2017 Antwerp Airport (ANR/EBAW) latest news

[cs100]

I phoned Antwerp airport and they said vlm would take over the route.

[luchtzak]

I phoned Antwerp airport and they said vlm would take over the route.

They would like...

[CTBke]

Woud be nice to see them return to LCY ..

[Avnu]

I 'took one for the team' so to speak and booked ANR-LCY early December through a German online ticket seller (apparently blissfully unaware of the cancellation). So let's wait and see what happens now and what I'm being offered in terms of alernatives.

(SPOILER ALERT: The ticket isn't confirmed yet, so it could very well be that my money doesn't even make it to Cityjet itself. UPDATE: no ticket issued, as was to be expected. But hey, it was a fun experiment )

[Avnu]

According to press agency Belga, Antwerp Airport is talking with two airlines to ensure a 'seamless' continuation of the flights. The deadline for an announcement should be two weeks from now, September 15th. There's talk of a 40-50 seater which brings VLM back in the picture although Marcel Buelens also mentions the fact that they don't have a Belgian AOC yet.

(That being said, it seems highly unlikely they AREN'T talking to VLM)

[Aerofool]

Message on the website of Antwerp Airport:
http://www.antwerp-airport.com/importan ... customers/

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IMPORTANT MESSAGES FOR ALL CITYJET CUSTOMERS

For all customers flying to London City – please note that CityJet flights from Antwerp to London City will no longer operate after 27th October 2017.

Passengers who have already booked a flight after this date will receive a refund from CityJet.

Antwerp International Airport apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and is currently looking to find a takeover for this historic route.

[lumumba]

The Eurostar is not yet stopping in Antwerp but he will arrive.
For the moment is the investment not worthwhile for 1 train a day but it will grow fast .
I heard that from 3 trains a day they will open a terminal for the Eurostar in Antwerp.
And then the problem is partly resolved.

[Passenger]

Message on the website of Antwerp Airport:
http://www.antwerp-airport.com/importan ... customers/
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IMPORTANT MESSAGES FOR ALL CITYJET CUSTOMERS

For all customers flying to London City – please note that CityJet flights from Antwerp to London City will no longer operate after 27th October 2017.

Passengers who have already booked a flight after this date will receive a refund from CityJet.

Repeat: passengers don't have to accept it. They may demand a rerouting iso a refund - see my previous post:

When a confirmed flight is cancelled because of a commercial reason, the airline has to give the passengers the choice between a refund and a rebooking. When VLM would operate ANR-LCY-ANR, the problem for Cityjet is solved. But when no other carrier is taking over that route, Cityjet must provide an alternative routing. Example: AMS-LCY-AMS. If so, Cityjet must then also arrange and pay the transfer costs between ANR and AMS. And if it was an early morning flight out of ANR, with alternative out of AMS before arrival of the first train Antwerp-AMS, Cityjet must provide a hotel at AMS for the previous night.

Repeat: the passenger has the right to choose between a refund and a rebooking.

Because the announcement is given more then two weeks in advance, Cityjet doens't has to pay the indemnity (150 Euro for an ANR-LCY).

It's all in Article 5 and Article 8 from European legislation EU Rule 261/2004:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ ... 32004R0261
(language change possible)

[AAI]

and what about Powdair?
they will fly SIR LCY 2x/day
so they could also do ANR LCY with Saab2000

[saratoga]

IMHO, the list of credible candidates to take over the route is rather short (but still, not so short as to despair):

- VLM (with or without a Belgian AOC but with one of the Fokkers for sure)
- BA (operated by BA Cityflyer with E190 or if that's too big Sun-Air with a Dornier 328)
- BMI (ERJ 135/145, although their focus has shifted somewhat recently)

But while anyone can draw up plans I'm not sure if they'd be able to get slots at LCY. I guess only BA has those more or less 'readily available'.

I dont think the BMI aircraft are certified to land in LCY.
VLM: i have no clue if they can still doing this with their slovanian AOC.
BA cityflyer: might be the best solution IF they are interested.

