Citystar ABZ-BLK ??

[Richard Taylor]

Rumours starting to appear elsewhere that Blackpool will be Citystar's next destination out of ABZ,presumably after their 2nd DO328 is delivered.

Once daily rotation apparently being proposed.

Not mentioned on their website,but Reykjavik,which everyone assumed would be their next destination(due to the Icelandic connections)has disappeared.

What is there in Blackpool? I've heard rumours of a prom,some donkeys & hell,even a tower!! ;)

[IB4138]

The connection could be off-shore oil and gas production!

[Richard Taylor]

Buenos Dias,IB ! :ok:

Yes,that is exactly where the demand(if there is any!)will be.

What else ?? :rolleyes:

Suppose the odd tourist isn't out of the question.

[sarah123]

Do you have a website for this airline? Ive had a search and cant find anything with the name Citystar.

[Richard Taylor]

I can get access by typing in Citystar Airlines in my AOL search engine.

I tried http://citystarairlines.com but didn't come up.

Try [email protected],may get in that way(though not by clicking onto my link !!)

[rufus.t.firefly]

Seemingly an announcement is due in the very near future
(locally) about new routes ( INTERNAL & INTERNATIONAL) from EGNH.

[sarah123]

Sounds interesting. Do you have any ideas as to where?

[virginblue]

Why would that depend on a 2nd Dornier ? the aircraft has ample time between the two OSL rotations. It sits on the ground at ABZ from 1025 - 1710. Or is the idea to operate the route twice daily ?

[rufus.t.firefly]

Yes once daily - probably morning is the scuttlebutt . That means you can't day trip , you need to overnight at one end !

[garethjk22]

What is there in Blackpool?

Well, let me see, the UK's largest and one of Europes largest tourist attractions, and the UK's leading conference and exhibition venue, with over 21 million visitors a year.

The UK largest and most visited Theme part

The UK's second largest theatre and live performance scene

The UK's premier golf resorts in Lytham

The UK's largest concentration of Aerosapce industries and home of the Eurofighter programme

The closest and easiest airport for access to the lake district with it's 17 million visitors each year

7 premiership football clubs within an hour drive;

2 large cities and 2 large universities, around 6 million people living within an hours drive;

A very large oil, gas off shore operations, nuclear production in Cumbria;

The only airport conveinently located to serve the lancashire and cumbria regions (the others are all length traffic jams away)

Apart from all that, yes there are even a few donkeys on the beach ... So, stop being so dismissive of Blackpool, it may have a reputation, but there is a lot more to it than most people realise.

[Big Tudor]

And don't forget Mr Taylor, Blackpool has got one thing that ABZ is seriously lacking.

SUN :cool:

[Oshkosh George]

OH SUN! What year was that,must have missed it!

And Richard's link worked for me.

[rufus.t.firefly]

Garethjk22

Any announcements soon then ?

[PPRuNe Radar]

The UK's premier golf resorts in Lytham

The UKs premier golf resort ?? How so ??

[Richard Taylor]

I don't know,go away for a few hours & all hell breaks loose.

I KNOW Blackpool is a very nice place,been there before !

The wink after my first post indicated I was only joking about the attractions,but thanks for the reminder anyway.

I would be interested in stats for sunshine between Blackpool & Aberdeen though.Mr Taylor is well aware the sun shines in Blackpool but(believe it or not & whisper it!!)it DOES shine here as well.Of all Scotland's cities,Aberdeen recorded most sunshine last year & year before,as we are to the east of the hills.We get our rubbish weather & we get our good weather,as everywhere else.AND,it can even get - GASP!!- W.A.R.M. as well !!! +24 degrees forecast for Sat,if you believe some forecasts.

Aaaaaanyway.....I welcome any route out of my airport,believe me.

Has BLK been served out of ABZ before....or should that be ABZ served out of BLK before ? Seem to recall Lakeside Aviation with either a JE31 or a CE404,but stand to be corrected(but I am going back to the early 90s).

Just CALM DOWN guys !

[Big Tudor]

Lakeside rings a bell (very distant I admit) but one seems to recall they were more charters than schedules. I stand to be proved wrong though!

BTW Dundee claim to be the sunniest city in Scotland. 1400 hours last year they reckon. :ok:

[sarah123]

Have I got time to get a post in here inbetween all the arguing?

Diff topic but related to BLK is A2B airways. Ive put a post on their today after seeing press release today. Very ambitious indeed. Citystar may need to hurry as ABZ might be A2B territory
soon if you believe what you read.(its under BLK to IOM service topic in this forum by the way). Saves me writing it out again.

SUN! I suggest you all agree that neither has the climate of the med and book a lo-co flight out there together and discuss the issue with a sangria(if I spelt that right!)

