SN to Edinburgh

[Humberside]

http://www.taxiwayalpha.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=920

Rumours of SN to EDI twice daily with ARJ85

[themole]

Rumours of SN to EDI twice daily with ARJ85

If SN Brussels Airlines would like to enter the Scottish market - its about time -, they should pick Glasgow. It is the biggest Scottish city and one of the biggest and most important cities in the UK. British Midland already operates 16 weekly flights on the Edinburgh sector and thus offers around 800 seats on a weekly basis, that's more than enough.

There is no need to fear competition of Ryanair - they fly daily from Brussels South to Glasgow Prestwick -, since they play in another league anyway. So I would welcome SN Brussels Airlines operations to Glasgow International - not Prestwick -, in codesharing with British Airways.

[Avro]

IfBritish Midland already operates 16 weekly flights on the Edinburgh sector and thus offers around 800 seats on a weekly basis, that's more than enough.

Why not open a route to both EDI and GLA. And even if BD already flies from EDI to BRU, it could be a good move of SN. It would be even better if BA would codeshare on those flights, that could help SN fill their planes from EDI to BRU.

Finally a new destination where SN will fly with their own equipment I hope this rumor will be true...

Chris

[sn26567]

Why not open a route to both EDI and GLA.

Just like good old Sabena at the beginning: one F28 flight a day serving both EDI and GLA.

[eurojet]

Hi,

having lived in EDI for about two years, and going back there regularly, only the following: EDI is the political and financial capital of Scotland, so there is definitely a good reason to return to EDI. Scotland is really the blind spot in SN's European network In my days, I think Sabena had at a certain moment three flights a day, at least one with B737(staying overnight). I took the flight countless times, always full. Glasgow is tricky, you have RYR doing the route to PIK, and connections between PIK and Glasgow downtown are pretty good (a 40 minutes direct train at discount tariff every 20 minutes).

If you ask this "arm chair route manager", SN should return in Europe to Edinburgh, Santiago de Compostela/La Coruna and in Africa to Cape Town and Johannesburg ...

[waldova]

If you ask this "arm chair route manager", SN should return in Europe to Edinburgh, Santiago de Compostela/La Coruna and in Africa to Cape Town and Johannesburg ...

I agree totally with you eurojet. SN should really return to fly to Cape Town and Johannesburg. I remember that these flights where almost full every day. So it would be a good move. Also to Edingburgh, lets re-open that route. If Sabena could fly three flights a day to this destination, then SN should at least be able to fill one flight. Also a codeshare with BA would be a good idea. But it would surprise me if BA will agree for a codeshare. I'm sure they already have a lot of flights to Edinburgh from their own bases in England. But it is worth a shot.
Also, now that we are talking about old Sabena routes. I think SN should at least also restart the route Brussels-Hongkong-Tokio. These flights where doing good with Sabena too.

[Comet]

And how about a flight to Leeds/Bradford? That was popular in Sabena days, even with the Manchester services. SNBA never reinstated that route, it is now flown by bmi. And what about Belfast? That was another Sabena destination.

[waldova]

Well, there are so many popular destinations of Sabena that are not flown for the moment. I think the main raison for this could be that SN doesn't have the capacity to fly all these routs. If they would like to fly these routes they would have to invest in new equipment and this could maybe be too much for SN at the moment. But i'm sure that one day, once they will renew their fleet they will try to get more capacity and start flying these routes again. We don't have to forget that Sabena had a lot of A319/320/321. Really a lot.

[themole]

Finally a new destination where SN will fly with their own equipment

Why do I spontaneously start laughing whilst reading this comment?

Just like good old Sabena at the beginning: one F28 flight a day serving both EDI and GLA.

This sounds like an excellent idea. Why not an early morning Brussels-Edinburgh-Glasgow-Brussels flight, and a Brussels-Glasgow-Edinburgh-Brussels late afternoon/evening flight? The Edinburgh-Glasgow sector takes only a 20 minutes flight. In about 1 hour, you can fly Edinburgh-Glasgow or visa versa and make the turnaround back to Brussels. If the market responds well, then multiple non-stop services might be justified at a later stage.

having lived in EDI for about two years, and going back there regularly, only the following: EDI is the political and financial capital of Scotland, so there is definitely a good reason to return to EDI. Scotland is really the blind spot in SN's European network In my days, I think Sabena had at a certain moment three flights a day, at least one with B737(staying overnight). I took the flight countless times, always full. Glasgow is tricky, you have RYR doing the route to PIK, and connections between PIK and Glasgow downtown are pretty good (a 40 minutes direct train at discount tariff every 20 minutes).

