News: Jet2 in major expansion at Belfast International Airport
Flights > News > # 1013 (09/10/2006)
Jet2 is doubling the size of its operation at Belfast International with the addition of six new destinations as well as increased frequency and capacity on existing services.
The fast-growing budget airline will start flights to the Spanish hotspots of Ibiza, Malaga, and Palma (Majorca), Milan in Italy and Toulouse in France from next spring. It brings to twelve the number of routes Jet2.com now offers from Northern Ireland’s largest airport.
Jet2 boss, Philip Meeson, said: “We know the people of Northern Ireland want more flights to Spain and are delighted to be meeting demand today with this news.”
He added: “We’re also adding more cities to our offering, Toulouse opens up access to what is a beautiful city in its own right but also is gateway to the South West of France, with its mountains, beaches and picturesque villages. Milan is a fantastic city, and Bergamo Airport, where we fly to, also offers unrivalled access to the amazing Italian Lakes.”
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Comment:
Just how big is the market for cheap flights from Belfast, or Northern Ireland as a whole for that matter? Is it large enough to sustain such heavy ongoing competition between Jet2 and Easyjet, in addition to the domestic flights offered by BmiBaby, as well as Flybe's presence at Belfast City?
Clearly, Jet2 think there is room for them to expand further, and they are happy to take on Easyjet, just as they have recently done at Newcastle. Perhaps one notable observation about both Northern Ireland and northeast England is that these regions are relatively free of competition from Ryanair, with Belfast in particular being just about the only western European city to have two commercial airports, but no presence of Ryanair at either of them. Both of Europe's largest two no-frills airlines, Easyjet and Ryanair, have been concentrating most of their recent growth on the European continent lately, with Easyjet in particular having been largely stagnant at airports like Belfast International, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Nottingham East Midlands. One thing that this industry doesn't have room for is stagnation, so if one airline doesn't take the opportunity to grow, then it is usually only a matter of time before another one comes along to take up the slack.
