bmibaby expands into Birmingham (International)
bmibaby have announced that from the beginning of 2005, they will make Birmingham (International) a new British hub. They are due to begin flying 20 new routes, which they claim will be in addition to the services already flying from Nottingham East Midlands airport.
They are due to announce the new routes next week. Perhaps bmibaby will be able to fill a void at Birmingham (International), left by the demise of duo earlier this year.
Ryanair expands Luton as new UK hub
Ryanair has announced a major expansion at London (Luton). Ryanair have been flying from Luton since 1986, and will from 19 January 2005, add 9 new routes from London (Luton).
The new routes include Girona, Reus, Dinard, Murcia, Nimes, Rome (Ciampino), Venice (Treviso), Stockholm (Vasteras) and Esbjerg.
Perhaps this could be the beginning of a shift away from London (Stansted) as the favourite airport for low-cost flying in Europe. While Stansted is perfectly capable of taking the capacity of budget airlines, it is a frequent complaint that it is too expensive to travel there by public transport, with flights often costing less than a train ticket from London.
Low cost news ....
Moderator: Latest news team
Re: Low cost news ....
Exactly vueling. Stansted is about 45min from London by train and it is so expensive. It costs £24 for a return ticket that's about 36Euro. Furthermore the train leaves from London's Liverpool street station which is not very convenient for most people in London. What can start off as a cheap return air fare with a low fare airline from Stansted, quickly becomes more expensive when you add all the transport costs. It is often the same price or just a tiny bit more expensive to fly from Heathrow with an established airline with free inflight service as well as easy access by public transport. The underground/tube from Central London to Heathrow costs about £6-£7 return ( a fraction of the bloody Stansted Express).vueling wrote:
Perhaps this could be the beginning of a shift away from London (Stansted) as the favourite airport for low-cost flying in Europe. While Stansted is perfectly capable of taking the capacity of budget airlines, it is a frequent complaint that it is too expensive to travel there by public transport, with flights often costing less than a train ticket from London.
Luton is easier to reach to than Stansted and not as expensive by train.
Captain
Yes that was I though.
Another thing that surprised me is the number of low cost route in the UK. London airports have an incredibely high amount of low cost destination. Ryanair has 78 route from London airports, easyjet +/- 65, and I don't speak about all the others low fare airlines in all the UK.
Why there is such a high supply of low fare airlines in the UK ? Refering to the low of demand & supply, the demand must be high, but I still not understand why there is only in UK that there is this incredibely high ammount of low cost routes .....
Another thing that surprised me is the number of low cost route in the UK. London airports have an incredibely high amount of low cost destination. Ryanair has 78 route from London airports, easyjet +/- 65, and I don't speak about all the others low fare airlines in all the UK.
Why there is such a high supply of low fare airlines in the UK ? Refering to the low of demand & supply, the demand must be high, but I still not understand why there is only in UK that there is this incredibely high ammount of low cost routes .....
I believe that soon http://www.megabus.com might start connecting Stansed Airport with London Victoria, with fares from £1. We'll see.
Thanks for these updates Vueling! One of the reasons of the big amount of low cost routes in the UK is that it is an island. The British have the choice of taking their car on a boat (which is expensive and time consuming) or going by plane.
And here is some more news: Wizzair, the Hungarian/Polish low cost airline, will start a daily service from Warsaw to Charleroi in spring.
I wonder if Sky Europe is also planning to fly to Brussels.
And here is some more news: Wizzair, the Hungarian/Polish low cost airline, will start a daily service from Warsaw to Charleroi in spring.
I wonder if Sky Europe is also planning to fly to Brussels.
One of the primary reasons is that the UK is an island as danieln said. It's not like in Belgium for example where you can be in Germany, France, Netherlands, Luxemburg within 1 hour's car drive. So if you want to leave the country you are limited to flying (most popular) or if you live in the South: the ferry or Eurostar (limited destinations).vueling wrote:Yes that was I though.
Another thing that surprised me is the number of low cost route in the UK. London airports have an incredibely high amount of low cost destination. Ryanair has 78 route from London airports, easyjet +/- 65, and I don't speak about all the others low fare airlines in all the UK.
Why there is such a high supply of low fare airlines in the UK ?
Another reason: There are 10million people living in London alone and probably another 5-10 million within 1 hour's reach of London so it's a huge populated area. There are just as many Londonners as Belgians and when you take in all the factors (above & below) this explains the big demand for low cost flights.
I may also add the weather is not particularly nice or warm (i.e. this summer) so if your going to get on a plane to leave the country might as well go to Spain or Italy (lot's of routes to these countries: BA, Easyjet, Ryanair, etc.).
Captain
Thanks for theinformation, t0m, and welcome to Luchtzak!t0m wrote:I believe that soon http://www.megabus.com might start connecting Stansed Airport with London Victoria, with fares from £1. We'll see.
