British low-cost carrier easyJet recently revealed a choice of recent routes for the winter. While probably the most eye-catching of those feature international destinations equivalent to Iceland’s Akureyri, the orange-clad airline can be expanding its network closer to home. For instance, November will see it connect Glasgow and Southampton.
A brand new domestic corridor for easyJet
As reported by Glasgow Airport last week, the Luton-headquartered budget airline will start flights between Glasgow (GLA) and Southampton (SOU) on November 2nd this yr. easyJet plans two operate two weekly rotations on this UK domestic corridor, with flights departing on Thursdays and Saturdays. Commenting on the launch, easyJet’s UK Country Manager Ali Gayward stated that:
“We’re delighted to announce this recent route from Glasgow to Southampton, which can provide customers in Scotland even with greater connectivity across the UK, enabling people to explore more of the incredible destinations the UK has to supply, reconnect with family members, and do business.”
Photo: Airbus
These flights at the moment are bookable, with the Thursday Glasgow-Southampton flights departing at 16:00, and are scheduled to land at 17:20. After a fast 30-minute turnaround, the return leg is scheduled to take to the skies at 17:50, and touch back down at Glasgow Airport 85 minutes later, at 19:15. On Saturdays, the flights last from 08:05 to 09:25 (GLA-SOU) and 09:55 to 11:20 (SOU-GLA).
Competition on the corridor
Come November, easyJet won’t be the one airline offering aerial connections between Glasgow and Southampton. Indeed, Scottish regional carrier Loganair also has a substantial presence on this route, operating as many as 4 flights a day. This underlines the corridor’s popularity, as alluded to by Matt Hazelwood, CCO at AGS Airports, the owner of Glasgow Airport:
“easyJet’s plans to operate services between Glasgow and our sister airport in Southampton this winter is great news and this extra service on this popular route will help deliver greater alternative and adaptability for each our business and leisure travellers.”
Photo: Toni. M/Shutterstock
The demand for the route is further underlined by data from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, which shows that around 75,000 passengers used it in each direction last yr. This made Southampton Glasgow Airport’s ninth hottest domestic destination last yr, while Glasgow ranked fourth overall by way of Southampton’s routes, with passenger numbers greater than doubling.
A vital aerial link
While Glasgow and Southampton aren’t precisely the UK’s largest airports, the importance of a direct aerial link can’t be understated. With no direct trains between the cities, rail journeys require a change in London, with journey times of virtually seven hours. Meanwhile, driving from Glasgow to Southampton demands over seven hours on the road, and a visit of around 430 miles (690 km).
What do you make of easyJet’s plans? Have you ever ever flown between Glasgow and Southampton on Loganair’s existing services? Tell us your thoughts and experiences within the comments!