OSTEND

[FLYAIR10]

Hello,
Could anybody tell which (British) airlines plan to start scheduled flights between Ostend-Bruges airport(OST) in Belgium and UK-airports? I read in belgian newspapers that there is quite some potential to set up a scheduled Passenger connection between Scotland (GLA/PIK/EDI) and OST. Also the airport has an EU approved incentive plan to help airlines in starting up scheduled flights between OST and regional airports.
In 2014 , it will be 100 years that WO I started and there will be lots of activities in the Flanders region (Ypres,Langemark,.. ) to remember this fact. Many UK families will come over to visit the numerous manifestations and the old battlefields of WO I (and WO 2 aswell). Ostend airport can be a major "port of entry".
So this could be an opportunity for airlines to set up scheduled connections with the British isles ( and hubs such as manchester and London airport(s) to attract also overseas tourists and business-men from e.g. Canada and USA).
On the other hand many belgians/Dutch/French from the Flanders area are willing to travel to UK/scotland/ireland by air, if the fares are right..
So, if anyone is aware of any airline considering to set up an air-connection with OST,it would be interesting to read this..:) Grtz;

[ATNotts]

FLYAIR10

Interesting post, but I fear that the proximity of Ostend to Eurotunnel and many different vehicle ferry routes make flying to the UK ( or indeed UK visitors flying to Belgium) a rather unfavourable option.

For example, you can put 4 people into a car, and get a 5 day return on Eurotunnel for around £ 120.00 (€ 140.00) - so around £ 30 / € 35 per person. OK, so there's fuel to pay for, but provided you are fully tanked in Belgium (preferably with diesel!) you can avoid the higher fuel prices here. I really cannot see any airline, least of all Ryanair who dabbled in Ostend a few years ago, offering inclusive return fares (that is inclusive of all their rip-off add ons) anywhere near those levels.

I was in Ostend only a couple of weeks ago (by car) and clearly you have in OST, a very much under-utilised passenger facility, but a thriving cargo operation and I really cannot see much potential improvement in the PAX side, other than possibly grabbing a bigger share of the IT charter market to sunshine destinations.

I think that Manston in UK suffers from similar problems - proximity to Channel ports, and frankly a pretty small local market.

[EuroChallenger]

Not only the Channel Tunnel, but Ostend has it's own port with a few passengers crossings per day from Ramsgate.

[N707ZS]

He does say routes to Scotland which puts the petrol argument out of the window.

[goldeneye]

The only airline I can see operating to Scotland is Ryanair.

[FLYAIR10]

Thanks for your replies. Of course there is the proximity of the Channel tunnel, but the nearest eurostar station is farther away from Ostend,Ghent and Bruges. Not everyone is travelling with 4-5 people at a time. Also the ferry Ramsgate - Ostend only takes cars,no walking passengers. Catchment area for OST is 3-4 million people.
I never understood why Ryanair started with STN-OST and only that connection. They should be thinking of departure airports farther away from the chunnel such as Glasgow,Edinburg,Dublin to the west and Rome,Lourdes,Barcelona,Faro,... to the South . Berlin to the East. (As manston is doing with MAN & EDI flights by Flybe)
Flybe could be thinking of Manchester-OST. Aer arran/Aer Lingus could be starting up flights to Dublin year round and Shannon in summer.Besides the point-to-point traffic ,that would give some interesting connection possibilities to other UK and European cities ,and even intercontinental such as New York and DUBAI. (Belgium does not have yet a direct connection with this growing city). OST does not have scheduled flights,although the current charter flights are at least weekly and very popular indeed. Last year PAX traffic increased with 10,8 % as compared to 2009(213.000 PAX). So there IS potential ,but someone needs to discover and exploit it properly..:)

[rareair]

Is there a Tabac in departures? If so I could see a market for a 55 min turn around (just enough time to go shopping) with Aer Arran from SEN. No need to actually enter your lovely country.

There is a market in coach trips from Southend to Adinkerke so why not drop a line to the Stobarts.

Other than that, dream on!

[FLYAIR10]

Hey rareair,

London Southend would be a good connection indeed.There are defenitely some common interests between both airports.In the sixties/seventies SEN-OST was one of the busiest routes in the world! .That's the glorious past of course .But there must still be some immediate opportunities Maybe the stobart-group should invest in ostend airport aswell.
And if the point-point-traffic alone would not be sufficient,consideration is to be given to fit this sector in a longer stretched routing ,offering non-stop or 1/2 stop "through" flights for city-pairs involved.Should be seen as a "package" to be implemented together.
Examples: Edinburgh-London Southend-Ostend-Geneva
Belfast -London Southend-Ostend-Kopenhagen
Liverpool-London Southend-Ostend-Nice
Dublin-London Southend-Ostend-Hamburg
Manchester-Ostend-Jersey-Manchester & v.v.
Birmingham-Ostend-Milan
Newcastle-Ostend-Vienna
etc..
Which airline could fit this in their schedule? Flybe would be in pole position ,but others such as Eastern Airways (second hub on the continent?) ,aer arran,manx2,...might be interested in a part of the routings.
Sometimes dreams come through... and BTW,the above routings would allow UK Tabac-pax to make a quick dash in the Ostend city-center (4 miles)and be back at the airport before the return-flight is checking in.SEN-pax could maybe make 2 trips a day..;)
Grtz:)

