Load factor Antwerp-Manchester

[sn26567]

Btw, I don't know which dates in March you've picked, but I see fares of 135euro for midweek flights with just 1 or 2 night stay?

I took similar flights for both airlines, i.e. from a Monday night to a Tuesday night. I didn't look midweek flights with a 2-night stay.

[teddybAIR]

I'll keep you updated every tuesday and thursday on the loads of the BMI flight. I literally watch them deboarding 'tussen de soep en de patatten'

[Inquirer]

Btw, I don't know which dates in March you've picked, but I see fares of 135euro for midweek flights with just 1 or 2 night stay?

I took similar flights for both airlines, i.e. from a Monday night to a Tuesday night. I didn't look midweek flights with a 2-night stay.

I see, that's probably why then.

Interesting explanation above, btw.
A quick fare comparison seems to match the tactic explained: Brussels indeed looks (slightly) more expensive on flights with dates long out in the future, but as you near the departure date, they are almost systematically undercutting those of bmi. That's likely not a coincidence indeed.

I very much doubt bmi is getting a healthy mix of revenues that way: I certainly can't see anyone booking them close to departure date and it seems that they aren't particularly successful in attracting loads of early bookers either (or maybe they are just keeping seats open for later, but for whom: at 800 to 1,000euro return, surely nobody is going to fly them if B.air offers tickets at half the price still for same day departures?).

This doesn't look good for bmi, if you ask me: B.air seems to be trying to push bmi off the MAN route, just as they seem to be doing on Edinburgh too.

[teddybAIR]

I spontaneously wonder whether the Brussels Airlines pricing strategy was different before BMI started flying MAN-ANR...

[Flanker]

I think that it's something else.
Bmi isn't pricing itself out of the market, it's that there is a demand for a high yield rich-*ss shuttle.
But I don't see them succeeding in that capacity, with an ERJ for god's sake....

[teddybAIR]

Anyway, if 5 passengers pay 1.000€ for a round trip, they better inform themselves at ASL or flying group for a price quote in a Beechcraft.

[andorra-airport]

It's not only Antwerp. A return flight from Groningen to Aberdeen with BMI can cost you also 1000 euro or more.... But I guess the oil guys have the money for that.

[airazurxtror]

I just simulated two reservations, one for departing from ANR tonight and coming back from MAN tomorrow night, the other for a similar trip in March 2013.
The respective prices are a whopping EUR 1,056.25 and a very reasonable EUR 129.01.

From Charleroi, in March, it would be between 73,98 and 82,98 euros (at the moment - lower prices probably available in January-February)

[FLYAIR10]

It seems BMI-Regional is lowering its prices significantly these days.. If booked now,you can get a return ticket ANR-MAN in february for less than €120...
Grtz

[DIBO]

Anybody knows how this compares to the ANR-MAN CityJet fares last year?
And TeddybAIR, are you still "watch them deboarding 'tussen de soep en de patatten' "? Any update?

[tangolima]

Hello

This morning only 7 passengers are booked on the BMI flight to MAN....

Greetings,

[teddybAIR]

And TeddybAIR, are you still "watch them deboarding 'tussen de soep en de patatten' "? Any update?

No, I don't eat at Belair anymore after I've been treated unfriendly twice in one week...man what an attitude! We have our lunches at De Cockpit (on one of the corners of the roundabout in front of the airport) now: simple food, but friendly staff.

So no update on the loadfactors of BMI What I can tell is that to my big surprise I witnessed a close to 100% load factor of one of the inbound VLM's on a saterday a few weeks ago.

[Comet]

Although I have not been on the MAN-ANR service, I flew on the services to BRU operated by bmi from EMA and LBA. Very often the passenger number on the outward flight from England would be very low, but on the return the flight was always full. The flight frequency from EMA ended up being reduced and the flight from LBA axed altogether owing to small numbers, so if they do that to the BRU flight I can imagine it is only a matter of time before the ANR service is withdrawn if numbers are low.

[Boeing767copilot]

The end is near. bmi regional will suspend his daily service ANR-MAN as from 29/11/13

[crew1990]

i actually don't see witch traffic this airport could get, there is a huge potential in Antwerpen, however Brussels Airport is easily reachable and offer some prices that Antwerpen Airport can't compet with.

In my opininon, Antwerpen Airport should stay focus on the business aviation unless they make a bigger runway abble to land at least a A319/737.

[crew1990]

Sad news anyway for the airport

[RoMax]

This may be the result, not only of possibly lacking traffic on the ANR route, but also simply because bmi is closing its crew base at Manchester (together with these at EDI, also resulting in the end of the EDI-BRU route and BHX). The only route that will remain out of MAN will be Aberdeen, which is their home base. Besides Antwerp, the Manchester - Lyon and Edinburgh routes will end on the same day at the end of this month.
With the closure of the MAN-base, there is probably no commercial sense in keeping the MAN-ANR route.

[FLYAIR10]

This may be the result, not only of possibly lacking traffic on the ANR route, but also simply because bmi is closing its crew base at Manchester (together with these at EDI, also resulting in the end of the EDI-BRU route and BHX). The only route that will remain out of MAN will be Aberdeen, which is their home base. Besides Antwerp, the Manchester - Lyon and Edinburgh routes will end on the same day at the end of this month.
With the closure of the MAN-base, there is probably no commercial sense in keeping the MAN-ANR route.This may be the result, not only of possibly lacking traffic on the ANR route, but also simply because bmi is closing its crew base at Manchester (together with these at EDI, also resulting in the end of the EDI-BRU route and BHX). The only route that will remain out of MAN will be Aberdeen, which is their home base. Besides Antwerp, the Manchester - Lyon and Edinburgh routes will end on the same day at the end of this month.
With the closure of the MAN-base, there is probably no commercial sense in keeping the MAN-ANR route.

They could have kept Aberdeen-MAN-ANR 1Xday and Aberdeen-MAN-Lyon 1Xday or a 1-3-5-7/2-4-6 schedule..
Wonder which airline will be next on this route,if any, in the foreseeable future. Maybe next one should try to attract some transfer passengers, feeding TATL flights serving MAN or Ireland.. I guess BMI is having no transfer passengers at all on this route..

[RoMax]

They could have kept Aberdeen-MAN-ANR 1Xday

There is no sense in keeping such a route running on such low shedule. Just like there was no sense in it for SN to keep Newcastle running with less than 3 daily flights (on weekdays).

Besides, bmi has other plans with their fleet (including a higher range of (business) charter flights and a higher focus on their remaining bases).

[AAI]

Here 3 reasons why BMI will leave ANR
1) too short runway for their Embraer 145 ( because the 135 will be phased out )
2) their fares were to high compared with BRU
3) they did' t any effort for transfer pax