"Passenger
numbers to London still soaring - BMI"
Belfast Telegraph - 14th May 2003
PASSENGER numbers on the Belfast City to London Heathrow route have increased by 35% year on year, bmi british midland said today.
Bmi said the increase was due in part to the consolidation of services at City Airport, which took place when the Aldergrove service was axed last October.
With British Airways having pulled out in 2001, bmi now enjoys a monopoly on the Heathrow route, with eight flights a day operating out of Belfast City.
But competition on the London corridor remains intensive, with easyJet and flybe slogging it out on the service from Belfast to Gatwick.
In addition, easyJet operates services from Aldergrove to London Stansted and London Luton.
Bmi gave details of the growth on its Belfast service as it announced that, in overall terms, passenger numbers in April were up by 16% year on year.
The airline said the overall load factor had increased by 5% to 67%, thanks in part to the upturn in leisure passengers over the Easter break.
The total of 733,315 passengers included 225,000 who travelled with the airline's budget carrier bmibaby, which now operates from Belfast to Cardiff, East Midlands and Manchester.
Bmi chief executive Austin Reid said: "April saw encouraging increases in passenger traffic on many routes, particularly those serving leisure destinations during the Easter period.
"This is a positive
development in light of world events during the month - conflict in Iraq and
the continuation of the outbreak of Sars."
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