al446

Unlike me - You being a pedant, I thought you would have worked it out.

compton3bravo.

Please read my posts properly.

After your attempt to insult - I agree with your post, or most of it.

But if you l00k at my post you will see I am planning a summer holiday taking into account two 12 year old girls who want to go to theme parks. BTW I have never been to a water/aqua park in my life.

I do like the real Spain - and have learned enough Spanish to make sure I don't order Octopus in it's ink. I like Spanish people and think they are about as polite as can be got.

My problem is kids don't want to see the real Spain at that age, they want the theme parks, the sea and the pool and all that goes with that type of holiday.

I also like the real Spain, have seen the real Spain - But circumstances dictate what type of holiday I can take for the foreseeable future.

Sorry Ernest Lancs I think I do know what I am talking about, I took my two daughters to Spain several times (they are now in their 30s) and what I did was spend some much time on the beach etc. and so much time seeing other things - it seemed to work for us all.
Anyway back to the proper topic, unfortunately I think Blackpool will always be on the peripherary of air travel in the North West - it cannot compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester but it can calve out a niche for itself if it sells its product successfully and gets rid of that ridiculous 10 pounds charge.
I agree with you I cannot understand Jet2 not flying to Malaga twice a week in the winter I would have thought that there was a good market there but I am sure they have done there homework.
Incidentally I have a certain affiliation to Blackpool as I took my first flight there over 50 years ago in a Dragon Rapide with a 20 minute trip around the tower.

compton3bravo

Unfortunately my daughter is like an only child, because her brother and sister are both in their thirties also.

When she was younger we where able to do a mixture of things on holiday, but as she approached her teens, we allow her to bring a friend, so culture is on the back burner for the time being I am afraid. I basically agree with 95% of your original post.

As for BLK I think I despair - It is my airport of choice, but the destinations are very limited. No existent almost through the winter. I am having to travel from MAN to get to Lanzarote in May, as there is no Canary Island destination or East Mediterranean at that time from BLK.

I think Blackpools future has been blighted by the JET2 decision to fill FRs boots as MAN, and will remain a niche airport for second home owners for the foreseeable future.

FR was good for BLK is some ways, their Girona flights appeared in the drop down lists of on line travel agents, and that makes an airport known.

Ernest Lanc's
The "BLK"s third based aircraft story is getting tired. In the BLK thread you refer to it as being "A dark day for BLK when FR pulled out of MAN" Please can you tell me which of the following have taken over Ryanair's gaps out of Manchester:-
MAN-PRG (CSA pulled off)
MAN-DBV
MAN-SPU
MAN-REU
MAN-LPA
MAN-VCE
MAN-FNC
MAN-MIR
MAN-KGS

None of the above routes are replacements for those that Ryanair previously operated as taken from FR's website - Barcelona (Girona), Bremen, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt (Hahn), Marseille, Milan (Bergamo) and Shannon, and I would be surprised if all bar PRG don't have some sort of tour operator support, which BLK presuambly can't offer to most "niche" markets, which increases the viability to the operation of the new routes and reduces the risk to yourself, especially in an economic downturn. If a tour operator buys 50 seats a flight off you you now only have to sell 98 in house on a B733.

With regards to a Poland route, if Jet2 can only offer a twice weekly rotation out of an established base like Leeds with a good variety of routes do we really think that a BLK-KRK could work?

BLK
 

Just reading over a couple of days worth of posts and I personally think that the £10 charge can stay as long as the free parking stays. Free parking for 12 days is worth about £75 to us, so the extra distance to Blackpool instead of Manchester or Leeds is well worth it. Doncaster does not suit us despite being very close - the flight days and times don't suit.

I think Ernest's point was that MAN's expansion comes on the back of Ryanair's exit. As Ryanair have moved out, people will want to go somewhere else on holiday - oh look, Jet2 have good deals to Venice, Maderia, etc. People aren't created from thin air. At the moment air travel is falling not increasing so there is very little way to create demand, just take it from other routes.

Also, during the winter Jet2 have more aircraft spare than BA yet in the summer it is a different story. They push aircraft to their most efficient and, although they have new aircraft coming in, they are seen as more beneficial elsewhere like at MAN.

Finally, Ryanair have the clout to HHN/FRA and CRL/BRU up against the nantional carriers (figures actually showed it made little difference to LH/SN), LS aren't up to the job.

RM5 Fan.

I don't know why you feel the need to duplicate posts, I have read the one I am answering on the JET2 thread.

MUFC_fan is right - I was meaning that when JET2 expanded into MAN after FR vacated, I knew the probability of new routes and more so a third based a/c at BLk for 2010 where becoming remote, despite it still being only October 2009.

I never said LS was taking over like for like routes at MAN from FR.So that makes your question little more than rhetorical on both threads.

To pax who used BLK as an airport of choice, the third a/c based story as you put is is far from being a tired base for discussion. Reason being after FR left BLK in a huff - LS publicly gave their qualified support to BLK, with talk of new routes and possible a third a/c for summer of 2010. Of course RM5 Fan you are entitled to your opinion.

When we see New Routes:-

Flights fm East Midlands:

Advert links removed


Yes East Midlands.

Flights fm Manchester:

Advert links removed


Then we BLK users are entitled to ask - "What about us"?. "What about the third a/c"?. No new routes for BLK on the JET2 site. there is a net loss of one route with IBIZA and MAHAN going, and BLK being chucked the crumb of Jersey.

I think take-off sums it up well at the moment.

