Newcastle-9 [Archive] - Page 3

SWBKCB

28th Mar 2018, 11:08

It seems like PMI/ALC/AGP are the only places served from NCL this year going by the amount of whinging going on. A quick look shows around 50 other destinations available. I did chuckle when someone was calling for a Thai hub link to connect to Asia and Australia etc. Isn’t that what EK are for?

People need to take a look at themselves and realise that NCL actually does quite well for the size and state of the demographic and people need to realise that the lovely middle class destinations de jour may simply not work at NCL.

A reminder that airline/tour operator’s sole responsibility is to generate shareholder return and simply throw darts at a destination dartboard just so to increase the route count of a small regional airport that already punches above its weight.

Geordiejet - well said! :ok:

jensdad

28th Mar 2018, 11:30

---------------

"Cancún..."
May as well be Benidorm.

Really sorry to be critical here, but some people are complaining (incorrectly imho)that PMI and AGP are the bread and butter of NCL's route network, then when someone increases CUN, people are complaining about that. Apologies again for banging on about this but there are very few cities in the world with a population like Newcastle's that have intercontinental air links like ours.
Hope no offence is taken, 'a good-natured but frank exchange of views' is the political term I think :)

ash666

28th Mar 2018, 11:55

How practical is it for an airline to fly to Prague/Krakow/Berlin etc for a year, by which time most people in the area who want to visit those places have been and they are not really repeat destinations, so for the following year change destinations?
Do that for 3 or 4 years then back to the first ones again.

EK77WNCL

28th Mar 2018, 13:18

geordiejet, I understand what you're saying. By no means would I class myself as well off but I do know that I have been very lucky to be able to travel as I have. My most exotic trips have actually been by myself, through good fortune of not currently having very many financial responsibilities (and a helping hand from a credit card along the way - seemingly a much better idea then than now)

I do apologise if any of my comments caused offence, it was certainly not my intention to come across as judgemental or insulting.

I simply struggle to understand how, when many alternative holiday destinations can be as cheap as, or cheaper than your average Spanish/Turkish resort, nobody seems to consider them. I've heard people complain at spending £5000+ on a family holiday to Palma or Marmaris, and how awful it is that the prices have gone up. It'll be interesting to see if the new availability of these routes for Summer 2018/19 makes people consider them. Places like Almeria and Halkidiki.

If it's somewhere they like, and somewhere they want to return to so as to guarantee they have a good time. Certainly, who are we to criticise.

I'm over the moon that Cancun has been increased. For all it "may as well be Benidorm" for us to have bagged 3 weekly flights is fantastic in my opinion. To have 5 weekly long haul flights on alternate weeks is fantastic!

People, myself included, may complain about the lack of destinations from Newcastle, particularly when it comes to affordable options on popular cities routes, or the lack thereof. But we do extremely well, and I'm sure we will continue to do so in our own niche.

I'd love to be able to have a weekend in Budapest or a holiday in Morocco, direct from Newcastle. I'll continue to hope these services come in time. But I do understand that for an economy such as ours, connecting through a hub or travelling to another UK airport is going to be necessary in some circumstances. I only find it a shame that the added expense and hassle of that puts many people off. Direct flights build on existing markets and in some cases, create their own. Just think back to the "I'll give it 6 months" comments about Emirates

ash666 - I would be inclined to disagree. That may be true in some cases, and markets will change. But Prague and Krakow have been served successfully for 11 months of the year with Jet2 for a decade. Every year a new load of students come to Newcastle who may make use of the flights, some people might return if they enjoyed it. I did Berlin in June last year thanks to the direct flight, I intend to go back because I loved it! There was also a surprising amount of VFR traffic on that flight, as I'm sure there are on Ryanair's Polish routes. Hopefully that's enough to keep them afloat

ash666

28th Mar 2018, 13:51

ash666 - I would be inclined to disagree. That may be true in some cases, and markets will change. But Prague and Krakow have been served successfully for 11 months of the year with Jet2 for a decade. Every year a new load of students come to Newcastle who may make use of the flights, some people might return if they enjoyed it. I did Berlin in June last year thanks to the direct flight, I intend to go back because I loved it! There was also a surprising amount of VFR traffic on that flight, as I'm sure there are on Ryanair's Polish routes. Hopefully that's enough to keep them afloat

That's fair enough, I just wondered if these destinations got quickly "tired out".

I will be flying to Pisa in a few months so it will be interesting to see the pax numbers.
From there it is a train to Florence. I just can't understand when they originally built Florence city they didn't build an airport closer.....

SWBKCB

28th Mar 2018, 14:53

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/travel-tourism/best-value-uk-airports-ranked-14467274

Newcastle International Airport has been named the best value airport for European flights in the whole of the UK....

.....Skyscanner analysed flight prices, passenger drop-off/collection, car park charges, fast track and lounge costs before naming its Top Five Best Value UK Airports.

Plane.Silly

28th Mar 2018, 14:57

Trying to find any big increases in LS's programme for 2019.

All i've found so far...

ALC, now 12pw
PMI, still 12pw
MAH, now 3pw
SKG, now on B738, vs B733

Travel Agent

28th Mar 2018, 14:58

From Travel Weekly:

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are increasing capacity out of Newcastle Airport by 6% for summer 2019.

The addition of almost 55,000 extra seats to existing destinations brings the total on sale to more than 930,000 – the airline and tour operator’s largest ever summer programme from the airport.

A larger Boeing 737-800 joins the fleet out of Newcastle, offering 32 sun and city destinations in total next summer 2019.

The increase in flights and holidays are to popular destinations, including the Balearic Islands, mainland Spain, the Algarve, Greece and Turkey.

The number of flights to Alicante will increase from 11 to 12 a week, an increase in capacity of 16%.

There will be 11 weekly services to the Canaries (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote).

Daily services and larger aircraft on weekday flights will be offered to Faro.

For Majorca there will be 12 flights a week with a 9% increase in seat capacity and a capacity hike of 26% on the three weekly services to Minorca.

More seats will be available on flights to Halkidiki; an extra Wednesday service to Zakynthos, resulting in two weekly flights to the Greek island; while the season for Antalya will be extended until November.

The move follows increased demand from local holidaymakers for package holidays

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said the expansion demonstrated that its combination of “great value package holidays and family friendly flights” was working.

He added: “The addition of a larger Boeing 737-800 aircraft represents another huge investment in our base here, and gives local holidaymakers even more choice and flexibility.”

Nick Jones, chief executive at Newcastle International Airport, said: “It’s great to see Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announce their biggest ever programme from Newcastle and the company’s further investment – replacing one of its current based aircraft with a larger Boeing 737-800 – is testament of its commitment to the region.

“Greece continues to be a favourite with our passengers thanks to mix of stunning beaches, centuries-old sights and laid-back towns, so the larger aircraft flying to Jet2com’s newest Greek destination, Halkidiki, and the increased number of flights to Zakynthos are sure to be well received. On top of this, the extended season to Antalya will provide even more choice across the year for those choosing Turkey.”

N707ZS

28th Mar 2018, 14:59

Cancun or Mexico in general doesn't sound the safest of places for a holiday. In these days you don't know who is plotting what and where until it happens.

Travel Agent

28th Mar 2018, 15:03

Cancun or Mexico in general doesn't sound the safest of places for a holiday. In these days you don't know who is plotting what and where until it happens.

Been three times in past two years and feel as safe there as anywhere in the world, apart from the mad taxi drivers lol.

Its absolutely fine, its very popular with Americans of all ages including families, I was there once during Spring Break and whilst some of the younger crowd were rowdy, they were nothing like the Brits abroad you see in Benidrom, Magaluf etc...

Jamesair

28th Mar 2018, 16:56

Feb stats now available on CAA website

VentureGo

29th Mar 2018, 10:55

Anyone know why Volatea A319 flight V7/VOE 9210 is en route from Brive (BVE) to Newcastle ETA 12.42 (STA 13.00) - No return is scheduled.

GrahamK

29th Mar 2018, 11:05

Anyone know why Volatea A319 flight V7/VOE 9210 is en route from Brive (BVE) to Newcastle ETA 12.42 (STA 13.00) - No return is scheduled.

Falcons vs Brive in the rugby tomorrow night

Heathrow Harry

29th Mar 2018, 12:29

That's fair enough, I just wondered if these destinations got quickly "tired out".

I will be flying to Pisa in a few months so it will be interesting to see the pax numbers.
From there it is a train to Florence. I just can't understand when they originally built Florence city they didn't build an airport closer.....

that's apparently a major worry for the Icelandic Tourist Board - just how many people in Europe still want to go there???

Heathrow Harry

29th Mar 2018, 12:33

"From there it is a train to Florence. I just can't understand when they originally built Florence city they didn't build an airport closer....."

they did - Peretola - FLR - been there since teh 1930's

Not a long runway (5740ft) but good connectivity with places such as Paris, AMS, LGW & frankfurt - used it several times

PS "why when they originally built Florence city they didn't build an airport"

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
"The present city of Florence was established by Julius Caesar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar) in 59 BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers and was named originally Fluentia"

SWBKCB

29th Mar 2018, 13:10

No mention of Cancun in the TUI press release on the airport website?

ash666

29th Mar 2018, 16:31

Travel Agent

29th Mar 2018, 21:29

No mention of Cancun in the TUI press release on the airport website?

I thought that strange too.

http://photouploads.com/image/EMkr

ATNotts

30th Mar 2018, 08:15

Yes, it was a little attempt at a jokelet on my part.

I got it! :ok:

Heathrow Harry

30th Mar 2018, 09:26

"Yes, it was a little attempt at a jokelet on my part."

I did get it (or rather hoped I had but spending time on things like the Carlisle thread makes you wonder sometimes..) Anyway - too good to let pass..........

