Teesside International Airport
A Definitive Timetable
As a new project and just a bit of fun, we're going to take a look at which variations of each type of airline operation was the definitive example of its kind from Teesside. The eventual goal based on our findings is to build two fictional timetables, one "idealistic" ignoring operator/aircraft availability and a second "realistic" to see how much of the first might be achievable in the current marketplace, providing of course this can be done without breaching our no-conjecture policy.
Judged on longevity, consistency and balance, here is the definitive independent I.T. charter programme.
Considerations
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Unlike the based programme each route requires individual analysis, the tour operators need to be traced, as quite often what appears to be several attempts at a single route is often just one attempt with the airlines changing at regular intervals.
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What we conclude as definitive needs to be able to stand up against both a based charter programme and a based low cost operation. The arrival of bmibaby caused some minimal dilution, but FlyGlobespan hit harder given their operation was exclusively leisure whereas bmibaby were more city routes than holiday destinations.
I.T. Charter Routes (independent)
Bulgaria
Bourgas
The history of Bourgas is messy to say the least, with seasons cut short or diverted via other airports. The success of the current twice weekly service is almost certainly down to the captive market and it will be interesting to see how it holds up against a fuller programme. That said a single summer service should be perfectly viable and thus makes the definitive timetable.
| 91 | 92 | 93 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 19 | 21 | |
| Balkan Holidays | Balkan Bulgarian | BH Air | ||||||||||||
Cyprus
Larnaca
Larnaca is a very safe holiday destination and has consistently formed part of almost all charter base operations during the 90s/00s, that will remain the case in the definitive timetable.
| 95 | 05 | 06 | 07 | |
| Airtours | Airtours | Helios | AJet | XL |
Paphos
Another safe option that continued throughout the Britannia/Thomsonfly base.
| 03 | 04 | |
| Thomson Holidays | Eurocypria | |
Greece
Corfu
Whilst the below table looks a little thin, the route always did well as part of the Britannia/Thomsonfly based programme.
| 82 | 94 | |
| Thomson Holidays | Britannia | Britannia |
Heraklion
We had a Heraklion service in the 2000s, possibly by Eurocypria Airlines, but no further detail - any ideas?
Thessaloniki
Such is the number of Greek holiday destinations - Chania, Kefalonia, Kos, Santorini, Skiathos to name just some, that Greece can definitely be chalked up as underserved, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos feel like two safe bets, even though they've never featured from Teesside.
Zakynthos
See Thessaloniki.
Malta
Malta
First thing to say regarding Malta is I'm not convinced our records are complete and I suspect there were some earlier services that operated at one time or another. Secondly, despite most Malta services being limited to just August, my feeling is a once weekly summer service would work against a balanced charter programme - in the event of over-capacity in the leisure sector, I'm not sure it would survive. As with this entire route analysis, it's all open to challenge so e-mail in if you feel differently!
| 81 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 97 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | |
| Emma Travel | Air Malta | ||||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Air Malta | ||||||||||
| Airtours | Air Malta | ||||||||||
| Unknown | Air Malta | Air Malta | |||||||||
Portugal
Faro
Faro has always formed part of a base operation be it charter or low cost, but has been strangely lacking in the independent programmes. An absolute no-brainer for the definitive timetable.
| 95 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | |
| Airtours | Airtours | |||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | SATA Internacional | |||||||||
Funchal
Inexplicably missing from both the based and independent programmes, much like with Heraklion I can't shake the feeling a service to here has existed at one time or another?
Spain
Alicante
Probably the second most popular Mediterranean destination after Palma, and like with Palma I had to establish the average number of independent summer charter flights over the years and analyse the patterns during the low cost years etc. As it turned out, it was a much clearer picture than Palma, and irrespective of competition from either a based charter programme or a low cost base, the average number is one.
| 73 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | |
| Clarksons | Dan-Air | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Airways Holidays | British Midland | Aviaco | Dan-Air | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Britannia | Aviaco | Britannia | Thomsonfly | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Airtours | Airtours | British Midland | Spanair | |||||||||||||||||||||
| JMC | JMC | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Gerona
Despite the patchy history of Gerona, there is still room for a single weekly frequency, not least because it remains a strong market for TUI.
