@SeanM1997

Aurigny have announced a new route from Guernsey to Dublin with flights commencing 29 March 2022. This is Aurigny's first venture into Ireland and enlarges the regional carrier's network - which has seen Birmingham and Exeter added to its network in 2020. Additionally, this is the first new route for Aurigny since its annoucement of co-operation with Blue Islands to ensure sustainable flight coverage (2). Guernsey has seen British Airways CityFlyer launch flights to the airport in Summer 2021 - to Edinburgh and London City, whilst Dublin has lost Stobart Air and is slowly rebuilding its network to the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies - with Aer Lingus and Loganair launching flights from the Irish capital to the UK.  Aurigny plan to operate two weekly flights between Guernsey and Dublin for Summer 2022. Flight timings: GR 686 GCI 1345-1520 DUB (Tuesdays and Thursdays) GR687 DUB 1550-1735 GCI (Tuesdays and Thursdays) *Timings and frequencies correct at time of publication Ph...

Flybe have announced that it will be recruiting for numerous roles based in the Midlands. Posted on LinkedIn, the airline announced it is 'launching a regional airline focused on safety, service and operational excellence' [and] 'are looking for the most creative and innovative minds to help us achieve our mission and will be recruiting for numerous roles based in the Midlands'. Flybe was previously one of Europe's largest previous carriers before its collapse in March 2020 and was the biggest airline in the domestic market in the United Kingdom - with 46.4% of seats in UK domestic regional market (excluding London). The airline had its largest bases in Birmingham and Manchester, with a significant market share in Belfast City, Exeter, Newquay and Southampton, among others (read more about Belfast City: https://seanm1997.blogspot.com/2021/05/has-flybes-collapse-allowed-belfast.html). However, since its collapse and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines including A...

Loganair have announced  a new route from Aberdeen to Dublin with flights commencing 5 September 2021. Loganair have stepped in to the Aberdeen-Dublin route, following the collapse of Stobart Air (under the Aer Lingus Regional brand) earlier in the month (read more about that here: https://seanm1997.blogspot.com/2021/06/stobart-air-terminates-all-flights-what.html). Following the collapse of Stobart Air, many airlines had picked up routes in Belfast including Aer Lingus, British Airways CityFlyer and easyJet - with all nine Stobart Air destinations now served across Belfast. However, at Dublin, routes have not been picked up at the same speed - with many routes remaining unserved. This is most likely due to the ongoing travel restrictions between the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Loganair's Aberdeen to Dublin route will not face any direct competitors. Furthermore, it is noted that 48,613 passengers travelled between Aberdeen and Dublin in 2019 (the last full year pr...

Ryanair announced a new route from London Stansted to Helsinki with flights commencing 31 October 2021. The announcement was one of 8 new routes from Helsinki, where Ryanair is making its debut in Winter 2021. Ryanair are also launching flights from Helsinki to Brussels Charleroi, Kaunas, Milan Bergamo, Paris Beauvais, Poznan, Riga and Warsaw Modlin. Ryanair are also launching a year round route from Tampere to London Stansted from 2 November 2021, after a 6 year hiatus on the route (FR2128/FR2129). This route will compete indirectly against Finnair (from London Heathrow) and Norwegian (from London Gatwick). In 2019 (the last full year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), 1,046,760 passengers travelled between London and Helsinki. In Winter 2021/22 (w/c 7 February 2022), Finnair will operate 28 weekly flights between London Heathrow and Helsinki, Ryanair will operate 7 weekly flights between London Stansted and Helsinki whilst Norwegian will operate 2 weekly flights between London Gatwick ...

