The new AeroVIP Bragança - Vila Real - Viseu - Cascais and Portimão service opened a month ago and has reported an average of 5.5 passengers per trip, considered ‘normal’ by the company’s management.
An occupancy rate of around 30% in the one 18-seater aeroplane is planned to rise to a target of 60% by the end of 2016, according to Sérgio Leal, the company’s commercial director.
easyJet, by comparison, has an occupancy rate of between 85% and 95% a year but is of course a mature, heavily promoted business.
The taxpayer is subsidising the route to a maximum of €7.8 million over the next three years, the total paid out will depend on passenger numbers.
The multi-stop route often has just one or two passengers and the early figure of 300 passengers a month makes projections untrustworthy.
The Cascais to Bragança and Via Real are the most popular legs, with Viseu down to Portimão lacking demand.
There exists an array of fare types: Premium, Basic, Pex, Promo and Discount each with different conditions and restrictions. A round-trip flight from Bragança to Portimão costs from €86.67.
One of the problems is the journey time for the south-to-north trip taking an enervating five hours due to a regular enforced delay at Cascais.
The north-to-south journey is a more acceptable two-and-a-half hours.
This concession was granted by the Passos Coelho coalition government to AeroVIP for three years from December 23rd, 2015.
