Belfast international-3

[GAZMO]

More good news for BFS and NI....Congrats Ryanair

Are there any EZY routes for summer 24 still to be announced

[BFS BHD]

Next Ryanair route could be Birmingham going by the BHX thread!

[mart901]

Next Ryanair route could be Birmingham going by the BHX thread!

Scanning over EZY app BHX has flights in January for £26 return, I'm not sure how much lower FR could push this, I suspect we'll see EZY launch from BHD in response. It'll be interesting times ahead if it's true - the potential for domestic growth from BFS has been hinted at recently by FR at a press conference.

​​​​​

[GAZMO]

From NI travel

RYANAIR EXPECTED TO LAUNCH NEW ROUTES FROM BELFAST FOR SUMMER ’24 | Northern Ireland Travel News (nitravelnews.com) (https://nitravelnews.com/news/ryanair-expected-to-launch-new-routes-from-belfast-for-summer-24/)

Malta and Warsaw twice weekly

[Aaron9890]

NEW Routes!
Ryanair loading Malta into system for Summer 2024 operating twice a week (Tuesday & Saturdays), starting 2nd April.

Also Warsaw Modlin being added again from BFS with Ryanair for Summer 2024, showing 1 weekly (Sundays) for now, starting 31st March.

Thanks to SeanM on X!

Disappointing….. thought there would be more interesting routes on sale 😭

[AVGEEK7812]

Disappointing….. thought there would be more interesting routes on sale 😭

🙄🙄🙄 Seriously. Ye have high hopes in NI. They are lovely destinations.

What routes do you want? BFS has so much good new routes lately. Airlines will do routes where theres demand

[allnamestaken1]

🙄🙄🙄 Seriously. Ye have high hopes in NI. They are lovely destinations.

What routes do you want? BFS has so much good new routes lately. Airlines will do routes where theres demand
In all fairness he does have a point,could they not have brought on something different not already served from Bfs,Malta and Warsaw we know about but offical announcement has not been made,rumoured Birmingham brings 2 routes in direct competition with Easyjet/Jet2,guess we will have to wait and see what happens over next few days.

[AVGEEK7812]

In all fairness he does have a point,could they not have brought on something different not already served from Bfs,Malta and Warsaw we know about but offical announcement has not been made,rumoured Birmingham brings 2 routes in direct competition with Easyjet/Jet2,guess we will have to wait and see what happens over next few days.

Thats Ryanair though. They will announce routes in competition with other airlines.

BFS has got other interesting routes from them like Porto, Girona & Valencia. Hurghada being added by easyJet was great also. Dublin even doesnt have any direct service to HRG or SSH

[mart901]

I think it's fair to say Ryanair are taking safety shots with the majority of routes. Warsaw will probably always work with a combination of city break tourism and emigrants visiting family etc. Malta works from virtually any UK airport. I guess where they've taken a risk you may say it's running Porto over winter, and to some degree Beauvais which seems to have steady loads.
There certainly is some truth in the argument regarding the Northern Ireland market, it's not like say Stansted where Ryanair could fly to literally any random airfield in Europe and create a demand, sunshine and UK domestic works best for operators, it would be nice to see more capital cities across Europe on the board, not having the likes of Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid etc seems a loss to me.

[Aaron9890]

🙄🙄🙄 Seriously. Ye have high hopes in NI. They are lovely destinations.

What routes do you want? BFS has so much good new routes lately. Airlines will do routes where theres demand

These are the usual rinse and repeat routes from BFS. I’d like to see some big cities on there that people would definitely travel to.

Berlin, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Madrid. I think these routes would get some good numbers from BFS

[Aaron9890]

I think it's fair to say Ryanair are taking safety shots with the majority of routes. Warsaw will probably always work with a combination of city break tourism and emigrants visiting family etc. Malta works from virtually any UK airport. I guess where they've taken a risk you may say it's running Porto over winter, and to some degree Beauvais which seems to have steady loads.
There certainly is some truth in the argument regarding the Northern Ireland market, it's not like say Stansted where Ryanair could fly to literally any random airfield in Europe and create a demand, sunshine and UK domestic works best for operators, it would be nice to see more capital cities across Europe on the board, not having the likes of Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid etc seems a loss to me.

Totally agree! It’s not like we are expecting all sorts of routes like there would be from Stansted.

Nice city destinations like you’ve mentioned would surely get some traction from BFS. It just seems like there are multiple airlines doing the exact same routes from BFS.

I suppose cost has to be factored in for Ryanair but if the likes of Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid, Copenhagen were in there they’d not be fighting against other airlines for those cities.

[AVGEEK7812]

Totally agree! It’s not like we are expecting all sorts of routes like there would be from Stansted.

