Season to season, there is very little change in the networks of larger European legacy airlines,as a mix of capacity constraints, commercial requirements, time differences and competitive pressures mean any schedule change is limited to no more than ten minutes here or there.
Occasionally there may be decisions around the aircraft types operating, especially when new ones are being delivered. Generally though, around 85% of an airline’s fleet rolls over from one season to the next. But in the remaining 15% is where the fun can be had!
Airline network planning teams must balance commercial and operational issues with aircraft utilisation and slot usage. At the end of every planning season, once the core programme has been finalised, getting creative with those remaining slots makes for some interesting new routes and experiments.
Taking British Airways as an example, there are several European routes this summer that would appear opportunistic and experimental. These are routes with market profiles that do not quite fit the classic BA requirements. Rimini is one example, operating just three times weekly, two of which are late afternoon rotations with arrivals back to Heathrow after 21:00; hardly delivering connecting traffic for the airline. Collectively those Rimini services occupy 120 slots and absorb 295 hours of flying on the A319/320 fleet over a summer season. It’s not earth-shattering but it is a useful top-up on production. Additionally, BA operates twice-weekly Heathrow services to Rhodes and Ponta Delgada while Tivat (Montenegro) and Zakynthos receive a three-times weekly service.
Similarly, Air France runs twice weekly services to Malta, Rhodes and Verona but their partner KLM intriguingly has no such low frequency European operations. They leave Transavia to operate twice (or less) weekly services to eleven destinations including Skiathos, Ponta Delgado and Alghero. The seasonal nature of these services allows for a swap-out to winter sun and ski destinations as required, while adding productivity to the operation.
For network planners an opportunity to trial different markets is always welcome especially if it helps productivity, covers cost and importantly receives marketing support from the respective tourism agencies.
Another positive of these low-frequency seasonal routes is that they give airlines a chance to offer a new destination to their high-value frequent flyers, and an opportunity to move some loyalty points off the books, which every airline likes to do during the year. Discussions are probably already underway for next summer, with destinations looking to add a low-frequency service from a legacy airline to their growing market; the airlines will be number crunching to decide which destinations will be on the list for next year and which of this year’s experimental routes will still be there in 2027.