:):)

Jamesair

3rd Apr 2018, 16:39

February stats

brussels..........2053...+24%
paphos.............1447...+11%
grenoble......... 957....-26%
paris..............10,135..-11%
berlin............ 3504..+22%
dusseldorf.. 2250...-28%
cork................ 739... -33%
dublin............17,974.. -14%
turin..................1143 ..-13%
malta..................2371...+5%
amsterdam.......26,767...+2%
faro....................2857....+14%
funchal..............1164.... +3%
alicante..........20,640...+10%
barcelona...... 4960...- 20%
madrid............... 2549
malaga................15,033....+10%
arrecife.............10,747....+13%
fuerteventura... .4507.....+48%
las palmas............3953.....-28%
tenerife..............19,372
stavanger........... 638....+6%
geneva.................8605......-3%
sofia....................1139......-16%
prague.................1627......+48%
krakow................1936.....+83%
warsaw...............2425.....+2%
wrocklaw..........2393..... -2%
dubai..................19,937.... +1%

aberdeen................ 1423.....- 7%
belfast int.............19,897.. ..-3%
belfast city............ 574...
Bristol....................14,356...+2%
cardiff.................... 972...+3%
exeter..................... 2833...+10%
london heathrow..38,921..+4%
isle of man.............. 43......-80%
southampton...........8876..+1%

HH6702

3rd Apr 2018, 21:19

Heard rumours of 2 new Jet2 routes for Summer 2019

HH6702

5th Apr 2018, 08:20

Tui on sale now let's see if any surprises

HH6702

5th Apr 2018, 10:21

Naples is Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Cancun is weekly on a Sunday I think and every other week it's sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Can see why they just don't do 2x weekly

EK77WNCL

5th Apr 2018, 14:07

The fortnightly Sanford rotation has been cancelled, so that's back to 1 weekly. It would appear that rotation has been swapped for the third fortnightly Cancun.

HH6702

5th Apr 2018, 16:03

Naples also seems to be a replacement for Dubrovnik?

ma44hew94

5th Apr 2018, 18:41

The TUI Long haul flights (Sanford and Cancun) both seem to have had all their April flights cut from the current bookable schedules, now May - October only.

skyman771

10th Apr 2018, 09:46

I note that yesterdays LS529/LS530 flight NCL- FNC encountered problems due to weather conditions in Atlantic. Apparently same for many others in fleet as well as TCX & TUI. With the inability to land at FNC & remoteness then there were a few "issues" with diverts yesterday PM right across the Canaries.
Case in point LS529 made c. 6 holding patterns down to 4,500 ft followed by a missed approach at 600ft then climb back up to 4,500ft? ! for hours trip down to TFS. Aircraft "HH" positioned back into FNC this morning to collect pax for a belated trip back to NCL sched. arrival c. 14.00 local.
No doubt there are numerous horror stories re this incident, clearly no one at FNC or their web site wish to allude to this presumably hoping it will all disappear...:(

Jamesair

10th Apr 2018, 16:49

The airport has published the March 2018 statistics which show total pax figures at 343,953 up from 334,553 in March 2017

GrahamK

10th Apr 2018, 16:58

The airport has published the March 2018 statistics which show total pax figures at 343,953 up from 334,553 in March 2017

Growth slowing down again, and with further reductions from Ryanair this summer and next winter, could the airport start to see negtive growth again>?

Jamesair

10th Apr 2018, 17:16

possible....with flights being lost since last year and no replacements in sight...I'm thinking about reduced frequencies on Dublin, Amsterdam, Southampton and loss of Copenhagen

EK77WNCL

10th Apr 2018, 17:29

Any effects on the reduction from CPH will already be felt this year. What reductions have Ryanair made, other than Dublin? Is that not temporary for the winter?

SOU may not drop too much, but in fairness, I'd rather have 3 daily with healthy yields than a borderline 4 daily.

90,000 new seats for summer 2019 with TUI and LS should take the edge off.

I think we'll see slow growth still, disappointing after the boom but at the end of the day with the market trashing competition from EDI, as well as LBA and MAN. It'll be consolidation until next decade

GrahamK

10th Apr 2018, 18:04

It looks like Cork is lost for the winter and Madrid is either dropped or going summer only after October 26. Gdansk also not on sale for W18/19

ash666

10th Apr 2018, 21:28

It looks like Cork is lost for the winter and Madrid is either dropped or going summer only after October 26. Gdansk also not on sale for W18/19

That would reinforce NCL's reputation as a "go anywhere you like as long as it has a beach and cheap beer" airport.

HH6702

10th Apr 2018, 21:36

I think we may still get some news from Ryanair's routes for this winter

HH6702

10th Apr 2018, 21:37

I think EasyJet is just going on sale this Thursday or next Thursday so still time

SWBKCB

10th Apr 2018, 21:40

That would reinforce NCL's reputation as a "go anywhere you like as long as it has a beach and cheap beer" airport...

...that also serves HEATHROW, AMSTERDAM, BELFAST, DUBAI, DUBLIN
PARIS, GENEVA, BERLIN, WARSAW, WROCLAW, DUSSELDORF, BRUSSELS, KRAKOW.

Not a bad list, so not all sun and booze :ok:

ash666

10th Apr 2018, 21:45

...that also serves HEATHROW, AMSTERDAM, BELFAST, DUBAI, DUBLIN
PARIS, GENEVA, BERLIN, WARSAW, WROCLAW, DUSSELDORF, BRUSSELS, KRAKOW.

Not a bad list, so not all sun and booze :ok:

Give it time.
How long did Berlin last at the last attempt even though everyone who went said it's great?

inOban

10th Apr 2018, 22:57

Easyjet don't release new routes along with their major flight releases like Thursday's.

SWBKCB

11th Apr 2018, 05:01

How long did Berlin last at the last attempt even though everyone who went said it's great?

Lets try facts again - top ten destinations by number in 2017 were as follows:

HEATHROW * 491,597
ALICANTE * 379,433
AMSTERDAM * 367,002
PALMA DE MALLORCA * 325,697
DUBLIN * 264,398
MALAGA * 263,658
BELFAST INTERNATIONAL * 259,775
TENERIFE * 248,007
DUBAI * 237,856
FARO * 172,240

tigertanaka

11th Apr 2018, 12:35

Lets try facts again - top ten destinations by number in 2017 were as follows:

Assuming that over 50% of LHR, AMS and DXB (and maybe CDG) traffic is connecting on elsewhere, I wonder what the same table would look like if the airport were to ever to release a list of traffic by terminating destinations?

HH6702

11th Apr 2018, 15:10

Ryanair tweeted me back to say winter flights on sale 6 months in advance so unless we hear in the next couple of weeks looks like Madrid is dropped for winter

bigjim99

12th Apr 2018, 07:33

Can expect a drop in DUB pax with both FR and STK/EI cutting capacity.

Annoyingly day trips won't be possible on majority of days with both flights operating within an hour of each other int morning.

CAX will be offering an afternoon flight; again doesn't help for day returns.

Back to long days via train to EDI/MAN for my colleagues and I.

GrahamK

12th Apr 2018, 07:56

Berlin dropping to 2 x weekly for W18 with EZY

SWBKCB

17th Apr 2018, 09:14

EZY's 15th anniversary press release. Pretty low key comments - no mention of future developments

https://www.newcastleairport.com/article/507/easyjet-celebrates-15-years-based-in-newcastle

ash666

17th Apr 2018, 09:17

EZY's 15th anniversary press release. Pretty low key comments - no mention of future developments

https://www.newcastleairport.com/article/507/easyjet-celebrates-15-years-based-in-newcastle

Even so, nice to see with bond getting an acknowledgement.

HH6702

24th Apr 2018, 15:41

Jet2

NEW ROUTES SUMMER 2019

Bourgas
Izmir

Jamesair

24th Apr 2018, 17:06

Bourgas 1 weekly Wed.
Izmir....1 weekly Fri

EK77WNCL

24th Apr 2018, 18:00

I was going through the schedule before to see if I could find where they've got this capacity from but I couldn't... I'm presuming this is a capacity reshuffle as opposed to a capacity increase, but I'd happily be corrected on that.

I thought perhaps the 6am slot for BOJ could have been freed up by an ALC or PMI being operated by an aircraft based out there, but all the Wednesday flights are operated by NCL aircraft.

Nevertheless, nice to see Izmir back on the boards! Must be pushing 10 years now since it was last served, I'm sure XL did it...

Jamesair

26th Apr 2018, 17:21

EZY have released the timetable for 4th Feb 19th - 24th Mar 19. Some frequency increases on the earlier winter release to 3rd Feb.

Alicante... daily (4 WKLY)
Barcelona 4 wkly (3 WKLY)
Belfast 17 wkly
Berlin 2 wkly
Bristol 12 wkly
Faro 2 wkly
Geneva.... 6 wkly
Malaga.... 5 wkly (4 wkly0
Malta 2 wkly
Tenerife 2 wkly

TOTAL NUMBER OF FLIGHTS 59 WKLY....(54 wkly)

HH6702

26th Apr 2018, 21:06

good news at last from Easyjet incease in flying

Looks like Madrid is dropped for winter wonder if it will return as a summer only route
Will Ryanair increase flights for the feb half term also or start some of the summer routes earlier

steady growth contiuning

EK77WNCL

26th Apr 2018, 21:11

Disappointing about Ryanair and Madrid, but if it wasn't working through the winter, I'd rather see the route remain on a more profitable basis, than operating at a loss year round. At the end of the day, the winter will always be a struggle!

Very positive from EZY, long may it continue

ash666

27th Apr 2018, 02:31

I was watching the bags being loaded onto a KLM flight on Wednesday.
There were 14 people at the bottom of the conveyor belt, 2 putting the bags on and 12 standing watching.
You've got to wonder.....

GrahamK

27th Apr 2018, 05:26

Flew through NCL yesterday to SXF. 117 pax on board so plenty of empty seats.

£6.45 for a Bacon sarnie though? The beer was cheaper!

SWBKCB

27th Apr 2018, 05:28

I was watching the bags being loaded onto a KLM flight on Wednesday.
There were 14 people at the bottom of the conveyor belt, 2 putting the bags on and 12 standing watching.
You've got to wonder.....

Ash - your posts often have me wondering...
You don't give much information, but your implication is that there were people just stood idly around and this is a wasteful and inefficient process - if so I'd be amazed as handlers have been cut to the bone (and if they were that overstaffed, they wouldn't be stood around outside they'd be inside drinking tea...:ok: ).

You don't just get on the apron without a v good reason, but their could be a hundred and one reasons - given the time of year, maybe newbies being inducted, or some sort of audit or inspection, something particularly "interesting" being loaded, airline visitors, etc, etc

GrahamK

27th Apr 2018, 06:00

Ash - your posts often have me wondering...
You don't give much information, but your implication is that there were people just stood idly around and this is a wasteful and inefficient process - if so I'd be amazed as handlers have been cut to the bone (and if they were that overstaffed, they wouldn't be stood around outside they'd be inside drinking tea...:ok: ).

You don't just get on the apron without a v good reason, but their could be a hundred and one reasons - given the time of year, maybe newbies being inducted, or some sort of audit or inspection, something particularly "interesting" being loaded, airline visitors, etc, etc
I'd agree with the training newbies theory. Looked like there was a load of training going on around a parked up Jet2 737 yesterday

ash666

27th Apr 2018, 06:44

I wondered later if it was a training thing.

Hipennine

27th Apr 2018, 07:39

Flew through NCL yesterday to SXF. 117 pax on board so plenty of empty seats.