Nice city destinations like you’ve mentioned would surely get some traction from BFS. It just seems like there are multiple airlines doing the exact same routes from BFS.

I suppose cost has to be factored in for Ryanair but if the likes of Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid, Copenhagen were in there they’d not be fighting against other airlines for those cities.

If the demand was there Ryanair would do them. Pretty sure EZY did Berlin before and it was dropped. They go where the money is.

[BFS BHD]

Malta now on sale with Ryanair. But Warsaw Modlin not showing again.

[BFS BHD]

Mahon now on sale for S24 with Easyjet after not being loaded into system with the rest of the routes. On sale Wednesday and Saturday.

[True Blue]

I see Freebird has added Bfs - Ayt to their online site, but no dates showing. This has been added very recently, so wonder what is happening here, if anything?

[BFS BHD]

Ryanair making Porto year round, Wednesday flights loaded for S24.

Ryanair Saturdays flights from Palma will be operated by Lauda Europe A320 for S24.

[mart901]

I see Freebird has added Bfs - Ayt to their online site, but no dates showing. This has been added very recently, so wonder what is happening here, if anything?

Fair certain TUI will be using them for peak summer

[GAZMO]

https://nitravelnews.com/news/easyjet-puts-seats-on-sale-for-autumn-2024-from-northern-ireland-as-part-of-orange-drop/

[lfc84]

https://nitravelnews.com/news/easyjet-puts-seats-on-sale-for-autumn-2024-from-northern-ireland-as-part-of-orange-drop/
I tried to book UK domestic and there's none loaded for the multiple routes I searched

[jmdavies86]

The UK Government has announced its response to Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill’s independent Union Connectivity Review.

Many of the recommendations relate to issues where the responsibility for transport is devolved, particularly in Northern Ireland - although I know that Stormont isn't currently sitting at the moment.

As part of this, Translink are to conduct a £700k study on the feasibility of re-opening the Antrim-Lisburn railway line, which could see the creation of an additional stop to help serve BFS.

[PinOnTheRight]

The UK Government has announced its response to Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill’s independent Union Connectivity Review.

Many of the recommendations relate to issues where the responsibility for transport is devolved, particularly in Northern Ireland - although I know that Stormont isn't currently sitting at the moment.

As part of this, Translink are to conduct a £700k study on the feasibility of re-opening the Antrim-Lisburn railway line, which could see the creation of an additional stop to help serve BFS.

While it would be great to have a railway service into Belfast City centre, I'm not sure it'd be any quicker than the existing bus service. The railway from Aldergrove to Europa via Lisburn is around 25miles, factor in having to integrate a timetable with existing services on the currently active part of the line, and how many trains Translink would dedicate to it, I'd doubt you'd see anything more than an hourly service. Plus the line is still a significant distance from the terminal, so need a shuttle to it.
Though it would be great for those wanting to travel via Antrim/Lisburn stations, save having to transit through Lanyon Place.

[GAZMO]

While it would be great to have a railway service into Belfast City centre, I'm not sure it'd be any quicker than the existing bus service. The railway from Aldergrove to Europa via Lisburn is around 25miles, factor in having to integrate a timetable with existing services on the currently active part of the line, and how many trains Translink would dedicate to it, I'd doubt you'd see anything more than an hourly service. Plus the line is still a significant distance from the terminal, so need a shuttle to it.
Though it would be great for those wanting to travel via Antrim/Lisburn stations, save having to transit through Lanyon Place.

Bear in mind many people travel from the N and NW and connect with the bus service from Antrim Rail Station

[BFS BHD]

Ryanair adding a 6th weekly flight to Alicante for Summer 2024 using a ALC based aircraft, Sunday flights loaded into system but showing as 'Sold Out'.

[BFS BHD]

More changes for Ryanair for S24 being loaded into system.

ALC now showing Daily flights
FAO showing 4 Weekly
OPO showing 2 weekly

Likely more changes will happen in the next few weeks.

Turin flights for Winter 24/25 being loaded into system. Same date and time as this winter.

[GAZMO]

CAA stats out for October 5.687 million rolling figure

[BFS BHD]

TUI flights operated by Freebird to Antalya removed for S24, was only a short season for four weeks. Still bookable for S25.

[BFS BHD]

Ryanair

Fourth weekly flight loaded into system to Malaga for S24. Tuesday flight added using a based aircraft.
Departs 09:05
Arrives 16:00
This will fill all gaps for the two based aircraft for S24

[GAZMO]

Will Warsaw ever happen? Still on website but no flights available

[True Blue]

Just been booking flights mid-January on a Wednesday to Lgw ex Bfs. 2 flights operating on the day I need to travel to Lgw, 1 to Ltn and 2 to Stn. I don't think I have ever seen such savage reductions as I am seeing for January/February as I am seeing now on Ezy ( excluding Covid). What is wrong with this airline? I know demand drops off at that time of the year, but to that extent?

