[World78]

In recent months CityJet have either dropped or decreased frequency on routes from LCY. Now CityJet are expanding by stepping into the void left by Flybe at Cardiff Airport by launching services to Glasgow and Paris Orly in January.

[AMcWhirter]

CityJet appears to be establishing a network based on Cardiff.

Besides Glasgow and Paris Orly starting in January there will be routes to Edinburgh and Jersey from March 30.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/100076/cityjet-to-takeover-two-flybe-routes-at-cardiff

[AMcWhirter]

Latest News:

Industry publication ATW reports that Germany’s IntroAviation has put in a firm offer for CityJet.

The deal is expected to close early in 2014.

atwonline.com/finance-amp-data/intro-aviation-places-firm-offer-air-france-s-cityjet

[MarkCymru]

Alex (or anyone): why do you think Cityjet has decided to switch the Cardiff service to Orly? The current Flybe service is to CDG. It’s an AF codeshare so it can be used for a few connections (Johannesburg, for example) and, of course, it puts you straight onto the French rail network with fast connections that bypass Paris.

[MarcusUK]

BA are placing more aircraft at LCY, and upping flights each day to Amsterdam. Cityjet have been losing routes and custom to BA. I wonder what the slot numbers are now, and where will these slots go when it is bought out?
I think some still run under a VLM and KLM codeshare…?

Surely this is time for KLM to step in and secure their feeder route to Amsterdam? They could do well with their Embraer 190’s on the route, and would sit well with their plans for KLM Cityhopper to be running the European network.

Alex, can we not ask KLM what their plans are, so much enquiries on the forum and if they do not share the strategy people will simply switch and they will lose this important route, and much traffic?

[AMcWhirter]

Maybe CityJet wishes to concentrate more on passengers heading to or from Paris itself ? Just a guess on my part.

Confirmation of the deal has now been posted on AF’s website.

http://www.airfranceklm.com/fr/presse/communiques/article/item/projet-de-cession-de-cityjet/

[MarcusUK]

Thanks as always Alex.

Mysterious statement though
“Maintaining a business cooperation with Air France within the framework of a new industrial project.”

One thing is obvious, the ageing fleet and current model of operations does not make money, so I would imagine radical changes, or would they part strip it of the assets?

I still wonder of KLM and LCY, all the slots held there. Will the AF/KLM slots and routes accessible through whoever, still exist?
Will the slots be sold as well, not sure what value they may have at LCY?
They had the majority of slots at one stage there…

I knew VLM was still a company existing, even though they have no aircraft, perhaps they hold the slots as a subsidiary?

All very complicated eh?.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Marcus

To be honest, nobody knows right now. Matters will, I am sure, become clearer in the New Year.

But it would seem logical that the LCY-AMS service (a key feeder route for KLM) will remain.

Up until the end of March, the existing CityJet flights operate under an AF code. But from April onwards, they are prefixed with WX which is the official CityJet flight code. The April schedule displays a total of eight flights a day.

[Ab0dache]

To answer you MarkCymru, it may be one or a combination of the following reasons:

– Cityjet flies from Orly already to LCY but also to Nantes for AF, and this with a (ex-)VLM aircraft, they may need to have an additionnal aircraft available in ORY for that? Is it to use it before going back to Cardiff?
– Flybe has choosen Orly when opening the Southampton-Paris route. AF had the route in the past to/from CDG. Is it because there is not enough (or not at all) transiting passengers from both Cardiff & Southampton finally?
– Orly airport is closer to Paris than CDG is. It is a preferred airport for point-to-point traffic and the preferred one for the Parisian people or the people living in the region.
– There are more French cities connected to Orly than to CDG and therefore more connecting capabilities for domestic flights.
– You only need five minutes to be out of Orly airport compared to longer corridors at CDG.
– The Cityjet plane(s) is in Orly West Hall 3 (like BA ORY LHR route) and at the jetway or if not, close to the stairs to get at the arrival level. Cityjet does not need to have a bus to get the passengers to a remote stand where the aircraft may be parked like sometimes at CDG. This is cost effective.
– Hall 3 is not a big area, only international flights such as the BA one and the LCY one, plus the AF French overseas départements domestic ones.
– The domestic check-in time is up to 20 minutes before the flight time departure, and probably no more than 30 minutes for Glasgow (although I wonder if LCY is not also only 20 minutes). Those short times cannot exist at CDG.
– It takes only one minute to get from/to the runway, compared to a minimum of 10 minutes at CDG, and the aircraft can almost every time take-off immediately. Very cost effective again. Orly has three runways and handles only 20% of the LHR movements. But there is a political agreement not to go over that because of noise rules within this agreement. This is to say there are no problems on the ground (and in the air) at orly… apart from obtaining a slot… This has in consequence “protected” the main operator, Air Inter in the past, AF now.
– Orly is a slot constrained airport (more than CDG) and AF has a lot of slots. But AF whole operations at Orly seems not to be profitable (probably also the way AF has done it over the way IT(Air Inter) was doing it). AF has already slashed capacities at ORY. But AF did and does not want to loose its slots in favour of its competitors. This is why Transavia France has been created. Yes of course because some leisure routes cannot perform well under the AF costs. But also because AF wanted and still wants to keep the slots inside the group or the family. This is not really to fight against Easyjet or Vueling. Have you notice than Transavia France has not ever done one year of profit since its inception?
So the slots have to remain inside the family or the friends. They go to Transavia, to Hop or maybe also to Cityjet. There are lots of airlines who want to land at ORY. They have to wait slots to become available and attributed to them. You cannot buy them at ORY to the contrary of LHR. Cityjet does not need to wait. It can use AF slots. And I have the feeling Alexandre de Juniac is about to announce in Januray 2014 more dmestic cuts in frequencies or cities served by AF from ORY. And maybe Hop too. That’s additional slots becoming available. And they must be used quickly by the AF family (well Transavia) or the to-be future friends (Cityjet). Otherwise they become available to be attributed to competitors. This could be one main reason why Cityjet has choosen ORY, on top of the cost effectiveness of Orly airport.

I believe sometimes pragmatic or some kind of strategy application is the reason for decision. More than any obvious other explanation.

Let’s just hope the Cardiff-Paris route will work on one way or another for long now.

[MarkCymru]

@Ab0dache. Thank you. I still don’t like the move but it really makes sense now. Thanks again

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

It appears CityJet will be leaving Luxembourg:

http://www.aws-spnm.net/en/view/no-more-cityjet-flights-from-luxembourg-to-london-52b47947e4b0dd3de1626bd5

If above link does not work, try the following:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5953528/

[MarcusUK]

So Cityjet may remain as an Airline and not be asset stripped, but move bases?
And what of its LCY slots then?

If Cityjet is no longer part of the AF/KLM group / Skyteam, then i will not be flying them, so if as you say Alex they continue to have flight feeders to AMS, then KLM will not be involved, no Skyteam accruals?
Why would Cityjet, no longer part of AF or KLM or Skyteam, then feed in flights for them?

Cityjet has been going down for a long time, with cleanliness on board atrocious, baggage policies all over the place on Board confusion anger, and the poor staff morale v low. The Aircraft are really an old fleet and should be removed from service. KLM’s Embraer’s are the only replacement that would equal the BA same on the LCY – AMS route.
The whole process has been badly managed so far, as maybe the transition it seems.
Speculations as on here, are not good PR for the Airlines or the group.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Marcus

The fact that CityJet no longer displays the AF flight code does not mean the cessation of cooperation with KLM. There is nothing to stop CityJet striking a ticketing deal with KLM as did Darwin or (the late) Suckling Airways. Matters will become clearer in the New Year.

According to CityJet’s website, all flight inventory for LCY-LUX has been removed for travel on and after next April. It would therefore suggest CityJet will be quitting this route from the end of March.

[Shearer]

Dundee – London gets the axe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-25492948

[AMcWhirter]

And now, reports the Dutch travel magazine Zakenreis (in Dutch language), CityJet pilots are threatening to strike on December 24 and 25.

They are striking because of their airline’s sale to Germany’s Intro Aviation.

http://zakenreis.nl/luchtvaart/staking-dreigt-bij-cityjet/

[Author]

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