While its rivals Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways are looking closely at the sustainability of their business models, Qatar Airways shows no signs of slowing its incredible network growth and surprised guests at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai this week by revealing an additional 12 new markets that should see the airline service in 2018.
Following an overwhelming response from the business community, Flybe has taken the commercial decision to extend its limited series between Cardiff and London City Airport into a regular operation from this winter.
Flybe has shown its regional model and the use of efficient 78-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprops can provide sustainable air services in many UK domestic markets. It stepped in quickly earlier in the year to announce links between Cardiff and London during the six week closure of the Severn Tunnel.
Irish regional airline, CityJet will end its flights from Cardiff to Edinburgh and Paris from June 29, after the airline criticised Cardiff Airport’s decision to support flybe in setting up competitor routes to the two European cities.
The latest development builds on Flybe's growing network of bases, including Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester and Southampton, showing the airline's commitment to improving connectivity across and from the UK.
Thomas Cook Airlines will further expand its UK long-haul programme in summer 2016 building on the airline’s growing long-haul summer programme this year, which sees its first flights to New York and Miami from May 2015. Next year’s programme will see further growth at Manchester and more frequencies from Glasgow, London (both Gatwick and Stansted airports), Belfast and Cardiff.
The new weekday flight, the only direct link between the two cities, will be launched on April 20, 2015 and will provide a late morning departure from the Welsh capital and afternoon return from Norwich. The flight time of just over one hour will shave around four hours off the current ground links by road or rail.
This ‘start up aid’ will be made available from the Regional Air Connectivity Fund which was announced by the UK government in June 2013 and is open to airports with fewer than five million passengers per year. This fund has already been partly distributed to support strategic routes to London from Newquay and Dundee but is now being extended to bids for more routes.
Thomas Cook Airlines UK is part of the Thomas Cook Group and operates over from 20 airports across the UK, carrying 6.7 million passengers to over 50 short-, medium- and long haul airports with over 200 holiday destinations including North America, the Caribbean Sea and India, as well as resorts across Europe.
The North South Wales air service was established in 2007 and Linksair have been the aircraft operator on the route for the past two years on behalf of Citywing. It is now fully responsible for the route after being awarded a four-year contract to fly the route from the Welsh Government.
The carrier will launch a twice daily operation between London City and Aberdeen from October 27, 2014 using a 78-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 following British Airways’ recent announcement that it would be withdrawing from the route at the end of the summer season.
The route announcement comes eight years after Ryanair pulled out of Cardiff Airport after it ended an at least daily service from its Dublin headquarters in May 2006.
The move to introduce these routes is part of the UK’s largest tour operator’s strategy to ensure customers across the UK can fly from their local airport. There are also frequency increases enabling customers more choice and the ability to book a mix of seven, ten, eleven or 14 night holidays rather than the existing week and fortnight options.