£6.45 for a Bacon sarnie though? The beer was cheaper!

Get yer bacon sarnie at Greggs before going airside - much better value and crispy bacon!

jensdad

27th Apr 2018, 15:43

Madrid...the winter will always be a struggle!

Personally, I'd much rather go to Madrid in the winter than in summer. It can get unpleasantly hot any time from May to September.

HH6702

28th Apr 2018, 06:27

My mate starts with swissport middle of May and has around 2 weeks training room before 4 weeks shadowing so I would expect to see double the people needed at most aircraft for at least the next 6-8 weeks until everyone is trained for the summer

EK77WNCL

28th Apr 2018, 21:12

God knows what you would have thought at EMA today then! 25 of us just wandering around a 737 for 3 hours, shutting up and going home! 25 cabin crew just standing round a 737, Wasteful if ever I've heard it!!!

Heathrow Harry

29th Apr 2018, 09:37

Personally, I'd much rather go to Madrid in the winter than in summer. It can get unpleasantly hot any time from May to September.

Well it's quieter but it can be bitterly cold - it's high and the wind of the mountains is a bugger......

Jamesair

29th Apr 2018, 15:24

EK77WNCL....does this mean you are just about to get your crew job.....if so....well done

GrahamK

29th Apr 2018, 16:14

Just back from SXF yesterday, flight fully packed. Good to see the E-Gates in Use. Could probably do with a few more of them to be fair though. A lot of folk seemed to be struggling with their passports on them

EK77WNCL

29th Apr 2018, 21:18

Jamesair, correct! :) last week of training starts back down at East Mids on Wednesday and I should get my wings on Monday all being well!

GrahamK, has the new arrivals extension opened fully yet? How many e-gates do we have?

Ph1l1pncl

30th Apr 2018, 01:08

Congratulations, are you going to be based back up in Newcastle once you have your wings or will you be flying from elsewhere?

Regarding ground handling, unless Jet2 decide to self handle under the wing (not sure what the numbers required for that to happen are, but Newcastle is now the third smallest base for Jet2, only Belfast and Edinburgh are smaller) we have a monopoly of just Swissport handling. So, prices probably could rise as Swissport have no competition, airlines either then have to self handle, absorb the cost or just pull out the airport. Which isn’t ideal.

TSR2

30th Apr 2018, 09:29

EK77WNCL - Congratulations on your new job. What airline is it ?

LiamNCL

30th Apr 2018, 18:18

YL-LCO A320 arrived this afternoon in full TCX livery & The tail is peeling off already :} Happy summer season folks.

GrahamK

30th Apr 2018, 19:59

What was the Icelandic Q400 in for? Presumably not a new route?

EK77WNCL

1st May 2018, 00:38

Thank you! One of TUI’s newest trolley dolly’s here, look forward to seeing you all onboard! Exciting new chapter

If anyone’s at the airport at 06:30 on 12th May I’m off to Palma on my first flight, pictures appreciated! Or Larnaca on 24th 😉 providing I’m not sacked on my first outing! 😂

TheLambtonWorm

1st May 2018, 11:30

JGrahamK, has the new arrivals extension opened fully yet? How many e-gates do we have?

I used the e-gates yesterday on my return from Holland. There's 6 iirc and they're very fast. Much faster processing than the ones at Schiphol. There were still 3 booths for non EU etc passengers in operation.

skyhawk1

1st May 2018, 18:06

What was the Icelandic Q400 in for? Presumably not a new route?
charter flight. Came in Monday for a night. Don’t know who or why but it’s a one off

LiamNCL

2nd May 2018, 15:44

Anyone any ideas why MT1376 went to KVA ? I would of thought a medical diversion but FR24 had it down as NCL-KVA as it took off from Newcastle.

VentureGo

2nd May 2018, 16:47

Anyone any ideas why MT1376 went to KVA ? I would of thought a medical diversion but FR24 had it down as NCL-KVA as it took off from Newcastle.

MT1376 NCL-LCA was routed NCL - KVA (TCX86U) KVA - LCA (MT1376) and then LCA - NCL (MT1377) operated by G-TCDD

CentreFix25

2nd May 2018, 18:27

I'm guessing it was head winds over central Europe, the ground speed did reduce in that area, although I couldn't find any other A321s flying from the UK to Cyprus that needed to stop.

LiamNCL

2nd May 2018, 19:11

Strange even with headwinds it should of made Larnaca no problem.

BAladdy

2nd May 2018, 23:55

BE flights operated by T3 to BHD and IOM are no longer available to book after 11JUN

Jamesair

4th May 2018, 15:54

I just hope Easyjet or Ryanair come up with some new routes otherwise 2019 is looking a bit light on growth in pax numbers. At least Jet 2 are expanding...more seats and two new routes.

SWBKCB

4th May 2018, 15:58

Is it just me or are there a lot more non-based rotations from EZY on BFS and BRS?

VentureGo

4th May 2018, 16:18

Thomas Cook flight 1496 to Mahon (YL-LCO) should have departed 1.55pm today has been delayed to 10:00am tomorrow morning!
Nice start to the season with leased aircraft.

highwideandugly

4th May 2018, 19:52

I just hope Easyjet or Ryanair come up with some new routes otherwise 2019 is looking a bit light on growth in pax numbers. At least Jet 2 are expanding...more seats and two new routes.

i often wonder about Newcastle. Almost stagnant growth...if there is such a thing! Yes they do well on bucket and spade flights.But go back a couple of years and the schedule network is..shall we say..a little depleted? Is there much in the way of
Hunting for opportunities or are they happy to just to amble along picking up tiny amounts every year? And..yes I know it’s growth..but when aviation is growing at such a pace elsewhere..not much dynamic outlook shown?

freight ,maintenance,general aviation almost non existence this area and no change for last...how many years?

thats the problem with NE airports...need to be more confident and maybe branch out?

Build it and they they will come....Carlisle apparently!!

SWBKCB

5th May 2018, 05:23

But go back a couple of years and the schedule network is..shall we say..a little depleted?

Is it? For it's size, NCL has a good range of scheduled destinations - particularly hubs. I've said it before, but the north east is a poor, small, isolated region of the UK, so the size of the market limits growth.

Build it and they they will come....Carlisle apparently!!

We are back into Southend being "the fastest growing London airport" territory. Lets just say that Carlisle is special and not use it as a model.:ok:

Heathrow Harry

5th May 2018, 08:37

" when aviation is growing at such a pace elsewhere. "

Hmm - not very fast in the UK - Inverness is up from almost zero, Aberdeen,and Dundee are down, Glasgow & Edinburgh see routes come and go . Leeds is not brilliant, Bristol is mainly sun routes.....

NCL is bloody lucky to be able to support Emirates - some other airports would give their eye teeth for that service

Jamesair

5th May 2018, 09:22

You are certainly correct about Dubai, which proves that if the destination (or hub) is what the travelling public and freight movers want, then the service will be very well supported. In a lesser way, Bristol, Southampton and Exeter are domestic equivalents.

Heathrow Harry

5th May 2018, 11:27

Domestic out of NCL is really places you can't easily get a train to plus interlining in London

The sun routes are a function of local population and income

Europe big cities are breaks and business - and the later isn't a major feature of the landscape TBH

Dubai is a great catch for a small airport

HH6702

5th May 2018, 15:54

Qatar is looking at other UK options could we see them here at NCL or will they stay clear and go to BFS instead?

Jamesair

5th May 2018, 16:20

New York with United was an interesting experiment, a lot of flights went off with good pax numbers but with a 757, the cargo carrying capacity would have been minimal. Business Class seemed to have reasonable numbers (how many upgrades were involved, I don't know). Maybe with a different aircraft or even a different airline, things could have been different.

Will anyone else give it go? who knows?

Turkish Airlines to Istanbul would give a lot of interchange options and might not upset Emirates too much whereas Qatar??????

jensdad

5th May 2018, 16:42

Qatar is looking at other UK options could we see them here at NCL or will they stay clear and go to BFS instead?

I'd give Belfast a punt if I were they. I'm on the outside looking in but I get the impression that the NCL management have always been in a kind of awe of Emirates, so I can't see them busting a gut to get Qatar in. Just my impression....

I get HW&U's point that the number of destinations is depleted compared to a few years ago, but I also second SWB's and LHRH's comments that we are punching above our weight, so let's not be too negative. I may have mentioned this once or twice before!

Heathrow Harry

5th May 2018, 16:47

I'd give Belfast a punt if I were they. I'm on the outside looking in but I get the impression that the NCL management have always been in a kind of awe of Emirates, so I can't see them busting a gut to get Qatar in. Just my impression....

agreed- even Turkish would hit Emirates loads - I think they'll be trying to get someone to reinstate the USA - maybe Norwegian?? or maybe Canada summer only

Jamesair

5th May 2018, 16:51

Just been looking at the new, just published, Flybe Winter 18/19 timetable (up to 31st Mar.19).....Isle of Man....last flight 11th June 18.....Belfast City now seems to operate until 11th Jan 19.

SWBKCB

5th May 2018, 17:10

The carrier's chief executive Akbar Al Baker confirmed the move during a visit to Cardiff, from where Qatar Airways is set to increase its frequency from five days a week to a daily service from next month.

Qatar Airways, which bills itself as ‘the world’s five-star airline’, insists it wants to keep expanding in the UK, where it already flies to four destinations, and later this month will add London Gatwick as a fifth.

And Mr Baker said he "wants to launch services from Belfast as our next UK departure point".

Taken from the BFS thread - assuming that quote is accurate, my money would be on Belfast...

Anyway, don't think EK will be too worried by Qatar or Turkish - seem to compete quite happily elsewhere

HH6702

5th May 2018, 17:30

HH6702

5th May 2018, 17:32

Ryanair getting the MAX aircraft also i wonder if he will start ops over the pond.
Always talked about it

PDXCWL45

5th May 2018, 18:36

DY MAX aircraft would have the right side aircraft to offer a daily service to NYC or BOS
Also all economy class which seems to be the only thing that sold on the united

However will DY want to offer NCL as its close to EDI if they are trying to get EDI to work and have they not just reduced ops up there.

Really needs to be year round if its to attract any kind of business pax rather than just leisure.