André
ex Sabena #26567
ex Sabena #26567
Re: Low cost news ....
Further to their announcement last week that they were due to form a new base at Birmingham (International), bmibaby have today announced the 9 new routes they will be flying from 7 January 2005 from Birmingham. These include: Alicante, Knock, Amsterdam, Belfast (International), Edinburgh, Geneva, Malaga, Palma (Mallorca) and Prague.vueling wrote:bmibaby expands into Birmingham (International)
bmibaby have announced that from the beginning of 2005, they will make Birmingham (International) a new British hub. They are due to begin flying 20 new routes, which they claim will be in addition to the services already flying from Nottingham East Midlands airport.
They are due to announce the new routes next week. Perhaps bmibaby will be able to fill a void at Birmingham (International), left by the demise of duo earlier this year.
This new base is in addition to their already-established hub at Nottingham East Midlands.
Also Ryanair is opening new routes from Stansted, Frankfurt-Hahn en Rome-Ciampino
FROM LONDON STANSTED: Starts Starting Fares (excl taxes)
Santander 20-Sep-04 £3.99
Riga 31-Oct-04 £3.99
Zaragoza 01-Dec-04 £3.99
FROM ROME CIAMPINO: Starts Starting Fares
Paris Beauvais ( 2nd flight) 20-Sep-04 €3.99
Santander 20-Sep-04 €5.99
Eindhoven 20-Sep-04 €5.99
FROM FRANKFURT HAHN: Starts Starting Fares
Riga 31-Oct-04 €7.99
Santander 31-Oct-04 €7.99
Extra routes to latvia, spain, the netherlands and france!
FROM LONDON STANSTED: Starts Starting Fares (excl taxes)
Santander 20-Sep-04 £3.99
Riga 31-Oct-04 £3.99
Zaragoza 01-Dec-04 £3.99
FROM ROME CIAMPINO: Starts Starting Fares
Paris Beauvais ( 2nd flight) 20-Sep-04 €3.99
Santander 20-Sep-04 €5.99
Eindhoven 20-Sep-04 €5.99
FROM FRANKFURT HAHN: Starts Starting Fares
Riga 31-Oct-04 €7.99
Santander 31-Oct-04 €7.99
Extra routes to latvia, spain, the netherlands and france!
Some other low cost news ....
easyJet announces 6 more new routes
Flights this winter are already hotting up, despite many remarks that the industry will suffer a blow during the off-peak season. Showing a serious commitment to expansion, easyJet have just announced a further 6 new European routes, including destinations which are completely new to them.
The new routes include London (Luton) and Berlin (Schönefeld) to Bratislava, London (Luton) to Turin, London (Stansted) to Almeria and Valencia and Bristol to Madrid.
dba adds route to Hanover
In addition to their recently announced new route from Munich (Franz Josef Strauss) to Dresden, dba have also announced a new route from Munich to Hanover.
Flights will begin on this route from 13 September 2004.
helvetic to fly to London and Barcelona
Swiss budget airline helvetic has announced that they will begin flying 2 new routes later this year from their hub in Zurich. On 01 October 2004 they will begin flying to London (Gatwick) and on 31 October they will begin flights to Barcelona.
Thomsonfly replaces Grenoble service
Thomsonfly had previously announced a new route to Grenoble from their base at Coventry, beginning on 31 October 2004. They have decided to replace this new route with a route to Lyon instead, citing it as an ‘excellent gateway to ski resorts’ in the French Alps.
Passengers who have already booked on the Grenoble service will be offered alternative flights on the Lyon service or a full refund.
easyJet announces 6 more new routes
Flights this winter are already hotting up, despite many remarks that the industry will suffer a blow during the off-peak season. Showing a serious commitment to expansion, easyJet have just announced a further 6 new European routes, including destinations which are completely new to them.
The new routes include London (Luton) and Berlin (Schönefeld) to Bratislava, London (Luton) to Turin, London (Stansted) to Almeria and Valencia and Bristol to Madrid.
dba adds route to Hanover
In addition to their recently announced new route from Munich (Franz Josef Strauss) to Dresden, dba have also announced a new route from Munich to Hanover.
Flights will begin on this route from 13 September 2004.
helvetic to fly to London and Barcelona
Swiss budget airline helvetic has announced that they will begin flying 2 new routes later this year from their hub in Zurich. On 01 October 2004 they will begin flying to London (Gatwick) and on 31 October they will begin flights to Barcelona.
Thomsonfly replaces Grenoble service
Thomsonfly had previously announced a new route to Grenoble from their base at Coventry, beginning on 31 October 2004. They have decided to replace this new route with a route to Lyon instead, citing it as an ‘excellent gateway to ski resorts’ in the French Alps.
Passengers who have already booked on the Grenoble service will be offered alternative flights on the Lyon service or a full refund.
Re: 'Stansted is too far from London' and 'the ferries are too expensive.'