[FLYAIR10]

Hello,
It has been a while I've been here.
For those interested... see below

Ostend-Bruges International Airport

Traffic figures 2012


Comparison between FEBRUARY 2012 and FEBRUARY 2011

Movements
2,110 in FEBRUARY 2012 compared to 2,435 in FEBRUARY 2011 (-13.3 %)

Passengers
9,153 in FEBRUARY 2012 compared to 9,388 in FEBRUARY 2011 (-2.5 %)

Freight/tons
4,094 tons in FEBRUARY 2012 compared to 5,567 in FEBRUARY 2011
(-26.5 %)


Comparison between the year 2012 and the year 2011

Movements
4,245 in 2012 compared to 4,886 in 2011 (-13.1 %)

Passengers
15,863 in 2012 compared to 16,805 in 2011 (-5.6 %)

Freight/tons
9,142 in 2012 compared to 11,735 in 2011 (-22.1 %)

source:Ostend Airport (http://www.ost.aero/engels/frameset_pas.htm)

[eu01]

Having visited both Ostend and Bruges last year I can only say: enchantee! Especially Bruges is a real gem - for me much more interesting than e.g. Brussels. This airport definitely deserves more attention due to the attractiveness of the region it serves and potential for inbound tourism.

[JSCL]

I fly to Brussels for Brussels usually once a month these days. I decided a holiday to Brugge last year flying in to Brussels. The train from Brussels to Brugge is very good, as is the taxi service from the train station to the hotels in the centre of Brugge.

The airport it seems could do with more attention, but very very seasonal in my opinion. Depending on it's future, I can see BMIR flights working from some Scotland airports to Brugge.

[johnnychips]

Antwerp (ANR) could be considered to be a similar airport to Ostend, the difference being that it can't handle jets. It can only support flights to Manchester and London City.

Belgium is a small country with a very efficient rail network. You can be in Bruges, or actually most places in Belgium about two hours after leaving Zaventem.

Charleroi has developed its own niche handling the low-cost carriers. Even though it has not got a station, you can be in Brussels in forty minutes. It is worth noting that even Ryanair couldn't make STN work to CRL.

The other notable airport in Belgium is Liege, in the French-speaking Wallonia. It is mostly a cargo airport, with holiday flights. Despite being Belgium's third city and being extremely close to Maastricht in Netherlands and Aachen in Germany, as far as I know it has never attracted flights from Britain or other parts of Europe.

[Expressflight]

I believe if JOIN Regional Airlines ever gets off the ground they are planning a Liege to London/Southend service.

[The SSK]

Antwerp (ANR) could be considered to be a similar airport to Ostend, the difference being that it can't handle jets. It can only support flights to Manchester and London City.

I've flown in and out of Antwerp on Sabena 737s.

(and Dakotas, F27s, Convair 440s, Heralds ...)

Natural advantages: I have walked to the city centre in 30 minutes.
Natural disadvantages: I have driven - at legal speeds - from Zaventem to Antwerp Airport in 35 minutes. The direct rail link from Zaventem to Antwerp city is just about complete.

A similar airport to Ostend would be Manston.

[Aero Mad]

I love the use of Manston as an adjective :p

[Phileas Fogg]

Having lived and worked in the (less than) delightful Oostende for some 2.5 years whereas it is/was a cargo airport that only sees/saw passengers on pitiful summer charters and/or in the event of an occasional diversion it remains an airport in a time warp of somewhere around the 1960's.

They obviously tagged 'Bruges' in to the airport title much the same as a mad Irishman's loco carrier has tagged a city title that people might actually want to travel to/from in to many a regional airfield(s) title, the Belgians and, perhaps, Dutch might enjoy Oostende as a holiday destination but the place is a dump, the tap water comes from the sand dunes, and tastes like it does, and as the sewerage is piped straight out to sea just wait until the wind blows inland ..... the stench is delightful! :)

And as for dog poo wherever one may tread, ... well that's another story!

[ConstantFlyer]

I can only say: enchantee!

eu01 - Be very careful saying this in Ostend or Bruges. Try 'aangenaam' instead.

[The SSK]

Liege [...] as far as I know it has never attracted flights from Britain or other parts of Europe

For those with very long memories, Sabena flew a daily Heathrow - Charleroi - Liège with, I think, a Beechcraft Queen Air.

Liège has had some odd connections in the past, possibly the oddest by a now forgotten regional airline Paris - Liège - Maastricht, the latter sector being less than 40 km.

[Steviec9]

Oostende is no more of a dump than many equivalent UK resorts - in fact, it's rather more delightful than many I could mention. However, it's never going to be a 'destination' for more than a handful of non Belgian/Dutch visitors.

It's heyday as a passenger airport has passed - as I have said elsewhere and earlier, I often travelled as a child on BAF from SEN-OST and clearly remember both airports as busy. SEN, after years in the doldrums, has re-invented itself as a regional airport serving a small number of high yield routes, using a large catchment area. OST will struggle to do the same - the catchment area is not there and BRU is only 40 minutes away. Belgium is a small country with good surface transport - it really doesn't need more than two international airports, which it has (BRU/CRL) and an additional niche city airport (ANR), the latter which is never likely to be expanded and therefore stuck with small jets and turboprop ops (again, I well remember the DAT F28 service from LHR). OST is probably stuck with its bit of charter traffic and its cargo ops.

