Jet2.com Adds Sixth Aircraft at Newcastle
UK low-fare carrier Jet2.com is to introduce a sixth aircraft at its Newcastle International Airport base in North East England next summer enabling it to expand its network to 27 destinations with the addition of four new routes. The airline will offer flights to Bodrum, Rome, Reus and Venice from the end of May 2012, strengthening its position as offering the largest network of destinations from the airport six years after it first launched operations there. This latest announcement will see Jet2.com introduce eight weekly flights on these four new routes from Newcastle International with a three times weekly services to Venice; two flights per week to Reus and Rome and a weekly rotation to Bodrum. All four destinations are already served by the airline from its other northern UK bases. In October, Jet2.com also announced plans to launch flights to the Croatian city of Dubrovnik from Newcastle International with a weekly flight between June 9, 2012 and October 6, 2012 offering a mix of seat-only deals and package breaks through its sister company Jet2holidays. Alongside the new routes the carrier will boost frequencies to Cork, Dalaman, Faro, Krakow, Mahon, Malaga, Palma and Prague next summer. Jet2.com currently accounts for 7.7 per cent of the weekly scheduled seat capacity from the airport, placing it as the fourth largest operator behind easyJet (25.6 per cent), British Airways (18.5 per cent) and Flybe (13.0 per cent), but this figure will grow notably following these new route announcements. It revised capacity introduces a further 80,000 passenger seats per annum on its new flights, taking its total seat availability at Newcastle International to over 600,000 per year. “We have been closely monitoring the success of this airport over the past year and we believe there’s real potential for this region,” explained Ian Doubtfire, Managing Director, Jet2.com. “We see exciting horizons for our organisation right here. That’s why, contrary to many other operators at the moment, we have decided to invest for the coming year and really focus and plan for a strong future in the region”. The airline has had a successful summer at Newcastle International carrying more than 500,000 passengers to its city and sunshine destinations, a 56 per cent increase on the previous year. It anticipates a similar rise in 2012 as a result of its investment into the airport. “Civil Aviation Authority data has told us that over 200,000 people from the airport’s catchment area travel to other UK airports to reach Mediterranean destinations. We hope these brand new developments will encourage the travelling North East public to choose their local airport,” added David Laws, Chief Executive Officer, Newcastle International Airport.
Monarch Airlines Adds Transatlantic Links from UK Regional Airports
Monarch Airlines is to offer flights to Orlando Sanford International from both Cardiff and Newcastle airports next summer on behalf of its sister companies. The carrier is offering a weekly schedule from each destination between May and August on behalf of independent tour operator, Cosmos, and sister flight only provider to the trade, Avro as well as up to twice weekly flights from London Gatwick and Manchester and a limited offering from Glasgow between June 28 thru July 12. Florida is the most popular long-haul tourist destination from the UK, with many attractions including Disneyworld and Universal Studios, numerous shopping malls and stunning beach resorts, although passengers from both South Wales have had to travel to other UK airports since 2008 to fly there: Newcastle already has flights to Orlando with Thomson Airways. Around 2.2 million passengers are estimated to have travelled between the UK and Florida on scheduled flights during the past year, up 2.2 per cent on the previous 12 month period. “2011 has been a hugely successful year for us in terms of sales to Florida. We have had terrific support from theme parks, hoteliers and other suppliers keen to help us promote the destination and it has really paid off,” said Hugh Morgan, Managing Director, Tour Operations, the Monarch Travel Group which includes sister companies, Cosmos and Avro. “The time is right to extend our programme to include more regional departures and we are delighted to be able to include Cardiff and Newcastle in this expansion.”
Aegean Adds Brussels Link from Corfu
Greek carrier Aegean Airlines is to introduce a seasonal link to Brussels from Corfu during summer 2012 adding to its existing link to the Belgian capital from Athens and summer seasonal flight from Heraklion. The Star Alliance partner is to offer two weekly flights on the route between June 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012 using an Airbus A320, bringing its total weekly frequencies between Greece and Belgium to 18. There is a growing demand between Greece and Belgium with O&D passenger traffic up 18.8 per cent in the past year. In the 12 months ending September 2011, an estimated 519,000 O&D passengers travelled between the two countries with Aegean Airlines holding an increasing share of this traffic, up from 16.4 per cent to 21.7 per cent during the period. The largest operator between these two markets is Belgian carrier Jetairfly, a subsidiary of tour operator TUI Group. It has seen its share of the market also strengthen during the past year from 33.0 to 35.9 per cent. However, it is Irish budget carrier Ryanair that is the fastest expanding airline between Greece and Belgium; its new low-cost services enabling it to generate a 13.8 per cent share of the passenger traffic this past year.