22 June 2021 Eurowings announced a new route from Prague to Bristol with flights commencing 31 October 2021. The announcement was one of 11 new routes from Prague,  where Eurowings plan to base 2 Airbus A320 aircraft from 31 October 2021, with an additional aircraft planned for Summer 2022. Eurowings will compete directly with easyJet in Winter 2021. Eurowings  will operate three weekly flights between Bristol and Prague, whilst easyJet will operate two-four weekly flights between the two cities. Flight timings: EW 4212 PRG 0605-0735 BRS (Sundays) EW 4212 PRG 0615-0745 BRS (Fridays) EW 4212 PRG 1320-1450 BRS (Mondays) EW 4213 BRS 0805-1115 PRG (Sundays) EW 4213 BRS 0825-1135 PRG (Fridays) EW 4213 BRS 1530-1840 PRG (Mondays) *Timings and frequencies correct at time of publication Photo: https://www.eurowings.com/en/information/on-board/travel-media.html

21 June 2021 Eurowings announced a new route from Prague to Birmingham with flights commencing 1 November 2021. The announcement was one of 11 new routes from Prague,  where Eurowings plan to base 2 Airbus A320 aircraft from 31 October 2021, with an additional aircraft planned for Summer 2022. Eurowings will compete directly with Jet2 in Winter 2021. Eurowings will operate three weekly flights between Birmingham and Prague, whilst Jet2 will operate two weekly flights between the two cities. Flight timings: EW 4420 PRG 1225-1325 BHX (Fridays) EW 4420 PRG 1550-1650 BHX (Mondays) EW 4420 PRG 1650-1750 BHX (Wednesdays) EW 4221 BHX 1410-1710 PRG (Fridays) EW 4221 BHX 1735-2035 PRG (Mondays) EW 4221 BHX 1835-2135 PRG (Wednesdays) *Timings and frequencies correct at time of publication Photo: https://www.eurowings.com/en/information/on-board/travel-media.html

17 June 2021 easyJet have loaded 12 new domestic routes for Summer 2021, serving 16 airports across the United Kingdom. As noted in my previous article ( easyJet expands UK domestic - where next? (seanm1997.blogspot.com) ), even before the collapse of Flybe in March 2021, easyJet has been the number 1 domestic carrier by seats in the UK - connecting major airports including London Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and B elfast International, and has recently grown its UK domestic operation. easyJet have long served one key market in the UK domestic market - connecting major cities and conurbations. Belfast (International) has been key to this. Being on a separate island to Great Britain has allowed easyJet to grow its Belfast operation in recent years and with the collapse of Flybe, easyJet became the largest domestic carrier from the Northern Ireland capital. In 2019, the airline launched Manchester - Jersey and in 2020 launched Edinburgh - Birmingham and Glasgow - Birmingham, whilst in ...

16 June 2021 Ryanair announced a new route from Turin to Edinburgh with flights commencing 6 November 2021. The announcement was one of 15 new routes from Turin, where Ryanair plan to base 2 Boeing 737 aircraft from 30 June 2021. This comes just a day after Wizz Air announce a new base in Naples, also in Italy. This route will compete directly against Jet2. In 2019 (the last full year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), 4,515 passengers travelled between Edinburgh and Turin. In Winter 2021/22 (w/c 7 February 2022), both Jet2 and Ryanair will operate one weekly flight between Edinburgh and Turin. Flight timings: FR 5929 TRN 0615-0740 EDI (Saturdays) FR 5928 EDI 0805-1130 TRN (Saturdays) *Timings and frequencies correct at time of publication Photo: https://corporate.ryanair.com/media-centre/stock-images-gallery/

16 June 2021 Ryanair announced a new route from London Luton to Turin with flights commencing 6 November 2021. The announcement was one of 15 new routes from Turin, where Ryanair plan to base 2 Boeing 737 aircraft from 30 June 2021. This comes just a day after Wizz Air announce a new base in Naples, also in Italy. This route will compete directly against easyJet and indirectly against British Airways, easyJet (from Gatwick), Ryanair and TUI. In 2019 (the last full year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), 11,354 passengers travelled between London Luton and Turin, whilst a combined 361,431 passengers flying between London and Turin. In Winter 2021/22 (w/c 7 February 2022), both easyJet and Ryanair will operate one weekly flight between London Luton and Turin. From London Gatwick, British Airways will operate 17 weekly flights to Turin, easyJet six weekly flights and TUI two weekly flights. From London Stansted, Ryanair will operate 10 weekly flights to Turin and TUI one weekly flight. ...