The infrastructure at OST tells its history, not its future. Much the same as SNN. Just because you've got a long runway and a lot of land and a fair size terminal as a legacy from the past, doesn't always mean you will have the traffic in the future. Cheaper car ferries did for OST niche operations and the ability of long distance jets to cross the Atlantic without refuelling did for SNN.

[Phileas Fogg]

StevieC9

Yes, but the likes of Skegness don't have an airport proclaiming themselves to be somewhere that they are not!

[Steviec9]

I can think of many UK airports that are somewhat optimistic in their naming, particularly around London.....

Interestingly, it was the Luftwaffe that developed most of the Middelkerke site as an airport. Even they had an entirely different treatment for Skegness.....

[james170969]

I flew in and out of Ostend with Ryanair a few years ago from Glasgow Prestwick via Stansted. I agree that it's not the most modern looking airport in the world but I don't go on holiday just to look at an airport. What I did find was that getting from the aircraft to standing outside waiting for the bus took only a few minutes and that's what I like in an airport - speed and efficiency. I don't want to walk miles from the check in desk to the aircraft. Ostend might not have the potential to be as busy as the likes of Charleroi but I believe there is potential there for the airport to be used more than it is at present. A couple of years ago the Flemish Government were looking at starting routes from Ostend to Manchester and Prestwick / Glasgow or Edinburgh. Belgium is very underserved from Scotland. The only flights to Belgium are from Edinburgh to Brussels. I used to fly Prestwick to Charleroi but that route was cancelled a while ago. Even then it was such a trek to Ostend. It could take five hours by bus and train. Last year I had to travel from Irvine to Ostend by train which took about 16 hours!!

[FLYAIR10]

Jetairfly(JAF) will introduce new flights from OST to Barcelona as from April next year. (3 flights:week). On top of this comes an increase in frequency to some popular sunny destinations such as Malaga,Alicante,Tenerife (also 3/week and Rhodos(2Xweek); all in all JAF is increasing it's number of seats from/to OST by about 30%. Airport is then connected with some 14 cities in Spain,Greece,Tunisia and Turkey.But It is said that new OST airport operator EGIS is also looking to UK airports to set up connections. According to the rumours this could be airports in Mid-England or Scotland. Anyone
an idea which routings could be meant here?
Grtz.

[ATNotts]

EGIS is also looking to UK airports to set up connections. According to the rumours this could be airports in Mid-England or Scotland. Anyone
an idea which routings could be meant here?

Difficult to see which airports they could be targeting in Central England. I drive regularly from the East Midlands to Belgium, and onward to Central Europe, and to be honest, pick your time of day right, and it's only 5 hours or so to Oostende and the other coastal resorts. There could be a little business traffic to the towns and cities to the west of Brussels, and possibly to some Northern French locations, but too little to sustain a frequent service.

As for "bucket and spade" tourism, although to my mind the north sea coastal resorts like Koksijde, Nieuwpoort etc. are infinitely more pleasant than their opposite numbers on our side of the water, the weather isn't that much better and looking at accommodation prices (as I have done) I don't think they'll compete with the guaranteed sunshine of the Spanish resorts.

Perhaps leisure routes to / from Scotland, where there would be a better chance of two-way traffic might be viable, but by whom, I don't know. Some years ago Ryanair dabbled with Oostende but walked away, but that was from southeast England.

[james170969]

Since Ryanair stopped flying from Prestwick to Charleroi several years ago I only go to Ostend once a year if at all. The journey is just too long and tiring. Direct flights from Prestwick, Glasgow or Edinburgh to Ostend would be more than welcome and it would be a service that I would use several times per year. However, would there be enough demand for a point to point service? Would it be better if there was a route from Scotland to Ostend and on to somewhere else? Belgium is very poorly connected to Scotland, especially the west coast so I will be following this with great interest.

[FLYAIR10]

Rumour goes that Ostend airport is in talks with Flybe and a Flybe delegation would have visited OST recently. That could mean opening of new route(s) from OST to Britain,finally I should say.

In the meantime JAF will open up a new route to Rome-FCO as from October 31st.(3X week!). The BCN route opened in April proves to be successful and will be continued during winter.

The airport also asked for more night slots to be more atractive for potential cargo operators.

PAX traffic during september was up 12% as compared to last year.

All in all encouraging signs for this regional airport.http://www.pprune.org/images/infopop/icons/icon7.gif

[AdamThePassenger]

I always thought Flybe/Stobart should have tried Ostend from Southend instead of Antwerp when they first started the SEN services in 2014. They were always going to get slaughtered by CityJet/VLM out of LCY so they may as well have tried something different. I do hope BE start some UK-OST routes sooner or later, I think there could well be a sizeable market there.

Adam :)

[Hotel Tango]

I think there could well be a sizeable market there.

There might be a small seasonal market in the Summer months, but other than that I'm not so sure.