[ATNotts]

Just been booking flights mid-January on a Wednesday to Lgw ex Bfs. 2 flights operating on the day I need to travel to Lgw, 1 to Ltn and 2 to Stn. I don't think I have ever seen such savage reductions as I am seeing for January/February as I am seeing now on Ezy ( excluding Covid). What is wrong with this airline? I know demand drops off at that time of the year, but to that extent?
I would suggest "what's wrong" is a perfect storm of post-covid reduced business travel combined with high energy costs and increased mortgage rates. Air travel for leisure is for most people a 'want' not a 'need' and 'needs' should always precidence.

[easyflyer83]

A Wednesday in January is about as low as you can go in terms of demand, even on domestics.

Airlines already lose money in winter, no point adding to the losses I guess.

[allnamestaken1]

Take a look at Bhd/Lgw in January hardly hardly touched,on saturday 2 flights to Gatwick compared to just 1 at there base Bfs and don't tell me a the route is any different 18 miles down the road soTrue Blue does have a point to disagree with the schedule they plan to operate.

[GAZMO]

Take a look at Bhd/Lgw in January hardly hardly touched,on saturday 2 flights to Gatwick compared to just 1 at there base Bfs and don't tell me a the route is any different 18 miles down the road soTrue Blue does have a point to disagree with the schedule they plan to operate.
Agree with TB they are ruining the BFS / LGW route
Are they going to end up with domestic routes out of BHD and international routes out of BFS??

[easyflyer83]

Take a look at Bhd/Lgw in January hardly hardly touched,on saturday 2 flights to Gatwick compared to just 1 at there base Bfs and don't tell me a the route is any different 18 miles down the road soTrue Blue does have a point to disagree with the schedule they plan to operate.

If yields are higher at BHD (I don’t know the answer) then surely that would be an acceptable rationale. The city and wider region still have a service and both airports are still served. There’s no point carting around fresh air. January is bleak. Even so, a quick look shows that BFS-LGW is at least three daily for the most part.

[mart901]

It's worth having a look at the CAA stats to gain an understanding.

BHD-LGW is some 6,000 higher in Oct compared to last year. Add to that nearly 4,000 pax that flew BHD-LTN with limited impact on BFS-LTN. Between FR + U2 there's an additional 20,000 on STN. There's also growth on BHD-LCY over 3,000.

All this can't be just pure growth, BHD-LHR has took a hit and, needless to say so has BFS-LGW. It comes to January and fighting to fill aircraft that you'll not likely to succeed at just isn't worth it. If you look across the airports U2 have a huge schedule to London and having flexibility on where you take off and land from is key to getting a good price.
I'd just kinda put to bed the notion of the shuttle service schedule of the 80's/90's. This is low cost carrier territory now, even BA have chopped away heavily on frequency.

[True Blue]

And what use is a really good fare if you have to depart from one airport and fly back to the other to get it? The day I booked, the first flight ex Bfs to Lgw is at 2.30pm. Really? I have travelled Bfs- Lgw lots of times in January over the years on Ezy and rarely saw a light load. The current offering leaves a lot to be desired and their actions will ruin this route. If they believe that their service is Belfast(no regard from which airport) to Gatwick, they are fools. If I have departed Bhd, but have to return to Bfs, how am I to get to my car, as most people would have to do? It seems that they don't care about that point and have decided that services from 2 airports have no impact on the passenger. As far as they are concerned, they offer a number of flights over a range of times. But seeing the schedules offered on other routes, I am not surprised as I think on this area(schedules) they seem to have lost the plot. And in my daily life, I see little sign of this cost of living crisis as I visit well used coffee shops, restaurants etc. Most people seem to have accepted what has happened and are getting on with their lives. Maybe Ezy pays too much attention to the news.

[SWBKCB]

EZY haven't lost the plot - they are following the money. Service to the customers isn't a priority, it's returns to shareholders etc.

[mart901]

To be fair True Blue I do take the point, I travelled overnight to Manchester for work recently out Tuesday back Wednesday. I couldn't actually use FR despite being cheaper and used EIR. The problem being FR only had 1 early morning flight both days. I could have used U2 from BFS but it's almost half the journey time at the time of day to BHD and with work paying, EIR won.


On the point of being flexible I guess it depends where you need to be in London and when but rail tickets are priced in singles a lot in England and it can be a case of arrival in LTN and return from STN for example, and not necessarily the same airline!

