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Jet2.com still dominant at Leeds/Bradford despite Ryanair’s 14 new routes this summer

The launch of Leeds/Bradford based low-cost carrier Jet2.com in February 2003 gave a major boost to air travel at the airport. Between 1998 and 2002, passenger numbers had been around the one and a half million mark.
However, Jet2.com’s rapid rise meant that the airport handled two million passengers in 2003 and over 2.5 million just two years later. Demand levelled off between 2006 and 2008 before falling just under 11% last year to 2.55 million. The announcement last year that Ryanair will base two aircraft at the airport and launch 14 new routes from the end of March may push demand back towards the three million mark in 2010.

In 2008, charter traffic represented just 10% of the total, as Jet2.com’s leisure-focussed network has replaced several charter services.

Jet2.com operating to 36 destinations this summer

Jet2.com remains the busiest carrier at the airport and will serve 36 destinations this summer, including new weekly flights to Bergerac (from 22 May), Corfu (from 21 June) and Monastir (from 23 May). The airline has dropped remarkably few routes in its seven years of operation at the airport, though Almeria, Hamburg Lübeck, Madrid and Valencia are no longer served. During the summer season, Jet2.com operates twice-daily to Alicante, Amsterdam, Belfast, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Ryanair started Dublin flights in May 1996 and Shannon flights in November 2007. Alicante and Girona flights began in October 2008 while the Shannon service was dropped. The 14 new routes starting at the end of March are to France (Carcassonne, Limoges, Montpellier, Nantes), Ireland (Knock), Italy (Pisa, Venice Treviso), Malta, Poland (Krakow), Portugal (Faro) and Spain (Ibiza, Malaga, Murcia, Palma). Several of these are likely to be seasonal, summer-only routes. Not surprisingly, the average weekly frequency of these new routes is just three.
According to CAA data, the top five routes for annual passengers in 2008 were Amsterdam, Dublin, Alicante, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Flybe replaces bmi on London route

Apart from Ryanair’s growth at the airport, Flybe has also increased its presence in recent years. Primarily, this is down to the introduction of three-times daily services to London Gatwick from the end of September 2009, after bmi ditched its London Heathrow service at the end of March 2009. Flybe also offers daily non-stop flights to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Exeter and Southampton. bmi still operates twice-daily to Edinburgh and Glasgow and three-times daily to Brussels. KLM operates three daily flights to Amsterdam. However, there are no flights to Europe’s other major hub in Frankfurt, with only Jet2.com’s six-times weekly service to Düsseldorf providing any connectivity with Germany.

Eastern Airways operates daily flights to Aberdeen and Southampton (competing with Flybe on both routes). Other routes on which passengers will have a choice of airline this summer are Alicante, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Murcia and Palma (all served by both Jet2.com and Ryanair) and Amsterdam (Jet2.com or KLM).

Other UK regional services are provided by Air Southwest which flies to Bristol and Manx2.com which connects with the Isle Of Man. One of the more unlikely destinations served non-stop is Islamabad in Pakistan, which has been served twice or three-times weekly by PIA since July 2008. This route caters to the significant Asian ethnic population which resides in the Leeds and Bradford area. Last year, the airline carried just over 40,000 passengers on the route, up 50% from 2008.

 Thomson Holidays announce 2 new winter sun routes from LBA for the Winter 2010/11 season

Tour operator Thomson's Holidays owned by the tui group has announced 2 brand new winter sun routes to be both operated weekly from Leeds/Bradford International Airport next winter 2010/11 season.

New weekly flights will operate to the Canary Islands of Tenerife every Friday morning while the company will also be offering weekly flights to the ever popular destination of Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt every Tuesday

Flights will commence from November 2010 and run up until late April 2011.

Both new services will be operated by in-house airline, Thomson Airlines new Boeing 737-800WL aircarft.

  Winter ski routes from LBA to Austria and France get extra capacity with

                                         upgraded aircraft for the 2009/10 season

Winter ski specialist tour operators Crystal ski and Inghams Holidays have both upgraded there weekly ski charters services from Leeds/Bradford Airport to Innsbruck and Chambery this winter 2009/10 season

Last year the weekly flight to Innsbruck was operated by 100 seated Austrian Arrows, Fokker 100 aircraft.  This winter seasonal sees the service been operated by a 185 seated Austrian Airlines, Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Meanwhile the weekly Saturday departure to Chambery is now operated by a brand new 185 Seated Thomson Airlines, Boeing 737-800 aircraft instead of one of Jet2 older Boeing 737-300 aircraft as happened last winter 2008/09 season.

 Yorkshire's own low cost airline Jet2.com announce new route to Tunisia, Year round service to Egypt and extra capacity on its routes for next summer 2010

Jet2.com has announced that it will commence yet another new route to Tunisia from May 2010 from Leeds/Bradford International Airport for the summer 2010 season.

Flights will operate once weekly to Monastir every Sunday morning on one of the airlines Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

Jet2.com had earlier this summer announced that they would also be adding new routes from LBA to Bergerac in France and Corfu in Greece along with the introduction of a new Year round service to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt.

