VLM Airlines news 2014-2015

[VLM_Antwerp]

Can somebody explain why Antwerp - Southampton? Don't see the potential in this route. Thx!

Cruise passengers!

(Cunard and others).

Will it be enough pax to fill 5 flights a week?

[jan_olieslagers]

ISTR there was a tentative Brussels-Southampton service a couple of years ago - it didn't last long.

[DIBO]

Timetables seem to make it in fact a HAM-ANR-SOU connection (three hours and a half, although the other way around there's no good connection match, taking 7 hours in total!!). Connecting these three ports may be part of the business case for flying to SOU.

[FLYAIR10]

Today saw the first flights from Antwerp to Hamburg by VLM.

According to Luchtvaartnieuws today, Arthur White ceo VLM stated that besides 'Avignon, Nice, Bologna,Venice and Génève(?) , VLM is expected to open additional routes from Liège airport'.

Grtz

[sn26567]

Arthur White also said that the advantage of VLM in Antwerp is that A320s and B737s cannot land there. He must have forgotten that Sabena was flying from ANR to LHR with B737-200s...

[jan_olieslagers]

... and had one hell of a job calculating the load sheet for each and every flight ...
B737's do can operate there, but only with severe limitations, which must make them uneconomical.
OTOH if A318/319 can operate at London City, why not at Antwerp City?

[Inquirer]

Seems like I wasn't too far off in the first pages of this topic after all with my bet the routes really most liked from Antwerp are Moscow and Tel Aviv.

http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/1.182 ... 2-a5f5aed9

According to their CEO yesterday at Hamburg, they'd like to start those 2 destinations in Q3 2016, provided they get the right plane, which interestingly enough needn't be the Russian SSJ any longer?! Seems they are getting tired of waiting for it, not knowing IF it will arrive even, given the EU sanctions?

with these routes, the rumour there is Russian-Jewish money behind VLM's management buyout is gaining even more traction of course, because whereas I can understand somehow why Tel Aviv would make sense, I fail to understand the economics of a flight to Moscow from Antwerp?

also, not sure the Russian-Belgian Treathy even allows a second airline from each country to operate on the route in a regular way?

Anyway, q3 next year is an awfully long time still, so we'll have to wait before we can see.

[regi]

and no Rekkof

[Inquirer]

Who is rekkof, if I may?

[MD-11forever]

Who is rekkof, if I may?

Rekkof is the Dutch company that has been examining a NG version of the F70/F100 since many years

[Flanker2]

Rekkof is a so-called aerospace company that has swallowed ("Rippoff", anyone?) millions of euro's of R&D subsidies from the Dutch government and investors to produce a reborn Fokker 100 and so far have produced very little.
All they do is delay and delay and delay, while renaming and renaming their company.
The last known name is Netherlands Aircraft Company according to wikipedia.

This story has started over a decade ago and is still ongoing.
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forum ... id=1678579

Examples of subsidies received:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_a ... 1_49_2.pdf

They even started preparations to build a plant in Brazil but it was later terminated, "due to the crisis in Europe", whatever the relationship is... http://www.gynonline.net.br/2012/11/rek ... polis.html

The relationship between this and VG that Regi is refering to is in that Jaap Jacobson was at one point majority shareholder of both VG and Rekkof.

I too had a little bit of hope in this project in the beginning as there are benefits to the F100. But seeing how this revival project has been managed shows a lack of follow-through and realism, so that the F100NG OR whatever it's called now, will probably end up staying a ghost plane.

These Dutch investors think that they can become big players on the big market by investing a few baskets of potatoes, the cheap way. See for instance the seriously botched take-over of Saab Auto...

It takes billions to bring an aircraft, even a revamped one, to market.

[White Light]

Who is rekkof, if I may?

Read "Rekkof" backwards (from right to left)....

[sn26567]

VLM Airlines was warmly welcomed with a water arch for the inaugural flight Southampton Antwerp!

The first passengers were greeted by The Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Sue Blatchford, together with Dave Lees, Managing Director of Southampton Airport.

Arthur White, CEO of VLM Airlines, added: “Southampton is a great destination for leisure travellers and those involved in the maritime industry. Additionally the leisure and tourism opportunities make this a really good fit for our network of linking the major ports of Europe.”



Source: VLM

[Boeing767copilot]

According to Travel Magazine VLM suspends all flights from Liege Airport from june 16th.
Venice, Bologna, Avignon and Nice.
Bad news

[sn26567]

Bad news

Bad news indeed, both for LGG and for VG. But probably also bad market study! To terminate a route so soon after having launched it is not a proof of sound reasoning.

[Stij]

Bad news

Bad news indeed, but to be expected: the routes to Italy were to long for the public to fly them in a F50. Especially with SN covering them well from Brussels and FR from CRL (and BRU).

Again, why not feed CDG 3 times a day?

Cheers,

Stij

[Acid-drop]

stoping before the summer is a bit weird
but yeah ... we can't be surprised in fact...

I've seen only 1 week of ads on the bus stops ... doesn't make the locals aware ...

[airazurxtror]

VLM Airlines souligne par ailleurs que "tous les autres services réguliers, tels que les connexions Royaume-Uni-Irlande entre Londres Luton, Birmingham et Waterford, les routes reliant les grands ports européens Rotterdam, Anvers, Hambourg et Southampton, ainsi que la liaison Genève-Anvers, se portent bien et continuent à se développer conformément aux attentes."

http://www.lalibre.be/economie/actualit ... 1013fc4079

VLM Airlines emphasizes that " all other scheduled services, such as UK - Ireland connections between London Luton , Birmingham and Waterford, the routes connecting the major European ports Rotterdam, Antwerp , Hamburg and Southampton, as well as the liaison Geneva -Anvers , are doing well and continue to develop according to expectations".

[Acid-drop]

All those are more business oriented.

[Boavida]

Maybe it's time VLM realizes that many people don't like small, cramped propeller aircraft like the F50 anymore. If I can chose a flight to southern Europe with a A319 or a F50, my choice is clear. I would never go for the airline flying a F50.

The fact that their SSJ100 are delayed for more than a year(!) isn't promising...