Liverpool John Lennon Airport – Annual Review 2003

INTRODUCTION

In a year that has seen war, epidemic and heightened terrorist alerts, the airline industry has had to strive to maintain customer confidence in the face of increased security checks and even the occasional cancelled flight where intelligence warned of a specific threat. Although the main issues have involved the safety of long-haul, mostly trans-Atlantic flights, complete with the latest prospect of “sky marshals”, a climate like this can have a wider effect on the travelling public, such as choice of holidays, short breaks etc.

Despite all this doom and gloom, Liverpool John Lennon Airport broke records once again in 2003, even passing the magic 3 million passenger mark. The final passenger total was 3,180,801 a rise of 12% on 2002. Although this may not be as big a rise as in previous years, it represents an increase of over 340,000 passengers – or, in terms of aircraft - over 2,280 full Boeing 737-700s (!!) and is a credit to all who have worked hard through a very difficult year to ensure the airport’s continued success.

The airport celebrated its 70th anniversary in July; with a few events taking place at both the airport and the former terminal building (now the Marriott Hotel) over the weekend of the 5th/ 6th July – not least a series of pleasure flights operated by Atlantic Dakota G-AMRA. The airport is expected to have more celebrations when the 75th anniversary comes round in 2008 – a year that will be made even more special now that the city has been awarded Capital of Culture status for that year!

Four new destinations were launched in 2003 and we welcomed two brand new airlines. Towards the end of the year, we heard details of a route that we have all been waiting for, with VLM announcing in December that they were to commence a five-times-a-day service to London City airport in February 2004.... but more of that in the next annual review! Meanwhile, on with 2003...

SCHEDULES

Starting with the airport’s biggest scheduled operator and easyJet began 2003 operating to nine destinations from Liverpool: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Geneva, Madrid, Malaga, Nice, Paris and Palma. Just one week into the year and a tenth destination – Alicante – was added on a daily basis (twice on Sundays). With two additional aircraft based in 2002, there were no more aircraft added to the Liverpool operation in 2003, although an eighth will follow in the first half of 2004.

Overall, easyJet operations at Liverpool saw a 13.5% increase in passenger numbers in 2003. This represented 2.24 million passengers out of the airport total of 3.18 million and meant that easyJet passengers accounted for 70.4% of the total – up by just under 1% in comparison with last year’s totals. Of the individual routes flown by easyJet, Geneva showed the biggest gain, up by nearly 14%, with Malaga not far behind. Needless to say, Paris was hugely popular, but having only started in May 2002, it would be unfair to compare the 96% increase in 2003! The all-new Alicante service also got off to a flying start, the destination proving very popular throughout the whole year.

Belfast held its own very well in the light of competition from bmi baby at Manchester. This had led easyJet to introduce a complimentary coach linking Liverpool and Manchester for the benefit of their Belfast (and other) customers from that end of the M56. The scheme seems to have worked as the company has increased passenger figures on the route, which remains the biggest domestic service in terms of passenger numbers, outside London. With regard to the other routes, Amsterdam remains a hugely popular destination, with five flights operating during the week, with seasonal adjustments at weekends. Barcelona remains popular with holidaymakers and short-break customers, reflecting the twice-daily operation throughout the year. Madrid also continues to attract passengers, but the service remains at once daily. Nice has also seen an increase in passenger numbers during 2003. During the summer we had twice-daily services, with three on Saturday and Sunday, but this was reduced to once daily for the winter timetable. Palma saw two flights per weekday during summer, with an additional weekend service. This too reverted to one daily flight in winter.

The airline demonstrated one of its new A319 Airbuses to its staff at Liverpool in November, but we will have to wait until April 2004 before they appear on scheduled services into Liverpool, with the type reportedly being introduced on the Geneva service around the end of that month. Still looking ahead and the airline announced in November 2003 that they would be adding an 11th destination in 2004, with the introduction of a daily service to Berlin/Schonefeld from May.