[easyflyer83]

And what use is a really good fare if you have to depart from one airport and fly back to the other to get it? The day I booked, the first flight ex Bfs to Lgw is at 2.30pm. Really? I have travelled Bfs- Lgw lots of times in January over the years on Ezy and rarely saw a light load. The current offering leaves a lot to be desired and their actions will ruin this route. If they believe that their service is Belfast(no regard from which airport) to Gatwick, they are fools. If I have departed Bhd, but have to return to Bfs, how am I to get to my car, as most people would have to do? It seems that they don't care about that point and have decided that services from 2 airports have no impact on the passenger. As far as they are concerned, they offer a number of flights over a range of times. But seeing the schedules offered on other routes, I am not surprised as I think on this area(schedules) they seem to have lost the plot. And in my daily life, I see little sign of this cost of living crisis as I visit well used coffee shops, restaurants etc. Most people seem to have accepted what has happened and are getting on with their lives. Maybe Ezy pays too much attention to the news.

I’m not chalking it up to the cost of living crisis. January has always been dead. It’s just after the festive period. People have spent up, they’ve travelled for parties, shopping trips etc. Culturally, there tends not to be an awful lot going on and business travel is on its backside.

Whilst I agree, having the first flight on a Wednesday at 1430 on a domestic route is sub optimal from a flexibility point of view, I’m sure that the data led to that decision.

There’s no shortage of aircraft to operate the route in January so we must conclude that it’s simply not profitable. Incidentally, there’s no shortage of aircraft in January on a Wednesday (and certain other days) because there are many other routes where the same applies.

[BHD2BFS]

There does seem to be something that is appealing for easyJet at Belfast city.
I booked myself a holiday through them to Alicante and managed to get a far better deal flying from the city than the international for pretty much the same package and get the chance to use the new biz lounge which I'm sure will be a plus for a lot of travellers. I wouldn't be surprised if they increase frequency on sunshine routes

[mart901]

There does seem to be something that is appealing for easyJet at Belfast city.
I booked myself a holiday through them to Alicante and managed to get a far better deal flying from the city than the international for pretty much the same package and get the chance to use the new biz lounge which I'm sure will be a plus for a lot of travellers. I wouldn't be surprised if they increase frequency on sunshine routes


Same, I booked a holiday to Mallorca yesterday with First Choice, £240 pp cheaper departing from BHD than BFS, both options were for daytime flights with U2.

[BFS BHD]

TUI seems to have removed the Thursday flights that was to be operated by Air Europa to Palma for Summer 2024.

[GAZMO]

Interesting article of NI airport provision. Maybe should be on separate thread

Ben Lowry: If Stormont took hard decisions Northern Ireland could have had better airport provision and road links (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/ben-lowry-if-stormont-took-hard-decisions-northern-ireland-could-have-had-better-airport-provision-and-road-links/ar-AA1meuDc?ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEDSE&cvid=6e2d40ea49034b0f848cb7ed7b970c66&ei=41)

[True Blue]

So CAA stats for November show rolling 12 months at 5.817m. Will Bfs break 6m for 2023?

[Mcvicker03]

Is there anything else mentioned about the Birmingham to Belfast with Ryanair or are the rumours no more now

[simoncorbett]

I think that the recent announcement of LDY to BHX by Ryanair maybe rules out them operating both? - but you never know

[BFS BHD]

3rd weekly Lanzarote flight being loaded into system for Ryanair for S24

Starts Saturday 3rd August 2024 and will be done by a ACE based aircraft

Arrives 18:15 and departs 18:40

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

Also 5th weekly flight being loaded to Malaga for S24

Starts Monday 1st July 2024 using Malaga based aircraft

Arrives 08:15 and departs 08:40

[eddieh]

Hi folks, thanks for having me on the forum.

Couple of things that may be of interest.

First, a group of us will shortly be launching an "Insiders' Guide" to Belfast's Airports. Don't want to post any links as that's against group etiquette, but I think it will be interesting to some of you in this group. It's aimed at the public and designed to help them get the most out of the airports and also shine some transparency into what are otherwise opaque private businesses. If you'd like to get involved or find out more, that would be great. I imagine this group is absolutely full of amazing insight (far more than I have) that travellers and others who are thinking of getting involved with airports, like potential employees, would benefit from.

Secondly, a lot of you will be aware of issues between Allster and BIA. I will soon be putting up some videos to share my story. I can honestly say I have never dealt with anything more unprofessional in my life than this. Almost 25 years in business and this is simply unbelievable.

