The first flights were sold out well and advance and the new Birmingham route is already proving extremely popular, with Ryanair saying they will chart its success over the coming months before making any decisions when asked about the potential for a more permanent, year-round service.
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00:00 [ Background noise ]
00:19 >> And Jade, we're here today with the new Birmingham route for Ryanair.
00:23 >> Absolutely.
00:24 So it's great excitement here at City of Derry Airport,
00:26 where we're launching, officially launching our summer 24 schedule
00:30 with the first flight to Birmingham.
00:32 So Birmingham, as you mentioned, is a new route for us this summer.
00:35 We're going to be operating two, from today, two weekly return services to and from Birmingham,
00:43 and that's building on our regular services to Manchester then as well.
00:46 So even more connectivity with the UK, with people, you know,
00:49 tracking over for work, study, leisure purposes.
00:53 So again, just going to give more opportunity and choice with more regular services.
00:57 >> And we've heard already that this route's proven very popular, so a new Ryanair route.
01:01 Is there any opportunity to expand that route maybe in the future, like, or?
01:06 >> Absolutely.
01:07 Like, what we always kind of do is we'll put the route on, and we'll kind of see how it goes,
01:10 I suppose, as simple as it sounds.
01:11 And again, look, like we are a commercial business, the route needs to be viable.
01:16 So again, it'll all kind of be based on performance review.
01:19 But it is looking like it's going to be a strong route for summer.
01:23 We're seeing some strong bookings on it as well.
01:25 And I'd say if there is that demand, you know, there will always need to be that connectivity,
01:30 or with kind of mainland UK as well.
01:33 And again, look, it's just another kind of opportunity for people to get away and explore Birmingham as well.
01:40 >> And then to come here as well, I suppose.
01:43 >> Absolutely.
01:44 That's always the flip side of it, that I think gets a little bit lost.
01:47 You know, you think of kind of like Ryanair and so planes and all the rest of it,
01:50 and you think about jetting off on your holidays, which is all very exciting and absolutely what we do.
01:54 But there is that flip side as well, where like we do deliver economic value,
01:57 and I think that can often kind of get lost.
01:58 You know, like we do support about 40 to 50 jobs here in the local community as well,
02:03 just through our operation here in City of Derry Airport.
02:05 And on top of that then, though we are flying this summer 100, just under 100,000 passengers,
02:12 which is about 35% up from what we would have operated last summer.
02:15 So again, delivering more and more passengers, not just out, but inward as well then.
02:20 And again, you know where you sell, people come, they spend.
02:23 >> You have that economic spin off.
02:25 >> Exactly, so you have that kind of expenditure that all feeds back into the economy.
02:30 >> And in terms of like, so the possible extension of that route beyond summer will be looked at maybe once the route's up and running?
02:38 >> Absolutely. So like at the moment, the guys in the commercial team are working hard to kind of lock in everything for winter.
02:43 So we typically kind of announce that then towards the end of summer.
02:47 But I would suspect all going well that it will be continued throughout to the end of the year as well.
02:52 >> It is one of the routes we see on social media, the comments all the time,
02:56 "We need something to Birmingham, we need something to East MacGlen, etc."
03:00 Would there be any opportunities as well?
03:02 People mention a lot of routes, like for Ryanair to expand its operations in the northwest here.
03:07 >> Well again, like we always look, it's a way of kind of intricacies in terms of how the guys pick out routes.
03:12 So I'm not going to pretend that I can inform at all.
03:16 But what we do do is we feed demand.
03:18 So where we do identify that there is a service that will be eaten up, we absolutely then look at putting that on.
03:25 But again, it needs to be viable, so our aircraft need to be positioned correctly to be able to facilitate that route.
03:32 Because again, if we don't have aircraft based here, the flights will be operated in aircraft based in Birmingham and in Manchester for that route then as well.
03:39 So there is a number of different things you need to look at rather than just saying, "This one would be popular among the public."
03:46 And again, I suppose even looking at the wider cash finance in terms of other routes that we operate, nearby airports and things as well, also need to be factored in.
03:54 But again, I'd say Birmingham is going to make a fantastic addition to the services we operate here.
04:00 >> And just finally, I was going to ask, is there anything the government can do to promote airlines like Ryanair coming to regional airports?
04:07 >> Again, I think governments will always play a role, but again, I suppose it's one factor in a wider web of things that we look at.
04:14 And again, once we have long term cost certainty, which comes from a number of different aspects, I suppose that's ultimately what we look at.
04:21 >> That's brilliant. Thank you very much for your time, Jane.
04:23 >> No, thank you so much.
04:32 >> And Steve, we're here today with more new routes for the City of Derry Airport.
04:38 >> Yeah, fantastic. Really pleased to see that Birmingham off, you know, itself.
04:42 How much has been requested. Really good to get it over the line and get it started a couple of times a week.
04:46 Improve that route and improve the wider success of it.
04:51 Fantastic for Derry people not to have to go to the wider North West, not to have to go to Belfast, the government, now to get to Birmingham.
04:59 It's a big catchment in our area, right past our airport for years.
05:03 Just to get to Birmingham is a great place now to get on the route to the North West.
05:07 >> And it's always one of the routes people mention when you put a story up about the airport, like, you know, they say, "What about Birmingham?"
05:13 Like, you know, so, proven very popular already, isn't it?
05:16 >> Yeah, today's flight's both in and out, hopeful. So that's a good sign of where the route's going to be.
05:22 We look forward to getting it full for the summer as well and continuing it all year round.
05:27 You know, we know this is a large catchment within the North West, so getting to Birmingham.
05:32 And now we're serving it with Birmingham, I think we'll be able to prove that route and grow it from string to string.
05:39 >> And are you hopeful with Ryanair now that there may be more routes in the future, like, for development of this one?
05:43 >> Yeah, we're always talking to Ryanair about the possibilities and the opportunities.
05:47 And as I said, the North West has well over a million and a half people every year travelling to the UK.
05:53 So we can do better, we can serve better, we can get more frequency, we can get more routes.
05:57 So we're talking to Ryanair and other airline partners about how we can build that route network and grow the frequency.