Tiny Cambridge airport joins the bandwagon, of connecting flights to Schiphol or Paris
Date added: 24 October, 2013
Much is said about the possibility of people in the UK taking flights to Amsterdam (or it could be Paris) to get other flights from there – avoiding going via a London airport. Now tiny Cambridge airport, with so few passengers that the CAA data only just record t hem, is claiming it is an international airport, with some flights laid on to Schiphol and Paris, from where people can get onward connections. The airport claims it is much faster to pass through the tiny airport than it would be at a larger London airport. It is making much of the link from Schiphol or Paris to the USA. To be honest, there are a large number of airports that already have flights to Amsterdam. Anyone flying only from the UK to Paris / Amsterdam would pay only the APD for the short haul flight, so they could save themselves so me £45 -50 or so. For anyone flying west from the UK to the USA, going via the European mainland does not make a lot of sense, geographically. Or in terms of carbon. But if they are flying east, and change at some European airport, at least they are taking the pressure off the crowded south east airports. Schiphol seems eager to get its hands on Brits. . Tweet
“Cambridge International Airport announces flights to USA from £320 return”
[ … well, a link to Schiphol actually]
Written by CHRIS ELLIOTT
23.10.2013 (Cambridge News)
2/09/13 First international flights from Cambridge airport
High-flying Cambridge Airport is launching flights to the USA – from £320 return.
Passengers will make the trip via Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris or Schipol in Amsterdam, but Cambridge Airport bosses claim the journey is expected to be quicker than flying from Heathrow.
The announcement today comes hard on the heels of the Marshall Group airport starting scheduled flights to several European cities.
In September, Darwin Airline began flying from Cambridge to Paris, Amsterdam, Milan and Geneva.
The USA connection also involves Darwin Airline, which has clinched an agreement with Air France.
A spokeswoman for Cambridge Airport said: “Under the agreement, passengers and their baggage can be checked-in at Cambridge all the way through to their final destination in the USA, on a one-stop service with quick transfer times in Paris.
“The partnership brings a whole range of exciting US destinations to Cambridge’s doorstep, with daily connecting service to New York JFK, as well as one-stop to Newark, Boston, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Detroit now available.
“From these US hubs, there is also the option for passengers to connect onward to many other major cities across America, including Philadelphia, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Seattle and San Diego.”
Cambridge Airport’s head of business and route development, David Surley, said: “The launch of one-stop connections to the USA is another milestone in a fantastic year for Cambridge International Airport. The Cambridge region has a thriving business community that enjoys unusually close links with America so it was very important for us to be able to provide transatlantic connections, avoiding the hassle of travel to Heathrow or Gatwick.
“We offer short check-in times of just an hour, meaning you not only save time getting to the airport but also when you’re at the airport, not to mention the convenience of many transatlantic services by Air France out of Paris, which is just an hour away.”
He added passengers will be able to book flights from Cambridge to the USA through all major tour operators and travel agents. Current fares to New York via ebookers start from just £320 return, whilst Washington DC starts from £370 return.
A pre-Christmas city-break including flights and four nights hotel accommodation starts at just £496 in a four-star hotel in Washington DC, or from £598 in a three-star hotel in Manhattan, New York City, based on two adults sharing.
Empty seats on Europe flights from Cambridge Airport ‘no problem’
Written by CHRIS ELLIOTT
24.10.2013 (Cambridge News)
Some of the newly-launched European flights at Cambridge Airport have yet to take off commercially – they have been running with very few passengers.
But airport bosses are still pleased with the new services overall, and insist everything is “on track”.
In September operator Darwin Airline began running more than 50 flights a week to four top European cities – 24 to and from Amsterdam, 12 serving Paris Charles De Gaulle, eight for Milan Malpensa, and six to and from Geneva. Passengers also had the option of continuing their journey with Etihad Airways, allowing them to access destinations including Australia and the Maldives.
But some of the 50-seater SAAB 2000 aircraft have taken off with fewer than 10 passengers aboard.
David Surley, head of business and route development at the airport, said: “Overall we’re very pleased with the load factors, and in terms of passenger numbers, we’re where we expect to be at this stage. It’s not a problem.
“The rate of tickets sales overall is where we knew it would be, and for example, we have flights scheduled for December that are already fully booked.”
A public consultation exercise about the new flights is under way, via the airport’s website, at cambridgeairport.com.
KLM and Flybe unite to increase UK routes to Amsterdam and beyond
Starting on 30th May 2012, KLM and Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, will implement a code-share agreement on two routes, namely between Amsterdam and Southampton and Amsterdam and Inverness.
Through this new partnership, KLM will be offering its customers three daily flights on the Southampton – Amsterdam route and one daily flight on the Inverness – Amsterdam route. The agreement provides passengers from Southampton and Inverness easy connections with the rest of the world via the award-winning Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Flybe will benefit from incremental traffic generated by KLM sales.
Flights on which KLM will put its code will be operated by Flybe with Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 and Embraer E-195 aircraft.
Arriving in Amsterdam Schiphol, KLM customers will have the choice of connections to more than 150 destinations worldwide on routes operated by KLM and its partners.
This partnership enhances the existing cooperation between the Air France-KLM Group and Flybe. Indeed, Flybe and Air France already operate within the framework of a code-share agreement on a substantial number of routes between France and the UK.
![02/09/13 First international flights from Cambridge airport - Abbey, Cambridge02/09/13 First arrival of International flight into Cambridge Airport in Newmarket Road . Shown are [left]Robert Marshall [CEO of the Marshall Group] and CCO of Darwin Airline](http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/imagelibrary/Client%20Images/Client00004/ResizeCache/00630000/00630248%20-%20800x700.jpg)