[Poiu]

VLM: i have no clue if they can still doing this with their slovanian AOC.

Till March 2019 no problem, beyond, who knows?
CityJet itself could face a huge problem after Brexit with their Irish AOC.

[Avnu]

I dont think the BMI aircraft are certified to land in LCY.

You're probably right: the E135 itself IS certified but I can't imagine BMI having done the necessary paper work and training.

VLM: i have no clue if they can still doing this with their slovanian AOC.

Like Poiu said: it's not a problem now and no one really knows whether it will be in the (not that distant) future. One might think that traffic rights will still be negotiated between the UK on one side and the EU as a single bloc on the other, but that might well prove to be wishful thinking.

[Avnu]

and what about Powdair?
they will fly SIR LCY 2x/day
so they could also do ANR LCY with Saab2000

Given how ambitious they are nowadays, they could well go for it. But I believe it's far from the best solution for ANR-based flyers. They're essentially a startup virtual airline selling tickets on Darwin and Backbone flights right now, but given the nature of their business all of that could have changed by next summer. They might switch providers or go for bigger planes that aren't even suitable for the Antwerp route.

But most of all: how would they fit ANR-LCY in their schedule if the plane is based at neither of those airports? It takes 1h35 minutes to fly SIR-LCY, 1h00 for LCY-ANR. Add a 30 minute turnaround to that in LCY and a very optimistic 20 minutes in ANR and you're already looking at 3h25 between leaving SIR and getting started for the day in ANR. Even with a very early start in Switzerland, the first flight to London would arrive there at 9:25am local time. Not very attractive for sure.

[DIBO]

Traffic figures August 2017 +26,3%
Compared to August 2016:
passengers +26,3% (27.562 pax)
freight: +20%
movements: +15,9%
source: Antwerp airport

[PttU]

According to press agency Belga, Antwerp Airport is talking with two airlines to assure a 'seamless' continuation of the flights. The deadline for an announcement should be two weeks from now, September 15th. There's talk of a 40-50 seater which brings VLM back in the picture although Marcel Buelens also mentions the fact that they don't have a Belgian AOC yet.

(That being said, it seems highly unlikely they AREN'T talking to VLM)

Any updates?
When can we expect to know who takes over the ANR-LCY route (and start booking tickets for christmas-trips )

[Avnu]

According to press agency Belga, Antwerp Airport is talking with two airlines to ensure a 'seamless' continuation of the flights. The deadline for an announcement should be two weeks from now, September 15th. There's talk of a 40-50 seater which brings VLM back in the picture although Marcel Buelens also mentions the fact that they don't have a Belgian AOC yet.

(That being said, it seems highly unlikely they AREN'T talking to VLM)

Any updates?
When can we expect to know who takes over the ANR-LCY route (and start booking tickets for christmas-trips )

Sadly, no. And I have a feeling it might take a little while longer too. Because it simply must not be easy for someone to fill such a specific gap on short notice but also because they can probably afford to wait a bit longer to announce something.

By which I mean that business travellers probably don't book many weeks in advance anyway and are well aware of the fact that Antwerp Airport is looking for a new operator. In other words: they won't need to be bombarded with advertising and PR-messages once bookings open again. Which isn't to say that they will patiently wait for Antwerp Airport to get their act together either. My gut feeling right now says it's starting to look bleak if we haven't heard anything by early October.

[AAI]

the SIR ANR flights on Mon and Thu with SkyWork Airlines can't be booked anymore
let's concentrate on the 5 Powdairflights / week

[Avnu]

Not sure if this was picked up anywhere, but I heard Marcel Buelens is optimistic about new flights to LCY being announced 'as early as next week'. Seems there are 4 candidates of which 2 are 'very credible' and 1 is 'preferred'.

[sn26567]

Let me guess: the preferred one is VLM?

[Avnu]

I can't say for sure as I don't know... but to me that would make some sense. Timing is everything on that route and that's one area where a 'local' carrier has a certain advantage. Then again, that would mean that the future of the route is linked to the future of their F50 fleet