Thank you for all of the support you have expressed to me in person or online since Pilot NI kindly posted some of his views on Tiktok last week.
If anyone is interested in that situation, I will happily provide full documentation in support of my comments upon request! We have absolutely nothing to hide :)

Eddie

x-post FB Airside NI

[jmdavies86]

An interesting development that appears to have come about as a result of the DUP talks to get Stormont back together - UK & US Governments are to enter into exploratory talks on the options for introducing pre-clearance checks on customs and immigration at Belfast International Airport:

Source (SeanM1997 on X): https://twitter.com/SeanM1997/status/1752754394750177517?s

[ATNotts]

An interesting development that appears to have come about as a result of the DUP talks to get Stormont back together - UK & US Governments are to enter into exploratory talks on the options for introducing pre-clearance checks on customs and immigration at Belfast International Airport:

Source (SeanM1997 on X): https://twitter.com/SeanM1997/status/1752754394750177517?s
Frankly a complete nonsense. An airport that has no year road scheduled services to the USA requires pre-clearance facility? This is nothing but a sop to the DUP (lets call it part of the bribe) to get them back into the Stormont assembly.

Either or the major London airports, Manchester or Edinburgh could benefit from pre-clearance before BFS.

[SWBKCB]

NI is a special case - especially for the Americans. Clearly a political move, don't think there is any read across to anywhere else with PC aspirations.

Doubt it has had a major impact on the DUP - it's item 35 in Annex B...

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ba3b7bee7d490013984a59/Command_Paper__1_.pdf

[ATNotts]

NI is a special case - especially for the Americans. Clearly a political move, don't think there is any read across to anywhere else with PC aspirations.

Doubt it has had a major impact on the DUP - it's item 35 in Annex B...

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ba3b7bee7d490013984a59/Command_Paper__1_.pdf
Well there are going to be a lot of very idle officers standing around counting their legs waiting for the next batch of passengers.

Its really going to make any sense if they are brought up from Dublin to cover the odd flight.

The scheme might make sense to Sleepy Joe but I doubt Crooked Donald would have much truck with it.

[jmdavies86]

Frankly a complete nonsense. An airport that has no year road scheduled services to the USA requires pre-clearance facility?

Well, it's obviously not going to happen overnight, but there's FlyAtlantic who are looking to offer transatlantic flights from/to BFS: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/national/low-cost-airline-fly-atlantic-has-ambitious-plans-to-revolutionise-northern-ireland-as-a-hub-for-transatlantic-travel-4277547; and if/when the facility has been built, perhaps AA, DL, UA or possibly even JetBlue may consider offering flights from/to there?

The scheme might make sense to Sleepy Joe but I doubt Crooked Donald would have much truck with it.

I think Trump will probably fully endorse the scheme as he's far more likely to do a UK-US post-Brexit trade agreement compared to Biden.

[ATNotts]

I wouldn't bet the farm on FlyAtlantic. That said their business plan is probably more realistic than Global's. Bar set pretty low though.

I just can't see how BFS is going to attract transatlantic business with DUB not far down the road.

[GAZMO]

Not quite the 6 million mark, probably due to EZY moving more domestic flights to BHD

Belfast International Airport Revealed it Served 5.96 Million Passengers in 2023 | Northern Ireland Travel News (nitravelnews.com) (https://nitravelnews.com/news/belfast-international-airport-revealed-it-served-5-9-million-passengers-in-2023/)

[allnamestaken1]

Easyjet still offer the same number of seats from there base at Aldergrove no matter how many flights they do from Bhd.

[Cozy F]

Assume this idea about US Clearance has come from the U.K. political discussions.

I have ties and connections to Belfast and would love to see travel and tourism really flourish there. Alas I really don’t see any legs in this 😏

I’ve used Belfast Int a lot over the years, mainly because I favour easyJet and all their flts were there. But as ezy have started to serve City airport I’ve used it some more and I have to say it is a really simple and pleasant airport.

i’ve also been to and thru Dublin on a couple of trips in the last year and I hadn’t been there in years. It is frankly mind boggling how much investment and development there is in Dublin airport. There are so many airlines and flts if now compares well to any airport I can think of in the world.

I went through Belfast just last week and there does seem to be some work and construction taking place but overall it is a depressing experience. Ther place looked shabby and dirty and there were untended weeds growing out of the building and that was before you drive out along the road with all the cars jostling to park among the potholes. I’m afraid it does not offer a 21st century welcome to visitors and with Dublin so well served and not very far away down a good road if is really difficult to see how Belfast Int could ever really develop any major services unless it was rebuilt and a huge amount of investment put into it to make it appealing.

to be honest it might be a bigger benefit to Belfast if ezy continued to add more service at the City Airport.

[Alteagod]

Build it and they will come

[BFS BHD]

Looks like TUI holidays/flights to Enfidha for Summer 2024 are cancelled. No longer on sale for the whole season.
Was due to use a Birmingham based aircraft.

