NEWCASTLE - 8

[10 DME ARC]

HH - Me never!! But tourist hotels still do and you can get cracking deals this time of year......

[GrahamK]

Are BA going to beat TOM in putting the 787 through NCL first? Read elsewhere 8th August to/from EDI?

[Markie11]

Do you know or are you aware of the issue/s with this plane?

[Boris1]

Nice to see the -200LRs popping by. An aircraft of the 77Ls size is better suited in terms of loads etc.

[Luke 1]

Any ideas what flight 6y206 from Manchester due in at 0550 might be ?

[HH6702]

Until Saturday next week apart from Wednesday it is planned to be a 200!!

[chaps2011]

Luke 1
It shows on Manchester board as PVJ320 but is cancelled so at a guess it was
an A320

Chaps

[EK77WNCL]

Oh nooo...

I can see this descending into another "emirates cant work from Newcastle" argument. Not particularly directed at anyone, but I don't think that the 77L is an appropriate size for NCL on a permanent basis. In the current situation, the peak (or trough) of Dubai's low season + Ramadan + Emirates' 777 fleet being messed up... Yes, the 77L works well when some flights may be leaving with 100-150 people on. But, my return flight on the 31st August currently has, on a quick skim through count, 277 passengers booked in Economy alone, and the 77L with First blocked off, carries 254 passengers, so that may cause some problems. Admittedly, the outbound only has 160 pax which would be best suited to a 77L, but as Emirates seems to have worked out. Although it can hurt the load factors occasionally, whatever the 77L can do, the 77W can do better, or at least the same.

Not wanting to cause any arguments... Just thought i'd input a little :)

Martin

[SWBKCB]

Thomas Cook launches new flights from Newcastle Airport to Kos - Journal Live (http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/thomas-cook-launches-new-flights-5430481)

Sure I've read a longer version of this story which confirms that the base for next year will be 2 757'a and an A320 from a 'partner' airline on a damp lease (TCX cabin crew), but can't find it now...

On a related note, 6Y206 this morning was YL-LCL returning.

[Luke 1]

Thanks for clearing that up

[Boris1]

Why is it, whenever someone mentions the Emirates, a mass of essays about it seem to occur. Yes, it may be NCLs only scheduled long hauler, but it isn't the be all and end all, and isn't the 'daily fully loaded departure' people think it is.

[SWBKCB]

Maybe because people keep making comments like...

and isn't the 'daily fully loaded departure' people think it is.

A cursory look at the CAA stats will tell you that - however, the only people who matter are EK management, and so long as the route keeps contributing to their strategy they'll be happy. When it doesn't, it'll stop.

[Jamesair]

and don't forget the valuable cargo element of these flights.

[GAXLN]

.... or the network contribution the flights make or how busy Business Class has been since the aircraft upgrade. Sadly Boris1, you appear to have an axe to grind. Please consider grinding it elsewhere. The flights have been operating for nearly six years now so the time to say it will not work has been and gone, as have the A330's from Newcastle which you recently predicted will return.

[Boris1]

This is exactly what I am talking about. Anyone speaks out against Emirates, and everyone kicks off at them. I am entitled to my opinions on the matter. And I wasn't the only one who predicted the return of the A330 (innocent computer error at EK, suppose that's my fault as well is it?). But as GAXLN points out, I 'have an axe to grind'. Yeah ok....:

[Markie11]

Is there anywhere that I can find out the reasons for YL-LCL going 'Tech' so often over the last few weeks?

Does anybody have this info or know any details of where it can be sourced?

[SWBKCB]

I'd be very surprised if this is in the public domain.

[Jamesair]

Probably want to keep it quiet I should think.

[Yak97]

From the Telegraph an article about flights booked through the Government system

Minister's veto keeps public sector jet set's £77m flight bill a mystery - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10219812/Ministers-veto-keeps-public-sector-jet-sets-77m-flight-bill-a-mystery.html)

Among the hundreds of internal flights was an economy class trip from Birmingham to Newcastle, booked through Eastern Airways at a cost of £1,744. The three-hour journey costs £144 by peak-time standard class train.

At that rate you can see why EA want to keep the route running!

[apaul]

£1,774 is about five times the maximum you can pay for a return flight from Birmingham to Newcastle.

[Heathrow Harry]

almost certainly someone making a block booking for several people

[Currock Base]

Seems that the airport have let the cat out of the bag with a message from a social networking site.

BA787 due into NCL around 10AM Thursday from Manston, leaving around 13:00 for EDI.

Does anyone know why this site replaces something rhyming with Bitter with pPrune?

[VickersVicount]

I don't think it was a secret. Has been known about in various circles for weeks

[JonnyH]

TCX6524 delayed from NCL this evening.

Does anybody know is this a tech issue or has the aircraft in question positioned elsewhere to operate another flight? I believe it's G-JMCG.

[Charlie98]

Seems like JMCG has gone tech, i thought that was YL-LCL's job :}

Will MT be chartering in an aircraft to cover?

[GrahamK]

Not just TCX. TOM had a 757 in earlieer

[JonnyH]

JMCE has positioned in to do the mornings rotation to NBE.

JMCG left at around 8 this morning to DLM with a hefty delay.

[GrahamK]

Is NCL a bit busy at the moment, it seems that the inbound EZY from AGP is holding off the coast at 2,000ft. Don't think I've EVER seen a/c holding to get into NCL :confused::suspect:

[Richard Taylor]

Weather, maybe?

[fl dutchman]

Do they still have 1 x 320 and 2 x 319s at NCL. Today it looks like 3 x 319s?

[SWBKCB]

Appears to be 1 x 320 and 2 x 319s still (there is a third 319 comes in BRS about 07.30 each weekday which then goes to one of the Spanish destinations and then back to BRS)

[IrishFlyer2013]

Aer Lingus Regional will be starting DUB-NCL from 24th of Oct. Flights are bookable on the Aer Lingus website.

[CentreFix25]

Good connections and prices to NY. If they run it long enough this time and promote it properly it could be a winner.

[GrahamK]

Excellent news :)

[Jamesair]

Very good news especially as it's 2xdaily M - F & Su, 1 Sa. operated with a mix of ATR 72/42 a/c.

How will Ryanair respond????


No news announcement today on the airport website....they seem very slow to act when there is important route news like this.

[GrahamK]

James, they still haven't announced Easyjet to TFS!

[Jamesair]

I know, I nearly added that, Graham (I wanted to hide their blushes).

[10 DME ARC]

Boys running an airport you constantly have to 'balance' lots of things. Easyjet got a load of publicity them selves for the TFS, now if the airport was seen to be rubbing other noses in it!! i.e. other operators who already fly to TFS.....

As for the new DUB flights well every one has a timetable to run to and its not up to the airport to go against such things. Has EI publicly announced it?? Your average Joe public won't know the flights were in the 'system'!!

Purely my thoughts.......

[chaps2011]

Some very good figures out of EK for July up 24% upto 17,180


Chaps

[Jamesair]

Also AMS up another 28% to 32,187

[JonnyH]

Anybody any knowledge of why and where TCX6107 has been diverted?

[JonnyH]

UPDATE: Apparently a distress/emergency signal and travelling over Yorkshire Moors currently back down south.

EDIT: Apparently a problem with one of the flaps and therefore diverted to Manchester because of the longer runway.