[FLYAIR10]

I think there could well be a sizeable market there. There might be a small seasonal market in the Summer months, but other than that I'm not so sure. It should be more than summer only. Times have changed. Proportionally the number of Belgians spending money on citytrips beyond the summer period has risen considerably. Many Belgian retirees have moved over to the Belgian coast within the catchment area of Ostend airport. In general they appreciate the conveniences smaller regional airports are offering (less hectic,closer to home,less distance to walk on the airport site itself,shorter check-in times ,less queuing ,etc..). Also nearby ports of zeebrugge and Ghent have grown considerably the last 10 years. On top of that there is no longer a ferry connection between Ostend and UK. Offering air-services from OST would be the fastest connection between Western-Belgium,Northern France and Zeeland(NL) and major UK cities,chunnel or no chunnel. Fact is also that UK(not only London)is getting more attention and fans(maybe due to all those Belgian football players in the Premier league)
It may be true that many routes between OST and UK would not have sufficient point-to-point passengers all year long,but by combining with other city pairs,and with the support of the travel agencies and local tourist authorities , IMHO air connections from/to OST would be a viable extra to the currently offered transportation options.

[james170969]

There are no direct flights from the west of Scotland to Belgium. From Edinburgh Ryanair flies to Charleroi about four times per week and Brussels Airlines flies to Zaventem daily. Flights to Ostend from Scotland would be great even if there was a stopover en route.

[Barling Magna]

I always thought Flybe/Stobart should have tried Ostend from Southend instead of Antwerp

The Southend to Ostend route was the busiest scheduled service in the world during the mid 1960s. Unlikely to be so again!!

Might be worth a try by Stobart though.

[ATNotts]

With high speed rail available from Belgium / Northern France to London, I really can't see OST to anywhere south and east of London working.

However OST to EDI or GLA might be a goer, surface transport being a non starter unless you're particularly into trains or buses! The market is always likely to be more inbound tourism, as the bucket and spade traffic to the (excellent) beaches on the Belgian cost, between Koksijde and Oostende are sadly a thing of the past - UK travelers preferring the more "British" destinations of Benidorm, Mallorca and Turkey! And of course the weather isn't that much better than Brighton or Margate.

[Hotel Tango]

And of course the weather isn't that much better than Brighton or Margate

Very true of course, but strangely enough one of the best ever tans I ever got (without even trying) was on a 10 day glorious sunshine Summer holiday on the Belgian coast in the early 80s!

[gsky]

I think I was there around the same time. I know..
I got sunstroke.
Bloody hot that summer!!
and the seafood/restaurants are excellent.
Indeed the coast there is def better than, for example, Margate.

[ATNotts]

seafood/restaurants are excellent.
Indeed the coast there is def better than, for example, Margate.

Without appearing to be in the pay of the Flanders tourist board, I can only concur with that.

I particularly like Koksijde Bad and Nieuwpoort. they are so much less tacky then their neighbours on our side of the channel / North Sea, and the pedestrianised promenade makes for very pleasant afternoons relaxing with a decent (if expensive) meal and some interesting beer.

How they go about attracting British tourists back in numbers I don't know.

[FLYAIR10]

Jetairfly is adding 4 new destinations from Ostend-Brugge airport.
Rome (first flight today 31/10!) and Nice Côte d'Azur, Varna and Burgas as from next spring.
On top on that EGIS , the airport operator, announced this week they will invest close to 2 million EUR in the airport including:
- Tax free zone of 800 sq meters.
- facelift for the income hall
- extra 550 new parking places
- creation of a VIP-room
- Setting up a 'fastlane'
- removing of an old watchtower

Also Rental car firms will be sollicited to set up an office at the airport.

Just wondering when there will be an announcement on flights from/to UK airports from OST.

With enhanced infrastructure and new destinations being added every year It seems the airport is definitely in an expansion phase..
Same is true for Antwerp which just saw VLM introducing BHX on 5 Oct and will see JAF adding Rome (also today) ,Nador(Mor) and Split(HR) from next spring.. On top come the announced Extrajet connections to Leeds and Copenhagen.(But let's wait and see for these ones.)

[FLYAIR10]

Some more details on expansion plans communicated earlier:

-capacity increase of 32% ,offering flights to 16 destinations.
-OST-Rome will be flown by 737-700 (2X/week).(in winter: 3X/week with E-195)
-addition of new destination Nice (2/week) with 737-700
-addition of new destinations Burgas and Varna in Bulgaria (2X/week)(737-700)
-increased number of seats for flights to Malaga,Alicante and Heraklion.

JAF will base 1 B737-800 (189 seats) and 1 B737-700(148 seats) permanently at the airport.


Source:
http://www.ost.aero/nieuw-uit-oostende- ... -bulgarije (http://www.ost.aero/nieuw-uit-oostende-naar-nice-c%C3%B4te-d%E2%80%99azur-en-burgasvarna-bulgarije)

[james170969]

Comparison between September 2015 and September 2014

Movements
2036 in OKTOBER 2015 t.o.v. 1.642 in OKTOBER 2014
= A percentage difference of +24.0%.


Passengers
23.409 in OKTOBER 2015 t.o.v. 18.961 in OKTOBER 2014
= A percentage difference of 23.5%.


Freight / ton
1.130 ton in OKTOBER 2015 t.o.v. 704 ton in OKTOBER 2014
= A percentage difference of +60.5%.