Personally i think we would be better to wait until JetBlue gets its A321NEO jets as if they do start ops to the UK it may make sense for connections rather than DY

Norwegian won't touch the English regions because of APD. Their focus is on building up Gatwick and their narrow body focus will be on Dublin as that seems to be working.
As for JetBlue they'll go for the traditional long haul markets Dublin, Edinburgh and London and maybe Manchester, i can't see them going elsewhere in the UK if they actually do launch transatlantic, they may decide to focus towards Latin America and South America.

rpmac

5th May 2018, 19:09

HH6702

5th May 2018, 20:36

Like that idea Jet2/JetBlue codeshare deal

SWBKCB

5th May 2018, 21:03

JetBlue is interesting as it has seemed to me in the past that a tie up or code share with Jet2 for transatlantic flights from JFK into the likes of Jet2 bases such as Stansted Belfast Leeds and Newcastle which do not have much or any USA flights would work well. JetBlue passengers could be fed onto European flights with Jet2 whilst Jet2 passengers could be fed onto the JetBlue extensive USA network.

Would Jet2 really have much of a feed for transatlantic ops? How much of their business is inbound from their European destiantions?

toledoashley

6th May 2018, 07:45

JetBlue is interesting as it has seemed to me in the past that a tie up or code share with Jet2 for transatlantic flights from JFK into the likes of Jet2 bases such as Stansted Belfast Leeds and Newcastle which do not have much or any USA flights would work well. JetBlue passengers could be fed onto European flights with Jet2 whilst Jet2 passengers could be fed onto the JetBlue extensive USA network.

I struggle to see the attraction for JetBlue with Jet2... Why would they want to partner with what it is a predominately leisure carrier? Is there are a market for that? I believe JetBlue would be after a much more balanced carrier - the obvious one being easyJet with a stronger network throughout Europe.

Skyflier

6th May 2018, 20:55

The advantage TK holds where they operate is that with the 738 or A320 they can often offer a double daily whereas the EK 77W is limited to once a day unless signficicant growth takes place.

TK also operate their shorthaul fleet with proper business class seats.

Whether they will see NCL as attractive as a whole between MAN and EDI is anyone's guess.

N707ZS

8th May 2018, 21:44

I hear Emirates are planning an Edinburgh route, could be interesting to see if it affects Newcastle pax numbers.

jensdad

8th May 2018, 23:59

I hear Emirates are planning an Edinburgh root, could be interesting to see if it affects Newcastle pax numbers.

I think it has to, to some extent. The possibility of a second daily flight, remote as I believe it was, is probably dead in the water now.

LiamNCL

9th May 2018, 06:32

EDI DXB has a departure of 20:00 ish suggesting this is instead of a NCL evening flight and may benefit everyone without us needing a 2nd daily which was pie in the sky.

Jamesair

9th May 2018, 08:16

The March Dubai pax figure was 22,557 up 10% on Mar.17 so certainly very healthy

skyman771

9th May 2018, 10:57

The March Dubai pax figure was 22,557 up 10% on Mar.17 so certainly very healthy
Great to note progress EK has made. However it would be extremely naive to assume that EK moving into EDI won't have some effect on NCL - DXB LF's. Possibly predominantly PAX as opposed to freight. The catchment area for this flight extends some way beyond that of the "bucket & spade" & those Scot's that travel from the borders (in considerable numbers !) will be presented with additional choice, & indeed for some an evening departure may be a plus.
As with all EK departures in North of England, they can "move" pax demand around a bit with their price marketing, though this is possibly used more to fill empty seats. Again pricing strategy may assist in maintaining LF's but then this would be at a detriments to overall margins.

Heathrow Harry

9th May 2018, 12:20

I suspect it may affect some people in the Border area but Glasgow will suffer most

It allows them to put off adding a second flight to NCL for a few more years

Ph1l1pncl

9th May 2018, 23:56

The best chance I see for Emirates to go double daily from Newcastle would be to put both flights on their 787 aircraft that they have ordered. The smaller capacity of the aircraft would allow two flights but cargo capacity should be maintained.

GrahamK

10th May 2018, 09:03

Master plan 2035 released on the airport website. Aim for 7.4m pax by 2025, 9.6m by 2035. Safeguarding land for a 700m runway extension amongst others

NCL-TRC

10th May 2018, 12:18

No point in having a longer runway to accommodate larger aircraft if you’ve got nowhere to put them. The lack of definite plans for an extension to the terminal aren’t confidence inspiring. At present there are three contact stands that can accommodate a 767 and only one that can take a A330/787 without using taking up other stands at the same time. Assuming the airport thinks it can attract new carriers which will bring the larger aircraft in addition to what it already has then some aspects of the plan seem to be all talk and no trousers.

HH6702

10th May 2018, 13:32

The airport is unlikely to see more than 3 LARGE aircraft at anyone time any way.

if we did get a link to the USA again the aircraft would be gone before EK arrived and if when we get the evening EK it will Be early evening again nothing else around.

unless TUI/TCX decide that for summer 2020 they basing 3 each daily of A330/787 (highly unlikely) then there isn't need to get bigger stands as not needed.

the bulk of extra flights which we will see will be on 320/321/737 aircrafts

LiamNCL

10th May 2018, 15:23

They obviously feel the need in future for a longer runway what would a 737 Max or A321 NEO perform like on the current runway if it was to head to the US East coast ?

HH6702

10th May 2018, 15:45

The long awaiting multi storey car park work due to start in october ive heard.

The airport is also hoping for the extra flights to come from NONE based aircraft from the likes of Ryanair and other airlines using off peak times

TSR2

11th May 2018, 15:29

EK77WNCL
Best of luck tomorrow. Don't oversleep.

EK77WNCL

11th May 2018, 20:59

Thank you very much! Can't wait :)

I'll try my very best!

Ph1l1pncl

13th May 2018, 00:20

I’ve noticed from Instagram pics that they seem to be putting the Tui 787 on stand 7 which definitely I don’t think is large enough for a 787 so I guess also overhangs onto stand 8 like the Emirates 777. It definitely was a shame that the airport didn’t mention anything concrete about a terminal extension, they do state that at peaks it’s very busy but other times not so we have to contend with more small additions like the security and new border extensions. Shame no mention of any work to rectify the pier, that’s very grubby and dirty and go do it’s a good refurb. I wonder if the would ever put a airbridge on stand 11.

CentreFix25

13th May 2018, 07:47

I've seen it park on 16 frequently, but never 7 - they both point in the same direction.

Beatts

13th May 2018, 09:30

Regarding your post on the 787 stand, the past week they have been doing works on stand 7/30 which is also why the Emirates has been occupying an alternative stand.

N707ZS

13th May 2018, 16:18

Perhaps another pier would be ideal to the left of the terminal, but then you would possibly have to extend towards the tower to actually gain stands which would need more transport equipment to support the movement of pax and baggage. At the end of the day can they afford to do it.

NorthEasterner

13th May 2018, 22:12

TUI 787 on some days will use stand 7/8 in parallel to the top of the pier as stand 9 will be used by the Emirates 777, this only applies if flight departs after EK arrival.

During the first lot of flights / first wave there is a lot of coaching flights from remote stands so a second pier would be ideal - but probably would never happen.

Jamesair

16th May 2018, 22:21

Looks like CORK is another lost route after this summer season.

jensdad

17th May 2018, 12:47

A shame, although I must admit I'm not massively surprised by this. It's a pleasant enough place, but there's nothing breathtaking about it (there are days I think the same about Newcastle, before any Cork folk come on and slag me off! ). It doesn't have a large population and no obvious business links to Tyneside. It does seem though that a lot of routes started from NCL in the last decade or so are having trouble sticking around...

toon22

17th May 2018, 14:04

Remember that Cork began at the start of the Roy Keane era at Sunderland which brought in a large number of Irish - based supporters. I doubt if any of that traffic is here today. It’s quite a long sector for the ATR, easier pickings on BRS or BHX.7

SWBKCB

17th May 2018, 14:17

It does seem though that a lot of routes started from NCL in the last decade or so are having trouble sticking around...

Just the normal ebb and flow of marginal routes - remember Ryanair no longer operate half the routes they've ever started!

NCL-TRC

17th May 2018, 14:18

Hardly surprising, loads aren’t great and neither are the flight times. Maybe one for BMI to pick up over the weekend when the aircraft is sitting around not doing much.

HH6702

17th May 2018, 14:22

Hasn't this been said before then the route goes on sale again a few weeks before the season starts

wasnt it going to end in January then went on sale in the December?

ash666

17th May 2018, 14:48

Why does passport control make you walk for miles along the zig-zags when it is very quiet?
The sarcy, "enjoy your walk, did you?" when you get to the end really doesn't help.

ericlday

17th May 2018, 15:43

Had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago at TFS security, I took a short cut because there was nobody else around and the lady at the Boarding Pass check made me go the long way round....jobs worth...Hmmmm !!!!

ash666

17th May 2018, 16:12

And I didn't see anyone allowed to use the new machines.

inOban

17th May 2018, 16:18

We all need the exercise, don't we?

geordiejet

17th May 2018, 18:10

ash666

17th May 2018, 18:25

Just out of interest @ash666. Given that you can't visit the airport without complaint I'm wondering if you've ever considered complaining and I'd so what the response from the airport or perhaps considering an airport that better meets your needs?

Passport control can go from a slow trickle, to busy, to carnage and back to dead all within the space of 45 minutes. I doubt it's practical not required to hare anyone change the layout of the walkways continually throughout the day.

Im not aware of the automatic barriers being by invitation only. They're the default and barrier of choice now for the UK Border. If they're not available or blocked off then that's down to UKBA so I recommend younaddress your complaint to the,

I thought the whole design of the layout was so that the "webbing" between the posts could be changed quickly and easily. You would only make the sarcastic comment about the walk if you knew it was so unnecessary. I can hear other passengers talking, it's far from being just me who complains.

Why is the sky priority check-in desk for KLM/AF never manned (in my experience)? It doesn't matter if that is down to KLM/AF as it still reflects on the airport itself.
Likewise passport control. Passengers will just blame the airport if the machines are not accessible, not UKBA.

Why do the baggage handlers not get the priority bags off first when it can mean getting or missing the last train? Shame there was no phone signal in the luggage area.
I wouldn't waste my time complaining as it would be the predictable fob off.

There are many airports round the world I don't have a problem with, including the much maligned LHR.

Mind, AMS gets worse by the visit.
This time:

Security woman: "take your belt off "
"I can't, it's part of my trousers"
"Take your belt off "
I can't, it's part of my trousers "
"Take your belt off"....

They can't complain if I just roll my eyes and walk past.

ash666

18th May 2018, 07:11

geordiejet

18th May 2018, 07:26

I took the liberty of checking EDI and LBA and am pleased to confirm that this is not a NCL specific phenomena. The other airports have similar fares. It's also similar on AF to CDG.

I's hazard a guess and the the economy is a fixed ticket and the business class is flexible. As for who buys them, I've no idea. Either that or dissuading people from using biz on the short flights keeping it for those who are connecting long haul and spending thousands with them.

