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 regional connectivity programme.
Considerations
-
These routes chopped and changed a lot - frequencies altered, aircraft types switched, extra stops were added/taken away etc. Those marked definitive will be further researched and refined ahead of the definitive timetable being created.
Regional Connectivity
Belgium
Brussels
A route that has always been aggressively pursued by the airport with little success, strange as prior to Brexit it felt like a no-brainer. Even post-Brexit it remains a viable option.
| 06 | 07 |
| Eastern Airways | |
France
Paris
Has to be the single biggest overlooked/underserved destination in the history of this airport. A daily low cost service with A320s or a double if not thrice daily regional connectivity service with ATRs is an absolute no-brainer. For the definitive timetable, the bmibaby service wins it.
| 99 | 00 |
| Air France (Gill Airways) | |
Ireland
Cork
Cork has been covered in the low cost timetable and will feature in the definitive timetable as such, however in the idealistic timetable, it will be presented as a regional connectivity route.
Dublin
As with Cork, Dublin makes the definitive timetable as a low-cost service, but will be presented as a regional connectivity route in the idealistic timetable.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| BKS Air Transport | Autair International Airways | Dan-Air via NCL |
Aer Lingus Regional | Eastern Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loganair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Netherlands
Amsterdam Schiphol
Much like with Aberdeen below, it's incredibly hard to ignore the Air Anglia/Air UK service or even Dan-Air for that matter, but the current KLM service is by far the most valued and successful. I might revisit this, as a definitive Norwich service may only be viable as a stop on a longer route.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| BKS Air Transport | Autair
International Airways via Hull (Brough) |
Air Anglia via NWI |
Air UK via NWI |
KLM uk | KLM Cityhopper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dan-Air Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Freeway Air | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom - Crown Dependencies
Guernsey
It is said that many of the Jersey passengers connect onwards to Guernsey.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 |
| British Midland Airways via ??? |
Casair | Genair | Guernsey Airlines |
Isle of Man
Given the consistency of summer seasonal Isle of Man services in the table below, it would be worth Eastern Airways operating the current service regardless and not relying on the TT going ahead.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 |
| Autair International Airways | British Midland Airways | Dan-Air | Casair | Genair | |||||||||||||||
Jersey
I (Chris) have been screaming out for years that Jersey has been underserved and the below table proves it, I have family aching to use the service but can't because it ends just one week too soon for them as they need to come back in early October!! The definitive service is provided by bmibaby and still there is room for two of the below.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| BKS Air Transport | Autair International Airways | British Midland Airways | bmi | bmi regional | Air Southwest | Flybe | Eastern Airways | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Air Ferries | Dan-Air | Manx Airlines | Air UK | KLM uk | bmi regional | British Airways Citiexpress | Loganair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Midland Commuter | British Midland Commuter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| British Airways Express | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom - England
Bristol
At twice daily, direct and available to the public (as opposed to just corporate users), Eastern Airways is the only operator to have offered a proper Bristol service.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |
| Bristol | Dan-Air via LPL/CWL |
Dan-Air via MAN |
Eastern Airways | Loganair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bristol Filton | Capital Air Charter / Centreline Air Charter | Capital Air Charter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exeter
Deserves to be tested properly, even alongside Newquay.
| 94 |
| Eagle European Airways |
Humberside
See Glasgow for the motivation behind choosing the final incarnation of Casair's Humberside service. It was very tempting to go with Air UK but the F-27 is far too big for the route.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | |
| Brough | Autair International Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Humberside | Air Anglia | Air UK | Genair | Air Ecosse (Casair) | Casair | Air UK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leconfield | Autair International Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
London City
Should work well post-Covid, no reason it can't stand up against Heathrow.
| 20 |
| Eastern Airways |
London Gatwick
The definitive service is the low cost service courtesy of bmibaby.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| Casair | Genair | Air Ecosse via LBA |
Malinair | North East Express (Aberdeen Airways) | Gill Air | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
London Heathrow
The additional aircraft type and frequency information is approximate not exact.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| BKS Air Transport | Autair International Airways | British Midland Airways | bmi | bmi regional | Eastern Airways | Loganair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Viscount | DC-9 | F100 | B735 | F100 | A320 | A319 | E135 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (3x daily) | 4x daily | 5x daily | 3x daily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manchester
We believe Air Kilroe was a corporate charter, and the Casair fleet better suits demand for the route.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 |
| Mercury Airlines | British Midland Airways | Dan-Air | Casair | Air Kilroe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eagle European Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Newquay
The definitive service is provided by bmibaby, however in the idealistic and realistic timetables, the Loganair service may well prevail.
| 20 | 21 |
| Eastern Airways | |
| Loganair | |
Norwich
Air UK is the obvious definitive service however we may need to reconsider when it comes to constructing the definitive timetable given it's part of a larger route.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Air Anglia | Air UK | Gill Airways | Loganair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southampton
Paris is noted as being the single most overlooked service in the history of this airport, Southampton may well take that crown on a domestic level!
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Eastern Airways | Eastern Airways | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom - Northern Ireland
Belfast
A messy history for Belfast! For the definitive timetable bmibaby takes the crown, the idealistic timetable is more likely to favour a regional connectivity service.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |
|
Aldergrove (Intl) |
BKS Air Transport | Autair International Airways | Genair | Dan-Air via NCL? |
Knight Air | Gill Airways via NCL |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Harbour (City) |
Casair | Genair | Spacegrand Aviation | Jersey
European Airways via BLK |
Jersey European Airways | Yorkshire European Airways | Knight Air | Eastern Airways | Loganair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gill Air/Aircam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom - Scotland
Aberdeen
It's incredibly difficult to ignore the Air Anglia/Air UK service, but sadly 4x daily direct beats 2x daily indirect any day of the week.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Channel Airways via ??? |
Air Anglia via NCL |
Air UK via NCL |
Gill Airways | Eastern Airways | Flybe (Eastern Airways) | Eastern Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gill Air | Loganair | Loganair | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Glasgow
This may be reviewed but for now we've gone with Casair as the longest serving operator in their various incarnations, and chosen the last version of the service because it continued on to Humberside which under this scenario is a viable destination.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 |
| Autair International Airways | Air Anglia | Air UK | Malinair | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Casair | Genair | Air Ecosse (Casair) | Casair | ||||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom - Wales
Cardiff
Another underserved destination, currently served by Eastern Airways but launched during Covid-19, still suspended and thus completely untested. We've chosen the Eastern Airways service for the definitive timetable due to the historic Dan-Air multiple-stop routes not being practical in the present day.
| 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| Dan-Air | Dan-Air | Eastern Airways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Omissions
The following destinations served at one time or another have been deemed too fringe for the definitive timetable - Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Chester Hawarden, Dundee, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow Prestwick, Kristiansand, Liverpool, London Luton, London Stansted, Plymouth, Shannon, Southend, Stavanger.
Furthermore, a number of German destinations either not tested at all or operated as limited charters have potential as regular regional connectivity routes - Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Munich and Münster Osnabrück.
Next we take a look at Cargo and Freight.