Loganair have acquired City Star sister companies Caledonian Airborne Engineering & City Star Handling, following the demise of City Star.
BAA Aberdeen reports the following are – apparently – imminent:
i. 4-weekly service to Poland. Destination & airline not yet disclosed but a “new” lo-co operator to ABZ, so suggests someone like Wizz or Centralwings. Some 25,000 Poles live & work in the area
ii. 2x daily to London City. City Star were looking at before their demise. I wonder if it is someone like City Jet or VLM
iii. 2x daily to Rotterdam. bmi R were holding slots for ABZRTM over the winter but didn’t take them up. Are they ready to do so?
iv. It looks like City Star Exec to Houston won’t get off the ground, but the airport confirm they are still “talking” to other airlines about the route. KLM have stated an interest in the past & Continental have been tipped in the past to operate such a route
v. Airport also talking to operators about a route to…DUBAI!! Emirates?
One of City Star’s other routes was to OSL & there were rumours of a replacement being lined up with other airlines approaching ABZ to take it up. Flybe & Eastern did not deny any interest but bmi R denied they were interested.
Airport was also hoping to get a replacement for BRU, but no-one so far has taken up the route vacated by bmi R last year. VLM had previously been rumoured to have been interested in a BRU route.
Flybe adding an extra Sat & Sun rotation to its forthcoming LGW route “in response to demand”. They replace BA on the route at the end of this month.
Eastern have added their 6th rotation to NCL, all operated now by Saab 2000s. Also 4 rotations to SOU, albeit via NCL. This in response to Flybe’s own forthcoming NCLABZ & SOUABZ routes. Eastern also adding 4th rotation ABZLBA route in Apr.
CHC Scotia’s 3rd EC225 helicopter arrived this week at ABZ…G-CHCN if anyone is after it.
By: Richard Taylor - 9th May 2008 at 18:57
NO signs of VLM any time soon.
Flybe started their JER (summer only I suspect) & EXT (EXT-ABZ-INV-EXT) routes this week.
Rumoured Flybe wanted to base 3 a/c up here, which I presume would be 1x
E195 & 2x DH8D. Wonder what other routes they have in mind. Rumoured MAN is only a matter of time for example.
By: Richard Taylor - 16th March 2008 at 07:47
Seen reported that VLM are actually holding slots for LCY (146) & RTM (F50).
Both showing twice daily.
Of course slots my not necessarily = routes but it would be nice.
By: Jet 22 - 9th March 2008 at 09:05
The only truble with the ABZ-IAH link a 757(which is ABZ’S perfect market) cant even make it to IAH without a stop. So what i think CO will do is this {follow me}
What i think CO will do though is change the Aircraft. Just look at DL they do a MIA(I think)-ATL-DUB run with the same aircraft aswell as flight number but what i think CO will do is have the IAH-EWR/EWR-IAH as a 737.
As for EK well i mentioned it in my other post. A 777-300 can do once daily DXB-NCL while a A330-200 could do a DXB-NCL-ABZ run.
By: Richard Taylor - 9th March 2008 at 08:53
Thanks chaps.
Yes sadly ZB pulled out of AGPABZ, it was a perfectly profitable route for them (72,000 pax in the year I think it was on a 3w pattern) but once they pulled the AGP base, forcing MAN-based crews into operating the route, the extra costs involved made ABZ no longer viable. ZB I thought were a good airline, I hope somewhere, sometime, Monarch come back…unlikely however. All not lost as GSM picked up the AGP run (737w) currently 2w, I believe due to go to 3w in the summer when the ABZ is reactivated for the season.
I would like to see VLM at ABZ regularly, they do make occasional appearances on charters (they did IT flights to JER last year but with Flybe operating a JER scheduled service this summer, don’t know if they will be required for 2008). They have been rumoured before for LCY & BRU.
OSL I would say is between Flybe & Eastern, but “a number” of airlines allegedly showed interest, so I wouldn’t yet rule out Wideroe, who do SVG & BGO from ABZ already. I cannot see the route sustaining a jet, unless it was a low cost route.
ABZ used to have a few “3rd level Norwegian routes”. The demise of X9 has seen us lose Kristiansund & Alesund (which operated via SVG) & bmi R pulled Kristiansand (different from ‘sund!). We also used to have Haugesund, which Coast Air operated in the 90s – Coast themselves went out of business in the last year. They had slots last summer for a reactivation of an ABZ route, but in the event didn’t take them up. Would be nice if someone could bring them back, but it would have to be an aircraft in the 30-seat range max I would say.
As regards Houston. All the pointers were COA & a 757, but last year KLM actually came out & said they would be interested in an ABZIAH service. Not sure how they would work it, maybe something like an A330 routing AMS-ABZ-IAH. The COA would be direct (OK with an outbound intermediate stop, unless ABZ’s runway is extended by then!). I didn’t see any mention of EWR.
Canada would be nice. There were rumours of GSM suggesting they could look at ABZ-Canada (obviously with the oil industry in mind, but not exclusively so) but any talks would be in its very early stages I would say &, again, the runway would be something of an issue as it is currently. It is due to be extended in 2009, when resurfacing is also expected. Air Transat used to do a YYZ link in the 90s (IT flight), with 757 & occasional A310.
By: Arabella-Cox - 8th March 2008 at 16:11
CO are more likley to start EWR with onward connections to anywhere that CO operate out of EWR (With it obviously been a 75 rotation). KLM are probaly going to be behind the ABZ-LCY aswell as ABZ-RTM with both been opearted by Franchise compnay VLM.
Actually, Continental have stated a number of times they are interested in Aberdeen to Houston, they have never mentioned Aberdeen to Newark.
The market is different in Aberdeen from the other smaller airports in the UK such as Belfast, Edinburgh and Bristol, the oil industry in Aberdeen would make flights to Houston a huge success, when they wouldn’t last a minute from the likes of Belfast, Edinburgh or Bristol.
I think that ABZ could do with a schduled LCC basing a few aircraft there to give the airport a huge boost. Maybe ZB as they already have a schduled link to Aberdeen. ABZ-PMI/ABZ-BCN/ABZ-FAO/ABZ-TFS
You basically just described FlyGlobespan’s Aberdeen base lol. 😉
Also, Monarch Scheduled have axed there Aberdeen-Malaga route, which was there only route from Aberdeen so a Monarch Scheduled base is a non-starter.
By: Jet 22 - 8th March 2008 at 15:49
CO are more likley to start EWR with onward connections to anywhere that CO operate out of EWR (With it obviously been a 75 rotation). KLM are probaly going to be behind the ABZ-LCY aswell as ABZ-RTM with both been opearted by Franchise compnay VLM.
EK’S link with ABZ will more than likley been via somewhere NCL looks like a good option. EK double the roation with NCL with one carry onto ABZ. Now what needs to happen though is the EK A332 need a MAJOR revamp on their A332’S. The interior looks like we are stuck in the 70/80’S
Wizz Air/Centeral Wings into ABZ can only be good for ABZ. WAW looks like the first destionation on ABZ list of polish destionations
I think that ABZ could do with a schduled LCC basing a few aircraft there to give the airport a huge boost. Maybe ZB as they already have a schduled link to Aberdeen. ABZ-PMI/ABZ-BCN/ABZ-FAO/ABZ-TFS
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March 8, 2008 at 9:13 am