Answered my own question!

[Charlie98]

At least shes landed safely at Manchester, i wonder which 757 will cover the DLM rotation tonight or if we will have a chartered AC in.

Edit: G-FCLA is now positioning in from EMA

[JonnyH]

Pretty sure FCLA had a 7700 emergency call a couple of days ago too. Hope it isn't a sign of things to come.

[ash666]

Passenger survey (from the BBC):

.......Of the larger airports with four million or more passengers a year, Newcastle International came top with a customer rating of 69%.

[10 DME ARC]

Really surprised no one noticed EI and NCL's announcement of the DUB service yesterday?? After all the worry about it last week...........

[Jamesair]

I did notice and would have mentioned it, but I have just managed to get back online after a computer problem.

Very pleased to see it with an advert as well.

[GrahamK]

Jet2 doing 1 off flights to EWR and YYZ in April 14. I presume these are similar to the "discovery" flights run thius year

[VentureGo]

Also new from Jet2 for 2014 are Vienna & Cologne

[apaul]

Vienna and Cologne are just one-off flights for the last weekend of November 2013.

[LiamNCL]

Does anybody have any info on TCX6024 G-TCBB ? Departed on time at 15:00 now showing 3 hours late arrival at TFS , No record of it on FR24 after a certain point as is common on that route down to the canarys .

[JonnyH]

Indefinite delay marked on NCL's website so can only imagine its had a tech difficulty en route.

[GrahamK]

Diverted back to MAN I believe

[LiamNCL]

TCBB & BC diverting to MAN within a week , there have been some shocking delays from TCX this summer here.

EDIT : TCX6024 9am Departure scheduled from MAN

[JonnyH]

FCLI flew in this morning to cover PMI.

[Charlie98]

G-WJAN is on her way in covering BB's Tenerife rotation - she is due in at about 19:30

[JND6198]

Hey guys Im new to this forum so would just like to say hi! :)
I can't believe the amount times a TCX a/c has gone wrong this summer, most I've ever seen at NCL.
And I do believe that the TCX NCL-DLM route is to operate everyday from next year! Turkey is really taken off in the last couple of years.

[EK77WNCL]

Does anyone know if Newcastle is in for anymore Jet2 routes next year? Heard we're finally going to 8 aircraft after a 1 year delay.

[Jamesair]

I would have thought with just 1 new route this year...PULA and the Alicante based flights changing to based a/c flights next year (assuming the frequency is held at 10 weekly), it looks a good possibility for at least 1 additional based a/c.

Maybe someone has more information.

[EK77WNCL]

Yeah that's what I'd thought too, we were supposed to go 4 733, 2 752 and 2 738 next year but instead a 733 went off somewhere and we got the Titan then the 2 738's went to LBA instead. Supposedly next year though, we're getting 2 of GLA's 752's because they're going all 737's. I don't know how reliable this information is so please do not quote me on it but it's what I've heard. I am dubious though as to whether it's true about the 738's being better suited to GLA than the 757's but who knows...

I really hope we have something though, just about every UK base has had quite a fair share of announcements. Jet2 has really lost momentum at NCL recently, seemingly favouring EMA and GLA with the normal/expected slight increases at LBA and MAN but NCL only gets Pula and 2 of the transatlantic triple :( oh well, at least it is still better than nothing, or a decrease though.

Best get to bed, I have a packed out Emirates 77W to catch in the morning. According to the seat map, prelim 293 Y pax and 42J pax (100%LF). I am unsure as to whether the seat map actually shows Y pax the proper J loads during online check in though. I'll ask the crew and post the proper loads on here sometime soon.

Thanks a lot,
Martin

[JonnyH]

Don't know if its a tech issue or because TCX has shifted planes around but again TCX to Reus delayed by 4 hours this morning. Maybe a bit longer if the last few weeks are anything to go by..

EDIT: Apparently a tech issue again with YL-LCL. Back in the air now but knock on effect all day now.

[JND6198]

Yeah I noticed the TCX to Reus delay this morning must be a problem with the a320 -LCL they leased, its broken down quite a few times if that is the problem

[HH6702]

Jet2 will continue to expand at NCL in the coming years but don't expect it to be like in the past with an extra aircraft a year!!

There is still a few routes that jet2 will add an try.

Other bases will be growing faster than ncl are the likes of gla and ema but these are new bases and until they reach the size of ncl and Leeds and even Manchester things will look like ncl isn't getting anything but it is

The base needs to grow steady over the coming years and jet2 will be fine

[LiamNCL]

If you look back over the last month or so there have been as more 757s going tech here than YL-LCL . G-FCLK/JMCG/TBCB/C have all caused massive delays if I remember correctly LK went tech in SSH causing something like a 30+ hour delay then a week later diverted to MAN 30 mins into a flight.

[alex207]

Any news about a carrier that could take on the LGW route?

[GrahamK]

With APD the way it is, I very much doubt anyone will take over Gatwick.

[Jamesair]

Nothing on Gatwick but I understand that Norwich Airport has listed NCL as one of the three new routes it is targeting in it's expansion programme.

[JonnyH]

LCL has went tech about 7 times, probably more, in the last 2 months. All of the aircraft you mentioned above (FCLK, FCLA etc.) have went tech on one occasion. That's not necessarily unusual.

Big delays include 14 hours from MAH & stranding passengers in Bourgas for almost 24 hours. Also, looking back on this thread there was a 23 hour delay outbound to PFO which eventually had to be covered by another aircraft...

That's not including DLM twice in May.

They're constantly having to get a 752 to in or ES-SAL into cover the rotations. JMCG flew in yesterday evening to do ZTH.

[monarchnew]

You have to remember though that TCX constantly rotate the 757s throughout the whole country so while certain reg's have maybe gone tech "once" in NCL, that doesn't mean they haven't gone tech somewhere else in the meantime.

YL-LCL on the other hand is based only at NCL so it may seem that it is tech more than any other aircraft in the TCX fleet as you are monitoring NCLs departures.

Plus the reason that the 757 is stepping in to do flights when it is tech is because TCX have a 757 with a very limited flying programme which is there to pick up the programme throughout the country when things go wrong.

[JonnyH]

I don't disagree with you on that point. I know TCX rotate there 752s as does LS and TOM.

Perhaps it's easier to compare it with other fleets based A320s. You have the EZY A320 and G-POWI, who is leased from Titan, who is constantly based at NCL for the Spanish routes for Jet2. These aircrafts rarely have issues in comparison with LCL.

My thinking is that if LCL is having significantly more problems than any other based aircraft at NCL, whether it be A320s or 752s, this much surely show that this aircraft is having more frequent difficulties than most of the other TCX fleet and other airlines fleets. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that around 1 tech difficulty per week, sometimes more, is poor customer service and frankly unacceptable.

This aircraft should not be in service if its gonna cause serious problems for pax and many financial implications for TCX - it cannot be cheap sending a relief aircraft every week to subsidise for the loss of LCL.

Perhaps I'm wrong and LS & TOM have more relief aircraft and therefore are able to provide relief quicker to avoid huge delays. But if that's correct I expect someone to point that out!

This is my opinion and, don't worry, I don't expect too many people to agree - most people probably think that post is a load of S**T.