British Airways/CitiExpress continued their five-times daily service between the Isle of Man and Liverpool throughout 2003, but have steadily lost custom every single month, resulting in a total fall in passenger figures of over 50,000, representing a drop of around 27%. The BAe ATP, used fairly exclusively on the route is steadily being withdrawn from service and we said a fond farewell to three old Manx regulars, G-MANA, G-MANB and G-MANC during the year, along with other members of the fleet. We occasionally saw BAe 146s on the route and the odd additional service for TT visitors and at the height of summer. The fall in the number of available ATPs also led the company to lease-in a Denim Airways Fokker 50, which appeared at Liverpool on a few occasions, as did the odd Eastern Airways Jetstream 41.

Towards the end of the year, BA/CitiExpress confirmed that they would be withdrawing from the Isle of Man – Liverpool route at the end of March 2004. At the same time, they are expected to increase their Manchester operation and replace their remaining ATPs on that route with Dash-8s. The resultant void left by their withdrawal from Liverpool is expected to be filled by an increased level of service offered by EuroManx and the re-introduction of Emerald Airways (with BAe ATPs) on the route.

Staying with the Isle of Man route and EuroManx has steadily increased its share of the market over the year, the resultant increase largely accounting for BA/CitiExpress’s subsequent slump. The airline began the year using Beechcraft 1900Ds on the route. Over the Easter period, it utilised an ATR-42 and advertised reduced fares on the route. In December, the five-times daily (six on Friday and four Saturdays and Sundays) service saw the full-time introduction of the larger ATR-42 aircraft (although Beech 1900s do still appear now and again), with one of the type being fully painted in the airline’s livery. The company also announced an increase in services from March – this coinciding with the departure of BA/CitiExpress from the route as mentioned above.

Although we have seen no new routes from them, Ryanair have had another successful year at Liverpool, with the Dublin service seeing a 22% rise in passenger numbers. Summer saw additional flights operating on Mondays and Fridays, making 23 rotations per week, while winter has seen the addition of a fourth flight on Sundays, bringing the weekly total to 24. From early November, the airline leased-in a pair of Islandsflug Boeing 737-400s, replacing a number of Boeing 737-200s, which were withdrawn when damage to the surface of the fuselage skin was found, allegedly due to incorrect procedures during repainting.

The Brussels/Charleroi service operated on a daily basis throughout 2003 and the airline celebrated its 100,000 passenger on the route in June -just one year after the service commenced. It was therefore rather surprising when the company announced in December that it would be withdrawing the route from 14th January 2004. The airline cited poor loads and aircraft availability problems, but did not rule out a recommencement of the service at a later date. At the same time, it announced the start of a new service to Girona (marketed in traditional Ryanair style as Barcelona), to commence 5th February 2004.

And so we move to our first new airline of 2003. Fledgling Irish carrier JetMagic commenced a twice-daily weekday service to Cork on 15th September, using Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. The service also operates once on Saturday and Sunday. The airline has also made use of a Cirrus Airlines Dornier Do 328 and a Cimber Air CRJ-200. JetMagic’s ERJ-135 EI-ORK paid just one visit in 2003. Passenger-wise, the company has seen steady growth on the route and a large number of Liverpool’s hackney cabs seem to be adorned with advertising for the route. Let’s hope that it continues to thrive, where Keenair’s twice-weekly Bandeirante service sadly failed.

Our second new airline this year saw Air Wales introduce direct daily services to Cardiff and Newcastle, with a link (via Newcastle) to Plymouth. Services, using the company’s ATR-42 aircraft, commenced on 8th December. As may be expected with new domestic routes at this time of year, passenger figures are reported to have been fairly low – a situation not helped by the lack of advertising and the inability to book tickets on-line. Nevertheless, it came as a bit of a bombshell to hear that the airline has decided to withdraw its Liverpool services from 18th January – barely six weeks since the date of commencement and not allowing for the obvious drop in custom over the Christmas and New Year period. It would seem that if such domestic routes are to succeed from Liverpool in future, airlines must have a few basic objectives: - commitment, good advertising, ease of ticket purchase and a reasonable level of service. The timings of the flights were not particularly attractive to business travellers – the very people that the service should have largely been aimed at.