Comparison between 2015 and 2014 (JAN - SEPT)

comparison between 2015 and 2014
__________________________________________________

Movements
23 151 in 2015 compared with 25 023 in 2014
= A percent difference of -7.5%.

Passengers
241 464 in 2015 compared with 228 207 in 2014
= A percentage difference of +5.8%.

Freight / tonne
13 543 in 2015 compared with 21 130 in 2014
= A percentage difference of -35.9%.

[james170969]

CEO of Ostend Brugges Airport expects to announce a route to England later this year.

"Binnen 20 jaar willen we 1 miljoen reizigers" | HLN Oostende (http://www.hln.be/regio/nieuws-uit-oostende/-binnen-20-jaar-willen-we-1-miljoen-reizigers-a3190960/)

[Hotel Tango]

Ostend - Lydd? Just kidding :E

[AirportPlanner1]

BE to MAN would be my guess. It's far enough away by rail/sea to make it worthwhile, if its the Bruges element that's promoted. I say BE because I think anything over 80 seats is too big.

[Wycombe]

RYR to STN was flown in the past IIRC?

[davidjohnson6]

Could Stobart possibly be having ideas from Southend ? The distance by air is so short that the journey between London and western Belgium via OST airport might beat the more diversionary journey involving either Brussels-Zaventem or the Eurostar. In terms of flight distance, it is less than 100 nm so very short flying time.
Bruges-Zaventem takes 1h30 by train (1 direct train per hour) while Ostend-Zaventem takes 1h50 (no useful direct trains). Groningen to Schiphol by comparison takes 2h05 (1 direct train per hour)
Ostend or Bruges by train to Lille takes over 2 hours. Driving Ostend/Bruges to Lille is about 1h10 if traffic is light
Unlike London-Amsterdam and London-Paris, there is no LCC flying London-Brussels (easyjet were slot-sitting in 2013) so airfares can be higher than might be expected. The Eurostar booked less than a month or two in advance is expensive

I'm wondering in particular whether such a route might be appeal more to people living in Belgium (who may happen to have a car in Belgium and can thus easily drive to/from OST airport) wishing to travel to/from London rather than UK residents wanting a trip to Bruges. Presumably the Southend-Groningen route is aimed at Dutch residents rather than UK residents. Of course the fact that Bruges is not far and a big tourist draw might add a few extra Essex/Suffolk residents to the passenger load.

[Harry Wayfarers]

Not forgetting LCY to Antwerp, I positioned a crew in to ANR one day and to get back to OST, and this is 20 years ago, they took some kind of train or tram thingy that runs along the coast.

But Ostend is a dump, I lived there for 2.5 years, the sewerage goes straight out so sea so if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction the pong in the toilets can be ... The tap water comes out of the sand dunes full of sand, salt and whatever else, about the most exciting thing about Ostend is the road to Calais ... Don't take the road to Brussels because that's almost as bad!

If I recall correctly they renamed OST adding Bruges, when Ryanair started a route there, now how unusual is that renaming an airport for Ryanair, and whilst Bruges may be a tourist attraction I doubt that it will attract enough travellers from one UK airport to justify a LoCo operation, Ryanair couldn't make it work even with their silly fares.

[compton3bravo]

Sorry Harry got to disagree with you about Ostend I find it rather an attractive town and so do many others especially in the summer. Lovely sandy beaches and wide promenade. Some rather expensive property along the the Belgian coast i.e. La Panne, Knocke etc. You can travel the whole length of the Belgian coast by tram if that is your pleasure. No problem with the motorway to Brussels either. You have your opinion and I have mine. As regards a UK service from Ostend it has to be from the North of England or Scotland to make it viable I would have thought. Or by the way the waffles are terrific!

[ATNotts]

I concur. My favourite places are Koksijde Bad and Nieuwpoort. Neither appear cheap and nasty, like many UK seaside resorts can be, and the Kust Tram us a real bonus, as is the pedestrianised promenade.

No mileage in flights from UK from any further south than Birmingham or East Midlands - even from these areas driving to the Belgian coast via Eurotunnel isn't that far, and once you've left the UK, largely stressless.

[canberra97]

Compton3bravo

I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.

[Harry Wayfarers]

The pre-Christmas anti drinking and driving campaign, for around $10 the police themselves were selling a list of where all the police checkpoints were ... They didn't catch anybody!

And at the airport about the only people paying income tax were the handling agent, as the police would be coming to do a raid we'd have already had the tip-off and as a squad of police cars would be driving in to the airport we'd be at the traffic lights waiting to exit the airport to go off drinking for the day, an hour or few later the police would come and join us drinking.

As for any viable route well let's just wait and see, the UK Metropolis is London and I find myself reading suggestions of lesser catchment areas as far north as Scotland, I won't argue but let's just wait and see!

[Harry Wayfarers]

These Boeing's were the best air service that Ostend has ever had, travelling on these was fun, but alas all good things came to an end:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5072/5912923711_b2e89b7c2b_b.jpg

[Expressflight]

...... and how I enjoyed chartering TEA B732s to move the pax when the Jetfoils ingested floating debris in the Thames or the wave heights were too great.