[GrahamK]

I would imagine any extra costs would be covered by Smartlynx rather than TCX, but I stand to be corrected

[LiamNCL]

I would imagine they will be glad to see the back of LCL

[monarchnew]

The only way I could possibly defend the smartlynx aircraft in that respect is to say that maybe TCX are utilising that aircraft more than JET2 and EZY utilise theirs. Looking at the programme for that particular aircraft its programme is jam packed from Friday through to Monday. So if anything goes wrong during that time its going to have a major knock on effect.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sure Easyjet and Jet2 don't operate proper night flights, ie, departing at say 9/10/11/ in the evening, which gives them more ground time to get any issues corrected before its morning departure.

If thats the case then it should definitely be something that TCX need to look into further for the future. As not only will it be costing the company a fortune in bringing in extra aicraft, theres also the issue of this EU regulation regarding the delay compensation.

[JonnyH]

You are correct that it has 2 evening flights and 3 late arrivals into NCL in the early hours of the morning. It's a more tougher schedule in comparison with LS and EZY as you've stated.

I also agree that there may be more time to deal with unforeseen problems. However, I'm not necessarily questioning the length of delays, I'm questioning the amount of them for this aircraft in particular.

I just can't have the argument that the schedule is taken such a toll on the aircraft that it has a tech delay every week. I don't know TCX's maintenance programme and nor do I know any of other stated airlines maintenance programme never mind there maintenance schedule at NCL. I just simply cannot believe that because its got a busier schedule that its causing the aircraft so much trouble - it must be either poorly maintained or it needs to be taken out of service for a substantial inspection - something I imagine TCX & Smartlynx don't wanna do.

Again, someone may correct me if I'm wrong which I may well be. I just think TCX next summer need to consider, carefully, what A320 they base over at NCL. If I was them I wouldn't set foot near a lease agreement or contract for LCL. It must be costing them a small fortune. It would definitely be interesting to know who pays for these delays - Smart Lynx or TCX? As you've mentioned it's not just the movement of other aircraft to NCL, it's the EU thing.

Apologies for boring you, it just bugs me! And I'm sure it really annoys them passengers!

[TSR2]

It would definitely be interesting to know who pays for these delays - Smart Lynx or TCX?

I don't know for certain but it would be a pretty poor sub-contract if the operating airline did not ultimately foot the cost of the delays. Otherwise there is no incentive for the sub-contractor to perform.

[JND6198]

Well the many times I have been up to the airport this summer TCX maintenance have always appeared to be working on LCL from arriving until leaving, seems like there are a few problems with this aircraft

[SWBKCB]

LCL has went tech about 7 times, probably more, in the last 2 months.

Well the many times I have been up to the airport this summer TCX maintenance have always appeared to be working on LCL from arriving until leaving, seems like there are a few problems with this aircraft

Any chance of some facts to support these comments?

One fact for you, TCX used SmartLynx last year and are doing so again this year.

[JonnyH]

Well I think it's clearly obvious they're using smart lynx this year as LCL is a Smartlynx wet lease!

I really cannot be fussed to dig up the correct dates but from the top of my head and looking back at posts on this thread it seems there's been at least 7 delays.

15th June - Delayed 07:20 IBZ flight by 5 hours. Eventually a relief 752 flew into cover. I know this date because this the date I went on holiday!

MAH - Delayed by around 10 hours in July iirc due to some technical issues.

Reus - This was another 5/6 hour delay. Relief aircraft brought in for the overnight Zakynthos flight. This was this week.

PFO - This was a 23 hour delay. 30th July.

Larnaca - 6 hour delay. In the end YL-LCH came to cover.

Bourgas - Again, struck its wand and stranded passengers in July.

There is a couple of other incidents going back in the thread too. Add these to the couple of tech issues, for DLM, in May I think it's safe to come to the conclusion this aircraft is a heap of rubbish.

[BAladdy]

Was wondering if anyone knows if LS encountered many problems with there A320 that they leased from Titan?.
Any news about a carrier that could take on the LGW route?.
BM are planning to announce new more new routes over the next few months. I remember a friend who work at BM saying that they had begun looking into how viable it would be for them to take over some of the BE LGW routes. Personally I think that BM's 49 seater ER4's would be the perfect size aircraft for the route.

[vectisman]

One of the main reasons Flybe are exiting Gatwick is because of the high fees for smaller regional aircraft. The aircraft in their fleet range from 78 to 118 seats. Therefore I am not sure how BM 49 seat aircraft could be viable flying into Gatwick.

V.

[GrahamK]

I notice LS don't have PRG, KRK or ORK for sale for S14 yet. Have these been dropped, or is it just that the NCL base plans have not been finalised? PRG is on sale from other bases.

[Jamesair]

The same three destinations were very late being timetabled last year, especially CRK. All three routes seem to have performed reasonably well this year.

[JND6198]

Well the fact is that I was there and saw the maintenance teams around LCL from the time it arrived til the time it left about 3 times this summer.
And yes TCX leased from Smart lynx this year, as well as last year, and I flew to Dalaman last year on LCI and there never seemed to be problems with that aircraft like there is this year

[Charlie98]

Going back to what was said earlier about the wild possibility of 2 new Jet2 757s from GLA what is the current plan for when the lease of G-POWI finishes, could that's be swapped out for a 757 and another to add 1 to the base. Just a bit of speculation :p

[GrahamK]

GLA has only one 757 based

[CentreFix25]

...and It'll be Winter season when POWI goes back so it won't need replacing.

[Charlie98]

My bad however what I meant is next summer season, what will be replacing WI or will she be coming back again?

[shearer5]

may I just ask - how come Jet2 have not experienced the same misfortune as TCX with regard to technical problems?

their fleet is much older, is it something to do with maintenance?

thanks

[AP1995]

I don't know about Thomas cook however I do know that all off Jet2's aircraft have recently been through heavy maintenance and you can see it has paid off

[OltonPete]

shearer5

I think you might have spoke (or written) too soon - Jet2 757 out of Glasgow this afternoon got as far as overhead Germany and did a 180, descended towards East Mids, held and landed safely but closed the East Mids runway forcing one divert to BHX................Thomas Cook A321.

The 321 has made it back to EMA from BHX but delaying the outbound Thomas Cook Bodrum. Not having much luck TCX!

Have to say Jet2 with their extra aircraft have been much better this year.

Pete

[Jamesair]

A news item on the airport website is saying that the Dubai service has had its best August ever with pax numbers up 40% on August 2012, (I calculate it should be over 18,000). A Large increase in freight carriage is also mentioned.

[Jamesair]

Easyjet release their April/May and June 2014 flight schedules tomorrow, will there be any surprises?

[shearer5]

at the moment you can only book TFS till 19th april - do you know if the service runs beyond that into summer from NCL?

thanks

[BAladdy]

at the moment you can only book TFS till 19th april - do you know if the service runs beyond that into summer from NCL?

thanks
Schedules now loaded up until mid June for most routes. Below are the routes now on sale for S14 along with there weekly frequency for JUN14.

ALC - 1 x Daily
AMS - 4 x Weekly
BCN - 5 x Weekly
BFS - 16 x Weekly
BRS - 14 x Weekly
FAO - 5 x Weekly
JER - 2 x Weekly
PMI - 1 x Daily
AGP - 1 x Daily
MLA - 2 x Weekly
NCE - 3 x Weekly
TFS - 2 x Weekly (only available to book until 23APR14)

Flights to MAH not available to book fir S14

[Jamesair]

TFS was winter only and no sign Easyjet taking over the Gatwick route.