Finally, we must (must we?!!) mention Euroceltic. The airline operated just four services between Waterford, Liverpool and Luton in January, using Newair Fokker 50s, before disappearing for good. The airline finally went under on 21st January, reportedly owing quite a sum to the Danish carrier.

CHARTERS/I.T.s

Meridiana MD-82 I-SMEM at Liverpool 28th May in connection with the Champions League final in Manchester. Photograph – Dave Graham

Liverpool John Lennon Airport had another successful year of inclusive tour flights in 2003, with a similar operation to 2002. One notable omission this year though was Malta, with the once-weekly Air Malta flight being axed due to poor advanced bookings. Also dropped was Fuerteventura and the Zante (Zakynthos) operation was greatly reduced, operating from just the end of July into the beginning of September. We did, however, have a reasonable run of Balkan Holidays flights to Bourgas this year, with the promise of a fuller programme for summer 2004.

Winter 2002/2003 saw flights to Tenerife operated initially by Air Europa Boeing 737-800s and latterly by Britannia AB Sweden Boeing 737-800s, which also operated weekly to Gran Canaria. Britannia Airways also operated weekly to Alicante, using a Boeing 757-200. All other winter 2002/3 IT flights were operated with Monarch Airbus A320s, with services to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.

For summer 2003, the airport had a based Britannia Airways Boeing 757 and a MYTravel Airbus A320 – replacing the Monarch A320. These aircraft carried out the bulk of the summer holiday operation. Unfortunately we had to suffer the usual 4-6 week break in operations for a number of destinations during the height of summer, while the MYTravel aircraft plied its trade elsewhere (Belfast, Glasgow). This practise may have been appropriate a few years back, but is now just an utter nuisance to those wishing to travel on their summer holidays from their expanding local airport.

The main tour operators served the following destinations:-

AirtoursAlicante, Dalaman, Faro, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Malaga, Menorca, Palma, Reus, Tenerife, Zakynthos.

Asproas Airtours.

Direct Holidaysas Airtours, but not Ibiza.

Eclipseas First Choice.

First ChoiceAlicante, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Ibiza, Palma.

ManosCorfu, Zakynthos.

PanoramaIbiza, Palma.

Portland DirectAs Thomson.

SkytoursAs Thomson.

ThomsonAlicante, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Gran Canaria, Halkidiki, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma, Paphos, Reus, Tenerife.

UnijetAlicante, Ibiza, Palma, Tenerife.

As mentioned earlier, Balkan Holidays also operated a weekly (Saturday) Tu-154 flight to Bourgas, starting at the end of July and finishing at the beginning of October. Jersey was also served on Saturdays from mid-May until early October, using a BA/CitiExpress ERJ-145 and a BAe ATP, the latter operating from Liverpool in between flights f&t the Isle of Man. Holidays in Jersey were offered by Airways, Premier Holidays, Preston Holidays and Travtel International.

Apart from the aircraft types and airlines already mentioned, others included Air Europa, who operated Boeing 737-800s to Ibiza on Sundays Iberworld used Airbus A320s also on Sundays to Ibiza, plus Palma on Mondays and Fridays. Futura appeared on the Friday flight to Mahon (Menorca), while Spanair operated Gran Canaria flights on Saturdays using Airbus A321s. Spanair also operated to Palma on Saturdays and Tuesdays using MD-83s, the latter flight being operated by an LTE Airbus A321 for the first month of operation.