Still for some people checking in on social media 'in the lounge' (cringe) or strutting though the terminal with their business class bag tags proudly on show (double cringe) or strutting up to the gate as the Europe Select/Flying Blue Gold boarding call is made (triple cringe) is a price worth paying for them.

ash666

18th May 2018, 08:01

They would have their work cut out at CDD where half the plane has Sky Priority!

It does make me wonder if it is worth having a business class at all on these 1 hour flights. I've rarely seen it even half full and even if pax are travelling business class long haul from AMS and the NCL flight is thrown in for nothing as long as they get a priority check-in and baggage allowance would they really mind sitting in economy for a 1 hour trip? I wouldn't.

There is a regular domestic flight I use in Thailand which rarely has anyone in busy class at all. They still pull the curtains, mind!
Or maybe I would as well if I was cabin crew to stop both toilets being used.

Another first the other day on AMS-NCL when someone was asked to stow his small paperback book for take-off.

skyhawk1

18th May 2018, 10:00

I do wonder, though, what sort of person travels in business class on the AMS flight if they are not going on anywhere.

Economy £99, business £829.

Are there really that many stupidly rich people that would pay an extra £700 just to get on and off first with a snack on the flight for a 1 hour trip? Even a slightly bigger luggage allowance doesn't get close to justifying that.

Are they stupidly rich or just stupid? Or have egos the size of Everest?

Or some other genuine reason?

is someone a little bit jealous here that they can’t afford it. If someone travels business maybe it’s because they are valuable to their company, have worked hard to be able to do it or just treating themselves. Hardly an excuse to call them stupid. Mind you some may do it for the space and get away from some bitter, moaning and miserable people that do travel economy. I wouldn’t want to sit next to these people even if the flight is only 1 hour. Also have you ever thought that the cost of these tickets may allow the airlines to offer cheaper economy tickets, or even keep the route going.

ash666

18th May 2018, 10:13

is someone a little bit jealous here that they can’t afford it. If someone travels business maybe it’s because they are valuable to their company, have worked hard to be able to do it or just treating themselves. Hardly an excuse to call them stupid. Mind you some may do it for the space and get away from some bitter, moaning and miserable people that do travel economy. I wouldn’t want to sit next to these people even if the flight is only 1 hour. Also have you ever thought that the cost of these tickets may allow the airlines to offer cheaper economy tickets, or even keep the route going.

If I was the richest person in the world I wouldn't pay £829 for a 1 hour flight. Jealousy doesn't come into it.
If it was a business traveller on company business then if it was a PLC the shareholders would be up in arms at such a gross waste of company funds.

I'm not sure the is much more space, if any.

I have travelled business class on this flight many times but only because I get it as a free (or less!!) add-on to the long haul where it really is worth paying the business class fare. The long haul fare is only 2X the NCL-AMS fare.

Heathrow Harry

18th May 2018, 10:57

The Rich often pay far more than £ 829 for an hour's flight - they use Business jets and they ALL cost more than that

When you are rich the $$$ isn't important cp your time and convenience - in fact that is one of the main things money brings to you - freedom to do what you want, when you want it

ash666

18th May 2018, 11:09

"I wish I was rich enough to afford a solid gold bowling alley".
"Why do you want a solid gold bowling alley?"
"I don't, I just wish I was rich enough to afford....."

fl dutchman

18th May 2018, 11:25

Ash,
You have answered your own question. When you buy a business class long haul with KLM (or its partners) or even a european onward connection from AMS in business using a UK KLM feeder ie from NCL you are usually in business on the UK sector also if that makes sense.
The same applies on the LHR domestic flights with BA and its partners.
I seem to remember someone saying that its to give a seamless business experience for the entire journey ! ie lounges, priority boarding, extra bags etc. But obviously not the same seat.
So perhaps the vast majority of those in business on NCL-AMS and NCL-LHR fit into the above category.
Most of those in business on the feeders will therefore not be paying the high prices you quote ( a few will though )

ash666

18th May 2018, 11:28

Ash,
You have answered your own question. When you buy a business class long haul with KLM (or its partners) or even a european onward connection from AMS in business using a UK feeder ie from NCL you are usually in business on the UK sector also if that makes sense.
The same applies on the LHR domestic flights.
I seem to remember someone saying that its to give a seamless business experience for the entire journey ! ie lounges, priority boarding, extra bags etc. But obviously not the same seat.
So perhaps the vast majority of those in business on NCL-AMS and NCL-LHR fit into the above category.

Yes, my original point was about those with no onward connections, only doing NCL-AMS-NCL and paying that amount of money for it.

fl dutchman

18th May 2018, 11:42

There wont be many doing that. But its available if anyone wants to.

nighthawk117

18th May 2018, 12:49

As you, and others have suggested, it's to discourage passengers from booking NCL-AMS in business.

The last thing the airline wants is to miss out on a £4k sale from someone flying NCL-AMS-JFK because they sold the last NCL-AMS business class seat for £200. Anyone looking to spend that kind of money might not be too happy about being dumped into economy on the NCL-AMS leg.

Far better to keep the business class relatively empty and try and win over some higher value connecting business passengers.

ash666

18th May 2018, 13:04

VentureGo

20th May 2018, 10:29

https://www.newcastleairport.com/passengerstatistics

April figures now published on Airport's website show -1896 down on April last year (407,599 [April '17] vs 405,703 [April 2018])

Domestic Passengers +2,818
Inclusive Tour Passengers +4,698
Scheduled International Passengers - 9,501
Other + 89

Not sure why Scheduled International passengers should be Down so much - Capacity hasn't seemed to drop significantly. Are loads down? or maybe figures from Airport are wrong?

GrahamK

20th May 2018, 11:23

Jamesair

20th May 2018, 15:20

Also possibly connected to the timing of Easter...2017 fell in the second week of April...2018 end of March/April.
AMS 4 x daily (5 last year)

Beatts

20th May 2018, 16:26

Apparently EK past few weeks loads haven't been as good.

GrahamK

20th May 2018, 16:51

Apparently EK past few weeks loads haven't been as good.

May is usually the quietest month of the year for EK anyway, across the UK as a whole

Jamesair

20th May 2018, 21:18

In May 2017 the Dubai pax figure was 14,924

ash666

21st May 2018, 06:08

NCL doing pretty well.
Average delay in minutes, worst at the top.

Luton - 19.7 minutes

Gatwick - 18.9 minutes

Jersey - 18.7 minutes

Durham Tees Valley - 18.6 minutes

Birmingham - 18.2 minutes

Bristol - 17.6 minutes

Belfast International - 16.7 minutes

Manchester - 16.7 minutes

Stansted - 16.7 minutes

Aberdeen - 16.1 minutes

Edinburgh - 15.8 minutes

Cardiff - 15.7 minutes

Glasgow - 15.0 minutes

Doncaster Sheffield - 14.3 minutes

Liverpool - 14.0 minutes

London Southend - 13.5 minutes

Southampton - 13.5 minutes

East Midlands International - 13.3 minutes

Newcastle - 12.8 minutes

Bournemouth - 12.3 minutes

Exeter - 11.9 minutes

London City - 11.6 minutes

Belfast City - 11.3 minutes

Leeds Bradford - 11.3 minutes

Heathrow - 11.0 minutes

CabinCrewe

22nd May 2018, 16:05

Reasonably big cuts on weekly BA LHR flight totals for NCL W18

tigertanaka

22nd May 2018, 17:55

Reasonably big cuts on weekly BA LHR flight totals for NCL W18

Care to expand on this? Pretty much looks like 6 a day during the week to me.

GrahamK

22nd May 2018, 20:18

NCL-LHR reduces from 41 weekly flights to 34. That may be the same as last winter though?

tigertanaka

22nd May 2018, 21:09

NCL-LHR reduces from 41 weekly flights to 34. That may be the same as last winter though?

Do you have a source for this or some dates? Spot checking on ba.com, I can consistently see 40/41 flights a week.

fl dutchman

23rd May 2018, 14:27

ash666

23rd May 2018, 14:35

Which flight has been dropped to AMS?

EK77WNCL

23rd May 2018, 15:21

Well with any luck it'll just prop up other airlines out of NCL, like EK in particular. AF could do with a little propping as well I think. With this, and the loss of viable connections through DUB with EI, it would seem like a prime opportunity for LH to jump in with a FRA service, most likely on BM metal. Surely we could fill 98 seats PDEW on a E145, x13 weekly, expecially since we're losing something in the order of 450 PDEW to LHR/AMS

We shall see..

ash666

23rd May 2018, 15:45

CabinCrewe

23rd May 2018, 15:56

ABZ has a drop, GLA has only lost 2 services per week (with some A319's replaced by A320's). Capacity change likely to be negligable. Lots of these off peak 'shuttles' run far from full. People do look for frequency however.
Most of the domestic 763 ops will be going too (they definitely rarely ran full).

Ph1l1pncl

23rd May 2018, 16:05

NCL-LHR
The schedules are being amended now!. It looks like the 12 noon ish flight to LHR is going and the second one up from LHR arriving about 11 ish are going each day.

I understand the noon flight to LHR to be one of the busiest of the day mainly for connections ??.

So approx Six hrs gap between flights to LHR. 9 am ish to about 3 pm! dont know exact times.

Also if you fly into LHR early morning and you cant make the 7.25 ish departure to NCL you have to wait to about 2 pm for the next one. Not good especially if its Longhaul inbound.

Many years since the service was down to 5 per day for an entire season.

They are using the slots to increase frequency from LHR to other places in Europe and Worldwide . I think domestics LHR-ABZ is also affected. But not LHR-MAN, EDI or GLA.

So thats a reduction on the 2 most busy routes out of NCL----------LHR and AMS!

The flight times for Winter with BA from NCL-LHR are

BA1321 - 7.55
BA1325 - 9.35
BA1327- 12:05
BA1335 - 17:30
BA1337 - 19:35

The LHR to NCL timings are:

07:35
09:45
15:05
17:30
19:45

The flights from Newcastle are fairly spaced out, from Heathrow there is a 5 hour gap which isn’t ideal.

Is KLM increasing to 5 a day again in the summer or has it gone to 4 per day year round?

fl dutchman

23rd May 2018, 19:19

LHR NCL.
Thanks Ph1l1pncl.
Thanks. Yes I got the new times wrong, the noon flight from NCL and the 9.45 from LHR are obviously still flying thankfully. I looked at it the wrong way round. However 5 hrs between flights is not good.

