injuries.

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/new...closed-5655189

A Jet2 just landed so it must be resolved.

It was an undercarriage collapse of a Harvard on a training flight.

Still nothing bookable for Ryanair 2022 onwards anyone know what’s happening?

I have been keeping an eye on this one, all very strange and you would expect maybe they are negotiating hard with the airport on fees but as EMA is a MAG Airport this should be an issue ?

Hopefully moving the EMA units to BHX from 01.01.22 :-)

It may… but I doubt in anyones lifetime on here!

Given the leisure nature of Ryanair's business model from EMA it does seem very odd that they haven't released flights for 2022 yet, since bookings = cashflow and cashflow is something all airlines need through the lean winter months. Since they haven't so far jacked up their presence at BHX either I somehow doubt that there's a wholesale move of base to BHX on the cards though.

UPS are to upgrade the daily 763F Philadelphia route with a mix of 744/8f aircraft from second week of September onwards is the latest I’ve been told

Anyone head anything at all about the FR winter program from EMA? Jet2 now has winter 22/23 on sale, but FR still not bookable after 31Dec21 it seems. While they are announcing new routes from BHX.

Jet2 are a little different to Ryanair as they are flogging package tours and there enough people out there will to plan 2 years ahead, and part with a deposit to do so - it gives Jet2 much needed cashflow. I would suggest that Ryanair's market is rather different, with people booking short breaks and visiting second homes so early booking isn't quite such a factor.

All that said it is looking more and more likely that when Ryanair announces what's happening at EMA from January 2022 it will be either feast (major expansion) or famine (closing the base) and not somewhere in between. It looks very much as though there's some brinkmanship going on between MAG and Ryanair regarding EMA at the moment. No inside information, just me reading the tea leaves.

If you read FR’s Commercial Director’s comment on the announcement of the DUB-CWL route regarding the “necessary incentives” required due to Covid-19, you can imagine exactly what’s happening here?
Although it would have a major impact on passenger numbers at EMA should we have another “toys out of the pram” episode, perhaps the management feel it is time to say no?
In the longer term it may even open up opportunities to attract other airlines which may have been put off by FR’s dominance at the airport. The unused car parks would also release a fair bit of valuable land for further freight related development....!

Yes something going on with FR at EMA
But as a MAG airport it is weird as STN / MAN are big bases etc, so fees you wouldnt have thought would be an issue ?
They appear to like BHX at the moment and Milan just announced is also an EMA route for them.
Watch this space :-)

Balair

I agree. Maybe the airport/MAG have realised over the last 18 months or so that they don't need FR to turn a profit at EMA, or that it's not worth the trouble for the small profit they get?

I'm suprised this hasn't made local news yet, I wonder how many families have tried to book for next spring/summer to discover no flights available? Even if they released flights today, they must have already lost out on a lot of customers going to other airports or another airline.

As I said above, I'm not sure that Ryanair relies upon long-time forward bookings so much as say, TUI or Jet2 - or indeed Easyjet who now also have a growing package tour offer.

Cargo continues to grow at EMA with all the major integrators among the customer base and I would imagine there will have been something of a rethink as to the EMA business strategy at MAG Towers. Not walking away from passenger, but being more robust in their pricing policy rather than rolling over and dying at the merest scent of Ryanair making veiled threats.

I can't see Ryanair abandoning EMA, but scaling back their operation to perhaps, worst case, only flights by non-based aircraft could be a real possibility. Thing is BHX doesn't have a history of submitting to Ryanair's demands, but they appear to be benefiting from new routes commencing this autumn. Perhaps they have become more open, some may suggest desperate.

I am sure walking away from passenger ops has been discussed at MAG Towers, maybe the space is more profitable as Cargo ops ?

The very fact that there are rumours that FR may substantially reduce or even stop operating from EMA after so many years should be ringing alarm bells at BHX. We all know that FR dump planes and capacity into airports they can get the best deal with and will up sticks as quickly if the terms of those deals change.

My personal opinion is that negotiations with MAG over the future of FR at EMA are still very much ongoing and the new routes announced at BHX are just a warning shot to help the EMA negotiations go in FR's favour i.e we're happy to go for growth at BHX if you don't give us what we want. I think they want to expand at EMA but they haven't yet got the deal they want.

The FR-BHX relationship has been testy at best and after much fanfare when the BHX base opened, it quickly stagnated and I've lost count of the number of routes they've dropped over the years.

Having said all this, BHX are gaining from whatever the issues are at EMA and I for one would be more than happy to see a lot more FR destinations and bases units at BHX (Berlin, please,please!!) but we have to have eyes very much open to the fact that FR could scoot growth back up the M42 in no time.

Could it be maybe that Ryanair perhaps need to meet certain volumes to unlock growth incentives at other airports (ie BHX or MAN), and just holding off sales from EMA to force more bookings from elsewhere.

Nobody knows really what the reason is so can speculate all we like. Likewise nothing is on sale from LBA from end of March 22 when comparable routes from other UK airports are. I don't see it as a sign of closing EMA as a base personally.

Nothing from Ryanair now after October. They must be having a computer glitch?

Q1/2022 now released
 

They must of heard us, flights now on sale till March 22

Shows the flights but still not available to book

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lei...rt-5864810.amp

Seems Ryanair are in negotiations with the east midlands, whilst the airport appears confident it will benefit Ryanair’s 2022 schedule

All have RYR flights bookable beyond the end of the year.

UPS
 

The new UPS facility is now officially open
https://www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink...east-midlands/

Has there been any indication as to the future use of their vacated facility?

UPS Schedule
 

Has the EMA schedule been adjusted since the opening of the new facility. Obviously 747s are starting to appear, are the flight timings or routings changed as well?

The flight times should be around the same as before, most days it’ll be a 747-8F operating and day stops Mondays before departing to Cologne at 22:00

TUI vs Ryanair
 

Interesting video doing the rounds on Youtube from Sunday afternoon. ‘Near miss’ between a Tui and Ryanair.

Near Miss my a**e.
Bog standard go-around instruction by ATC.

Hearing fedex have been looking into bringing their MD11F through East Midlands from Memphis, was originally planned to begin in August but has been delayed

FedEx
 

Maybe this proposed development is a result of the consolidation of the FedEx and TNT air networks. Are you aware of the planned routing?
I suppose the restructuring could also lead to FedEx assessing whether loads on the existing MAN/BHX-CDG flights could be consolidated through EMA?

I’m unsure of the exact routing, just know there’s a couple of reasons why it hasn’t began as of yet one being a shortage of aircraft.

Also to note Prime air have added another daily route MAD-EMA-BCN using a 737-800F

Thanks EGNXROB,
I have heard mention of aircraft availability issues also.
One source also suggested MEM-EMA-CDG-EMA-MEM is the planned routing, but how firm this is I don’t know.
At least it indicates that EMA seems to feature in FedEx’s future planning.

That would make a lot of sense and I’d assume they’d move the cargo from the man/bhx - cdg to EMA-CDG I do know a stand was marked out for a MD11 back when the eastern apron was extended which everyone assumed it was for UPS now may seem was ready for the FedEx service.

Easy Jet
 

East Jet have extended the Belfast International - East Midlands route, now on sale until 12 December 2021.

Still nothing bookable from Ryanair 2022 yet.

easyjet/routes
 

2nd January on the app