Not *everybody* in the UK lives in London and the South East. If (as I do) you have a house in East Anglia (where the population is increasing steadily; population in the region has increased 30% in the last 30 years) Stansted is on your doorstep. Public transport could be better; the M11 runs past the airport (but parking for a weekend costs more than the return flight
)
Until RyanAir were obliged to discontinue their cheap flights between Stansted and Charleroi (we were told 'somebody' would soon step in and take up the route ... like who? - I don't want to fly from Heathrow ... too far from Norfolk and I don't want to fly to Zaventem - in Belgium, I live in Wallonia ) I used to fly to Charleroi for the weekend every couple of weeks.
Now I come over by Ferry. Compare the cost:
Ryanair (from Stansted)
£35 parking, £35 for the flight, £8.00 (diesel) £12 petrol (Belgium) Total: £90 (€135) Journey time 7 hours each way.
Flybe (Heathrow - Zaventem)
£?? -(probably about £35) parking, £150 for the flight, £32 (diesel) £15 petrol (Belgium)
Total: £232 (€348) Journey Time: Unknown, depends on the M25 - not less than 9 hours each way, probably not more than a day.
Hoverspeed (Dover/Calais)
Return Ticket £50, Dartford Toll £2, Diesel (UK side) £21 (Europe) £12
Total: £85 (€128) Journey time: 7 hours each way.
It was a close-run thing between RyanAir and Hoverspeed - Hoverspeed being slightly cheaper. Now that RyanAir don't fly between Stansted and Charleroi, the choice is obvious. Flying from Heathrow is a non-starter - far too expensive, doesn't take me where I want to go, too difficult to get to.
Hoverspeed is cheap, fast and reliable ... and I can take another 4 people with me for the same price.
Not *everybody* in the UK lives in London and the South East. If (as I do) you have a house in East Anglia (where the population is increasing steadily; population in the region has increased 30% in the last 30 years) Stansted is on your doorstep. Public transport could be better; the M11 runs past the airport (but parking for a weekend costs more than the return flight
)Until RyanAir were obliged to discontinue their cheap flights between Stansted and Charleroi (we were told 'somebody' would soon step in and take up the route ... like who? - I don't want to fly from Heathrow ... too far from Norfolk and I don't want to fly to Zaventem - in Belgium, I live in Wallonia ) I used to fly to Charleroi for the weekend every couple of weeks.
Now I come over by Ferry. Compare the cost:
Ryanair (from Stansted)
£35 parking, £35 for the flight, £8.00 (diesel) £12 petrol (Belgium) Total: £90 (€135) Journey time 7 hours each way.
Flybe (Heathrow - Zaventem)
£?? -(probably about £35) parking, £150 for the flight, £32 (diesel) £15 petrol (Belgium)
Total: £232 (€348) Journey Time: Unknown, depends on the M25 - not less than 9 hours each way, probably not more than a day.
Hoverspeed (Dover/Calais)
Return Ticket £50, Dartford Toll £2, Diesel (UK side) £21 (Europe) £12
Total: £85 (€128) Journey time: 7 hours each way.
It was a close-run thing between RyanAir and Hoverspeed - Hoverspeed being slightly cheaper. Now that RyanAir don't fly between Stansted and Charleroi, the choice is obvious. Flying from Heathrow is a non-starter - far too expensive, doesn't take me where I want to go, too difficult to get to.
Hoverspeed is cheap, fast and reliable ... and I can take another 4 people with me for the same price.
-
Comet
- Posts: 6481
- Joined: 05 Jul 2003, 00:00
- Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
- Contact:
Re: Low cost news ....
No they won't fill the Duo void, British Airways have already done that by inaugurating services to the places which had been served by Duo from BHX. There are several news articles on Luchtzak about the new BA routes from BHX and the new bmibaby routes.vueling wrote:
They are due to announce the new routes next week. Perhaps bmibaby will be able to fill a void at Birmingham (International), left by the demise of duo earlier this year.
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise
Louise
-
Comet
- Posts: 6481
- Joined: 05 Jul 2003, 00:00
- Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
- Contact:
I wouldn't say there was a LCC void at BHX - there is still MyTravelLite, and I think some FR services. The Duo services have largely been swallowed up by BA in a route expansion from BHX. It was a shame that Duo failed, I think it is nice for the smaller airlines to get some success. Apparently Duo's inflight service was very good, and a nice change from things like EI, who have gone the other way and become more like a LCC carrier with no service on board to speak of.
Sabena and Sobelair - gone but never forgotten.
Louise
Louise
They should start BU-> SVQ, would be a ideal for visiting S Spain and Andalousia.waldova wrote:Today I also got the news that Vueling is adding a new route, from Barcelona to Sevilla. For the startup promotion they are selling tickets for this route for only 10 EUR like they did in the beginning with BRU-VLC and BRU-BCN.
Last year I think SNBA had 10 flights a week to SVQ, so there is a market.