HH6702

24th May 2018, 09:30

Disappointing that the airport isn't keeping its website updated

airport timetables hasn't been updated since January now

spoke to airport end of April they said they were working on it

Summer 2019 been on sale now for 8+ weeks with some new routes but little advertising

shame to not be using this powerful tool which the public and travel agents use

Sam Chipperfield

25th May 2018, 08:26

All BA are doing is getting rid of the Flights that get Cancelled and Flights that are quite clearly not as busy as the others,

SWBKCB

25th May 2018, 08:51

All BA are doing is getting rid of the Flights that get Cancelled and Flights that are quite clearly not as busy as the others,

Aren't these just the usual winter/summer schedule changes we see every year from BA/KLM?

skyman771

25th May 2018, 22:26

ash666 I do wonder, though, what sort of person travels in business class on the AMS flight if they are not going on anywhere.

Economy £99, business £829.

Are there really that many stupidly rich people that would pay an extra £700 just to get on and off first with a snack on the flight for a 1 hour trip? Even a slightly bigger luggage allowance doesn't get close to justifying that.

Are they stupidly rich or just stupid? Or have egos the size of Everest?

Or some other genuine reason?
Been away for a while, but some serious garbage been posted in the interim ! case in point what on earth is this inaccurate rant all about ? There is unlikely to be any correlation between affluence & stupidity, indeed quite the reverse. I would have thought given all your travels you would have worked it out, as an example, it is possible to in advance to purchase a business class return NCL-AMS-NYC for c.£1,500, then maybe it's those up front who are the ones that are smiling;)

ash666

26th May 2018, 05:13

Been away for a while, but some serious garbage been posted in the interim ! case in point what on earth is this inaccurate rant all about ? There is unlikely to be any correlation between affluence & stupidity, indeed quite the reverse. I would have thought given all your travels you would have worked it out, as an example, it is possible to in advance to purchase a business class return NCL-AMS-NYC for c.£1,500, then maybe it's those up front who are the ones that are smiling;)

I have got no idea what your point is, unless you completely failed to understand my original post.

Anyway, Nighthawk117 gave a perfectly satisfactory answer.

MATELO

27th May 2018, 08:24

Jet2 737 (LS551) currently holding at 5000 over the city after turning back over Coventry on route to Almeria??

jensdad

27th May 2018, 22:25

Are Cityjet back on the Paris route now? I've noticed a couple of 146s/RJ85s/whatever they're calleds going in this week...

LiamNCL

27th May 2018, 22:45

Are Cityjet back on the Paris route now? I've noticed a couple of 146s/RJ85s/whatever they're calleds going in this week...

only a certain rotation is on Cityjet for the summer

jensdad

27th May 2018, 23:01

Cheers Liam, I suspected that was it, although I know Jota do the odd charter etc.

Jamesair

29th May 2018, 16:39

Now that the Carlisle opening has been put back to the 3rd September maybe Aer Lingus needs to reconsider its reduction in the Dublin service from Newcastle

ash666

29th May 2018, 16:46

I see the 2035 masterplan is out.

https://www.newcastleairport.com/masterplan-documents

ash666

31st May 2018, 16:38

If the Metro/Nexus won't run trains to get pax to the airport for 4.30am check-ins could the airport not rent a couple of trains and drivers and the lines/network for a couple of hours?

After all, the major train companies effectively hire the tracks which are run by another company.

SWBKCB

31st May 2018, 16:44

Good luck with the business case for that one.

jensdad

31st May 2018, 20:01

Apologies for the spotterish question, but anyone know why the Thomas Cook from Dalaman diverted to Manchester in the small hours today? There was lowish visibility at NCL but nothing too serious, and other aircraft seemed to be making it in...

NorthEasterner

31st May 2018, 20:16

It diverted to refuel I believe. I could be wrong however.

Heathrow Harry

1st Jun 2018, 07:19

Good luck with the business case for that one.

Given the way the world is going providing a 24/7 service probably will happen in the next 10 years - look at the London Underground for example

Problem is it'll probably be a max of 2 per hour.

Most people will figure cari can get them from anywhere in N Tyneside to the Airport in about 30 minutes at 04:00 and roll over and pay the taxi rather than have to get up earlier to get a train

ash666

1st Jun 2018, 07:21

SWBKCB

1st Jun 2018, 07:37

Given the way the world is going providing a 24/7 service probably will happen in the next 10 years - look at the London Underground for example

I agree, but that won't be down to airport demand.

Just figure how many people need to be at the airport for 04.30 and then how many would actually want to use the Metro.

Heathrow Harry

1st Jun 2018, 14:07

I agree, but that won't be down to airport demand.

Just figure how many people need to be at the airport for 04.30 and then how many would actually want to use the Metro.

Agreed.................

skyman771

3rd Jun 2018, 08:12

My problem is having the confidence that the taxi will turn up.
I'm sick of being told by the office every 10 minutes that the taxi is on it's way and is very close only for them to say after 30 or 40 minutes that they can't get a driver to take the job.
The answer to this is very simple, change taxi company, many now have apps via text that download the drivers position in real time. If you are really paranoid then order one an hour earlier! :ugh:

Charlie98

3rd Jun 2018, 08:33

Due to a range of reasons, I can guarantee we will not be seeing the Metro running beyond the current times for at least 10 years. There are several key reasons behind this:

Staffing:

There is a significant amount of resource required to operate trains, more than meets the eye of 'drivers and signallers' you will also need a significant number of frontline staff out and about for fire regulations
Driver/ frontline contracts do not include said hours - change = ouch!

ASB: must be considered
Maintenance

The rolling stock cannot be used further, if anything usage will need to go down
Metro All Change - possessions are occurring every night for the modernisation project up to 2021; this will be continuing for further works
When are stations such as Monument cleaned?

Metro doesn't run on New Years Day (only major Metro/LR service in the UK not to do so)

Metro aren't daft, there probably isn't a business case for such an idea yet before we even get into the very complex technicalities of such a service. MetroLink has only recently started the Manchester Airport - Deansgate Castlefield service and MAN is a large amount bigger than Newcastle, but also that system has only recently been built, and isn't going through such a major investment programme anymore.
The idea of hiring trains or track possession would be a non starter.

ash666

3rd Jun 2018, 09:46

I have tried every company around .

ash666

6th Jun 2018, 14:47

Looks like the new E machines at passport control are causing chaos.

Mind, good to see that a toilet has finally arrived between the planes and immigration.

nclops

6th Jun 2018, 21:04

Looks like the new E machines at passport control are causing chaos.

Mind, good to see that a toilet has finally arrived between the planes and immigration.

The toilet in the arrivals corridor has been there for 3 or 4 years now, possibly longer!

ash666

6th Jun 2018, 21:15

The toilet in the arrivals corridor has been there for 3 or 4 years now, possibly longer!

I'm amazed I would walk past that without noticing unless they walk us a different way now.

Mind, when I've mentioned this in the past no-one has said anything was there, not that I am disagreeing with you.

Check Mags On

6th Jun 2018, 21:25

That toilet has been there for years at least 5 maybe more I think.

GrahamK

15th Jun 2018, 21:12

Emirates reducing DXB temporarily from 16th April to 4 x weekly for 45 days whilst the runway resurfacing at DXB takes place.
All other UK destinations seeing reductions too, so nothing to worry about for NCL.
NCL, EDI, STN all go 4 weekly
MAN, GLA, LGW, LHR all lose a daily flight
BHX reduces from 14 to 11 weekly

oldart

16th Jun 2018, 08:50

That toilet has been there for years at least 5 maybe more I think.
My sister in law used it yesterday and said it was filthy, usual long delay on baggage reclaim and long queues for passport control.

Falcon900LX

16th Jun 2018, 13:49

The toilet in the arrivals corridor has been there for 3 or 4 years now, possibly longer!

Very recently renovated however it was closed for a period of months and gladly it's now open again.

GrahamK

18th Jun 2018, 21:23

CAA stats for April (!)
Brussels +27%
Paris CDG -15% Lots of Cancellations due to strikes etc
Berlin -8%
Dusseldorf -33% People not enjoying the Q400?
Dublin -17% Reductions from both FR and EIr
Rome +17%
Amsterdam -17% Reduced frequency
Madrid +24%
Barcelona -2%
Gdansk +14%
Krakow +21%
Warsaw +5%
Wroclaw +2%
Dubai 21208 +3%
Heathrow +1%

HH6702

18th Jun 2018, 22:10

So good set of figures there.
nice to see those Ryanair routes growing shame Madrid isn't going into the winter with that increase for April

EK continues to grow

Jamesair

19th Jun 2018, 07:59

May statistics have been posted on the airport website. Pax figures are 524,325 up from 510,342 last year

Ph1l1pncl

21st Jun 2018, 01:59

SWBKCB

21st Jun 2018, 04:57

ash666

21st Jun 2018, 12:27

From Facebook:

"An exciting day at the airport - a rare visit from a Bhutan Airlines A319"

What's the story?

SWBKCB

21st Jun 2018, 12:38

From Facebook:

"An exciting day at the airport - a rare visit from a Bhutan Airlines A319"

What's the story?

Delivery flight from the US

ash666

21st Jun 2018, 13:16

Is that common?

VentureGo

21st Jun 2018, 13:56

Bhutan Airlines is due A319 ex Frontier Airlines (N952FR - "Mel the Mule Deer") - MSN4204
Departed Newcastle to Athens, from where it has Departed at 15.29 UTC as B3781/BTN781 registration showing as A5-DOR (ref. FR24)

SWBKCB

21st Jun 2018, 16:17

Is that common?

No - there used to be a steady trickle of DHC-8 deliveries through NCL, but jet airliner ferry flights are very rare. About every 10-15 year's or so!

ash666

21st Jun 2018, 16:36

No - there used to be a steady trickle of DHC-8 deliveries through NCL, but jet airliner ferry flights are very rare. About every 10-15 year's or so!

I can't remember the last one I saw/heard of.

tigertanaka

21st Jun 2018, 18:43

BA seems to be considerably reducing its Newcastle flights. In many days in July and August they are down to just 3/4 rotations a day. It already feels like a slippery slope with the reduction in the schedules for winter. Even during the height of the financial crisis we kept the 6 daily flights.

Maybe you can give some example dates as from what I can see is that it is pretty much the usual winter schedule of 5 flights Sun-Fri and 4 on a Saturday. There is the odd day down to 4 which is frustrating (4 Aug) but these are by far the exception.

As @SWBKCB said, BA's winter NCL schedule is always 1 flight less a day than the summer one - and note that one of the late afternoon NCL summer departures is a slot sitter which seems to disappear during July & August.