[Harry Wayfarers]

The first time I travelled on one the seas were so rough I almost split my gin & tonic ... but it didn't put me off though :)

[canberra97]

So you nearly 'split' your Gin and Tonic, that would have been an amazing feat if you had split the Gin from the Tonic!

Sorry I had to comment on that!

[olympus]

Compton3bravo

I totally agree with your comments regarding Ostend, I've always found it to be a very pleasant place to visit and I'm surprised that Ostend Airport doesn't have more routes.

I too concur. I've only ever been to Ostend in light aircraft (last time in a Bo209) but have always enjoyed the town, especially the seafood and the moules frites!

[Hotel Tango]

Oh dear Harry, you seem to have a big chip on your shoulder about Ostend. It can depend on where you go, just like any city or town. But, as already said, the Belgian coast is wonderful. As for the motorway, done it many times. Again it all depends what day and time of the year you use it. Whatever, certainly no worse than the M1 or the M6. As well as the moules frites, you haven't lived if you don't try the tomates crevettes! :)

[A300BOY]

I love Ostend for all the reasons already posted and the Belgian people are so friendly.
I worked in the Brussels area for 10 years and Ostend was a regular trip on my motorbike.
Cannot wait to get back to Belgium.

[Harry Wayfarers]

I don't have a chip, nor a frite, on either of my shoulders, I lived/worked in OST for 2.5 years, all; in all had a pretty good time there whilst earning a bucket load of money but if I never see the place again it will be too soon.

I left OST to go to live/work in, per capita, the world's richest country of Luxembourg, now that is what one calls a classy and beautiful place, not Ostend!

[Hotel Tango]

Sorry again Harry, but comparing Ostend with Luxembourg is not exactly like for like is it? There are many better places than Ostend as there are many better places than Luxembourg (which I know well too btw), such as where I live for instance :) The point is that Ostend offers access to the Belgian coast and other areas, both of which have been and continue to be very popular with British tourists. It's a pretty long trip from the north of Britain by land and sea. Arguably an OST route from northern UK could perhaps work if well promoted and seasonal. One thing is for sure, with all the beautiful places along the Belgian coast, tourists would not be restricted to staying in Ostend itself.

It would also be critical to operate such a route with the right equipment. Ryanair failed with Ostend just as they did with Maastricht because neither route could sustain 180 seat 737s on them.

[AirportPlanner1]

Actually OST was flown by the Buzz 146s. And they couldn't even fill that. It lasted about 9 months. From memory you could always get £20 returns on that route even quite last minute and at weekends. CAA stats show numbers in the winter were among the best which suggests it was probably more Belgians travelling to London than it was Brits going the other way.

[Harry Wayfarers]

The Belgian coast is on the heavily polluted English Channel and North Sea whilst Belgium pump their sewerage straight out to sea whilst the cities are littered in dog :mad:.

People from up north, despite how strange they may be north of the Watford Gap, do not froth at the mouth for annual expeditions to dog :mad: city when it's probably a similar fare to get to BCN and PMI etc.

[inOban]

I'm sure they used to pump their untreated sewage out to sea, as we did until the EU fortunately started enforcing their various directives. You're not suggesting that the Belgians are getting away with ignoring these?

[Harry Wayfarers]

In Ostend one can receive British TV and, with water that comes out of the sand dunes full of salt and sand etc., one evening it came on TV that UK were going to spend billions getting their water up to EU standards ... What frigging standards? :)

As I posted regarding police checkpoints and immigration raids Flanders is so corrupt some might not believe it, once the EU lifted the ban on UK mad cows France still blockaded them, France had mad cows all along but only the British were stupid enough to admit to it much alike the British were stupid enough to upgrade their water unnecessarily.

Of course the Belgians are getting away with flouting the rules, where have you been hiding?

[Expressflight]

This thread is starting to read like Tripadvisor. Any chance of getting back on topic maybe?

[Harry Wayfarers]

Who reads TripAdvisor? :)

[Hotel Tango]

OK Harry, we've got it. You don't like Belgium and Ostend!

Btw, after Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, the UK come 4th in terms of coastal tourism in Belgium.

[canberra97]

Harry 'fritte' on your shoulder Wayfarers

You do realise that EVERY single post you make on Pprune are always totally negative! If you don't realise that it obviously shows what sort of person you are, but the majority of us have a good idea of that, totally RIGHTEOUS might sum it up.

[inOban]

The bathing water data for every EU country is online. With so many independent bodies such as surfers against sewage it would quite impossible for countrywide fraudulent data to be sustained. The UK is still second bottom, after Ireland.

[Harry Wayfarers]

OK Harry, we've got it. You don't like Belgium and Ostend!

Btw, after Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany, the UK come 4th in terms of coastal tourism in Belgium.

Well bearing in mind that they speak Dutch in Flanders it's no surprise that they get a lot of visitors from The Netherlands.

canberra97
Harry 'fritte' on your shoulder Wayfarers

You do realise that EVERY single post you make on Pprune are always totally negative!

You should have gone to Specsavers and try learning to spell "frite"!

[davidjohnson6]

Repeating Expressflight's request, could we *please* get back to the topic of Ostend airport rather than Belgium, beaches, sewage and chips ?

