It seems that Primera Air – who promised a long haul and short haul network from Birmingham – is to throw in the towel and drop Birmingham Airport form its network.
Primera Air Boeing 737-700 at Birmingham Airport – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The network will slowly wind down from the 3rd September, with the Palma de Mallorca routes suspended, and the rest of the operation serving Reykjavik, Malaga, routes ending on 29th October 2018.
It is unknown if the airline is returning to the airport in 2019.
All Primera Air customers should already have been informed of the cancellations.
And that ends Primera Air’s Birmingham ambitions. Lets be honest, the business at Birmingham Airport is cut throat at the low-cost end of the market, with Jet2.com, Thomas Cook, TUI and Ryanair all scrambling around for customers.
Their long haul network was hampered from the start, with a lack of planes – and low loadings (with 70% loadings reported). With the performance of the short haul routes being less than stellar, it’s yet another airline that can’t make the Midlands market work right…
… on a mixture of vague promises and holiday traffic only.
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The economy transatlantic market seems crazy right now. Every other week it seems there are new 280-310 starting fares on proper airlines to various places in the States. How any LCC can survive it long term I can’t imagine
I think it’s accepted that a big transatlantic shakedown is coming sooner rather than later – mainly due to sheer capacity and options.
How many airlines and routes it will consume on the way is the question.