From Friday, 03 July to Friday, 10 July 2009 Edition #199
Passenger numbers rise at airport - thanks to the French


#199 From 2009-07-03 to 2009-07-10
The economic crisis seems to have had little impact on the Stansted-Charente Ryanair service which is now in its second year. Figures for the first three months of the 2009 service - which began in April - show that passenger numbers are up 10% on last year. This is largely due to the fact that this year’s flights are during the day rather than in the evening, which has persuaded more local French residents to take advantage of the service at Angoulême-Cognac airport to fly to the UK. In 2008 only 14% of the passengers on the Ryanair flights were French, but this year the number has more than doubled to 32%. ‘’We think that from now on around a quarter of people using the service are Charentais,’ says Jean-Noël Petit, the airport’s director. So far, too, Ryanair seems happy with the seat occupancy on the thrice weekly flights, which is around 80%. However it is still unclear whether the airline will agree to the request by Daniel Braud, president de la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie (CCI) d'Angoulême who run the airport, for flights during the winter too. ‘We are still in talks,’ says Ryanair. The airport is also keen to encourage other airlines and routes to the airport. One idea is to start flights to Porto in Portugal, as the Air France flights from Bordeaux to Porto are to stop. There are thought to be 25,000 Portuguese in the Charente, Charente-Maritime and parts of the Gironde. There is also talk of a flight to other parts of France. ‘Perhaps a flight to Lyon or Marseille, especially for business people,’ says an airport spokesman.
For flight times for the Stansted service visit: http://www.aeroport-angouleme-cognac.com/va/vols.htm
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