[HH6702]

Hey

Just heard that our 2 based 757's are going to gatwick and Newcastle getting 2 brand new 321's

[TSR2]

Flights to MAH not available to book fir S14

With 9,912 pax in July and being 9% more than July 2012, I will be surprised if the route was dropped.

[JonnyH]

TSR2, I certainly agree, especially after my comments on the Luton thread. It'll be interesting to see.

HH6702, I would be pleasantly surprised if our 752s get replaced by 2 new A321s. I take it the new aircraft you're talking about are the newly delivered ones from Condor. Time will tell.

EDIT: Looking at seating plans on the TCX website it looks like you could be correct.

[Charlie98]

From looking at NCL-BJV next summer it still is a 752, by god I hope they don't take those beauties away - hopefully the Jet2 rumour will materialise

[LiamNCL]

Didn't TCX say on the announcement of KOS that it would be operated by 757s ?

EDIT : NCL - SSH still a 757 , I would be surprised if we got 2 new A321s ! It's a shame they don't give us a 753 :p

[HH6702]

This news was announce to crews at ncl yesterday. I've seen the memo
Also states we are to get 2 of the 4 being delivered by may

Cardiff is to loose its A321 TCX based machine to a leased A321 from another company.

Other airbus aircraft are moving out of gatwick and being replaced by 757 so the same type at each of the bases.

This should also help with delays as the can move the aircraft up if all the same type

[Charlie98]

Hopefully we can get a MT A320 next year then instead of a leased in aircraft.

[planenut321]

HH do you know which company the CWL A321 is coming from? Can't think of that many airlines with a A321 available for lease...

[AirGuru]

Also, are we to retain our TCX crew or is it to be operated by the 'new company' ?

[HH6702]

It was stated in the memo that Cardiff crew would be sent to other bases where type was going.

I'm guessing people at ncl will be offered to move to gatwick to continue flying the 757 or being retrained on the A321

Where do you find out the seat plans for the flights?

I will be seeing one of the pilots tomorrow night so will try and fin out more but he said he will be retrained around Easter time

[HH6702]

It also stated in the memo that next year fleet total will be as follows

31x tcx aircraft
4x leased aircraft for the uk

[LiamNCL]

Was hoping we would hold on to the 757s at least anther summer ! Just JET2 75s from next year then

EDIT : will the A321s have sharklets ?

[Jamesair]

In the year to June 2012 Newcastle re-enters the top 10 UK airports at No.10 replacing Liverpool.

This should make the airport more attractive to prospective new operators and for new routes.

[CentreFix25]

This should make the airport more attractive to prospective new operators and for new routes.

Do you think it makes a difference to the airlines?

Newcastle getting 2 brand new 321's

How does that affect seat numbers, a little less?

[LiamNCL]

215 seats i have seen, a little less than the maximum 220 on the A321 , but dont quote me on it

[Jamesair]

Yes I do, even more so if the annual pax figure can reach 5m which is a critical figure to attract new routes.

[GrahamK]

Yes I do, even more so if the annual pax figure can reach 5m which is a critical figure to attract new routes.

Ok, but what do you do with the fact that the NE is in the depths of one of the biggest downturns in the economy? Especially when compared to other parts of the country.

[Charlie98]

I must say 5 million is way off for us, also we have lost allot of capacity from BY and MT now considering the 757 to 738 drop and now the lesser but still a bit of a dent 757 to A321 what we need is an increase in capacity through new aircraft be it Jet2 or Thomson as these are the routes that get the airport into the 5M figures and then attract further long haul prospects.

[CentreFix25]

Yes I do, even more so if the annual pax figure can reach 5m which is a critical figure to attract new routes

Why is it a critical figure, can you explain?

[skyman771]

Jamesair TFS was winter only and no sign Easyjet taking over the Gatwick route.
Unsure what the delay is, but I heard very recently that EZY are to operate NCL-LGW though no idea as to frequency.:ok:

[Jamesair]

Graham

The state of the economy is bad in the North East but it is also home to some of the most successful companies in the UK. Sage and Nissan to name a couple. As the economy improves so will employment in the large and smaller companies that exist in the area. Although the size of public sector employment in the area continues to be a problem as cutbacks continue.

Centrefix

The 5m figure places the airport in a different category as does the top 10 rating, which raises the airports profile.

Skyman

That would indeed be good news, I hope we get confirmation soon for a smooth transition from Flybe, otherwise thats another 7K + loss of monthly pax.

[TSR2]

if the annual pax figure can reach 5m which is a critical figure to attract new routes.

I think the 5 million mark may have more to do with the airport getting a bigger cut from the retailers than new routes.

[highwideandugly]

am i right in saying..its relly only 2.5 million departing passengers? still good compared to my lego airport at dtv!!

[TSR2]

am i right in saying..its relly only 2.5 million departing passengers?

Yes, you are correct

[Jamesair]

That of course applies to every airport...the figure represents the total throughput of the airport.

[Ph1l1pncl]

On the East Midlands thread they are saying with the new routes announced they have now overtaken Newcastle for next summer with the number of routes from the airport. Is Newcastle due to have anymore route announcements or is summer 2014 finalised for the airport? Are we still having 6 based aircraft or 7?

[Jamesair]

The timetable as is (without Cork, Krakow and Prague requires 6 aircraft...rumours still persist about another a/c or 2 plus new routes.

[JND6198]

Apparently a LS 733 hit a flock of birds departing NCL. Returned safely to land, but did cause 2 flights to divert and some delays.

EDIT: It was LS353 to Krakow

[BoeingGTi]

Replacement aircraft has just arrived from EDI G-GDFE - Anyone know why BA1333 is delayed almost 3 hours after arrival? Got some friends on board who may miss a connection

[JND6198]

Thats not a replacement aircraft, that was the aircraft that was diverted after the incident. It flew to EDI and has just returned to NCL. Also the BA was holding for quite a while earlier waiting for clearence to land so that will have caused some of the delay.

[BoeingGTi]

ah my mistake, just surprised so long to turnaround as it landed before 4 I think

[JND6198]

Yeah it does seem like a long time, but a EZY a319 was diverted to MME and that got back to NCL at around the same time as the LS, ohh and I hope your friends make their connections down in London.

[BoeingGTi]

Doubtful, Heathrow departure is at 7:30 :mad:

weird day at NCL

[JND6198]

Yeah its unusual but things like this do occasionally happen. But it was a good job by the LS pilots to get back down safely. :)

[BoeingGTi]

could not agree more!

[GrahamK]

August Provisional Stats:

Gatwick: 6982 -4%
Heathrow: 42698 +4%
Aberdeen: 2136 +22%
Belfast City: 4446 +19%
Belfast Int: No figs
Birmingham: 336
Bristol: 13603 +5%
Cardiff: 872 -27%
Exeter: 3016 -7%
Isle of Man: 496 -5%
Jersey: No figs
Newquay: 753 + 27%
Southampton: 7901 +4%

Selected Int figs:
Copenhagen: 1561
Paris CDG: 12639 -23%
Dusseldorf: 2858 -29% Miles behind the GLA service, which saw more pax on a single daily service than NCL got on 2 daily last year!
Dublin: 11887 -17%
Amsterdam: 32146 +33%
Stavanger: 2009 -13%
Prague: 2529 - 30%
Krakow: 3590 -11%
Dubai: 18544 +40%


12 month rolling figure for the airport is 4.39m +1.2%, not including the missing figs for JER and BFS

[10 DME ARC]

DXB 40% up!! WOW :D

funny no one commenting on a good rise...mmmmm:hmm::hmm:

[HH6702]

DXB 40% up is very good indeed an long may it continue!!!