VentureGo

21st Jun 2018, 21:06

Maybe you can give some example dates as from what I can see is that it is pretty much the usual winter schedule of 5 flights Sun-Fri and 4 on a Saturday. There is the odd day down to 4 which is frustrating (4 Aug) but these are by far the exception.As @SWBKCB said, BA's winter NCL schedule is always 1 flight less a day than the summer one - and note that one of the late afternoon NCL summer departures is a slot sitter which seems to disappear during July & August.My understanding too. - NCL is prime for expansion on this route, but currently, looking at fares, this route is very profitable. Once LHR expansion takes place, frequency will increase to EDI, MAN and GLA levels.

fl dutchman

21st Jun 2018, 22:08

LHR

For a number of years now NCL has has six flights per day, Mon to Fri both in summer and winter. With up to 6 flights on winter Saturdays, 4 on summer Saturdays and 5 on both winter and summer Sundays.

In fact on some days within the last year or two there has been 7 flights per day. ( probably the extra one being a slot sitter)

The reduction to five per day this coming winter is highly unusual as for many many years its always been six.

Yes there are some reductions to 3 or 4 on some days during the next few weeks, although some of the days where the schedule was reduced to 3 appear to have been changed to 4 in the last few hours. Probably as the availability of seats on alternative flights for those on connections already booked could not be met with just three flights if that makes sense ??

The schedule is very erratic over the next few weeks some days 6 some 5 and some 4. It should be noted that these changes appear to have been made quite recently and numerous people will have had there plans disrupted.

Not good for the busiest route out of NCL

Aircraft shortage ??

Ph1l1pncl

21st Jun 2018, 22:49

Newcastle has always been 6 flights Mon-Fri with 4 on Saturdays and 5 on Sundays.

I tweeted the airport about the reductions over the summer and they acknowledged the recent reductions and said they are trying to get a stable schedule from BA and working with them.

The extra 7th flight in the past winter season was a slot sitter for the cancelled Doha flights in December and January, it resulted in two flights departing within 5 minutes of each other.

If the route was doing that amazing they wouldn’t be cancelling flights in the height of summer to help fund other destinations.

Jamesair

22nd Jun 2018, 08:12

The route carries an average of 40,000 pax per month and is the airports busiest route.

skyman771

22nd Jun 2018, 09:24

[QUOTE=VentureGo;
Once LHR expansion takes place, frequency will increase to EDI, MAN and GLA levels.[/QUOTE]
This cliche really irk's me, there is currently no likelihood of a 3rd runaway for many years if at all. Even if it is built, then everything that has been said becomes irrelevant. It makes good political press to say that a 3rd runway will benefit virtually every commercially active airport in the UK in some form, but then at the end of the day there is reality.... No one in government, other than to save their own a**e, gives a monkeys about anywhere North of Watford Gap, "London rules "& only if it benefits London & South.
Initially China & all other developing economies will no doubt have 100% of their slot requirements satisfied, will any Government look to distributing any "spare" slots, other than again, on a political basis to serve their own needs?
Things have deteriorated significantly in UK domestic route development over the past 30 years, & insofar as NCL is concerned BA are one of the villains & not saviors..i.e LGA, we have also had LTN & STN offerings from other airlines that have come & gone for various reasons.
Historically then from a political perspective, it hardly places NCL in a strong position to demand further slots, if & when there is a "divi out" due to surplus availability from a "3rd Runway".

toon22

22nd Jun 2018, 13:14

You only have to look at Leeds to see what happens if a route to LHR doesn’t perform. We would still have had Gatwick if the schedule had been anywhere suitable for a north-east based passenger. Newcastle is right on the margin for a viable point to point a service to London. If rail fares weren’t so ridiculously expensive and reliability poor, then 40,000 passengers per month would very quickly become 30,000 with all the consequences to frequency that would trigger.

jensdad

22nd Jun 2018, 13:57

insofar as NCL is concerned BA are one of the villains & not saviors..i.e LGA

I have heard airport management describe the LHR as their 'bread and butter' so to be fair, I'm not sure anyone at the airport sees then as villains. If I'm being devil's advocate (I don't have access to detailed passenger figures), could it be argued that dropping LGW actually defended the LHR route?

Having said this - and I may have said this before - but if I were working for BA or KLM/AF, I would have been a bit irked by the airport's ecstatic crowing that 'you can now [my italics] fly to Thailand/ Mauritius/ China etc with just one stop' when Emirates came in.

Heathrow Harry

22nd Jun 2018, 15:33

Nobody gets "irked" - they all just look at the bottom line................

TBH I can only see LHR flights continuing to reduce long-term - there are many better alternatives

jensdad

22nd Jun 2018, 16:58

TBH I can only see LHR flights continuing to reduce long-term

Definitely. Our LHR service has actually held up very well compared to Edinburgh, Glasgow etc. who had more-or-less hourly services on both BA and BMA back in the day.

fl dutchman

29th Jun 2018, 08:50

SWBKCB

29th Jun 2018, 09:09

SWBKCB

3rd Jul 2018, 13:31

Heathrow up 7% in the May CAA stats

fl dutchman

3rd Jul 2018, 17:14

It will be interesting to see what the July and August 2018 figures are like.

Jamesair

4th Jul 2018, 16:42

Dubai up 8% in May CAA stats

highwideandugly

4th Jul 2018, 17:05

I suppose it’s not rocket science.....flights to Heathrow. Decrease and the population of the NE select Emirates,klm,Air France et al..that’s an awful lot of transit passengers missing Heathrow and going elsewhere? Now the NE needs a Lufthansa connection desperately and Aer Lingus to step up?

If you need Aberdeen then up to 4 flights per day from DTV (plus KLM also)so the area is well covered!!

Jamesair

9th Jul 2018, 16:15

Carlisle operations now delayed until SPRING 2019. I hope Aer Lingus and Ryanair will be looking at re-instating some of the lost Irish capacity at NCL.and North East area as a whole.

Jamesair

12th Jul 2018, 08:04

EZY made their first new winter 18/19 route announcement yesterday...3 new routes from Belfast. Hopefully, Newcastle may get something new.

GrahamK

12th Jul 2018, 08:57

It appears nothing new for NCL

Jamesair

12th Jul 2018, 21:54

The stats for June are now on the airport website.
Movements for June...2018..... 3941...... (4202 Jun 2017)
Pax for Jun 2018...594,245......(.587,953 Jun. 2017)

another increase in pax against a drop in movements

HH6702

13th Jul 2018, 07:12

Big drop in movements there but nice increase strange to see such a difference

lets see where the ups are etc
I'm guessing the EK will have a seen a big increase again maybe

are you sure the movements aren't meant to be the other way around

GrahamK

13th Jul 2018, 09:34

I see there is a Danish Air Transport MD82 on its way in from Esbjerg. Any idea why, and when was the last 'Mad Dog' to visit NCL? Apologies for the 'spotter' type question

Jamesair

13th Jul 2018, 14:07

The movements are correct the only increase for June 18 is in the "others" category which is 1239 up from 1153...every other sector is down.

Falcon900LX

13th Jul 2018, 22:12

I see there is a Danish Air Transport MD82 on its way in from Esbjerg. Any idea why, and when was the last 'Mad Dog' to visit NCL? Apologies for the 'spotter' type question
Chartered to bring School kids for the tall ships, and went back out to Billund. Back next Friday I believe.

N707ZS

15th Jul 2018, 08:15

another increase in pax against a drop in movements this seems to be a trend, DTVA is in a similar situation. What is the factor in the drop of movements? Flying club/light aircraft movements?

Jamesair

15th Jul 2018, 08:56

"INTERNATIONAL" was the biggest faller...i.e. the loss of one frequency to Amsterdam at five days a week loses 42 frequencies a month (June) add in Dublin, and Copenhagen and it quickly adds up...In "DOMESTIC" one daily frequency to Southampton was lost. that's 60 movements in the month.

HH6702

15th Jul 2018, 11:44

It does.

least the pax haven't been lost so hopefully the bottom line is much better

P330

15th Jul 2018, 15:38

Anyone know what happened to the TOM flight to Cancun today and it's passengers?

Reports the flight was cancelled.

JonnyH

15th Jul 2018, 19:16

Anyone know what happened to the TOM flight to Cancun today and it's passengers?

Reports the flight was cancelled.

It wasn’t cancelled - it’s an indefinite delay and passengers have been accommodated over night with the flight due rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 09AM.

G-TUIA went tech in Edinburgh, before flying down, after returning from Cancun early this morning. I’m not sure if it’ll be up and running to operate the CUN tomorrow or if there’s two new aircrafts coming into operate the rescheduled CUN rotation as well as Orlando.

Ph1l1pncl

16th Jul 2018, 01:55

I see the very erratic BA LHR service over the next few months has begun. Noticed that the fares are extortionate on many flights. Over £350 economy "single" on lots of journeys where seats are available, not just in the coming days but coming months.

So is this due to a shortage of seats or something else ?

BA cut the flights to Newcastle to free up aircraft to offer an expanded schedule from Gatwick due to the acquisition of the Monarch slots and not having enough aircraft to operate those flights so Heathrow based aircraft along with Titan and Eastern operating the schedule from there. The smaller schedule has meant demand has increased for the remaining flights pushing the flights up into higher price brackets, which is good for yield to BA. However less flights and erratic schedule unfortunately just start a cycle of people not booking because they don’t have flights they want to then a reduction in passenger numbers which then reduces the flights even more.

The schedule is showing stable at 5 flights a day during the winter and at present it’s showing 6 flights for Summer 19 but they won’t have finalised summer 19 yet so it be interesting to see what happens.

SWBKCB

16th Jul 2018, 06:26

Can somebody remind me of these halcyon days when BA LHR flights were cheap? Might have been some low fares available off peak, but the early and late flights are usually full fare

ash666

16th Jul 2018, 06:29

And much less choice using Air Miles these days unless you want to get to central London at 10.30pm.

L66MBD

18th Jul 2018, 10:31

Anyone know the reason for the delay on this morning's FR3491 and return FR3492 from Arrecife?

(First post after years of lurking, prepared to be trolled!) Cheers

Jamesair

18th Jul 2018, 19:51

Jet 2 have announced two short break flights to Keflavik (Iceland) in February 2019
14th Feb out/returning on the 18th Feb
18th Feb out/returning on the 21st Feb

GrahamK

19th Jul 2018, 06:18

Eurowings changing back to the A319/320 for the winter season

Jamesair

19th Jul 2018, 17:02

Flybe timetable up to end June 18 available...looks like no change with Aberdeen (15 weekly), Cardiff (10), Exeter (daily), Newquay (1) and Southampton (18)

Falcon900LX

19th Jul 2018, 19:16

Flybe timetable up to end June 18 available...looks like no change with Aberdeen (15 weekly), Cardiff (10), Exeter (daily), Newquay (1) and Southampton (18)
Interesting, had it on good authority that Flybe and Eastern were separating again soon, can't remember the date mind you.
As for the Eurowings, anyone know why it's changing back to the airbus? Loads we're always around the 60-80 mark before it went to the dash anyway.

tigertanaka

19th Jul 2018, 21:51

Interesting, had it on good authority that Flybe and Eastern were separating again soon, can't remember the date mind you.
As for the Eurowings, anyone know why it's changing back to the airbus? Loads we're always around the 60-80 mark before it went to the dash anyway.