[mart901]

Looks like TUI holidays/flights to Enfidha for Summer 2024 are cancelled. No longer on sale for the whole season.
Was due to use a Birmingham based aircraft.

They've the destination on sale with U2 flights twice weekly. In the end it's still a win for them I guess and avoids complicated crewing and associated costs. When I was looking to re-book my summer holiday this year TUI had Tunisia holidays way cheaper than anywhere else, like a £200 saving over Turkey for instance on equivalent hotels, perhaps an indication of demand.......

[Mr Jetlag]

Well, it's obviously not going to happen overnight, but there's FlyAtlantic who are looking to offer transatlantic flights from/to BFS:
; and if/when the facility has been built, perhaps AA, DL, UA or possibly even JetBlue may consider offering flights from/to there?


This is delusional. The US sets out its criteria for preclearance (see www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance/apply-preclearance-expansion). First, there needs to be a US carrier operating BEFORE preclearance is considered. Second, the host country has to to pay for the building modifications to accommodate US immigration officers, and a substantial share of the annual running costs. So (a) why would BFS be ahead of e.g. LHR (or MAN or EDI) for preclearance, and (b) how could the NI Govt justify paying x million quid per year for this service when that money could be spent on the health service or on public sector pay?

My impression is that the "BFS is in line for preclearance" story was made up by FlyAtlantic in their attempt to raise funding, with absolutely zero basis in reality.

[SWBKCB]

See post 551 - it's in the government document with proposals to support the implementation of the Windsor Framework (I thnk...). I doubt FlyAtlantic have that much influence!

[SealinkBF]

This is delusional.

(b) the NI Govt.

There is your answer. 😂
The NI Government and common sense are distant bedfellows. These are some of the people who paid farmers to heat barns.

[GAZMO]

As previously announced!!

Ryanair launches new summer holiday destination from Belfast | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk (https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/travel/ryanair-launches-new-summer-holiday-destination-from-belfast/a720049264.html)

[GAZMO]

New Route

Ryanair Announces New Route from Belfast to Lisbon! | Northern Ireland Travel News (nitravelnews.com) (https://nitravelnews.com/news/ryanair-announces-new-route-from-belfast-to-lisbon/)

[True Blue]

Is this story on Lisbon correct?

[ESCNI]

It certainy seems so... https://ittn.ie/travel-news/ryanair-announces-new-belfast-lisbon-route/

[True Blue]

Or is it a reference to the Porto route and has been badly written?

[ESCNI]

You may well have a point...

"We are delighted to announce the world's largest line-up, where we continue to grow and have opened 14 new routes," said Michael O'Leary, the CEO of Ryanair. As for the new routes, they will depart from Faro to Stockholm (Sweden), Budapest (Hungary), Krakow (Poland), Marrakech (Morocco) and Norwich (England). If you board in Porto, you can go to Belfast (Northern Ireland), Ibiza (Spain), Pisa (Italy), Tangier (Morocco). If your starting point is Lisbon, you will be able to travel to Alicante (Spain), Madrid (Spain), Rome (Italy), Fiumicino (Italy), Tangier (Morocco), Poznan (Poland).
Source (https://www.nit.pt/fora-de-casa/viagens/ola-ferias-de-verao-ryanair-vai-abrir-14-novas-rotas-em-portugal)

[BFS BHD]

Jet2 doing Christmas market flights to Krakow for Christmas 2024. Mondays and Fridays between 29th Nov to 16th Dec 2024.

[BHD2BFS]

With sunwing now gone has it been confirmed what aircraft will be based in Belfast this summer? Will it be an actual TUI aircraft or a charter ?

[Blackfriar]

Assume this idea about US Clearance has come from the U.K. political discussions.

I have ties and connections to Belfast and would love to see travel and tourism really flourish there. Alas I really don’t see any legs in this 😏

I’ve used Belfast Int a lot over the years, mainly because I favour easyJet and all their flts were there. But as ezy have started to serve City airport I’ve used it some more and I have to say it is a really simple and pleasant airport.

i’ve also been to and thru Dublin on a couple of trips in the last year and I hadn’t been there in years. It is frankly mind boggling how much investment and development there is in Dublin airport. There are so many airlines and flts if now compares well to any airport I can think of in the world.

I went through Belfast just last week and there does seem to be some work and construction taking place but overall it is a depressing experience. Ther place looked shabby and dirty and there were untended weeds growing out of the building and that was before you drive out along the road with all the cars jostling to park among the potholes. I’m afraid it does not offer a 21st century welcome to visitors and with Dublin so well served and not very far away down a good road if is really difficult to see how Belfast Int could ever really develop any major services unless it was rebuilt and a huge amount of investment put into it to make it appealing.

to be honest it might be a bigger benefit to Belfast if ezy continued to add more service at the City Airport.

