John Wright Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Belfast has always been a problematic route. When Manx and Air UK operated it many of the passengers were Northern Irish workers in North West England. The route was often operated as Blackpool to Belfast with a touchdown at Ronaldsway. Passengers to Belfast didn’t deplane. Actual numbers travelling IOM BHD only we’re low. That stopped because there were fewer travelling between England and Ireland for work and because Ryanair came along between Liverpool and Belfast at very cheap fares and because Liverpool was easier to get to than Blackpool. Manx operated the 36 seater Shorts on this route and Dublin and there was traffic for four returns a day to Belfast and 2 returns to Dublin. Not sure what seating capacity there is on current aircraft. But suspect they are twice as many seats giving rise to half the number of flights. Scale that up to 170 seat EasyJet Airbus and with just two flights a week they can carry as many passengers as a smaller plane can do in a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thie Veg Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 10 hours ago, finlo said: The power's that be have endeavoured to make us as unappealing and as expensive to visit as possible. Yes - what have we to offer the tourist that Ireland has not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, Thie Veg said: Yes - what have we to offer the tourist that Ireland has not? no caravans...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, woody2 said: no caravans...... Except that the IoM is heaving with caravans; from those used as TT marshal's shelters to those on drives, in gardens and hangars at Jurby? I've followed 2 in the last week alone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 2 hours ago, John Wright said: Scale that up to 170 seat EasyJet Airbus and with just two flights a week they can carry as many passengers as a smaller plane can do in a week. But no good if you don't want to go when they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 12 hours ago, Kopek said: OK, then invite Ryan Air to use the Island as a hub to provide ALL our external links, ( tax breaks required ), they take us to a few English destinations, not Gloucester/ Bristol/ Birmingham with three airlines competing for a few pax. Ryan offer us a link to their Euro destinations at a good price and we don't have to spend an hour on the internet finding the very best price for where we wish to end up. Make it simple, we are not a massive market. let's accept that an settle for the best we can expect? I always thought that Manx Airlines could have been Ryanair if the owning group had different ambitions for it. Both were minnows in the 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, woolley said: But no good if you don't want to go when they do. Well, that's the whole crux? If we want cheap flights we have to get used to the idea of organising our lives around the carriers' schedules which they in turn organise to make their costs realistic. In some ways we've been TOO well served in the past, although there was a price to pay (£300 flights to Heathrow/Gatwick?). But as what appears to be an economy of declining numbers and importance, we can't have it both ways. As an analogy, if you can't get a taxi, you have to work to the bus timetable. But the bus will be cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yibble Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Duplicate post. Deleted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yibble Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 12 hours ago, dilligaf said: No better than the sea links to Ireland. Virtually non existent. What the f*** has gone wrong ? The Irish WERE a major boost to our tourism. Not now though. (and we are the losers) For once, the blame may not lie with the IoM. I suspect that the decline in Irish tourism has more to do with things getting much better in Ireland rather than a decline in what's on offer here. 30 years ago, NI had the Troubles and the republic could be a bit of a grim Catholic theocracy. Presumably a trip to the IoM offered a bit of light relief from all that. Now of course Ireland (both bits) are much-changed countries; both are more relaxed, nicer places. The food is great, the scenery is great. However great the IoM's offering, can we really offer more than they have on their own doorsteps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 42 minutes ago, woolley said: But no good if you don't want to go when they do. But the reason flybe/eastern may not wish to carry on ( if that is the case) . There is only a finite number of passengers to whom seats can be sold. EasyJet must think they can sell them at least to the extent that its cheaper to have the plane do the hop than have it sitting on the ground at Aldergrove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 6 minutes ago, John Wright said: But the reason flybe/eastern may not wish to carry on ( if that is the case) . There is only a finite number of passengers to whom seats can be sold. EasyJet must think they can sell them at least to the extent that its cheaper to have the plane do the hop than have it sitting on the ground at Aldergrove. Quite. Another hang up with this model of shoe horning the short hop into a schedule of longer flights is that our service is likely to be the first casualty of getting a late running aircraft back on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thie Veg Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 2 hours ago, woody2 said: no caravans...... Caravans would = tourists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 17 minutes ago, Thie Veg said: Caravans would = tourists Yep. Who bring everything they need with them and spend nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piebaps Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Has anyone got a link to a real story on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 1 hour ago, piebaps said: Has anyone got a link to a real story on this? Can't find one. Flybe lets me book through to the end of November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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