Can we see this route hit 20,000 pax a month before the end of December 2013??

Looking at the DUS figures it just shows that certain routes need to be double daily for good figures. Once daily is no good for connections or business trip! Lets hope we can keep the route but long term if it doesn't go back to double daily I can see this route being dropped all together !

[EK77WNCL]

Brilliant news about Emirates, 40% is astounding! Too bad they have never, do not and never will make money from Newcastle. They'll probably pull out in a few months :rolleyes::ugh: In all seriousness I don't know where the naysayers get all their "info" from. 6 years later people! 6 years!

Anyway, hopeful we may break 5 million pax this year. Would be good to see again soon.

[VickersVicount]

57% increase in seats, but just a 40% increase in pax.... Mmm ;)

[OltonPete]

August pax 18544 divided by 62 sectors which equals 299 per flight.

Designated aircraft B77W 428 seats giving an August load factor 69%.

What happened in reality was 7 x 77L, 16 x 3-class 77W's and just 8 x 2-class 77W's, which actually brought the load factor up to around 83%.

I think most would agree a load factor on EK of 83% is pretty good and the only worrying aspect is nearly three quarters of the flights were down-graded from the "usual" aircraft.

As I am sure 10 DME ARC can confirm Ramadan affected the early part of August with BHX also receiving a few three class 77W's although the load factor was over 90% as was Glasgow and Manchester.

Definitely will be interesting to see how EK develop further in the UK outside of London although I am sure they will pleased to get NCL almost up to 300 per flight.

Pete

[JonnyH]

TCX6109 is delayed by 6 hours this morning. Tech issues with YL-LCL. It'll be interesting to know if it does actually leave at the re-arranged slot of 13:00.

[Skipness One Echo]

57% increase in seats, but just a 40% increase in pax.... Mmm
How exactly would you plan on carrying a 40% increase in passengers without using larger equipment? There is an unvoidable jump in size when using larger equipment, over time one expects load factor to rise accordingly, as Glasgow is finding.

[10 DME ARC]

57% increase in seats, but just a 40% increase in pax.... Mmm

What do you want?? :confused::confused:

Olton - Yes Ramadan effect hits big time, Dubai empties in summer as well. From what I can gather Emirates really pleased with the route, it was certainly very full coming back to DXB last Wednesday with a few lucky punters being upgraded joining us in J.

[JonnyH]

The other Smartlynx plane, YL-LCH, has came up to operate this evenings flight to Rhodes after LCL's 9 hour delay.

[EK77WNCL]

I suppose using the 3 class 77W's is better anyway, brings the load factors up and of course, IF we ever het the rumoured 2nd daily flight (and possibly the DXB-NCL-JFK route) I'd hope we might get first class which, obviously would mean it would always be a 3 class aircraft.

[GrahamK]

A lot more 2 class 77Ws being used so far this month.

[Kev 1]

Seems certain this service will commence as of March next year for Summer '14. A quick look at the EZY schedules shows the early morning Bristol rotation being done by a Bristol-based aircraft during the week, meaning the normal NCL-BRS-AGP-NCL aircraft will now route as below:

NCL-based aircraft: NCL-LGW-AGP-NCL
LGW-based aircraft: LGW-NCL-AGP-LGW

There are also a few gaps in the evening schedules for a second daily flight to LGW, though not every day so could be a mix of LGW-based aircraft, or just a 2nd daily rotation on certain days.

Cheers

Kev

[HH6702]

Thanks for the update. Hopefully we may get some other new routes too

[EK77WNCL]

It will be good to see some affordable fares return to the NCL-LON route since we lost STN and I'm sure LGW will be successful for them. Should make connections to other LGW routes much easier, might finally get to GIB!

[CentreFix25]

NCL-based aircraft: NCL-LGW-AGP-NCL
LGW-based aircraft: LGW-NCL-AGP-LGW

Simple yet very effective utilisation of their aircraft, meaning an early flight in both directions.

There's sure to be an early evening flight too, to make it a viable business service. Although my bet would be a LGW or NCL machine doing both legs.

[nighthawk117]

Apparently it is the last ever flight of an RAF VC-10 today, before the aircraft are retired and replaced with Voyagers.

After their mission they will complete a flyby of Newcastle, Warton, RAF Conninsby, RAF Marham, Birmingham, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Leuchars, and Prestwick.

Anyone know what time they are due to overfly each airport?

EDIT: There are two NOTAMs out for NCL:

H4801/13 (NAVW)
N55°02.00 W001°41.00 5nm
Friday, 20 Sep 2013 12:15 to 12:45
Elevation: SFC - 3300
FLYPAST BY SINGLE VC10 ACFT WI 5NM RADIUS 550217N 0014123W
(NEWCASTLE). 13-09-0582/AS 1

H4800/13 (NAVW)
N55°02.00 W001°41.00 5nm
Friday, 20 Sep 2013 11:05 to 11:35
Elevation: SFC - 3300
FLYPAST BY SINGLE VC10 ACFT WI 5NM RADIUS 550217N 0014123W
(NEWCASTLE). 13-09-0582/AS1

[KNIEVEL77]

Newcastle Airport have tweeted that it will be with us at 12.30 today.

[NCIS]

Hi All - RAF VC-10 ZA147 made an on time fly-by down Runway 25 at Newcastle this afternoon. Pic: VC-10: ZA147/F VC-10 K3 Newcastle Airport | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/9836280524) The down side is that I first saw it as East African Airways 5H-MMT more than 43 years ago! Cheers.

[skyman771]

NCIS The down side is that I first saw it as East African Airways 5H-MMT more than 43 years ago! Cheers.
Certainly not a down side but a priviledge! LHR in the late 60's, lived down there & remember it well. Take away Airbus & Boeing & the place no longer has a lot going for it...............:(

[shearer5]

would any of you good folk know if (and when) the Dubai air wing 744 is in this week?

many thanks

[GrahamK]

Thon Antonov 74 is a weird looking aircraft is it not?

[Jamesair]

Krakow is now on sale for summer 2014 at 2 weekly (M and F) down from 3 this summer and Prague at 2 weekly (M and F) same as this summer. Cork is still not bookable

[NCIS]

A Gulfstream V turned up today with the registration T7-TIL, which it seems is registered in San Marino, a tiny state that doesn't have a airport! Pic: Gulfstream: T7-TIL Gulfstream V Newcastle Airport | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/9965774665) To reply to other posts there is a lot of talk about the UAE 747/737s but no hard news. And the Ukrainian An-74 was back today and should be a regular visitor for a short while. Cheers.

[GrahamK]

Do Jet2 not realise they've been operating to Prague and Krakow for a few years now? Very weird press announcement on their website...:suspect:

[EK77WNCL]

NCIS, do you know when we can next expect the An74?

[Jamesair]

I thought the same as you Graham...very weird...even headed "NEW" in the flash advert.