| 73 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 88 | 89 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 05 | |
| Clarksons | Dan-Air | |||||||||
| Airways Holidays | Dan-Air | Dan-Air | ||||||||
| Teesside Travel | BAF | |||||||||
| Intasun Airways | Dan-Air | Dan-Air | Monarch | |||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Britannia | Air Europa | Britannia | Britannia |
Gran Canaria (Las Palmas)
Has just about enough clout to work alongside both Lanzarote and Tenerife which are typically stronger Canary Islands destinations.
| 97 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | |
| Airtours | Spanair | Air Europa | Monarch | Spanair | |
Ibiza
Ibiza ranks as one of the most popular holiday destinations, and with that in mind it's often been underserved from Teesside either side of the late 90s/mid 00s.
| 73 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 95 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | |
| Clarksons | Dan-Air | ||||||||||||||||
| Intasun Airways | Dan-Air | ||||||||||||||||
| Airtours | Airtours | Spanair | |||||||||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Britannia | Air Europa | Britannia | Thomsonfly | Air Europa | ||||||||||||
| Unknown | Iberworld | ||||||||||||||||
Lanzarote (Arrecife)
Another strong Canary Islands destination, could sustain twice weekly, especially during winter, but for the definitive timetable 1x weekly is comfortable.
| 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | |
| Airtours | Air Europa | |||||||||
| JMC | Iberworld | |||||||||
Mahon
A nice easy and obvious one.
| 73 | 74 | 78 | 96 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 08 | |
| Teemah Travel | Aviaco | ||||||||||
| Clarksons | Dan-Air | ||||||||||
| Airways Holidays | British Midland | ||||||||||
| Airtours | Airtours | Spanair | Girjet | ||||||||
| JMC | JMC | Thomas Cook | |||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Thomsonfly | ||||||||||
Málaga
The word "underserved" is getting more use on this page than is healthy, however Málaga definitely falls under that category.
| 78 | 79 | 80 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 01 | |
| Airways Holidays | British Midland | Aviaco | Dan-Air | ||||||||||
| Teemah Travel | Orion | Spantax | |||||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Spanair | ||||||||||||
Palma de Mallorca
Based on the data we have, the average number of non-based I.T. charter flights to Palma during summer season is three, which also happens to be the definitive number. There was a spike of between six-to-nine in the years immediately prior to the low-cost boom, three is the number that seemed immune to low cost competition at Teesside.
The average lifespan for an independent summer-seasonal I.T. charter flight to Palma is nine years, although this may not seem apparent given the contract to operate these charters can pass through a number of different airlines over the duration, giving the illusion of multiple separate efforts.
For the definitive timetable, we've selected the effort that began with Fairs Travel and Lloyds Holidays in 1982, Pandora Sol were added in 1984 and later became the lead tour operator with the route eventually ending in 2004. There are gaps in 1989 and 1997, we believe our records are incomplete and have assumed continuity. Next we have the earliest Palma effort from Teesside (that we know of) - Airways Holidays starting in 1973. Prior to the 1985 season Airways appear to have merged with Intasun to form Intasun Airways who remained the lead operator until the route stopped in 1990. Finally, Airtours had a continuous presence from 1994 through to 2009 (separate to their flights as part of the base operation), with the last two years being under the Thomas Cook brand.
| 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |
| British Midland | Spantax | Hispania | Hispania/Nort Jet | Oasis Airlines | Air Europa/Futura | Futura | Air Europa | Sabre Airways | Air Europa | Futura | Iberworld | LTE/Volar | ||||||||||
Of all the airlines flying for Pandora Sol, Futura with just shy of six seasons (Air Europa in 92 was April only) is the example chosen for the definitive timetable.
| 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 |
| Northeast Airlines | Unknown | British Midland | Aviaco | Dan-Air | ||||||||||||||
Dan-Air may be revised to Aviaco in the definitive timetable, as Dan-Air operating the route was dependent on an aircraft being based for scheduled services - and I suspect said aircraft won't make it into the timetable.
| 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 |
| Air Europa | Spanair | Futura | bmi | ||||||||||||
Although most of the major UK operators used all of the usual Spanish charter airlines at one time or another, Airtours were known to favour Spanair, whilst Thomson preferred Air Europa.