bmibaby Prepares For Jump into Ski Market
UK low-cost carrier is making final preparations for the launch of its new flights into France from East Midlands Airport with the launch of new services to Chambery from December 16 and Toulouse from 23. Both flights are predominantly aimed at the leisure market and their launch will coincide with the start of the ski and snowboard season. The airline will offer two flights per week to Chambery, a popular gateway to the French Alps, and up to two weekly frequencies to Toulouse, which offers access to the Pyrenees mountain range. It expects to carry around 15,000 on these two routes during the winter season. “We are delighted to be launching flights to Chambery and Toulouse from East Midlands Airport. As the gateways to the best French ski resorts both in the Alps and the Pyrenees, the new routes will enhance our appeal to skiers and snowboarders,” said Julian Carr, Managing Director, bmibaby. Thomson Airways also serves Chambery on a seasonal basis from East Midlands but there are no current flights to Toulouse. bmibaby is currently the second largest operator at the airport with 38.7 per cent share of the weekly capacity this month (it actually offers more flights than the market leader, Ryanair, but the Irish budget carrier’s operates larger Boeing 737 variants). It has already announced plans to expand from its home airport with year-round flights to Gibraltar and new seasonal links to Catania, Corfu, Murcia, and Naples next summer.
Montenegro Seals Open Skies Agreement with US
The United States and Montenegro have concluded an Open-Skies aviation agreement that will liberalise air services for the carriers of both countries. This is the first aviation agreement between the two countries as previously air rights between the two countries were governed by a former agreement between the US and Yugoslavia. However, there are currently are no direct flights between the two countries. “By agreeing on an open market for aviation services now, we are setting the stage for travel and trade between the US and Montenegro to develop in the future,” said Ray LaHood, US Transportation Secretary. “We welcome Montenegro as an Open Skies partner.” Under the Open Skies agreement, any airlines of each country will be able to fly to, from and beyond the other’s territory, without restriction on how often carriers fly, the kind of aircraft they use and the prices they charge. The agreement comes into immediate effect and means the US now has Open Skies partnerships with 105 foreign territories.
Jet2.com Adds Budapest Link to Yorkshire Map
UK low-fare carrier Jet2.com has announced further expansion from its Leeds Bradford International Airport (LBIA) headquarters with a new twice weekly link from the Yorkshire gateway to the Hungarian capital Budapest. The airline will launch the flight on March 29, 2012 and will be mainly targeting city break traffic offering packages with its sister company Jet2holidays. Budapest, which will host the 2013 Routes Europe event, will be the 15th city destination Jet2.com offers from LBIA and says its launch is due to “strong demand” from the airline’s local customer base. It already offers flights to the Hungarian capital from Edinburgh and Manchester. “Based on our experience of Budapest flights from Manchester and Edinburgh we anticipate that the route will also be popular with inbound tourists seeking to explore all that Yorkshire has to offer – therefore providing a welcome boost to the regional economy,” said Steve Heapy, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet2.com and Managing Director, Jet2holidays. The confirmation of the new route followed in the same week that LBIA announced the commencement of works on the next major stage of its passenger terminal development: an £11 million construction project to deliver new facilities and a significantly improved passenger experience. “This investment over the next six months will deliver significant improvements to the passenger experience at Yorkshire’s gateway airport,” Tony Hallwood, Commercial and Aviation Development Director, LBIA told The HUB at the Invest & Manage Airports conference in London at the end of last week. “LBIA are committed to developing a regional airport to be proud of, alongside providing ‘best in class’ infrastructure which will provide for an increase in our terminal capacity. As one of the UK’s fastest growing airports, we are now investing for the future and showing our determination to provide the Leeds City region with an airport it deserves.” The work on the airport will deliver a 65 per cent increase in the size of departure lounge; a 40 per cent increase in space in a re-modelled Security Zone to provide up to six channels; a new covered passenger walkway to aircraft stands; enlarged boarding gate zones; an extension to the Yorkshire Premier Lounge for both business and leisure passengers and a new contemporary look and feel to the airside departure lounge with a wider choice of new retail, food and bar facilities and an extended duty free store.
Related Content