[Richard Taylor]

Apologies to Dundee :ok:

Having said Aberdeen is usually sunny it has been pretty cloudy all week...looks like I picked the wrong week to take a short break :rolleyes:

Should have travelled to..............Blackpool !

[Big Tudor]

Quid pro quo :ok: . Aberdeen is still home as far as I am concerned!
:p
Back on track. I am pleased that so many airlines see ABZ as a development prospect, not before time IMHO. The cautious (pessimistic) side of me does wonder how long term such investment can really be. North Sea oil has had the death knells sounded for it more times than I care to remember (prematurely if you are to believe the guys who actually work out there). If the black gold does dry up, or if we go through another mid '80s style slump, what market does ABZ realistically have for airlines to service?
I personally believe there is too much emphasis being placed on the business traffic and not enough on the leisure market. Ok, I'm not taking Costa del Portlethen here. However, there is a massive tourist market to the NE of Scotland that isn't being tapped. The Highland games season is in full swing yet there is very little in the way of marketing campaigns to get people there. Hill walking, mountain biking, water sports (brrr), ski-ing (occasionaly), climbing, sitting on Aberdeen beach freezing yer bits off! ;) The tourist board need to improve the appeal if ABZ is to have any sort of lasting market.

[Richard Taylor]

Couldn't agree more Big Tudor :ok:

Seems with the high oil price & independent companies coming in, the oil sector is set fair for a good few years hopefully,both in terms of the N.Sea & also elsewhere,as many people from here travel to different provinces,in increasing numbers it seems.

Certainly more needs to be done to attract people INTO this area (as well as continuing to offer more flights to people locally) as this area does have much to offer but,as you say,how many people are aware of that ?

And YES,I have also frozen my nuts off at the beach,& not a donkey in sight :uhoh:

[U R NumberOne]

If I remember rightly Lakeside flew to Liverpool...but so did ATS Vulcan in the early 90s so I could be mixing them up.

Flybe are expected to announce their new Winter routes next week...if the P&J are to believed Aberdeen will pick a few of them up. They're probably not sunshine routes, but any lo-co flights to add to our massive daily total of FOUR :{ are very welcome.

[Richard Taylor]

UR No.1:

ATS Vulcan !! Now there was a name to remember !!

With a Bandit as I recall.

They did do LPL,but think in those days not sufficient demand.

[garethjk22]

Hi, much of ABZ's economy is built around oil from what little I know of the city.

I didn't intend to upset you Richard, but it seems to me a lot of people on here instantly dismiss Blackpool before anything has the chance to start. IMHO lots of ventures fail because people are too quick to dismiss things, maybe if people spread positive words, things would work more from the regionals.

Anyway, besides oil and gas, you also have 2 very strong tourist destinations, which will help the route, and aerosapce will play a part, but like any scheduled route aimed at business, it does rely in the businesses! Take PHL out of Manchester for example.

[LTNman]

What is there in Blackpool?

you forgot to add:

Dog sh*t on the promenade
Donkey sh*t on the beach
Human sh*t in the sea

Its only Blackpool’s year round artic weather that keeps the cholera at bay

[Richard Taylor]

That wasn't me !!!!!!!!!!

Gareth,if there is to be a route,there is no better time to make a go of it,given both airports are currently on the up...long may it continue.

:ok:

[garethjk22]

LTNMan, sure you aren't confusing Blackpool with Luton?

[LTNman]

LTNMan, sure you aren't confusing Blackpool with Luton?

Don’t think so. No promenade, beach or sea at Luton and the towns airport is a tad bigger.

[IB4138]

Luton has (In)Capability Green though!

[dada]

there was a link in the early 80's by air ecosse with a twin otter.
get this though - it routed thus

liverpool, blackpool, barrow, carlisle, glasgow, aberdeen!

i'd be surprised if a daily service to abz would work. yes they have offshore doings in common, but why else would you want to fly betwen the 2 places?

[Oshkosh George]

Maybe you can't get candyfloss in Aberdeen? or Bingo? And I've never seen Aberdeen rock!

[IB4138]

I used to fly MME to Blackpool on Genair... I was often the only passenger. The service didn't last long!

[dada]

LTN man

to continue your observations
human s~~t on the bedsheets
p**s in the ensuite sink
sp*nk on the carpet or mat or lino depending on the quality of your accomodation

any advances?

[EI-CGO]

I heard that the new route was to be Haugasund, but that may be wrong.

Blackpool eh ?? It will be just like those old Air Ecosse days !!

[dada]

haugesund. nice place to arrive in a boat up a fjord, but why on earth would you want to go there?

[Oshkosh George]

I could have sworn that NOTHING could have put me more off Blackpool than I was already.

Your 1513 post just DID that! Thanks. I've been there twice,god knows why!

[ABZlad]

And I've never seen Aberdeen rock!