[Jamesair]

A lot of chatter on the TCX thread about the 321 replacing the 757 at NCL in 2014, apart from some definate no's, the definate yes's seem to have it.

[HH6702]

I thought I had posted on here about tcx replacing the 757's for 2 new A321

As Cardiff based a321 is to become a leased in aircraft from a third party.

Heard yesterday that the a320 and 767 of TCX will pass through ncl during this coming winter but not sure on what flights yet

[LiamNCL]

Is it still x1 TCX 757 this winter?

Hopefully the A321s are the sharklet model next summer be intresting to see what the 767 operates when its here

[CentreFix25]

I thought I had posted on here about tcx replacing the 757's for 2 new A321

You did - I remember. Can a fully loaded TCX A321 make it to Egypt?

[HH6702]

I asked a pilot the other day and they may do one of the following

Limit the amount of pax to 200 per flight or
Land somewhere on route maybe DTV as longer runway

They still haven't sorted out the programme fully yet so we may see odd flights being done by 757 still

[highwideandugly]

Nope..Newcastle has a longer physical runway...

[aeulad]

I was under the impression the new A321s with sharklets were capable of a full load on routes like Northern UK to Egypt?

Finnair have just started them HEL-Canaries.

Kind regards

Aeulad

[GrahamK]

Not sure the 321 even with sharkelts or whatever theyre called can do Skiathos-Newcastle nonstop though.

[EK77WNCL]

Hi,

Yes, the A321's with Sharklets do have more than enough range for NCL-SSH, BUT, they can't do it full from NCL's runway. They are being used, or will be being used by Finnair on routes from Helsinki to the Canaries, Egypt and also to Dubai replacing their 757's which are off to Aer Lingus.

The A321's may just mess up NCL, it will struggle to the Canaries and Turkey on bad days and it will also take a really bad hit to Sharm. Especially if it doesn't have sharklets. Also, it will mean that they can't do JSI-NCL non stop anymore, which was bound to happen at some point anyway.

I can hopefully see them realising the mistake and bringing back the 757's for 2015. I think NCL is the wrong airport for this "experiment." They should wait until they have the Sharkletted A321's and they have proven themselves.

[VickersVicount]

The contract for the runway extension at LGSK was awarded and with almost an extra 3T of lift and 150nm of additional range, Id be surprised if there was any major ops deficit compared with a 757 using a charter config with minimal cargo. Just a shame the 02 mirage landing will still exist. Even some 757s have had to stop enroute out.

[LiamNCL]

always had doubts about the A321 and SSH , having done the trip before you get some crippling head winds en route home that pushes it to a 6 hour flight

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

It's a long time ago now - 1995 - but I've twice operated Newcastle - Bangor Maine in a 757-200. I remember that 25 was obstacle limited. On both occasions, we managed to take off on 07 and make Bangor without a tech stop, 6hr 36 min airborne being the longer of the two flights.

[SWBKCB]

I've always understood it was not the absolute runway length but the obstacle limit on 25 which is the problem (although I'm not clear on what the obstacle is!), so if TCX go A.321 they might be hoping for a summer of easterlies.

Alternatively those performance limited destinations could be op as W's by 757's from other bases or with tech stops - seems a lot of disruption to the programme, but do able if they are keen to get the 321's in.

[simonwa]

More issues yesterday with YL-LCL. Hydraulic leak out of Palma leading to diversion to Barcelona. Finally returned to NCL at 08.29 this morning. Will TCX be using Smartlynx again next year?

[JND6198]

Next year we are supposed to be getting an A320, whether it be from SmartLynx or not, thats to be seen.
However the problems with -LCL this year we mostly down to that aircraft being a problem.
S12 -LCI was up here and that had very few problems with that a/c from what I can remember, so just as long as we get a half decent a/c that is not going to go tech every 5 minutes, we might just be OK

[LiamNCL]

its the kind of disruption imo people going on holiday dont need ! lets hope the 757s stay a little longer

does anyone know what the TCX 767 will be operating this winter as mentioned above ?

[HH6702]

The main problem is that the 757's are LEAVING the fleet in the next few years and being replaced by the Airbus A321!!

So really they have no choice and they think that the A321 is best suited to there needs.

Thomson are using 738's as there main type now but have less seats to the A321. Looks like TCX are trying to keep to the same size aircraft

[JonnyH]

There was a small rumour last week that it would be used on TFS and perhaps SSH via LGW.

Can't confirm whether there's any truth in those rumours, though.

[EK77WNCL]

Really hope the 767 rumour is true! Some slack's gonna need picking up!

Would TOM not consider the 737-9 MAX? If boeing can fix it's takeoff performance?

[CentreFix25]

At a time when Thomas Cook must be looking at every single cost (with the aim of reducing it), I think a 767 for 2/3 flights a week is a non-starter.

I would suspect a fuel stop with a based aircraft (A321) is far cheaper than positioning a non-based aircraft and crew for a couple of days.

[EK77WNCL]

What is there were a possibility the 767's could be operated on W pattern from either MAN or LGW. i.e

MAN-TFS-NCL-TFS-MAN
Or
LGW-SSH-NCL-SSH-LGW

I can see a new found tech stop to a popular destination (as opposed to Skiathos which is a bit of a niche destination and has always had them on most routes) being more of a deterrent than crappier flight times on aforementioned routes. Unless it were to depart LGW/MAN late the night before, to arrive at NCL for an early morning departure and afternoon arrival.

I don't know, it's all speculation and in all honesty we're not going to make a difference haha, it's nice to hear other's opinions on the matter haha.

[Jamesair]

For summer 2014 Flybe only seems to be operating NCL - JER on the 3rd and 10th May only.

[fl dutchman]

Yes your right. Have Easyjet forced them off the route, or have the flights not been loaded yet. I see the DTV Jersey flights are scheduled now on an EMB jet aircraft wheras the NCL ones bookable are on Q400s.

[Topjet]

I don't think canaries or Turkey will be a problem for the A321's... They used an A321 at Newcastle in summer 2004 when I was a dispatcher and it flew to Dalaman, Las Palmas and Paphos from what i remember off the top of my head. If I remember correctly they started using flap 3 takeoffs on both 320 and 321's which solved most of their performance issues(they would tech stop often at MME pre 2002ish) but havn't heard of one making a tech stop since.

[NCIS]

Hi All - The UAE 747 A6-HRM was back at Newcastle this morning and parked near to the terminal rather than on a remote. Boeing 747: 26903 A6-HRM 747-422 United Arab Emirates Newcastle Airport | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/10036670105) Cheers.

[MMCMME]

Anybody know the reason for the sudden influx in UAE Gov aircraft this past week at all?

[simonwa]

It seems that the rumour may be true. Some of the seating plans have been changed to A321 layouts on TCX flight only website. It would seem that at the moment it is showing a mixture of A320, B752 and A321. They could be just in the process of updating all the seating plans.

[CentreFix25]

Anybody know the reason for the sudden influx in UAE Gov aircraft this past week at all?

This time every year they come shooting, grouse or whatever shooting season we're in. I'm not part of the yellow corduroy trouser mob so I wouldn't know.

[Jamesair]

Yes, it's the shooting season, there will also be some executive helicopters involved in the operation.

[MMCMME]

Thanks for clearing that up guys.