15 June 2021 Wizz Air announced a new route from Naples to London Luton, with year round flights commencing 15 September 2021. The announcement was one of 18 new routes from Naples, where Wizz Air plan to base 2 Airbus A321 aircraft from 30 June 2021. This will be the sixth Italian destination with Wizz Air from London Luton - joining Bari, Catania, Milan Malpensa, Palermo and the recently announced Rome Fiumicino. This route will compete directly against easyJet and indirectly against British Airways, easyJet (from Gatwick), Jet2, Ryanair and TUI. In 2019 (the last full year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), 126,155 passengers travelled between London Luton and Naples, whilst a combined 880,854 passengers flying between London and Naples. In Peak Summer 2021 (week commencing 2 August 2021), easyJet will fly to Naples from London Luton seven times weekly. From London Gatwick, easyJet will serve the Naples route 12 times weekly whilst TUI will serve the route three times weekly. From Lon...

London Southend was once the UK's fastest growing airports and in 2019 saw over 2 million passengers for the first time in its history. However, in March 2020, COVID hit and caused turmoil across the aviation sector, but one airport suffered more than any other in the UK - London Southend. In 2008, Stobart Group bought the airport for £21 million and initially extended the runway by 300m to allow the airport to handle Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. In 2011, an on site railway station opened with direct trains to London and Stratford. Additionally, the airport announced a 10-year deal with easyJet, with the airline basing three A319 aircraft and in 2018 and offering over 70 weekly flights from the airport. In 2014, Stobart Air announced a franchise deal with Flybe to see two aircraft based at the airport with a third added in 2017 to serve domestic and European routes. In 2018, easyJet added a fourth aircraft, before Ryanair announced a new base at London Southend, being the t...

12 June 2021 Image 1: Stobart Air Late on the evening of 11th June, Stobart Air notified Aer Lingus that it is terminating its franchise agreement with Aer Lingus with immediate effect. As a result, all Aer Lingus Regional flights operated by Stobart Air are cancelled. Overnight, Managing Director of Stobart Air, Andy Jolly sent an email to employees regarding the termination of flights. In the email, it states 'Esken has yesterday evening, 11JUN21, stated that it is now clear that Ettyl is unable to conclude the transaction to acquire Stobart Air UC on the original terms, or to obtain an alternative funding package within the required timescale. Esken has therefore exercised its right to terminate the contract with Ettyl for the transaction with immediate effect.' The email concludes by stating, 'Accordingly all EI [Aer Lingus] franchise and BA [British Airways] wet-lease flying is terminated - with immediate effect all flights are cancelled - and the Board of Stobart Air ...

10 June 2021 Wizz Air have today announced the launch of its first domestic routes within the United Kingdom - Cardiff and Doncaster/Sheffield to Jersey, both operate 2x weekly flights between 9 July 2021 and 6 September 2021. Therefore, I look into whether Wizz Air should launch other UK domestic flights? COVID-19 has led to many restrictions on international travel across the world, with a stronger demand for staycations and domestic travel. In the UK, many airlines have added new domestic flights in 2021 including Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer, Blue Islands, Eastern Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Loganair. Wizz Air are one of the most ambitious airlines in Eur ope, starting out in Eastern Europe and serving a 'Visiting Friends and Relatives' market, to expanding in Western Europe and serving leisure-orientated routes. In 2020, Wizz Air announced 2 new bases in the UK - Doncaster/Sheffield and London Gatwick, with a third, Cardiff, launching in June 2021. This has taken Wizz ...

