AIR NOSTRUM TO FLY GLASGOW – MADRID ROUTE FOR IBERIA
Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum is to inaugurate a twice weekly link between Madrid and Glasgow from November 1. The new route will be operated for its parent company Iberia using a Bombardier CRJ200. Spain is currently the second largest overseas market and biggest European market for travellers from Glasgow with an estimated 267,000 O&D passenger travelling in the past year on scheduled flights from or to Glasgow, 4.8 per cent of its total traffic. The airport currently has 28 weekly scheduled flights to Spain, serving the popular leisure markets – Alicante, Malaga, Palma and Tenerife. These flights are operated by budget airlines easyJet and Jet2.com, with Alicante the main market with over 1,750 seats in each direction. Madrid will represent the first city destination from Glasgow and is expected to be popular with tourists and business travellers. The Spanish capital is already served from Edinburgh with easyJet offering ten flights per week on the route. An estimated 117,000 O&D passengers flew on this route in the past year and a proportion of these would have travelled from the west of Scotland for the flight and could, subject to price sensitivity, make use of the new direct flight from Glasgow. Despite the absence of direct flights a further 6,000 O&D passengers flew indirectly from Glasgow to Madrid, mainly flying with KLM via Amsterdam or British Airways via London Heathrow. “We are continually working to expand our route network and not only will the new Madrid route further strengthen our connectivity with Europe’s major cities, it has huge potential to generate significant in-bound tourism for Glasgow and the west of Scotland,” said Amanda McMillan, Managing Director, Glasgow Airport. “It is important for Glasgow to have regular, direct links with European markets and while the introduction of this service is in part a response to demand from the local business community, Madrid is one of Europe’s most popular city-break destinations and will be a big draw for leisure travellers.”
AIR SOUTHWEST TO CLOSE IN SEPTEMBER
UK regional carrier Air Southwest is to suspend operations at the end of September citing a significant decline in forward bookings as the reason for its closure. The airline, established by Sutton Harbour Holdings in 2003, had provided domestic and international air services from Plymouth and Newquay Airports but was sold to Eastern Airways in December 2010 when the company begun to divest its interests in the aviation sector. It subsequently revealed plans to close Plymouth Airport, a decision that has ultimately resulted in the closure of the airline. Air Southwest says that it had intended to continue flying from Plymouth Airport until its closure at the end of the year but revealed that “despite our original hopes…forward bookings are significantly lower than required and the level of demand is not financially viable.” This has had a knock-on effect on its Newquay operations which it says “have been reviewed at length, but are not viable on their own without the association with Plymouth”. As a result Air Southwest will terminate its flights from Plymouth and Newquay to Glasgow, Guernsey, Jersey and Manchester on September 14 with its services to Newquay services to Aberdeen, Bristol, Cork, Dublin and Leeds Bradford ending on September 30.
MONARCH AIRLINES BRINGS COMPETITION TO LONDON GATWICK – BARCELONA ROUTE
UK scheduled carrier Monarch Airlines has announced that it will introduce a new daily service between London Gatwick and Barcelona from October 21, increasing to eleven flights per week from October 30. This will bring the airline’s network from the London airport to 13 destinations. The new route will place Monarch in direct competition with easyJet which already offers up to five flights per day on the route. An estimated 437,000 O&D passengers travelled between the London airport and the Spanish city in the past year, up 1.9 per cent, despite British Airways dropping its own flights on the route during the period. Monarch already has experience of the Barcelona market with a daily connection from its base at Manchester Airport. “Barcelona is one of the UK’s most popular short break destinations and we are delighted to be adding this to our route network from Gatwick in addition to our existing flights from Manchester,” said Kevin George, Managing Director, Monarch Airlines. “Barcelona attracts a broad mix of visitors for business, city breaks and leisure for beach goers. During the winter season it is a fantastic gateway to the ski slopes of the Pyrenees.”
SMARTWINGS INCREASES FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL
Czech Republic low-cost carrier Smartwings is to inaugurate flights to Tel Aviv from Prague, adding to its existing weekly link to the Israeli city from Bratislava. The airline will introduce a twice daily rotation from October 30, the same date that Czech Airlines will suspend its own daily service. The new schedule will provide day and overnight flights from Prague with morning and evening departures back to Europe. An estimated 90,000 O&D passengers travelled between Prague and Tel Aviv in the past year, a market that has grown 19.5 per cent over the previous 12 month period. Czech Airlines used to be the largest operator between the two destinations but despite an 8.7 per cent rise in traffic its share of the market has declined from 48 per cent to 43 per cent in the last 12 months. More worryingly, and probably the driver for the cancellation of the route, its yield has slipped significantly, with its average fares down 15.5 per cent to $246 each way. El Al now holds the market leader position on this city pair, carrying an estimated 44,000 O&D passengers on its five weekly flights during the past year. Smartwings now operates more than 230 weekly flights to 35 different destinations across Europe and the Middle East. Its main base is at Prague’s Ruzyně International Airport from where it serves 30 destinations.
B&H AIRLINES CANCELS SWEDISH ROUTE
The national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, B&H Airlines, is to suspend its flights from Sarajevo to Gothenburg and Stockholm from the start of September. The airline currently operates a twice weekly flight to Gothenburg and Stockholm, a combined service that routes via Sarajevo – Gothenburg – Stockholm – Sarajevo once a week and in the opposite direction the other day. However, from September 1 it will suspend the route after passenger loads failed to reach anticipated levels. B&H Airlines currently operates a single Airbus A319 and two ATR 72 turboprops. Its main overseas markets are Istanbul, Amsterdam and Zurich which are all served more than three times weekly. It will continue to serve the Scandinavian market with a twice weekly service from Sarajevo to the Danish capital Copenhagen.
Related Content
