Norwegian are to cease operations between Birmingham and Spain, effective 28 October 2017
I imagine it's down to passenger numbers due to Spain being out of season. With Monarch out of the picture I'd have thought Norwegian would see an opportunity to mop up capacity. A pretty quick decision with less than a weeks notice.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/business/ ... m-13801581
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- bennett123
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
Assuming this is not just seasonal, this is a bit sudden.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
bennett123 wrote:Assuming this is not just seasonal, this is a bit sudden.
Yep, sudden decision to end all flights. Guess if it's not making a profit it's got to go.
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/norwegi ... irmingham/
www.newsinflight.com/2017/10/24/norwegi ... m-airport/
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
The concepts of "season" and "out of season" when discussing flights between the UK and Spain are debatable.
From the five cities mentioned in the article, at least two (Madrid and Barcelona) are not the typical bucket and spade destinations, in fact, they attract all types of crowds, including business travelers, VFR, Spanish citizens who work in Birmingham, and of course tourists.
Two other destinations (Tenerife and Gran Canaria), because of their great weather, begin their high season PRECISELY in November and end in late March.
And last but not least, Málaga, is a mix of everything, nice weather, VFR, as well as another important market: UK citizens with a second home in the Costa del Sol.
There must be something else going on. Maybe Norwegian cannot fight Ryanair? Maybe they have bigger fish they need the planes for?
Interestingly, Madrid and Gran Canaria will lose all air connection with Birmingham.
From the five cities mentioned in the article, at least two (Madrid and Barcelona) are not the typical bucket and spade destinations, in fact, they attract all types of crowds, including business travelers, VFR, Spanish citizens who work in Birmingham, and of course tourists.
Two other destinations (Tenerife and Gran Canaria), because of their great weather, begin their high season PRECISELY in November and end in late March.
And last but not least, Málaga, is a mix of everything, nice weather, VFR, as well as another important market: UK citizens with a second home in the Costa del Sol.
There must be something else going on. Maybe Norwegian cannot fight Ryanair? Maybe they have bigger fish they need the planes for?
Interestingly, Madrid and Gran Canaria will lose all air connection with Birmingham.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
jmmadrid wrote:There must be something else going on. Maybe Norwegian cannot fight Ryanair? Maybe they have bigger fish they need the planes for?
Interestingly, Madrid and Gran Canaria will lose all air connection with Birmingham.
Could have something to do with Monarch slots in Manchester, looking at the bigger picture. If Norwegian have bought them, makes sense to focus on MAN as a northern hub, (offer transatlantic services?) and pass on BHX ops, allowing the likes of Ryanair to pick those up.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
jmmadrid wrote:
Interestingly, Madrid and Gran Canaria will lose all air connection with Birmingham.
This is untrue.
Madrid is still served by FR and I2 for Iberia.
Gran Canaria still has MT, BY, FR and LS.
All in all not a great loss in terms of capacity. But does seem a shame, as there was talk of a DY base at Birmingham not long back. I think most of the pressure has come from the new LS base.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
Birmingham’s fees are very expensive and tend to put airlines off. You can make better profit elsewhere .
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- andymartin
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
The DY bubble bursting??
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- BHXflyinghigh
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
Norwegian dropped Madrid from Birmingham last year and the Gran Canaria flights ended in March as the operated over the winter months.
The rest of the Spanish routes haven’t been bookable beyond this date for ages and the Manchester flights also finish this weekend.
The Vueling sun routes from MAN and BHX also end, only Barcelona will remain.
The rest of the Spanish routes haven’t been bookable beyond this date for ages and the Manchester flights also finish this weekend.
The Vueling sun routes from MAN and BHX also end, only Barcelona will remain.
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- Chaostheory
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
f4f3a wrote:Birmingham’s fees are very expensive and tend to put airlines off. You can make better profit elsewhere .
That's not true. Service charges are similar to Manchester and if you're a big operator like Ryanair or flybe, you get discounted rates. It's also worth mentioning that BHX had the lowest aircraft parking charges in the UK when I flew corporate many years ago. Ryanair used to park 5 or 6 737s at BHX every winter for that very reason. Perhaps they still do.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
andymartin wrote:The DY bubble bursting??
More the Spanish bubble bursting.
Take MAD-BHX. Wasn't served for years. With the Spanish recovery, in 1-2 years, four different carriers launched the route: Ryanair, Iberia Express, Monarch and Norwegian. How is that remotely sustainable? DY dropped the route and Monarch made it seasonal (before they went bankrupt).
I remember once in MAD seeing three flights (from 3 carriers) leaving to BHX within max 2 hours. So how all of a sudden almost 600 people (3 A320/B737) had the urge to fly between Madrid and Birmingham at the same time, while they hadn't had it for years?
Same for coastal locations. Carriers expanded crazily when Turkey went down. Too much capacity = lower yields.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
A mate asked their team direct and got a reply a short while ago.
Basically the routes are under performing and they have decided to pull them and focus on delivering affordable flights on routes with higher passenger demand, continuing to grow their hubs, Edinburgh and Gatwick which are at the heart of their transatlantic plans.
Makes sense.
Basically the routes are under performing and they have decided to pull them and focus on delivering affordable flights on routes with higher passenger demand, continuing to grow their hubs, Edinburgh and Gatwick which are at the heart of their transatlantic plans.
Makes sense.
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- Channex757
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
There is another player at BHX now, Jet2 are in the market with their dual product. Monarch certainly were well entrenched at BHX but there is this new factor. Norwegian might have decided that seasonal is their best option rather than poor yields in the cold months against a competitor offering a complete holiday option.
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- bfitzflyer
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
Interesting that Level announces Birmingham to Canada around the same time.
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
bfitzflyer wrote:Interesting that Level announces Birmingham to Canada around the same time.
Where is their announcement?
Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
bfitzflyer wrote:Interesting that Level announces Birmingham to Canada around the same time.
It's PRIMERA AIR that's just announced Birmingham to Toronto in addition to their already confirmed destinations of BOS and EWR not LEVEL.
The full flight schedule is now online and bookings open.
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- bfitzflyer
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Re: Norwegian to end all flights between Birmingham and Spain effective 28/OCT
Cunard wrote:bfitzflyer wrote:Interesting that Level announces Birmingham to Canada around the same time.
It's PRIMERA AIR that's just announced Birmingham to Toronto in addition to their already confirmed destinations of BOS and EWR not LEVEL.
The full flight schedule is now online and bookings open.
Thanks for correcting me
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