I can't understand BFS prioritising the building of a new "arrivals building" - you just get your bags and leave, either with hire car keys or to the bus, taxi or car park. Who wants to hang about? Maintenance has been neglected for years because the previous owners were fattening the accounts to sell it, but once inside the publ areas aren't bad. Its the lounges that are a joke. The old shuttle lounge for 180 people on a 757 now has three cattle containment areas for 3x 320 with more than 180 seats each. When they get a bit full they open the gate so you can stand on the stirs for 15 minutes. Utterly shameful. Then there is the longwalk to the aircraft in the wind and rain. The could easily have extended the first floor out to the aircraft stands, leaving room underneath for baggage trucks etc. and created some big gate lounges with lots of seats - Bristol gate lounges are pretty good size.
The cars all parked up on the approach road are because the airport wants to milk them for parking like every other airport, the only way to stop it is to ban parking, better to have a waiting area tarmacked if there isn't room in the car parks. They could charge £1 and put in EV chargers. But common sense never prevails.

[Blackfriar]

That's only if you count the aircraft based there. What about the flights to/from BFS from, say BRS which use a BRS based aircraft? Loads have declined on the BRS/BFS route as BHD has been started and now the 4xdaily BRS/BFS frequency has been reduced, making day trips impossible some days.

[SealinkBF]

Has easyJet dropped BRS BFS (and BHD) or is their winter timetable not yet on sale? Nothing on the app from 27 October.

[GAZMO]

Has easyJet dropped BRS BFS (and BHD) or is their winter timetable not yet on sale? Nothing on the app from 27 October.
Don't think winter schedule on sale yet?

[mart901]

With sunwing now gone has it been confirmed what aircraft will be based in Belfast this summer? Will it be an actual TUI aircraft or a charter ?

Avion Express (Malta) A320 which possibly may be in a kind of hybrid TUI livery.......

[BFS BHD]

EasyJet to Krakow will go year round with Winter 2024/25 Holidays now bookable on their Holiday page.

Flight only not on sale yet for W24/25.

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/easyjet-krakow-holidays-go-year-round-from-belfast

[True Blue]

Ezy must be doing well on Bhx. 3 of 4 flights tomorrow are full, 2 of them have been full for a few days now. First flight on Monday also full. Time for more capacity on some days, or will they just milk the higher fares restricting capacity brings?
I think it was either last Sunday or the previous week every flight Bfs - Lgw was full. 6 flights.

[OltonPete]

Ezy must be doing well on Bhx. 3 of 4 flights tomorrow are full, 2 of them have been full for a few days now. First flight on Monday also full. Time for more capacity on some days, or will they just milk the higher fares restricting capacity brings?
I think it was either last Sunday or the previous week every flight Bfs - Lgw was full. 6 flights.

Monday and Friday in summer BFS-BHX is back to 5 daily and Friday 28 June to 30 August it is 6 flights. There was a rumour that another airline was going to join them on the route but that has not come to pass....as yet:).

Emerald despite its aircraft issues seems to be doing okay on BHD-BHX and that will be 6 daily on some days in summer 24 making a high summer Friday 12 daily between the two cities. With the orange lot opening a base soon at BHX I wonder if BHD will be on their winter 24/25 agenda :oh:

Pete

[BFS BHD]

Graham Keddie has stepped away from his role as managing director of Belfast International Airport after nearly 10 years in charge.

It is understood he informed staff of his decision to retire on Friday, and left with immediate effect.

Keddie (60) replaced John Doran in the top job at Aldergrove in September 2014.

He arrived with 25 years’ experience in the aviation industry, having held roles in the UK, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.
He joined Belfast International from Hermes Airports, where he was commercial manager for Larnaca and Paphos airports in Cyprus.A spokesman for the airport said: “After 35 years in aviation and almost 10 years at Belfast International Airport, Graham Keddie has decided to retire as managing director.

“Dan Owens will assume the role of interim managing director until a replacement has been appointed.

“We wish Graham well in his retirement.”

In February the airport’s French owners Vinci announced that 5.96 million passengers passed through its terminal in 2023, which represented a 95% recovery to pre-pandemic activity from 2019, when a record 6.28 million passengers flew in and out of Aldergrove.

The increase in numbers during 2023 followed the return of Ryanair, with anchor airline EasyJet also running its biggest ever operation at the airport.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/business/keddie-takes-flight-from-international-airport-role-WOJQX4XA6VDWJAER7ZU36BG7IA/

[True Blue]

So the CAA stats for Jan 24 are out. The 12 month rolling period shows the airport had 6.031m pax, getting close to its all time high again. The airport added about 74k pax between Jan 23 and Jan 24. In spite of this success, Ezy did manage to reduce the total carried to Lgw by 19% or about 6k pax. They did increase Bhd - Lgw , but overall pax carried from Belfast(both airports) to Lgw was down. Their excellent scheduling on both routes is obviously having the desired effect. Stn was the larges domestic route out of Bfs, that used to be the preserve of Lgw. Shows the impact of FR.

