2012==>2013 Lasts & Firsts

Some interesting -we hope- data for Rhodes airport operations; Cyprus Airways will be the last airline landing in 2012 and the first taking-off in 2013*:

Last 2012 flights
arrivals
- 22:20 Cyprus CY641 from Athens
- 19:30 Olympic OA714 from Athens
departures
- 19:55 Olympic OA715 to Athens
- 17:15 Cyprus CY632 to Athens

First 2013 flights
arrivals
- 09:00 Sky Exress SEH100 from Heraklion
- 12:35 Cyprus CY631 from Athens
departures
- 06:35 Cyprus CY642 to Athens
- 07:30 Olympic OA036 to Kos-Kalymnos-Leros-Astypalaia

* Please note that the above data refer to scheduled flights. Rhodes airport is open 24/7 so it may accept other flight(s) due to a flight diversion, an ambulance service or even a business jet.


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

What's wrong with Ryanair deal? (updated)

Update 21/12:

- Ryanair have so far uploaded flights to Rhodes from 11 destinations totaling 16 weekly flights as per deal required.
- No reference at all of Rhodes in their "New Routes" section
- Rome flights which are available for booking are not shown on their front page book engine
- Dusseldorf and Brussels have vanished from the front page book engine but still appear in the inner one
- So far published schedule shows less flights and at higher prices.


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Original post:
Two and a half weeks after the deal announcement and it looks like that there's something going on between the airline and the local authorities.

Why we believe so? Here are some facts:
- Ryanair have so far uploaded flights to Rhodes from 5 destinations of which 4 were made available today.
- No reference at all of Rhodes in their "New Routes" section
- Rome flights which are available for booking are not shown on their front page book engine
- Dusseldorf and Brussels have vanished from the front page book engine but still appear in the inner one
- So far published schedule shows less flights and at higher prices

On the other hand, the airline continuously announces new routes to other greek destinations, thus supporting their business which make us wonder what might be wrong with Rhodes (and Kos) deal.

Since there are no official statements from either the airline or local authorities we can only speculate that there must be some issues going on; Kos press actually stated some days ago that the Irish were not happy with the disclosure of the agreement terms in public while other media reported that there also political interventions.

Anyway, the most important is that time flies and Rhodes will -if already not- lose valuable visitors. We hope to a fast resolution and will keep you updated.

November 2012 Traffic

November stats were released, showing signs of stability for domestic traffic after a long time while the international arrivals mirror the lack of any service beyond the Tirana connection and some charters to Israel by Aegean.

Arrivals Summary

	2012	2011	+/- %
Domestic Arrivals	18.048	18.552	- 2.7%
International Arrivals	461	944	- 51.1%
Total	18.509	19.496	- 5%

International Arrivals by Country

Country	2012	2011	+/-%
Albania	247	222	+10
Israel	149	0	+
Germany	31	41	-24.4
Russia	19	0	+
England	15	76	-80.3

Ryanair deal announced

Later today the chamber of commerce will hold a press conference in order to confirm the successful completion of negotiations with Ryanair, presumably for both Rhodes and Kos. We keep you updated...

Update
First brief info regarding the deal:
- it includes 16 weekly flight to Rhodes as well as Kos (we re sure there gonna be more)
- flights will operate between 1 April 2013 and 31 October 2013, same for 2014
- there is a provision for adding flights in 2014 as well as extending service period by 2 months
- cost of the deal is 500.000 euros, 125.000 yearly for Rhodes and Kos respectively

October 2012 Traffic

Here are October stats, showing a significant decrease in arrivals when compared to 2011 October but are in line with 2010 and 2009 October.

Ryanair dropping Rhodes for October could explain some 30 to 50% of the losses, the other half could be explained to the irregularly high number of arrivals for all 2011 season due to the unrest in Egypt and other N. African holiday destinations. Rhodes obviously failed to capitalize on this extra arrivals.

Arrivals Summary

	2012	2011	+/- %
Domestic Arrivals	21.538	26.081	- 17.4%
International Arrivals	96.743	126.832	- 23.7%
Total	118.281	152.913	- 22.6%

International Arrivals by Country

Country	2012	2011	+/-%
England	25.236	24.829	+1.6
Germany	20.366	30.576	-33.4
Israel	7.990	11.526	-30.7
France	7.459	7.463	-0.05
Russia	5.563	5.308	+4.8
Finland	5.371	7.498	-28.37
Sweden	5.274	8.174	-35.5
Netherlands	4.442	4.509	-1.5
Denmark	4.189	6.279	-33.3
Switzerland	2.074	3.048	-32
Belgium	1.666	2.337	-28.7
Norway	1.634	2.624	-37.7
Austria	1.416	1.203	+17.71
Poland	1.276	1.475	-13.5
Cyprus	924	803	+15
Czech Rep.	889	1.400	-36.5
Luxembourg	438	599	-26.9
Italy	320	5.519	-94.2
Albania	142	242	-41.3
Romania	55	3	+1700

Minoan Air Routes - Winter 2012/13

Startup Minoan Air will keep for the winter period the Heraklion-Rhodes route. Service will continue to be 4 times per week, but with slight changes compared to the summer service.



Update 23/1/2013:
Minoan have uploaded Ferbruary and March schedule for HER-RHO. Service becomes tri-weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with slightly different timings. Mo and We move one hour back and Fr 30 minutes back. Schedule is valid till Friday 22/3.

HERAKLION (HER) - RHODES (valid 1/11-22/3)*

Outward Flight: HER-RHO
Flight Nr	Dep.	Arr.	A/C	Frequency	Remarks
MAV108	16:00	17:00	F50	Mo-We
MAV108	14:30	15:30	F50	Th
MAV108	17:10	18:10	F50	Fr
Return Flight: RHO-HER
Flight Nr	Dep.	Arr.	A/C	Frequency	Remarks
MAV101	17:30	18:30	F50	Mo-We
MAV101	16:00	17:00	F50	Th
MAV101	18:40	19:40	F50	Fr

For more information and/or reservations, please visit Minoan Air website.

* Based on Minoan official website on 27 October 2012. Updated on 23/1/2013.