Tag Archives: stansted airport

Thomas Cook Airlines to operate long-haul flights from London’s Stansted Airport

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Manchester) has announced that for the summer schedule of 2015, it will operate long-haul flights from London’s Stansted Airport to Orlando, Cancun and Las Vegas, becoming the only airline to offer a long haul program from the airport.

Last year, Thomas Cook Airlines announced that from this June it will operate two aircraft from Stansted Airport – using the larger Airbus A321 aircraft replacing the existing Airbus A320 – bringing an increased amount of flights and holidays which are now on sale for holidaymakers from the East and South East of England to a range of new destinations.

With the long-haul flights on a larger Airbus A330, the additional flights in 2015 will begin on the weekend of Friday, July 17, 2015 with two flights a week to Orlando and one per week to both Cancun and Las Vegas – and continue up until August 17, 2015.

In other news, the airline also announced that for the summer of 2015, it will operate a weekly flight to Las Vegas from Glasgow Airport following a series of one-off flights to the U.S. in recent summers. Operating each Monday with the Airbus A330 fleet, the new flights in 2015 will begin on Monday 4 May 4, 2015 and continue until October 31, 2015.

Previously the airline announced new Airbus A330 routes from Manchester to both New York (JFK) and Miami.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 G-OJMC (msn 456) approaches the runway at London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK):

Loganair to launch Dundee – London Stansted flights on March 30

Loganair (Flybe) (Glasgow) will operate a twice daily weekday service, and once on a Sunday, from Dundee to London (Stansted) starting March 30, replacing the CityJet service to London City which is due to be withdrawn at the end of March.

In the meantime, tenders will soon be issued to secure a Public Service Obligation that will ensure the long term future of air services between Dundee and London.

Flights will operate twice daily on weekdays, with flights leaving Dundee at 7.00 am and 4.25 pm. Return flights depart Stansted Airport at 9.00 am and 6.25 pm, allowing business passengers to complete a full day’s work in London. There will also be a flight to and from London Stansted every Sunday afternoon, leaving Dundee at 4.25 pm and departing Stansted at 6.25 pm.

The new service, operated by a 32-seat Dornier 328 turboprop aircraft, is the result of weeks of negotiation between Dundee Airport operator HIAL, Dundee City Council, Transport Scotland and the airline.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by Suckling Airways, the Dornier 328-110 will be operated on the new route. G-BWWT (msn 3022) taxies at Manchester.

Loganair:

Current Route Map:

Ryanair calls the Stansted CAA regulatory regime “inadequate” over its decision to deregulate the airport fearing higher rates

Ryanair (Dublin) has issued this statement:

THE CAA PUTS THE FOXES IN CHARGE OF THE CHICKEN COOP

Ryanair today criticized the UK CAA’s false claim that Stansted Airport does not have substantial market power, and the consequent deregulation of Stansted. Against evidence and its own earlier findings, the CAA now inexplicably claims that airlines are able to exert buyer power on Stansted in circumstances where Stansted was allowed by the CAA to double its charges in 2007, which caused a 5 year 27% traffic collapse at Stansted while Heathrow and Gatwick were growing. Even Easyjet moved flights to Southend to avoid Stansted’s high charges.

Today’s deregulation decision by the CAA will allow Stansted to increase charges in future and will result in yet more damage to UK consumers and competition. This decision confirms yet again that the CAA’s regulatory regime is “inadequate”, as previously found by the Competition Commission in its 2009 decision to break up the BAA airport monopoly.

Ryanair’s Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Juliusz Komorek said:

“Ryanair regrets today’s unsupported claim by the CAA that Stansted does not have substantial market power and the CAA’s decision to deregulate Stansted. The CAA’s failure to recognise that Stansted has profitably maintained its prices above the competitive level since 2007, despite a 27% fall in traffic, confirms the Competition Commission’s finding that the CAA regulatory regime is ‘inadequate’.

Today’s decision is an example of the CAA’s regulatory failure which will again harm consumers as Stansted will be able to further increase airport charges whenever it wishes, without any reference to competitive price levels.

Effective regulation with aggressive price caps is the only way to ensure that consumers are protected and that Stansted can grow its traffic on a sustained basis. Ryanair condemns the CAA’s continuing failure to effectively regulate Stansted.”

Ryanair is the largest operator at Stansted Airport on the north side of the London area.

Ryanair:

Routes from Stansted:

Ryanair is coming to Lisbon, Portugal, concludes a new 10-year deal at London Stansted

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced its arrival at Lisbon (Ryanair’s third airport in Portugal) with four new routes to Charleroi (near Brussels), Hahn (near Frankfurt), London Stansted and Beauvais (near Paris) from November 2013, which will deliver up to 400,000 passengers per year and sustain some 400 “on-site” jobs at Lisbon Airport with 50 weekly flights.

Ryanair Lisbon

Top Copyright Photo: Ryanair.

In other news, Ryanair and the Manchester Airport Group (MAG), announced that they had concluded a 10 year growth agreement at London Stansted Airport, which will see its traffic at Stansted grow by over 50%, from 13.2 million passengers in 2012 to over 20 million passenger per year in return for a package of lower costs and more efficient facilities at Stansted. This agreement will account for up to 25% of Ryanair’s 5 year growth plan to 2019. Ryanair expects its STN traffic in year 1 of this 10-year deal to grow from 13.2 million to over 14.5 million passengers.

Ryanair has today released its Stansted summer 2014 schedule with a total of 120 routes, including four new routes to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon and Rabat, which will feature:

43 aircraft based at Stansted (up from 37)
120 routes (up from 116)
4 new routes to Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon & Rabat
Over 2,000 weekly flights Free (up from 1,800)
Traffic growth from 13.2m to 20m pa over
Up to 7,000 new jobs created at Stansted over a 5 year period

Finally, Ryanair has promised to transform its “abrupt culture” to a softer and gentler approach in order to win over new customers! Admitting it has customer services issues for the first time, Ryanair has also promised to set up “complaint channels”. Is this the “new Ryanair”?

Read the full story from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Ryanair:

EasyJet’s traffic to more than double at London Stansted over the next five years

EasyJet (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has reached a new agreement with the new owners of London Stansted Airport (STN) (north of central London). New owner MAG previously acquired STN from Heathrow Airport Holdings for $2.35 billion.

EasyJet, as part of the deal, has promised to raise its Stansted passenger numbers to 6 million passengers per year from the current 2.8 million passengers according to Reuters.

It is unclear if this is a straight built up of traffic with new routes or whether some traffic at other London airports will be moving to STN. The low-fare carrier has recently been adding new routes notably from at Gatwick and Southend. Nearby Luton is the base for the carrier.

Traffic at STN had been declining. This new accord will stem those losses. Rival Ryanair has a major hub at STN.

The airline recently announced it had reached the milestone of more than 60 million passengers who have travelled with the airline in the past 12 months to May 31, 2013.

When easyJet was founded in November 1995 the airline first took to the skies with just two aircraft flying between two domestic UK destinations. Eighteen years later, the airline now operates 212 aircraft flying to 137 airports in 33 countries spanning Europe and North Africa.

More than one hundred of easyJet’s 800 Luton based staff gathered outside the airline’s Hangar 89 head office at London Luton Airport to mark the 60 million milestone and celebrate the airline’s continued success and popularity.

Top Copyright Photo: Terry Wade/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZIW (msn 2578) in the Linate-Fiumicino Per Tutti special scheme arrives at London (Gatwick).

EasyJet (UK):