The airline has also confirmed that it is planning on also adding extra capacity on services from LBA to both Dalaman in Turkey and Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

See www.Jet2.com 

This coming summer 2010 season jet2 will fly you from LBA to the following destinations direct, Amsterdam, Paris Cdg, Prague, Belfast Int’l, Jersey, Geneva, Nice, La Rochelle, Bergerac, Toulouse, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Malaga, Palma, Mahon, Ibiza, Tenerife, Arrecife-Lanzarote, Faro, Milan Bergamo, Pisa-Florence, Rome, Venice – Marco Polo, Monastir-Tunisia, Corfu, Rhodes, Cyprus-Larnaca, Cyprus-Paphos, Dalaman-Turkey & Sharm el Sheikh-Egypt.

 Ryanair announces 34th base as to be at LBA.

Ryanair to base 2 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, 17 routes from March 2010, Which 14 are new  routes and an extra 1 million passengers a year to LBA

Ryanair has today, Tuesday August 11th 2009 confirmed that it will open a brand new 2 based aircraft base at LBA from March 2010.

The airline currently operates to 3 routes from LBA including Dublin, Gerona-Barcelona and Alicante. With todays announcement of a new base the airline is to open another 14 new routes

From early March 2010 the airline will offer new low fare flights to the following destinations Carcassonne, Faro, Ibiza, Knock, Krakow, Malta, Limoges, Malaga,, Murcia, Nantes, Palma, Pisa and Venice-Treviso.

All ryanair flights are operated by brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Click here to book your ryanair flights from LBA www.ryanair.com

 2 new routes for 2010 routes Corfu and Bergerac.

Based low fares airline Jet2.com have announced that they will be commencing 2 new summer sun routes from Leeds/Bradford International Airport from early May 2010,

New Once weekly flights will operate to Corfu in Greece every Monday morning with one of the airlines Boeing 757-200 aircraft. Meanwhile Twice weekly flights will operate to Bergerac in France operating every Tuesday and Saturday with the airlines Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

The airline has also confirmed that its new route to Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt will now also operate once weekly all year round. In summer on Tuesdays and winter every Fridays.

Flights to Bergerac and Corfu are now on sale at www.jet2.com

 LBA Expansion plans for growth given the go a head.

Leeds City Council's Planning Committee has now given there full backing to LBIA’s owners Bridgepoint Capital's planned growth to the airport. Aircraft movements are expected to increase from 3 million up to 5 million passengers a year.

The £28 million redevelopment of the existing Terminal Building airside and landside Facilities is set to commence later this year in early October.

For further infor on LBIA expansion plans please see The Leeds Bradford Airport Support Groups (LBASG) website.

 New route to Turkey-Antalya for next summer 2010 from LBA.

Thomas Cook Holidays have announced that they are to add a new twice weekly Tuesday and Thursday service to Turkey-Antalya for the summer 2010 season.

Flights will be operated by the tour operator’s own in-house airlines based, Airbus A320-200. Aircraft. Flights will depart LBA in the afternoon and arrive back late evening.

 P&O add more Caribbean Cruise departures from LBA

P&O cruiselines have just announced that they will be offering 3 Direct Caribbean cruise departures from Leeds/Bradford Airport again in there new winter 2010/2011 programme which has just been launched.

All flights are again set to be operated by Thomson Airlines Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

The newly announced 3 Caribbean P&O Cruises charters recently announced.

 The 5 following P&O Cruises will depart LBA this coming winter 2009/10 season.  

 Regional airline reinstates direct links to Capital from LBA.

After the disappointment of bmi axing its London Heathrow route, Flybe has now recommenced low fares direct daily air links to the Capital. 

Flybe.com begin operating a three times a day London Gatwick service from 29th June 2009 with fares starting at just £24.99 one way, including taxes and charges, Services are operated on an environmentally efficient Bombardier Q400. Flights can be booked from today at www.flybe.com.

Flybe said that this additional route would create up to 130 jobs for the region. Mike Rutter, Chief Commercial Officer, Flybe commented: “The new service demonstrates Flybe’s commitment to the region, continuing to help the local economy through the development of affordable and convenient business and leisure travel options.”

Tony Hallwood, Leeds Bradford International Airport's Commercial Director, added: “The introduction of this service reinforces our commitment to offer key business and leisure routes to our customers within the UK and beyond. It’s now even easier to fly from Leeds Bradford to London and the rest of the world.

Inbound traffic is equally important to us and we look forward to working with our local tourism partners to increase the number of visitors to Yorkshire from London and the South East.”

Flights to Islamabad increased to 3 Times weekly

(PIA) Pakistan International Airline has now increased capacity on there Leeds/Bradford to Islamabad service

Flights increased from 2 weekly to 3 weekly from March 31st. After only eight months of operations the decision to increase the frequency of the service was made due to the high demand from travellers in the Bradford and surrounding Yorkshire region.

See following for full press interviews

Khaleej Times Online - PIA Losses Surge on High Fuel Costs; Preferential Treatment to ME Carriers

 bmi Withdraw long running London Heathrow service after operating route for the 30 Years

On February 19th 2009 Leeds Bradford International Airport confirmed that bmi mainline is to cease operating there long standing London Heathrow service from 28 March 2009. bmi have been operating the Leeds/Bradford to Heathrow for over 30 years. In 2008 bmi carried 62,000 departing passengers on their 4 times daily service and had in recent months reduced capacity on the route from an Airbus A319 to Embrear 145 in response to current market conditions.

The airport management are now said to be looking at a possible replacement service which the hope to make an announcement in the very near future.

The Airline has also confirmed that the Copenhagen route will also been axed. No reason was given.