Mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2008 posts, RR: 14 Posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 1563 times:
Are there/will there be/have their been any commercial flights to the French altiports (Meribel, Megeve, Courchevel, etc)? I have seen some pix of Tyrolean DH8 landing in Courchevel, but no idea whether there is smthg like a regular traffic between any of these airports and say, for instance, Paris Orly during the winter season. Could make sense, as there are many vacationers from the Paris region traveling down there for their skiing
UTA_flyinghigh From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 6495 posts, RR: 52 Reply 1, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 1542 times:
Concerning regular commercial flights, it is already hard to sustain viable traffic between Paris and the airports in the valleys, so imagine altiports...
The vast majority of ski charter traffic are done by airlines flying 757's, 737's and BA 146's. Therefore, they cannot land at the altiports but use the neighboring airports in the vicinity of the ski resorts.
Examples below :
Transavia 757-200 at Chambery:
These three airport receive the bulk of the winter ski charter traffic, with Lyon St Exupery and Turin Caselle also receiving some flights.
Some more fortunate people have the option of hiring a ventilator to the ski resort, but they rarely land there with their aircraft.
And you forgot my favorite altiport : Valloire Bonnenuit
Will
Fly to live, live to fly - Air France/KLM Flying Blue Platinum, BMI Diamond Club Gold, Emirates Skywards
Edina From United Kingdom, joined Jul 2003, 713 posts, RR: 10 Reply 3, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1526 times:
TAT used to operate weekend winter schedules to Courchevel for many years (up to the mid 90s I think) with Twin Otters & dash 7s. I remember the service using a wet leased Tyrolean Dash 7 1989-90 & walking past the gate in Orly West where champagne was served to the passengers. A TAT ground agent told me the fares on the service were very high compared to their regula route to nearby CMF.
Worked on - Caravelle Mercure A300 A320 F27 SD3-60 BAe146 747-100/200/400 DC10-30 767 777 737-400 757 A319 A321
Mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2008 posts, RR: 14 Reply 4, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1500 times:
Edina,
yes, those were the VO Dashs I had seen on the photos in Courchevel. Still wondering how you can get them in the air on such a short strip of concrete! How did they do that? Hit the brakes, throttle up and then go and pray?
Why did they use wet-leased VO planes? Is it because the VO pilots have a lot of experience flying in the mountains thanks to their experience in Innsbruck?
UTA_flyinghigh From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 6495 posts, RR: 52 Reply 5, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1495 times:
It's funny that you should state VO's experience in mountaineous surroundings as the following happened during the 01/02 off-season. VO got a contract with a tour operator and narrowed down their choices to two airports : GVA and CMF. They came during two days at CMF with both the CRJ and the Dash-8 to practice t/o's and landings, g/a's and the lot, and I guess they weren't satisfied with the conditions as they subsequentl chose to operate into GVA. There were probably also some financial issues to it, but still, it makes you wonder...
Will
Fly to live, live to fly - Air France/KLM Flying Blue Platinum, BMI Diamond Club Gold, Emirates Skywards
FLYSSC From France, joined Aug 2003, 7313 posts, RR: 61 Reply 6, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1494 times:
Hi Ed !
I don't think Meribel or Megève can handle regular service.
Since TAT is "dead", there is no more flights from Paris to Courchevel, and it's not in the "air du temps" du try to re-open such a route ...
Mozart From Luxembourg, joined Aug 2003, 2008 posts, RR: 14 Reply 7, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 1488 times:
UTA_flyinghigh,
well indeed that surprises me. But in any case what I said about VO and mountainous terrain only applied from my knowledge of INN being a nasty approach in an Alpine valley, albeit absolute peanuts when compared to the likes of Courchevel
Spotterboy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 1459 times:
VO went to Geneva because they were afraid of terrain ?!?!?!
Well, I can tell you, Britannia is not flying to INN because THEY are afraid of the terrain here, but VO really has lots of practice with flying in dangerous areas... Come to INN and find out!!!
UTA_flyinghigh From Tunisia, joined Oct 2001, 6495 posts, RR: 52 Reply 9, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 1451 times:
whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said VO were chickens..t or what and that they were scared of CMF's terrain. It makes no doubdt to me that VO have highly skilled crews that know how to fly in and out of mountaineous terrain; what scared them away from CMF is probably the former airport management being too greedy and/or the few ground support we have at CMF.
Otherwise, CMF is really the French INN :
Heliporter From Switzerland, joined Jul 2003, 140 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (9 years 8 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 1458 times:
Well, I don't know all details, but in the 60s and the 70s there was a regular service between the altiports and some larger french airports by Air Alpes. They used the worlds leading STOL - the Pilatus Porter - and Twin Otters. Check out http://www.airalpes.com for some pics, eg DHC-6 F-BOOM coming up at CVF.
Later on there where first TAT flights with DHC-6, later with VO DHC-7 to CVF. I guess you already have seen this landing shot at CVF (the peoples stay at the border of the tarmac, having a look how the DHC-7 will touch down and coming up the runway)
The latest airline with regular flights was Savoie Airlines, using a DHC-6 on the route GVA-CVF ... until it had an accident up there at CVF. The aircraft:
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