Have you tried Justice Mill Lane on a Saturday night? :O

[Richard Taylor]

I've not yet seen it reported officially,but apparently this route is due to commence July 11, 5 x weekly.

2nd DO328 being leased in.

[Cyrano]

Are Citystar doing lots of ad hoc charter as well, or how are they keeping their aircraft busy and earning?

A/C 1: two rotations ABZ-OSL per day, say 8 block hours daily
A/C 2: one rotation ABZ-BLK per day, say 3 block hours daily...

It's not exactly "sweating the assets" now, is it? :confused:

[Richard Taylor]

Just got my morning local paper,it is on the front page,so looks like it's happening.

Says twice DAILY with DO328.

Citystar say they were approached by businesses who have interests in Morecambe Bay,but the airline hope to attract the leisure market as well as the oil/gas industry.

Route to start July 11.

Designed to appeal to those who don't want to endure a 7hr train journey,or have to fly via Manchester or Liverpool.

[Jet2LBA]

ABZ-BLK is now also announced on Citystar's website. Will operated once daily during the middle of the day. Good news for Blackpool!

[Richard Taylor]

Never trust a newspaper ! :rolleyes:

[BPL321]

Just had a look on the airlines website. Good week for BLK as flights to AMS were also announced yesterday. Just dont bank on it being published on the BLK website. For some reason they dont like updating their website which I thought would have been the 1st port of call for people interested in what services BLK has to offer.

[garethjk22]

The route is having a split launch, I.e. a delay in announcing to the Lancashire press, this is because of the A2B announcement regarding AMS earlier in the week. The official launch at the BLK end of the route is tomorrow lunch time, when the airline will be visiting BLK

Now, middle of the day, between the 2 x oslo makes for very good utilisation of an aircraft if you ask me.

[rufus.t.firefly]

Mid day is okay for joe public , but if you are attending a business meeting at 10.00 and want to come back at 18.00 the same day
then it'll be either BMI or BA from Manchester. Red eye departures
and evening flights back.

Try to find a cheap hotel in Aberdeen for an overnight stay !!

Good luck to City Star with this venture but personally the times
are duff ... hope they prove me wrong

[Meeb]

I believe the Blackpool service actually starts next week...

[FlyboyBen]

"Never trust a newspaper !"

More specifically Richard, never trust the P&J!!!

[garethjk22]

The route, if you read the press release is aimed at the leisure markets into BLK and ABZ and more specifically the Oil and Gas Industry. Between these two industries there is more the significant demand to fill a daily flight.

The demand, as has been spelt out is driven by a particular industry which generally do not require day returns, as the business is off shore - the service is timed at the request of the customers.

[Meeb]

Flights can now be booked on their website for Blackpool, but look at the price... :mad:

Even booking 4 months hence shows a return trip cheapest at £180! Flexible fare £300!

Doubt this is sustainable but wish them luck anyway. :p


Edited to add that if this route is underwritten by some oil company or other then I guess it might just work in that they do not need Joe Public to travel... ;)

[rufus.t.firefly]

Dont forget to add the cost of a hotel overnight , £££ in ABZ ,
£ in Blackpool (not the same standards).

Man - Abz - Man BMI Day Return can be had for £100 -£130
if you book in advance.

I wish them luck but at that price , dont think its attractive enough , if your chopper flight comes in at 08.00 in the morning
at BPL you have to kick your heels for 5+ hours , you could have been nearly at ABZ in a hire car ! for a third of that price.

On a seperate note - hope A2B flights to Amsterdam are pitched in comparable with lo cost operators to Schipol or they'll be a dead duck !!!

The initiative is excellent but the times and pricing are pants !!

[garethjk22]

Rufus,
Have we not been round this whole hotel stay thing before. The service is aimed and timed to appeal to the guys on the rigs, they arrive in ABZ around Lunch time, so perfect time for a transfere to BLK.

There is no Hotel stay unless you are a non oil person travelling, and they will be relatively low in numbers I would guess. The frequency has been delivered according to what the oil companies have asked for!

prices are comparable with the train, but take an average of 6 hours less. You could get a flight to manchester but then you would havea 2 hour train journey (or 1.25 - 1.5 drive) back to Blackpool. The prices may be high for the leisure market, time will tell.

The A2B service will see lead in fares c.£30 each way + tax, so I understand.

[rufus.t.firefly]

Garethjk


Point taken , and valid , but I note your answer has the service likely to appeal to oil workers flying the ABZ to BPL leg , aimed at the chaps working North Sea probably - coming home , not the
guys in the Irish Sea who may be going back home to ABZ after whatever work pattern they work off Blackpool then.

It was just an observation and as I said I wish City Star well , only time will tellif the route is a winner.

Hope the A2B Amsterdam fares are as attractive as you've posted
if they are that could be an interesting route for Blackpool then