CARDIFF and Belfast international airports owner TBI is in negotiations with a number of carriers to add new services and step up frequencies this year.
TBI director of operations Terry Steele said he is negotiations with British Regional Airlines, KLM Cityhopper and US carriers.
Steele said British Airways franchise carrier British Regional was planning to replace Jetstream 41 turboprops with faster 50-seater jets, expected to be Embraer 145s at Cardiff. The new jets will also increase capacity on British Regional’s Paris and Brussels services.
“We also want German services to start from Cardiff, if the Embraer 145s are available,” said Steele.
He said Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Moenchengladbach were being considered.
Steele also said a new connection was planned to link Cardiff with Stockholm, via Newcastle. The flight would be on an unnamed start-up UK carrier using BAC 1-11 aircraft.
The service would go to Stockholm South Airport, which TBI also owns.
Charter services from Cardiff are also expected to be enhanced by offering carriers connections from other UK airports as Airtours did this summer with Luton-Cardiff-Orlando services.
In Belfast, Steele said talks with US carriers were expected to result in flights to New York and Boston as early as next winter. He said: “The US airlines came to us with an offer of direct services.”
Steele refused to name the carriers, but Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines are thought to be in the running.
In Europe, Belfast is hopeful of finally getting a Paris flight, either through one of Air France’s franchise airlines or one of BA’s partners. This service, and one to Germany, would not come on-line until next winter.
Outside the UK, TBI is planning to position Stockholm as a low-cost airline hub – Ryanair already serves it from Stansted – and a charter destination.
Rapid growth: Cardiff is hoping for the start of German links