[Harry Wayfarers]

With all due respect it's about the catchment area of OST rather than just about the airport and the city of Ostend itself, and that catchment area includes Bruges and, as others have mentioned, the Flanders coast and if one should dare to pour scorn, be negative, regarding some of these weird and wonderful route ideas that appear on Airlines, Airports & Routes it seems the spotter fraternity are waiting in the wings ready to attack.

Belgian as a whole has five functioning airports serving four cities, Brussels, Antwerp, Liege and Ostend and of these Liege and Ostend only have leisure routes, that is Belgians going on holiday rather than foreign tourists coming to Belgium. Antwerp has one business route to LCY, BMIr tried a business/leisure route to MAN and failed, other than that ANR is also a leisure route airport whilst Brussels provides for much of the country with Charleroi being the LoCo airport for Brussels, despite the country of Belgium stretching much farther south there are no functioning airports south of Charleroi, basically Belgium is a country that not that many tourists want to travel to when compared to other European countries.

So there are two functioning airports in Flanders serving the Flanders coast, OST that Ryanair tried to serve and failed and ANR that BMIr tried to serve and failed, what would BMIr's aircraft type have been, a 50 seater Embraer pocket rocket?

So suggestions that a route from northern UK to Flanders would be viable with a 70/80 seater aircraft, well history suggests otherwise!

[Hotel Tango]

Well bearing in mind that they speak Dutch in Flanders it's no surprise that they get a lot of visitors from The Netherlands.

:D Wow, your superior knowledge simply amazes me!

[Hotel Tango]

I doubt if it will be a route linking the north. More likely another attempt to link OST with one of the London airports. It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't an ATR operator from London East!

[Harry Wayfarers]

I seem to recall that National Airways tried that, or a very similar, route with a PA31 back in circa 87/88 ... History and all that!

[Hotel Tango]

I remember being the only passenger in an Air Kent PA-31 on a BRU-MSE schedule in 1979. And I was on an ID90! Yep, it failed pretty quickly too.

Then there was the Venture Airways HS748 all Business Class Coventry-Paris CDG v.v. flight I made in 1984. Very nice, but doomed.

[northboy]

Pretty sure it's "friet" in Flemish and Dutch...

[FLYAIR10]

Ostend airport launched its new website earlier this month.
Looking more modern than before.
The airport is actually doing quite well with 21 destinations on offer.
Passengernumbers are rising year after year and the 500K mark might be reached within 2-3 years. The summer months july-august alone showed already an increase of 27,7 %.
Also this week plans were announced for a brandnew 'Business terminal' ,an investment of 1,85 M euro. This year the main passenger terminal also underwent a major upgrade inside and the opening of a 'brasserie' and extra shopping possibilities airside.
Same is valid for Antwerp airport btw.

So,all in all the regional airports in Belgium are doing quite well and are gaining in popularity year after year.

ostendairport.aero (http://www.ostendairport.aero/)

[Hotel Tango]

Good to hear. I do miss the many "interesting" operators that once frequented OST though!

[Harry Wayfarers]

And I still crave for the bacon & scrambled egg baguettes of the BELAIR upstairs, they were handsome, well they were handsome 20 years ago :)

And I note that the Icarus Restaurant, the former Luftwaffe Officers Mess built by British POW's, has changed identity, I guess Bart must have sold it!

[FLYAIR10]

TuiFly will launch 4 new routes from Ostend airport next summer:

OST-Djerba
OST-Corfu
OST-Sjarm-El Shaikh
OST-Hurghada.

This means some 25 PAX destinations will be reachable directly through this airport.
Unfortunately still no routing announcement to the UK,although there are still rumours this will come. :confused:

In general regional airports in Belgium are growing, on top of the growth of Brussels airport. In the same announcement as above,also the opening by TuiFlyof a route from Antwerp to Florence (2X/week) was confirmed.Soon also the new route to Innsbruck will start from ANR aswell as the route to Sion by Powdair. and next week VLM will take over the London City route from Cityjet. :)

[Rutan16]

I was flown to Ostend at the tender age of ten on a Laker BAC 111-300 from and to Manchester many moons ago by parents and sibling sister
Stayed in Blankenberge great holiday was had in the dunes kite flying and hot chocolate drinking less so (at the time couldn’t appreciate the importance) at Ypre and Waterloo through
Arrowsmith offered this in the inclusive tour programme back then
UK visiters these days arrive in the area by car and coach however from the northwest in particular because of the time it takes by ground transport there may be a market for occasional packages from the likes of Jet2 selling similar Beach Bruge Brussels Waterloo and Ypre combinations

Harry- Manchester-to/from Antwerp was a business route operated by various airlines over thirty years catering for dimond jewellery and leather traders in both cities by their shared Jewish diaspora
It may return at some point with fares well above basement levels although many now fly to Amsterdam and get the Thalys down to Antwerp in just the over an hour and these high speed trains of France Belgium and the Netherlands have changed the dynamics of the region
Although there are four airports in Belgium neighbouring Amsterdam Rotterdam Charles De Gaulle Düsseldorf Lille Luxembourg and Frankfurt all take away some not insignificant traffic

[Harry Wayfarers]

Although there are four airports in Belgium

Five airports actually, OST, BRU, CRL, ANR & LGG

[Jetdriver]

Reminder.....This forum is Airlines, Airports, and Routes! Pointless complaints to the moderation team ends now!