For winter 2003/2004, flights are offered to Alicante, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife (with Fuerteventura to be added February 2004). Aircraft consist of a Britannia Airways Boeing 757 (Alicante), Air Europa Boeing 737-800 (Tenerife) with MYTravel Airbus A320s serving Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.

Moving to other charter flights during 2003 and there were a number of Lourdes flights, the first of which – in April, brought in Monarch Airbus A330 G-EOFM – the only example of its type to visit during 2003. Air Mediterranee Boeing 737s and Airbus A321s, plus a leased-in Blue Panorama Boeing 747-400 operated other Lourdes charters, as did Titan Airways with their Boeing 757. Flights operated in June, July, August and October. We had two week-long Medjugorje peace tours to Split, one in June and one in September, both operated by Croatian Airbus A320s. One-off charter flights included a Braathens Boeing 737-400 in May, bringing in Norwegian veterans to the 60th anniversary Battle of the Atlantic commemorations. One big surprise was the appearance of an Estonian Boeing 737-500 in July, bringing in holidaymakers on an extended tour of the UK. Towards the end of the year, there were a few day trips to Christmas markets in Europe, plus a couple of “Santa Special” day trips to Lapland, operated by a Britannia Airways Boeing 767 and an Azzurra Air Boeing 737.

Finally, we finish with our annual review of football charters and there was one very big event this year – the European Champions Cup Final, which was held at Old Trafford, Manchester on 28th May between Juventus and AC Milan. Needless to say, Manchester was packed to the gills as the many aviation enthusiasts who descended on it that day will remember for a very long time – but just a little rubbed off on Liverpool that day too. Airliner-wise, we had our very first visit of a Boeing 757-300 variant in the shape of Transavia’s D-ABOF and also a Meridiana MD-82. The only other actual airliner type was a Titan Airways BAe 146, but we had a fair number of smaller types – e.g. Metros and executive aircraft.

Moving to our local teams and Liverpool FC began the year in the UEFA cup. They played Auxerre in February and flew out on Titan Airways Boeing 737. For the home leg, Auxerre arrived aboard an Octavia Airlines EMB.120 Brasilia, while supporters used an Aeris Boeing 737-300. Having survived that round, Liverpool went on to meet Celtic in March, where they unfortunately came unstuck. For the away leg, the team used a bmi British Midland Fokker 100, while supporters flew to Glasgow on Astraeus Boeing 737s. For the return leg, Celtic used a Skynet Boeing 737s whilst some fans arrived aboard a Highland Airways Jetstream 31. For the 2003/2004 season, Liverpool were once again in the UEFA Cup, drawing Ljubljana in the first round. The team used the Titan Airways Boeing 757 for the away leg, whilst Olimpjia Ljubljana used an Air Adriatic MD-82 for their trip to Liverpool. With another Liverpool victory, it was the turn of Steaua Bucharest in the next round, with LFC using the Titan Airways Boeing 737 this time and fans travelling on Astraeus Boeing 737s. The return leg brought in a Tarom Airbus A310 – the only one of its type to appear in 2003. Success in that round meant at least one European game to report next year.... hopefully more!

The big-money Premiership now means domestic air travel for many matches. Liverpool FC has used BAE Systems BAe 146s (both Premiership and Worthington Cup final), Scot Airways Dornier Do 328s and Everton have also utilised the latter, plus Eastern Airways. Teams flying in for either Liverpool or Everton matches have included Arsenal (Flightline BAe 146), Charlton Athletic (Scot Airways Do 328), Southampton (Scot Airways Do 328) and West Ham United (VLM Fokker 50). Both Liverpool and Everton played European sides in pre-season friendlies. Everton used Lufthansa CRJs to and from Salzburg and played host to Bologna at Goodison Park, which led to the first visit of type when a Welcome Air Dornier Do 328JET brought the team in. Liverpool FC used a KLM Fokker 50 inbound from Cologne in July, while Valencia used an Air Exel ERJ-145 on their visit to play Liverpool.