I really wish the Eurowings timings were a bit better, I have been to DUS on business 5 times this year from NCL & MME, all on BA or KLM. The Eurowings flight times mean that the morning is pretty much a write off, a 14:00 arrival at DUS means there is not much time in the day left by the tine I get to my destination and the flight home requires a sometimes unnecessary overnight stay. However prices can be really good to DUS (especially if you are connecting on) but this is less of an issue for business travellers.

Maybe there is some good cargo business on this route?

fl dutchman

20th Jul 2018, 20:02

BA cut the flights to Newcastle to free up aircraft to offer an expanded schedule from Gatwick due to the acquisition of the Monarch slots and not having enough aircraft to operate those flights so Heathrow based aircraft along with Titan and Eastern operating the schedule from there. The smaller schedule has meant demand has increased for the remaining flights pushing the flights up into higher price brackets, which is good for yield to BA. However less flights and erratic schedule unfortunately just start a cycle of people not booking because they don’t have flights they want to then a reduction in passenger numbers which then reduces the flights even more.

The schedule is showing stable at 5 flights a day during the winter and at present it’s showing 6 flights for Summer 19 but they won’t have finalised summer 19 yet so it be interesting to see what happens.

Well it seems that the "stable" Winter reduced to 5 flights per day from 6 per day schedule has also become erratic as per this summers schedule.
From what I have seen most days its down further to 4 or even 3. Not all days operate the same timings.

If its true I can only assume demand has dramatically reduced. Or if it has not it will now.

What is happening to the busiest route out of NCL.

CabinCrewe

20th Jul 2018, 20:56

the month on month increases to DXB and AMS is what happened to NCL-LHR

tigertanaka

20th Jul 2018, 22:03

Well it seems that the "stable" Winter reduced to 5 flights per day from 6 per day schedule has also become erratic as per this summers schedule.
From what I have seen most days its down further to 4 or even 3. Not all days operate the same timings.

If its true I can only assume demand has dramatically reduced. Or if it has not it will now.

What is happening to the busiest route out of NCL.

I have flown this route 4 times in the past week, all flights rammed. Judging by the prices I paid, BA are doing very well out of NCL at the moment.

BA has issues with having to use the newly acquired slots at LGW (and lets be honest they can make more money out of LGW in the summer holidays) and as a result is clearly having to move the fleet around - ABZ and CDG had similar cuts. The 15:30 flight appears to have suffered as a result (which is not much hardship as the 16:30 is still running), the two morning, the late afternoon and evening flights are still in the schedule.

Number of fights a week (NCL-LHR)
(summer 18 timetable from next week): 32, 32, 35, 35, 33, 34, 37 (this is first week of Sep), 36, 38, 37, 39, 39, 39, 39
(winter 18/19 timetable): 34, 33, 34, 34, 32, 28, 32, 26 (xmas week), 28 (new years week), 27, 25, 28, 27, 27, 29, 34, 29, 34, 34, 33, 34
(summer 19 timetable): 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39 (end June)

Observations:

NCL has obviously lost some flights over the summer holiday period and gets them back in September.
As previously announced, BA cut some flights from the winter timetable (41 to 34 flights a week).
January and early February see fewer flights but this is normal, reflecting reduced demand.
The summer timetable clearly has not yet been finalised as it is showing a constant 39 flights a week.

Let's see how things develop.

10 DME ARC

21st Jul 2018, 07:51

BA - LHR Observations - I normally use DXB-LHR-NCL-LHR-DXB around 2-3 times a year, timings suite a quick visit(If EK had a second daily service it would be great!) back to UK and normally cheaper than EK from DXB. All of my planned trips are with EK direct booked from NCL. This year I have looked twice at BA to do this but each time the prices have over doubled to well over £1000 return from DXB. Plus the connections are not always brilliant with the NCL schedule changing a lot. So each time I have given up and not travelled!

I see from the winter AF are putting the morning DXB-CDG back on so this may give me some options!

Interestingly with FlyDubai or Wizz linking DXB/DWC further into Europe you can connect with another low cost to NCL for some really cheap fares if you've got the time to do it!!

fl dutchman

21st Jul 2018, 14:49

I have flown this route 4 times in the past week, all flights rammed. Judging by the prices I paid, BA are doing very well out of NCL at the moment.

BA has issues with having to use the newly acquired slots at LGW (and lets be honest they can make more money out of LGW in the summer holidays) and as a result is clearly having to move the fleet around - ABZ and CDG had similar cuts. The 15:30 flight appears to have suffered as a result (which is not much hardship as the 16:30 is still running), the two morning, the late afternoon and evening flights are still in the schedule.

Number of fights a week (NCL-LHR)
(summer 18 timetable from next week): 32, 32, 35, 35, 33, 34, 37 (this is first week of Sep), 36, 38, 37, 39, 39, 39, 39
(winter 18/19 timetable): 34, 33, 34, 34, 32, 28, 32, 26 (xmas week), 28 (new years week), 27, 25, 28, 27, 27, 29, 34, 29, 34, 34, 33, 34
(summer 19 timetable): 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39 (end June)

Observations:

NCL has obviously lost some flights over the summer holiday period and gets them back in September.
As previously announced, BA cut some flights from the winter timetable (41 to 34 flights a week).
January and early February see fewer flights but this is normal, reflecting reduced demand.
The summer timetable clearly has not yet been finalised as it is showing a constant 39 flights a week.

Let's see how things develop.
Unfortunatley the 9 am and noon (ish) flights are affected as is the late evening.
Just looked at January LHR-NCL and there are NO flights at all in the morning only 3 in the late afternoon/evening. (on some days)
Looks like there still trimimg things down.
WHAT A DREADFUL SCHEDULE
Wonder if the airport have had some dialog with BA re there busiest route.

ash666

21st Jul 2018, 15:09

fl dutchman

21st Jul 2018, 16:12

Well I have flown NCL_LHR_NCL with onward connections for years, hundreds of flights maybe even thousands. I have never lost my baggage at all.

Perhaps I am lucky!

fa2fi

21st Jul 2018, 16:23

For the first time in ages I heard of someone the other day flying BA, LHR-EDI and, as so often was the case, the luggage went missing.
I don't know if it is BA or LHR that is to blame but I would not go NCL-LHR with BA if there was an onward connection. I might if I loads of time to retrieve it at LHR or, best of all, take the train.

AMS seem to have totally sorted their problems out.

I've used them at least once a year for twenty years and they've never lost my bag once. The connection is easy and a dream since T5 came online. I'd take BA versus the train, the faffing about crossing London. Works a dream connecting BA/BA or BA/AA and in reverse AA/BA and BA/AA even with the terminal change when flying American. I always check a bag in too when connecting to long haul.

Ph1l1pncl

21st Jul 2018, 16:24

I have flown this route 4 times in the past week, all flights rammed. Judging by the prices I paid, BA are doing very well out of NCL at the moment.

BA has issues with having to use the newly acquired slots at LGW (and lets be honest they can make more money out of LGW in the summer holidays) and as a result is clearly having to move the fleet around - ABZ and CDG had similar cuts. The 15:30 flight appears to have suffered as a result (which is not much hardship as the 16:30 is still running), the two morning, the late afternoon and evening flights are still in the schedule.

Number of fights a week (NCL-LHR)
(summer 18 timetable from next week): 32, 32, 35, 35, 33, 34, 37 (this is first week of Sep), 36, 38, 37, 39, 39, 39, 39
(winter 18/19 timetable): 34, 33, 34, 34, 32, 28, 32, 26 (xmas week), 28 (new years week), 27, 25, 28, 27, 27, 29, 34, 29, 34, 34, 33, 34
(summer 19 timetable): 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39, 39 (end June)

Observations:

NCL has obviously lost some flights over the summer holiday period and gets them back in September.
As previously announced, BA cut some flights from the winter timetable (41 to 34 flights a week).
January and early February see fewer flights but this is normal, reflecting reduced demand.
The summer timetable clearly has not yet been finalised as it is showing a constant 39 flights a week.

Let's see how things develop.

That really is a poor schedule to operate from Newcastle, it’s basically just 4 flights a day, and on some days the final flight down is at 16:50, it doesn’t even allow a full working day in the city for people who may come up from London. They may as well start advertising for people to use the train instead. As all I can see this schedule doing is making more people book in the train or with Air France/KLM, though I’ve not seen their recent schedule for the winter, are we still a rotation down with KLM too? Why did they reduce a rotation this year down to 4 from the previous 5? We never really suffered during the down turn and recession but it does seem to be getting much worse.

I now can’t see us keeping the 6 daily flights next summer, I am sure it will reduce further, unless all flying comes to a halt because of breakfast and they have to just send them to Newcastle to keep the Heathrow slots lol.

tigertanaka

21st Jul 2018, 17:10

That really is a poor schedule to operate from Newcastle, it’s basically just 4 flights a day, and on some days the final flight down is at 16:50, it doesn’t even allow a full working day in the city for people who may come up from London. They may as well start advertising for people to use the train instead. As all I can see this schedule doing is making more people book in the train or with Air France/KLM, though I’ve not seen their recent schedule for the winter, are we still a rotation down with KLM too? Why did they reduce a rotation this year down to 4 from the previous 5? We never really suffered during the down turn and recession but it does seem to be getting much worse.

I now can’t see us keeping the 6 daily flights next summer, I am sure it will reduce further, unless all flying comes to a halt because of breakfast and they have to just send them to Newcastle to keep the Heathrow slots lol.

What dates is the last flight at 16:50? Even on the weeks with only 27 flights I can see a 19:30 (ish) flight.

I believe that KLMs schedules are down due to runway work at AMS. MME has also lost one rotation a day until the first week of September although NCL looks to be on 4 flights a day for the foreseeable future.

Hipennine

22nd Jul 2018, 08:32

I've used them at least once a year for twenty years and they've never lost my bag once. The connection is easy and a dream since T5 came online. I'd take BA versus the train, the faffing about crossing London. Works a dream connecting BA/BA or BA/AA and in reverse AA/BA and BA/AA even with the terminal change when flying American. I always check a bag in too when connecting to long haul.

I've done NCL - Narita twice with BA. Lost luggage both times (and both ways!).

Checking in at Narita, agent says knowingly "oh dear, you are going via London" - says it all!