Personally I think Blackpool have just been unfortunate in that two too-good-to-miss business opportunities simultaneously at EMA and MAN has stretched the resources of Jet2 to maximum, and is probably the reason that Jet2 have dropped the two less profitable routes of IBZ and MAH for 2010.

It may appear that Blackpool have lost out but on the other hand, at the moment it may be just a case of wrong time-wrong place for expansion.

I agree there TSR2, More to be gained by JET2 expanding at MAN and EMA than the backwater that seems to be BLK.

LS are a hard nosed business company that will succeed, and they walk over their customers even as I have found out personally in recent days.

No matter my personal gripes - LS are expanding even in this strapped for cash period, and they won't invest in uncertainties at the moment at least like BLK. Who can consider themselves unfortunate the LS had a window at both larger airports.

Ernest Lancs
 

Sorry to hear that you feel that you have been walked all over but my experience in dealing with Jet2 has been positive.

About 18 months ago I booked return flights from Manchester when the baggage allowance was 20Kg. A couple of months after booking, Jet2 quietly reduced the allowance to 17Kg. I wrote to Jet2 Customer Service in Leeds asking for confirmation that they would honour the booking conditions applicable at the time of booking. Not only did they respond positively by return mail but even included a letter to present at check-in 'to avoid any confusion'.

My problem TSR2 was that their booking engine on their website was not working correctly.

I booked from MAN to Lanzarote end May returning first week in June.

The on line booking is now silly because it is by default with the baggage, rather than a separate entity.

Anyway by default the engine selects on line check in unless you change from the drop down (which I did not).

I proceeded to the next stage and received a pop up telling me I would have to check in one line only from 28 days prior to flying, do you wish to carry on - I off course clicked YES, as I never check in at the airport.

I did not select seats at this stage as there are plenty left, and have not decided were we will sit.

So I got yet another annoying pop up saying if I did not choose seats, they could not guarantee we would sit together - Did I want to select seats now - I declined and continued.

After I had paid I noticed to late that I had paid for an unwanted more expensive airport check in.

I thought a fault - and that can happen I know only to well struggling with Internet banking sites, and wrote to JET2 at Leeds explaining what happened.

Being on line check in is selected by default, very very unlikely I made a mistake.

I got a letter back from JET2 saying they don't make good customers mistakes, hope I will fly with JET2 again, also they said they could not change my airport check in to on lien check in. - a very curt letter.

I have used JET2 a lot since it commenced from BLK - going back to 2006, two three times a year. Did not complain in October 2008 when the a/c aborted take of at BLK because of a smell of fuel in the cabin, and had to wait ages paying for drinks to keep kids pacified. I was out of pocket for their problems.

I have been a loyal user of JET2 - And to be treat like this goes down bad with me - They are IMO after this experience just as bad as FR when it comes to looking after their pax.

On line check in is by default - not altered it should have still been there when I had payed with Pay Pal - I am £18 out of pocket and they are that tight they won't make it good. Web site can and do act strange, and JET2s booking engine is no different.

I am more disappointed with JET2 than annoyed, all the noise made by PM caring so much about his passengers is now IMO just ballyhoo.

I do not include JET2 cabin staff in this rant, or their excellent pilots, or indeed their pleasant check in staff - Pity the staff at Leeds are not as conscientious about how to treat loyal customers.

Well Ernest your problem may just have a silver lining. There are more check-in desks at Manchester than Bag Drop desks and as more people seem to check-in on-line these days, you might just have a more speedy check-in.

That would be good - The 'fast' bag drop queue at BLK is longer these days than the airport check-in queues.

The £18 I have lost may also be the difference for myself and my wife not having to pay the base fares for the summer holidays to Spain, or wherever, because I get 18 points for the overcharged £18.

That's another thing JET2 knew when they wrote that letter - I am hardly going to fly with another airline when I have over 2000 points, not counting the points I will receive for booking to wherever - That might mean enough points for my daughter.

Nice to see BLK adopting a very 'international' method of having the final destination of the aircraft on their departure boards for the Manx2 flights: Belfast City.:ok:

September 2009 passenger figures
 

IOM 2359 63%
DUB 1779 69%
FAO 4561 91%
ALC 4368 87%
AGP 5523 89%
MJV 3474 90%
PMI 5312 90%

Notes:

• IBZ, MAH and BFA still to be published fully
• Manx2's BHD flights carried nearly 150 passengers last month directly from BLK

The Spain and Faro routes look first MU - Will be interesting to see how IBZ and MAH performed, I am not sure LS was justified in pulling them just yet.

MAH had 171 passengers in September. Load Factor ?

An interesting fact from the CAA statistics.

Comparing the total number of passengers in Sept.09 with Sept.08 for Blackpool and Manchester on the sunshine routes.

Manchester figures in brackets :

Malaga -1.97% (-19.59%)
Alicante -0.66% (-21.76%)
Murcia -2.50% (-18.74%)
Palma -3.24% (-20.43%)
Faro -2.69% (-24.27%)

Makes you think again why the plug was pulled from the BLK-IBZ/MAH routes.

If I have read your numbers correctly TSR2 - Astonishing.

EL & TSR.

Remember the Manchester figures are based on X No. of flights per day,
Blackpool's are based on one daily flight or just two or three per week,depending on destination.
With Jet2 pulling the plug on some flights, from Blackpool,then one can only assume (as has been posted before),yields are not good enough.
I would also think that the cost associated with running an out station, compared to LBA or Manchester, would also needed to factored into the equation.
Regards,
Jubilee