[lotus1]

Would love easyjet to start a service to Ostend only one which I could remember was BAF great old film on YouTube but I see again on kentonline the mayor of Ostend wants to start a fast ferry in to ramsgate many times this has folded come on easyjet start a service

[Harry Wayfarers]

Regarding Easyjet, Ryanair tried an air service to OST, it was probably them that renamed it Ostend-Bruges, and even at their silly fares they failed miserably, having lived in Ostend for 2.5 years pretty much the bulk of the British tourists they get there are day trip 'Booze Cruisers' often out to give the British as bad a reputation as is possible!

With regards to a fast ferry back in the last century Ostend did have a fast ferry, indeed an air service, to Kent with two Boeing Jetfoils, oh they were fun, initially to Dover before Sally Lines became involved and they switched to Ramsgate ... Alas the channel tunnel came along and that put an end to that service and a number of other services.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/5a/b5/03/5ab503a6809a126d8676c90407274069.jpg

[FLYAIR10]

Although there are four airports in Belgium neighbouring Amsterdam Rotterdam Charles De Gaulle Düsseldorf Lille Luxembourg and Frankfurt all take away some not insignificant traffic

The opposite is also true. FIVE Belgian airports are also taking away passengers from neighbouring countries.
e.g. Number of Dutch passengers at Antwerp airport is +10% and likely to grow,especially when the Dutch government will increase their taxrates on departing passengers soon, ANR having the cheapest airport carparking rates in the Benelux,and number of offered destinations out of ANR growing every season.
Similarly ,also OST is gaining more and more passengers from Northern-France and the Netherlands.:)
As stated before ,the reinstatement of a direct airlink between OST and a UK airport offering also some connection possibilities to other cities, would defenitely be of added value to the region. e.g. SEN-OST would be the fastest routing between London+counties NE of LON and Flanders and v.v. Some connecting flights to MAN,DUB,GLA,EDI,JER,BFS,... could make it a profitable operation. Chunnel is an alternative indeed,but not the best one in terms of total door-to-door traveltime and even total price.

[Planespeaking]

If my memory serves me correctly back in the 1960s SEN - OST was the busiest scheduled air service in the world.
Now that SEN has been established as a London airport with a longer runway , new terminal and combined railway station with up to 8 trains an hour to London there must be potential for a service between the two.
Just a thought.

[Harry Wayfarers]

With what ... A Navajo, A SF340 or? ... Because there simply isn't the call for a medium sized aircraft on such a route when there is the tunnel and X channel ferries.

[01475]

By the same logic routes to Australia should have half a dozen stops, like they did in the 60s?

[hydroplane]

https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2018/11/19/ostend-airport-hit-with-freighter-night-ban/

[BACsuperVC10]

For those with very long memories, Sabena flew a daily Heathrow - Charleroi - Liège with, I think, a Beechcraft Queen Air.

Liège has had some odd connections in the past, possibly the oddest by a now forgotten regional airline Paris - Liège - Maastricht, the latter sector being less than 40 km.

I flew on a Beechcraft from Ostend to Heathrow with Sabena would have been early 80s. It must have been the smallest aircraft operating into LHR. Ostend Airport I remember felt like a film set inside with check in desks with New York JFK stated, and other places I'm sure none were operational.* I also flew to Ostend from Lydd on a day trip with Janus Airways, I think on a Herald.* Fun days*

[OSTpax]

POBEDA is very succesfull at EBOS. The Russian low cost operator is offering OSTEND-BRUGHES 3 times a week from VKO.
The average loadfactor is 80% or around 150 pax per flight.

Ostend airport management is hoping that the success of this line will open the eyes of other airlines.

[Jamesair]

Back in the mists of time......BKS used to fly NCL - Ostend with an Avro Anson.

[hydroplane]

https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2019/05/12/flemish-government-under-suspicion-of-illegal-financing-of-ostend-airport/ (https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2019/05/12/flemish-government-under-suspicion-of-illegal-financing-of-ostend-airport/)

Full story on: http://wiloo.be/Press_release_WILOO_May_7th_2019%20.pdf (http://wiloo.be/Press_release_WILOO_May_7th_2019%20.pdf)

[hydroplane]

https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2021/12/12/ostend-bruges-airport-suffers-heavy-defeat-in-court/

[BACsuperVC10]

Been many many years since I've been to OST airport. Janus Airways from Lydd, and Sabena OST-LHR, Beechcraft. Back then it looked a huge booking hall, with no flights, bit like a film set.

[FLYAIR10]

Ostend-Bruges airport to become Belgium's second largest solar park.

Ostend-Bruges International Airport will become Belgium’s second largest solar panel park in Belgium.
Energy company EnergyVision is installing 66,200 solar panels on the grounds of the airport.
The panels have a total capacity of over 40MWp. https://www.ostendbruges-airport.com/solarpark/

[DIBO]

In a week's time, the 60-day renovation works of the 3200m runway will come to an end.
Some video's of the progess can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@ost7137/videos

[ATNotts]

DIBO,

Thanks for that news. I keep an eye on OST as I pass it on the road headed for Brussels and Antwerp fairly regularly. I was puzzled about the lack of movements recently.

I imagine the Jetair Fly IT flights have operated from BRU during the closure period.