Some people have too much money huh... :bored:

[JND6198]

Just noticed, that TCX operate A321's out of Belfast that fly to Larnaca and turkey, which is probably further away, without any problems (I think??) so I dont suppose it would be much of an issue from NCL would it?

[EK77WNCL]

Yes, but Belfast has a much longer runway and, as far as I know, no obstructions at the ends. NCL has a short runway with a big hill at the end of the most commonly used runway, 25. Although I've noticed 07 used a lot more than usual this year, or that's how it's seemed to me anyway.

[JND6198]

Ahhh yeah I never thought about that, and yeah 07 is being used a lot more, especially the last few days.
Thanks for clearing that up.

[BFS BHD]

Even with the longer runway TCX uses almost the whole runway taking off from BFS on their A321s.

[JND6198]

And in NCL's master plan they have scrapped the idea of extending the runway because apparently there isnt need for a runway extension with the advancements in aircraft technology

[Jamesair]

MMCMME They certainly have no shortage of money but at least they are spending some of it in the North East.:)

[anthbower1234]

Just booked to SSH in Sept 2014 and my seating plan does indicate A321 Shame to see the end of the 75's at NCL however after being on FCLI yesterday on my return from SSH The 757 TCX Fleet is well past the sell by date and its time TCX move on....:D Will always have fond memories of the TCX/TOM/AMY/AMM/AIH 75'S ive been on over the years from NCL and will miss those Rolls engines taking me on my hols!

[HH6702]

Can someone post the link to me please as I can't seem to find it

Thanks

[LiamNCL]

Regarding the A321s, is the problem engine power or purely down to wing design

[JonnyH]

As someone has said previously, it shouldn't be a problem doing Paphos, Larnaca or DLM etc. No doubt SSH is gonna be the only problem but just a small one at that really.

On a positive note, and I've got my fingers crossed, it should bring a bit more reliability for the pax of NCL. There's been numerous occasions of huge delays, this summer and previous summers too, so here's hoping we get one of the newly delivered ones (risky proposition, it can be, I know).

[EK77WNCL]

On bad days any flights over 4.5 hours will struggle. We will definitely need to have a new sharkletted one because a 15 year old one wont do it without an even bigger hit.

They wouldn't have switched like this if it was never gonna get off the runway with more than 20 people on, but I think that bringing them straight in like this could perhaps be the wrong decision. I think they should have tried 1 A320, 1 A321, 1 757 first, but. I'm sure they know what they're doing. I hope the A321NEO is built with 757-esque overpoweredness.

The A321 has loads of problems. Engine power, although the most powerful in the family render it relatively underpowered, wings are the same as the rest of the family and thus a bit stubby. Also it's (obviously) a bigger plane, which due to it's length and the same landing gear means a shallower rate of climb during the first few hundred feet which, with a hill at the end of the runway isn't ideal.

I like it when A/C use all of the runway though so I don't mind :D but I hope we get those 2 extra LS 757's to compensate.

[SWBKCB]

'The big hill at the end of 25' often gets a mention on this thread.

Can somebody explain which hill it is, and in layman's terms what the effect on operations is?

[Travel Agent]

I have been to Banjul in a TCX A321 from Manchester before which is around six hours, plane was full as the subbed two A321 for a B767, not sure if runway length made the difference there though?

[HH6702]

The NCL-SSH flights will have a limit of 196 pax. That will ensure the aircraft will be able to operate non stop.

However if the trouble out there stops and bookings pick up again and they decide to start selling more seats on the plane then a fuel stop will be required somewhere

Yes the hill does cause a few problems but I'm sure that these new sharklet airbuses won't have a problem.

[10 DME ARC]

The fast rising ground just off the end of Rw25 effects the engine out calculations. Each aircraft has to be able to maintain a sufficient climb gradient with one engine u/s to clear terrain by a set height. Under high weights some types can struggle to do this with the rising ground off runway 25.

[EK77WNCL]

Hi, SWBKCB.

The hill is the one which the bridleway is placed on and although not massive, it does have an effect on 25 takeoffs as previously mentioned. It also effects 07 landings but not much.

[LiamNCL]

YL-LCL is down again ! 3 hour delay to TFS yesterday then was meant to position to alicante on TCX6017 but instead headed to NCL and is being covered by YL-LCE , bit late in the season now.

[EK77WNCL]

Is there any confirmation yet on Easyjet taking over the LGW route? Or Norwegian? Or British Airways? Or Thomas Cook? Or Thomson? Or Emirates? Or ANYONE?!?!

Hoping against hope someone picks it up and that it arrives at LGW by 06:00. Either that or it's an overnight taxi to Stansted, Heathrow or Gatwick, for £250 because getting to London by any other means in order to catch a 7am flight is absolutely impossible!

Anyway enough of my ranting does anyone know if easyjet will take it over?

[ash666]

Even if someone did I doubt it would get to LGW by 6am.

[Jamesair]

Its all gone very quiet again....as well as Gatwick we are still waiting to hear if there will be new routes/additional aircraft from Jet2 (apart from the "NEW" routes to Krakow and Prague.....still no sign of Cork for summer 2014.

[SWBKCB]

Bit of a random thought, but how about travelling down the night before and finding somewhere to stay? A crazy idea I know, but it might just work.

Otherwise, agree with ASH if/when somebody takes it over they'll not be getting to LGW for 6am

[10 DME ARC]

EK77WNCL - You have never ever, or ever will, get a flight that gets down to london to catch a 7am flight!
Its a night stop or over night taxi!

Plane.....train.....or bus down night before stay over and leave fresh!

[Jamesair]

There is at least one good, not too expensive hotels at Gatwick for an overnight, cost two of us £60 for the night.

[highwideandugly]

I'm a bit short of cash..will take you down for £125 ?

[highwideandugly]

And forgot to add.. I will throw in some packets of quavers and wine gums for refreshments?

[ERKRED]

Just checked my booking on Fly Thomas Cook for June 2014 Newcastle to Ibiza aircraft changed from 757-200 to 321-220

[EK77WNCL]

Yeah... I was very doubtful. I cant go down the night before because I have arrangements on the Friday night, but need to be in Rhodes by 17:00 on the Saturday. Earliest I can get there from NCL is via LHR and MUC arriving at RHO at 18:25.

Highwideandugly... I may take you up on that offer. I'll let you know closer to the time. Still 9 months to go.

I do hope 2014 is a good year, LGW and 2 more 757's from LS, I would class as good. A new, more affordable route to CDG would make it a very good year and somewhere exotic like Iceland or Morocco would make it outstanding.

[JonnyH]

G-LSAE tech delay in PFS for LS516. 18 hour delay, as it stands.

[TSR2]

Think you mean PFO.

[JonnyH]

Apologies, I most certainly do. Damn iPhone!

[flybar]

An extra free night in Cyprus:D Repatriation Aircraft left LBA just before 10 tonight

[nclairportfan]

easyJet 2014 summer flights seem to have been released but doesn't appear to include LGW or any other new routes as yet.

[LiamNCL]

G-FCLF made it to SSH after a 3 1/2 delay this morning but looks like its got problems at the other end now delayed prov 23:30

[nclops]

GFCLF was changed into the flight after GFCLI had a problem. GFCLF has a lower maximum take off weight than GFCLI so is having to tech stop at RHO for fuel on the way back.