Reus
Not much to say here, another obvious choice.
| 73 | 95 | 96 | 00 | 01 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | |
| Clarksons | Dan-Air | |||||||||
| Airtours | Airtours | Futura | Eirjet | MapJet | bmi | |||||
| Thomson Holidays | Spanair | Thomsonfly | ||||||||
| Thomas Cook | Thomas Cook | |||||||||
Tenerife (North and South)
Tenerife was particularly difficult to collate! One of the safer destinations, it could probably sustain two against a based charter programme and a based low cost operator but in the interests of playing it safe, we'll stick with the average of one.
| 73 | 90 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | |
| Wings & Horizon | Air Spain | ||||||||||
| Intasun Airways | Air Europa | ||||||||||
| Airtours | Air Europa | Spanair | |||||||||
| Thomson Holidays | Spanair | Air Europa | |||||||||
| First Choice | Iberworld | ||||||||||
Turkey
Dalaman
Nothing much to comment on here - another no-brainer.
| 99 | 00 | 01 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | |
| Sunquest | Onur Air | |||||||||||
| First Choice | Pegasus | |||||||||||
| Goldtrail | Onur Air | |||||||||||
| Holidays 4U | Onur Air | |||||||||||
Milas-Bodrum
As above.
| 98 | 99 | 00 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | |
| Sunquest | Onur Air | ||||||||||
| Goldtrail | Pegasus | Eirjet | Onur Air | ||||||||
| Holidays 4U | Onur Air | ||||||||||
USA
Orlando, Florida
Some might argue that this route ultimately failed, but if so it doesn't take five consecutive years to reach that conclusion and it certainly wouldn't lead to one of those years having a competing second operator, or a competing second long haul service to Puerto Plata from 97-98. Given the advances in technology resulting in far cheaper to operate aircraft such as the Dreamliner, we feel not only would a weekly summer service to Orlando still work today, but it would work well enough to be direct and not via Glasgow which was the case with the Airtours long haul services.
| 89 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | |
| Intasun Airways | Air Europe | |||||
| Airtours | Monarch | Airtours | ||||
| Thomson Holidays | Britannia | |||||
Yugoslavia
Dubrovnik, Pula and Split
Prior to civil war, what is now Croatia was a primary summer holiday destination and we had a very stable offering to both Dubrovnik and Pula. The latter was the mainstay, operating continuously from 1984 - 1990 and Dubrovnik from 1987 - 1990. The final year saw a third route to Split added. A singular service may still be viable today, but the dynamics have changed too much in the years since to enjoy the levels of success of the late 80s, as evidenced by FlyGlobespans failure to make Pula work.
Yugotours were responsible for all services except the early 1970s efforts which were by Airways Holidays. The 1977 Dubrovnik service was timetabled, but doesn't appear to have gone ahead, as there are no references in the Teesside Aviation Society Newsletter.
| 76 | 77 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | |
| Dubrovnik | Inex-Adria Airways | ??? | Aviogenex | Adria Airways | Adria Airways | Adria Airways | |||
| Aviogenex | |||||||||
| Pula | Aviogenex | Aviogenex | Aviogenex | Aviogenex | Aviogenex | JAT Yugoslav Airlines | Adria Airways | Adria Airways | Adria Airways |
| Split | Adria Airways |
For the definitive timetable, Aviogenex mid-80s service to Pula and Adria Airways late-80s service to Dubrovnik have been selected, although this doesn't make strict narrative sense given the Adria services were combined as PUY-MME-DBV-MME-PUY.
Omissions
Not to suggest they wouldn't be successful if gained, the following destinations have been deemed too fringe for the definitive timetable - Barcelona (Spain), Fuerteventura (Spain), İzmir (Turkey), Monastir (Tunisia), Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic), Rhodes (Greek Islands), Split (Croatia), Varna (Bulgaria).
In the case of Fuerteventura, it is only a fringe destination on the assumption the other three Canary Island destinations are actively being served. Tunisia is viable but as part of the definitive based charter programme only, it's also worth noting Enfidha has since replaced Monastir as the main tourist airport of Tunisia. Rhodes is also viable as part of a based programme.
Next we take a look at the winter charter programme.