Though I understand your point in regard to Ryanair, I don't agree with you. For instance, Ryanair has 19 weekly B737 flights to Dublin out of Brussels South, but does that stop Aer Lingus from flying its profitable 19x weekly (same number of flights as Ryanair) B737 Dublin-Brussels-Dublin route? No, it doesn't. There is a market for both, since they appeal to different market segments. Where is SN Brussels Airlines on the Dublin market anyway?

In regard to your Edinburgh argumentation, I tend to agree. But it is a fact that SN Brussels Airlines almost never challenges the competition. They just don't have 'the balls'( ) to do it. They rather put their marketing code on flights to destinations who are already being served by other airlines out of Brussels. Therefore I suggested Glasgow as an alternative, as it is situated only around 70 km from Edinburgh and it has more or less the same catchment area. Like this you can challenge British Midland on the Scottish market, and diversify the offer at the same time. But like I mentioned above, triangle flights are also an interesting option.

But it takes an innovative vision to make it happen, and thats exactly what SN Brussels Airlines lacks ...

[waldova]

The problem, like i said before, is that they just don't have the capacity to do it. If they would fly on all these new markets they should invest in new airplanes.

[Comet]

Well, there are so many popular destinations of Sabena that are not flown for the moment. I think the main raison for this could be that SN doesn't have the capacity to fly all these routs. If they would like to fly these routes they would have to invest in new equipment and this could maybe be too much for SN at the moment. But i'm sure that one day, once they will renew their fleet they will try to get more capacity and start flying these routes again. We don't have to forget that Sabena had a lot of A319/320/321. Really a lot.

The routes I mentioned, Belfast and Leeds/Bradford, were served by the Avros and BAes, very rarely an Airbus or 737. You would sometimes get the larger Sabena aircraft at EDI.

[sn26567]

Belfast was not a big success and withdrawn from the timetable before the bankruptcy.

[Comet]

Maybe Belfast was a failure, but from what I read in the Yorkshire newspapers, the Leeds service certainly was not, even with Manchester not that far off, the Leeds flights used to be busy. SNBA missed out on something good there when bmi took over the route after the loss of Sabena.

And then there was London City, ideal for the commuters into Brussels, but SNBA only had that in code with VLM for a short time. Sabena used to fly there themselves.

[Humberside]

What about HUY-BRU!!!

[blackhawk]

* Calm down my dear Humberside, don't be too optimistic. Besides, these are just rumours, wait and see what the future will bring.

* Well TheMole, it seems we have the same opinion concerning SN having no balls. We really need to wake up those lazy (let's be polite) managers. There are better potential managers over here than at SN.

[Humberside]

* Calm down my dear Humberside, don't be too optimistic. Besides, these are just rumours, wait and see what the future will bring.

Since this thread is mentioning other possible/hoped for SN routes. I mentioned a HUY route. I don't expect one any time soon however

[Comet]

Humberside - I was mentioning routes which were operated by Sabena but discontinued after the bankruptcy and never reinstated by SNBA. At one time Sabena even operated into Sheffield, but like all other sensible airlines they soon withdrew from that joke of an airport.

[Avro]

Why do I spontaneously start laughing whilst reading this comment?

I don't know

They just don't have 'the balls'( ) to do it

Guys, I partially agree with you on the fact that there are a lot of destinations where SN should start to fly to, but there is certainly a reason behind the fact that they don't do it for the moment.

One might be, as Waldova mentioned, that they don't have enough planes to do it.
And another one might be that those routes wouldn't be that profitable after all, in regard to new market forecasts.

I agree on the fact that they could be a little bit more aggressive from time to time, but let's not judge people without knowing the complete truth. Remember: we don't have any inside information to judge the situation.

Greetz
Chris

[Flybe]

We really need to wake up those lazy (let's be polite) managers. There are better potential managers over here than at SN.

I think you omitted 1 thing: SNBA makes (although a small one) profit, and will probably make a profit again this year. Sabena didn't make a profit. Managers are employed to let a company make a profit, not to let an airline have as many destinations as possible. Compared to Sabena, i prefer SNBA's managers, who actually earn money for the company. If the potential managers over here can do it better, why then aren't they working at SNBA? Or with any other airline (in a managing position)?

I do not say that they shouldn't investigate new possibilities, or open new routes, but it is good to do it in the way that suits them best. As a young airline that is still growing and establishing themself, it is not always smart to go head to head with (strong) competition. Better to take less risk until you're stronger and develop a niche market like the african flights.

Greets,

Pieter

[BRU-CPH]

I think Sabena had at a certain moment three flights a day, at least one with B737(staying overnight). I took the flight countless times, always full.

I was flying bmi BRU-EDI on saturday October 23rd and back on tuesday the 26th, both flights were almost empty: about 14 people on both fligths (25 % load factor or something). There is a reason why BMI cancelled their saterday flights to BRU.