COVID-19 has led to many restrictions on international travel across the world, with a stronger demand for staycations and domestic travel. In the UK, many airlines have added new domestic flights in 2021 including Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer, Blue Islands, Eastern Airways, easyJet, Jet2 and Loganair. However, Ryanair have done the opposite - cutting all their domestic routes including flights from Belfast International, City of Derry, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London Stansted and Manchester. Could we see Ryanair return to the market? Ryanair vacated the UK domestic market due to the UK Civil Aviation Authority due to regulatory changes post Brexit (1). This has meant UK registered aircraft are required for domestic and non-EU routes. This was a blow for many airports - especially City of Derry, where Ryanair had flights to Edinburgh and Liverpool. Loganair stepped in and replaced Ryanair at City of Derry, adding a Liverpool route and increasing its existing Glasgow flights, whilst A...

8 June 2021 Between 23 July 2021 and 29 August 2021, Loganair will add an additional 1,152 seats on the Liverpool to City of Derry route by increasing the number of weekly flights from 7 to 9 in each direction during the summer school holidays. These flights will be operated on the ATR 42-500 aircraft, with 24 additional rotations during this time. Image 1: Shetland News Loganair launched the route on 24 May 2021, following the withdrawal of Ryanair from the route. In 2020, Liverpool was City of Derry's busiest route with 27,912 passengers, down 52% year on year. This fall in passengers is predominately due to COVID-19 restrictions with the UK population encouraged to stay local for much of 2020. As the percentage of the population who has been vaccinated is increasing nearly every day in the United Kingdom, along with a dramatic fall in COVID-19 cases since the turn of the year, demand for flying, especially domestically, is starting to rebound. With summer fast approaching, these...

8 June 2021 Ryanair announced a new route from Rome Fiumincio to Liverpool with flights commencing 1 August 2021. Blue Air previously served the route until 2019, when they cut the Liverpool base. This left the market unserved until 2021. Wizz Air announced in May 2021 that it will launch a new route to Liverpool from July 2021, meaning Ryanair will be the second airline on the route. In Peak Summer 2021, Ryanair will serve the Liverpool to Rome Fiumicino route four times weekly and Wizz Air will serve the Liverpool to Rome Fiumicino route three times weekly. In Winter 2021, Wizz Air will serve the Liverpool to Rome Fiumicino three times weekly. The Ryanair route is currently not on sale for Winter 2021 but is expected to go on sale at a later date. Flight timings: FR3009 FCO 0640-0825 LPL (Friday) FR3009 FCO 1340-1525 LPL (Wednesday and Sunday) FR3009 FCO 1810-1955 LPL (Monday) FR3010 LPL 0850-1235 FCO (Friday) FR3010 LPL 1550-1935 FCO (Wednesday and Sunday) FR3010 LPL 2020-0005+1 FCO...

Turkish Airlines serves more countries than any other carrier and currently serves 5 UK airports - London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham, with its sister airline AnadoluJet serving London Stansted. However, as the airline sector starts to recover, could Turkish Airlines add a sixth destination in the UK - Bristol? Bristol is the largest city in South West England and has the 8th busiest airport in the UK and 4th busiest outside of London - behind Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham, having overtaken Glasgow in 2019 - serving approximately 8.9 million passengers per year. However, it is the largest airport outside of London to not be served by a Middle East Big 3 (ME3) carrier - these being Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Could this therefore attract Turkish Airlines to the airport. Based on the current forecast for Winter 2021, Emirates will serve the most UK airports with 7 -  Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports in London plus Manch...

Last week, I wrote an article about Belfast City since the collapse of Flybe:  Has Flybe's collapse allowed Belfast City to prosper? (seanm1997.blogspot.com) .  This time, I am looking at Southampton. On 5 March 2020, Flybe ceased operations, leading to many routes across the United Kingdom being cut. At Southampton, Flybe had 94% of total seats and 91% of movements with a total of 631,192 scheduled departure seats. Southampton was forecast to be Flybe's second largest airport in terms of departures and fourth largest cities in terms of seats. The loss for Southampton was probably the greatest of all airports that Flybe served, yet this loss gave Southampton an opportunity to be less reliant on one carrier and to spread its operations across many. First came Loganair - adding flights from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle followed by Eastern Airways announcing flights to Manchester, Belfast City and Dublin. Blue Islands then announced a new base in Southampton, with flights to ...