[GAZMO]

Winter 2024/25 now on sale, up to March 2025. KRK not showing but available through Easyjet Holidays?

[BFS BHD]

Winter 2024/25 now on sale, up to March 2025. KRK not showing but available through Easyjet Holidays?

Think today was just easyJet loading the same schedule from Winter 2023/24. New routes and also routes being extended into winter will likely be added soon, as Enfidha was announced as year round but isn't bookable yet for Winter 24/25.

[BFS BHD]

Dalaman and Antalya no longer on sale for TUI for Summer 2025. Hopefully they are just updating the system and they aren't dropped!

[BFS BHD]

Looks like Ryanair is dropping the 3rd weekly ACE flight (Saturdays) that was due to start in August using a ACE based aircraft.

[True Blue]

In July FR seem to have 166 arrivals and departures per week, an average of 24 per day. Not sure what the total would have been last year, but seems to be a bit of an increase. So should pax records fall this year?

[AVGEEK7812]

Dalaman and Antalya no longer on sale for TUI for Summer 2025. Hopefully they are just updating the system and they aren't dropped!

Dalaman seems to be loaded in 2-3 times weekly for S25. Its being operated by ‘Other Carrier’. Assume Freebird will do it.

[BFS BHD]

Dalaman seems to be loaded in 2-3 times weekly for S25. Its being operated by ‘Other Carrier’. Assume Freebird will do it.

Appear to be a gap now on Monday mornings for S25. Won't be to long of a route as Heraklion has moved to a 1500 departure on Mondays. Maybe Ibiza or Mahon?

[BFS BHD]

Appear to be a gap now on Monday mornings for S25. Won't be to long of a route as Heraklion has moved to a 1500 departure on Mondays. Maybe Ibiza or Mahon?

Palma now showing on Monday mornings for S25.

[GAZMO]

Stats out for Feb 2024

6.149 million for 12 months rolling

[BFS BHD]

3rd weekly flight added on Tuesdays to Nice (NCE). Operates from 23rd July 2024 to 10th September 2024.
Flights will be operated by easyJet Europe (EJU).

[GAZMO]

TUI Announce New Direct Long Haul Flight to Honeymoon Hotspot from Belfast International | Northern Ireland Travel News (nitravelnews.com) (https://nitravelnews.com/news/tui-announce-new-direct-long-haul-flight-to-honeymoon-hotspot-from-belfast-international/)

[GAZMO]

Belfast International Airport unveils new arrivals area after £1m investment | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk (https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/belfast-international-airport-unveils-new-arrivals-area-after-1m-investment/a315492675.html)

used the new facility on Monday and was very quick and efficient. Hopefully Saturday evenings with a large number of International arrivals will be just as smooth

[GAZMO]

easyJet Celebrates Ninth Aircraft Arrival at Belfast International Airport | Northern Ireland Travel News (nitravelnews.com) (https://nitravelnews.com/news/easyjet-celebrates-ninth-aircraft-arrival-at-belfast-international/)

easyJet celebrates ninth aircraft arrival at Belfast International (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/easyjet-celebrates-ninth-aircraft-arrival-at-belfast-international/ar-AA1o1kY1?ocid=BingNewsSerp)

[Alteagod]

I suspect BHD might get a base plane soon

[BFS BHD]

Winter 24/25 loaded into system but not on sale yet for Ryanair.

ALC - 4 Weekly
GRO - Not Loaded
BUD - 2 Weekly
EMA - 2 Weekly
EDI - Daily
FAO - 3 Weekly
GDN - 2 Weekly
KRK - 2 Weekly
ACE - 2 Weekly
STN - 16 Weekly
AGP - 3 Weekly
MAN - 12 Weekly
BGY - Not Loaded
BVA - Not Loaded
OPO - 2 Weekly
TRN - 1 Weekly from Dec 24

[BFS BHD]

New Route showing on Ryanair website to Kaunas, Lithuania starting October 2024, twice a week.

Credit to SeanM on X

[GAZMO]

Stats out for March 6.266 million 12 rolling months

[BFS BHD]

EasyJet has put flights on sale until 15th June 2025 today.

Looks like Isle of Man is being canceled, no flights on sale after 25th October 2024.

[BFS BHD]

Jet2 released Winter 2025/26 today. Not many changes at all.

- Palma starts 7th March 2026 instead of the end of March.