[JND6198]

Well that explains that, I was wondering why it had stopped at Rhodes and FCLI flew out to FUE on time this afternoon, so it looks like all is sorted.
Also it appears that FCLD has been re-positioned up here from LGW to take the NBE flight tonight.

[SWBKCB]

Flights to US from Newcastle Airport should be top priority, says think tank - Journal Live (http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/flights-newcastle-airport-should-top-6171806)

Interesting comment:
It comes as council leaders unite with business chiefs to try and entice one of at least two targeted airlines to Newcastle. The local authority leaders are hoping they can offer financial support in some form while trying to avoid breaking strict state aid rules.

[LiamNCL]

We would love a direct flight to New York but it wont happen for a while although I do think it will eventually , if there is a 1% chance of it happening then I can only see emirates trying it if they think money is to be made via freight to the west.

[JKKne]

Aer Lingus is probably the best we can get but I think they need to push that route a lot more.

I got an email from EI and all it mentioned was Dublin flights. No mention of immigration clearance in Dublin, no mention of the connection or flight time etc, it was rather irritating.

[Jamesair]

It is certainly being pushed hard on the airport website home page.

[Skipness One Echo]

That's a nonsense report. NCL-AMS-US, -LHR-US, -DUB-US are in place offering easy one stop options across the Atlantic. Any NCL-EWR or JFK would also mean changing to the final destination in the US. The key point in the real world, the one certain peeps need to visit, is could any operator gain enough point to point traffic year round to make it work bearing in mind a lot of travellers will continue to use other existing gateways for points and lounge access.

This is politicians trying to distort a market and "entice" an operator to start. The only two possibilities I can see are American who are currently retiring their B757s from the Atlantic, and United who couldn't make BRS, a much more affluent city, work for them. Delta have dropped EDI and MAN-JFK, so not likely to be heading for the Tyne any time soon. I despair at the commercial awareness of people, whoever they are, who write this stuff.

Summer service a few times weekly by Jet2 might be the other option, more realistic than a US network carrier.

[shearer5]

apologies i do not wish to go off topic but how does G-FCLF have a lower MTOW as G-FCLI? i thought they were exactly the same model?

cheers

[nclops]

Not sure of the reason but GFCLI has a MTOW of about 108000kgs whereas the MTOW on GFCLF is only about 104000kgs (I think). Different engine ratings maybe?

[Daily Dalaman Dave]

It's purely a difference on paperwork. Companies get charged to overfly different people's airspace and those charges are based on the MTOW. If you don't need all of your planes to do long routes then just have some certified to a lower weight by the manufacturer, all the planes are physically identical so could actually carry up to approx 115000 kgs which I think is the max Boeing themselves will certify for a 757-200. They can be re-certified by Boeing for a (big) cost!:ok:

[nighthawk117]

It's purely a difference on paperwork. Companies get charged to overfly different people's airspace and those charges are based on the MTOW. If you don't need all of your planes to do long routes then just have some certified to a lower weight by the manufacturer, all the planes are physically identical so could actually carry up to approx 115000 kgs which I think is the max Boeing themselves will certify for a 757-200. They can be re-certified by Boeing for a (big) cost!


Landing fees are also calculated based on the MTOW of the aircraft. So re-certifying the MTOW to be lower can save a bit of cash in daily operations.

[GrahamK]

15% increase for Dubai, just over 19000 pax. Give it a couple of years I'd expect 90% average loads:ok:

[Joe Curry]

15% increase for Dubai, just over 19000 pax. Give it a couple of years I'd expect 90% average loads

What were the loads like over other gateways from NCL?

[GrahamK]

Will have a proper look when I'm back from TFS. Lovely A300 flight out from MAN, £300 pp cheaper than NCL, GLA and EDI

[ericlday]

Enjoy your stay in the lovely, warm weather.

[Jamesair]

I calculate that the average load to Dubai in September was 318 pax per flight

[TSR2]

I calculate that the average load to Dubai in September was 318 pax per flight

What does this equate to in terms of Load Factor ?

[VickersVicount]

Just less than 75% loads if the planned/offered scheduled capacity on a 2 class 773ER was fulfilled

[TSR2]

Thanks V.V. The Load Factor looks good but not outstanding.

[EK77WNCL]

When you base it on the fact we probably didn't have all 2 class in September, I'd say I'm pretty confident actual load factors will have been in the 80-85% margin. I'd like to hope so anyway.

EK probably run it (it, as in medium haul in general between about 6 and 8 hour sector lengths) at a profit on about 50% if not less when cargo and on board purchases etc. are taken into account.

Lets see if we can break 20,000 for October! Only need 5 more people per flight!

[Jamesair]

Just been reading a report on Manchester Airport future routes and NCL is listed as being on the cusp of needing an air link.

Dubai would need a huge increase on October 12, which carried a weak 13,215 pax

[GrahamK]

Based on the aircraft used during september, more 428 seaters than previous months, a total of 22708 seats were available (of course EK would be selling for 428 seats all month, but anyhow lets see), the average load works out as 83.98%.

Other routes:
Copenhagen 1969
Paris CDG 12330 -26%
Dusseldorf 2962 -32%
Dublin 11103 -16%
Amsterdam 31993 +28%
Stavanger 2094 -7%

Gatwick 7572 -3%
Heathrow 43782 +3%
Aberdeen 2702 +45%
Bristol 14199 +10%
Jersey 2238 +11%
Southampton 8172 +2%

Sunshine routes a mixed bag.

[OltonPete]

September saw 9 three class 77w's used and at an average of 360 seats available per sector I make the load factor around 78%.

Assuming yields weren't sacrificed to get bums on seats (although sometimes that has to be done in the short-term), then it seems to be going in the right direction.

Similar happened with Turkish at BHX, dreadful loads for quite a while then fares we're cut and a big promotional campaign and things turned round dramatically without affecting other hub services - well for a while anyway although there was some evidence EK we're hit for a while when TK went 10 weekly. No doubt TK will be one airline to chase in future for NCL.

However without being too downbeat I see that 10 three-class aircraft have already visited this month on EK35 but Eid does affect loads for a few days and maybe things have picked up again with the last four flights have been two class versions.

Pete

[EK77WNCL]

"Just been reading a report on Manchester Airport future routes and NCL is listed as being on the cusp of needing an air link"

Sorry, could you clarify please? I didn't quite get it haha. Is that talking about MAN-NCL flight? I'd say that's an excellent idea.

Thanks
Martin

[CentreFix25]

Just been reading a report on Manchester Airport future routes and NCL is listed as being on the cusp of needing an air link.

I don't know who would use it, it's cheaper and wouldn't take much longer to drive.

[ash666]

There is also a direct train link.

[Jamesair]

Yes, it was saying that a NCL - MAN airlink was needed in the near future.

NCL now appears on 2 domestic airports wishlists for a new route, the other one is Norwich.

[SWBKCB]

Bring back Gill Air!

[Jamesair]

It would be good to see Turkish serving their Istanbul hub from NCL but I think the fact that it now serves Edinburgh might prevent that happening. I hope not.

I notice that the airport said it was talking to airlines about taking on the Gatwick route.....no announcement yet from Easyjet.

[GrahamK]

Slight capacity increase for KLM this winter, all 4 daily flights being operated by 737s, IIRC last winter it was 3 x 737s and 1 Baby Fokker