Fighting for new airline routes to Santiago de compostela

[terenco30]

Hi im Terence from Liverpool and I have been emailing Vueling Easyjet Iberia and Ryanair to have a new route from Liverpool and Manchester to Santiago de compostela as it is a pilgramidge destination but Im not getting anywhere with these airlines and direct flights to santiago are needed from the northwest without having to travel to london or having connecting flughts wasting time.

 

[Turga]

Good luck with that

 

[Bradypus]

I wish you well but I won't be holding my breath. We Brits were less than 2% of all those who received Compostelas last year. About 8,000 in total out of over 438,000. And that is from all of the UK. What proportion of that 8,000 were from the northwest? I doubt there would be enough pilgrim traffic from the region to make a regular direct service viable.

 

[dougfitz]

Hi im Terence from Liverpool and I have been emailing Vueling Easyjet Iberia and Ryanair to have a new route from Liverpool and Manchester to Santiago de compostela as it is a pilgramidge destination but Im not getting anywhere with these airlines and direct flights to santiago are needed from the northwest without having to travel to london or having connecting flughts wasting time.

Welcome to the forum. You will see that many of here are from much further afield, and have far more complicated flights to arrange. More, as has already been said, unless the airlines see a reasonable demand profile for that, or any other route, I don't see them responding by putting on scheduled flights. And the argument that it is a pilgrimage destination is unlikely to sway any hard-nosed business development managers. They are probably more interested in increasing their traffic into the south of Spain, France or Portugal. Sad I know, but this is what I think commercial reality looks like.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I suppose you want to walk a camino, the slowest way of travelling. Against this background, I have difficulties understanding your problem.

 

[Mal.C]

Hola Terence, if you fly out to or from Santiago de Compestella, you have to stop in Madrid, and vice versa.

If you are flying in to start your pilgrimage any where else along the French route, or others that walk East to West, unless you are travelling from just over the French border, Bristol to Bilbao is a direct flight, I take the train from Bilbao depending on where I’m walking from. Not everybody has a month to spare :-/

Your nearest Airport to SDC I would think is Asturias Airport, but again I think you need to go via Madrid or Barcelona, Ryan Air fly from Stansted, which is not going to help you, but there maybe other carriers, I dont think Easy Jet fly to Asturias, which is a shame.

I checked TUI also, and they don’t fly to Northern Spain that I can see... Just the Balearics and Almeria, the West and South coast mainly.

It's not easy is it...

 

[markie6]

I'd hazard a guess that there would be more needs for flights out than in.

 

[Mal.C]

I'd say so,Terrance seems to be walking in reverse perhaps? Or it's just a statement, not a question?

 

[natefaith]

As someone who lives in Santiago, I’d love to see more direct flights to places! So I applaud your efforts, @terenco30, even if I understand direct flights to Liverpool or Manchester might not be likely anytime soon.

If it helps, Aer Lingus flies directly from Santiago to Dublin a couple times a week during high season, and from Dublin there are of course quite a few destinations.

And Porto, La Coruña, and Vigo airports aren’t far from Santiago as other alternatives from which to depart Spain after the Camino.

 

[Turga]

and direct flights to santiago are needed from the northwest without having to travel to london or having connecting flughts wasting time.

I don’t see why this quest should be limited to flights to Santiago from Liverpool and Manchester. Why not create a grassroots movement promoting the establishment of direct flights to Santiago from any city that supposedly houses more than X people with a desire to go to Santiago as pilgrims?

 

[David Tallan]

I don’t see why this quest should be limited to flights to Santiago from Liverpool and Manchester. Why not create a grassroots movement promoting the establishment of direct flights to Santiago from any city that supposedly houses more than X people with a desire to go to Santiago as pilgrims?

True. But if they fly directly to Santiago, that hardly provides motivation to walk there. They are already there! You want to fly them to Lisbon or Porto for the Camino Portugues and so on.

More useful would be direct flights from Santiago to any cities that have sent a sufficient number of Pilgrims. They can schedule them according to arrival statistics as collected by the Pilgrim Office. I'm sure with modern AI technology this will be fairly easy.

 

[Bala]

True. But if they fly directly to Santiago, that hardly provides motivation to walk there. They are already there!

Exactly!

 

[Tincatinker]

@terenco30 said he wanted a flight to Santiago as it was a pilgrimage destination. He didn't say he wanted to walk there. I'd wager most Pilgrims (visitors) to the shrine of Santiago do not walk there. Certainly most of those crowds on 25th July walked, at best, from the coach parks and railway station.

 

[Bradypus]

I'd wager most Pilgrims (visitors) to the shrine of Santiago do not walk there.

Santiago is very unusual amongst pilgrim destinations in having the idea of pilgrimage so closely tied up with the idea of walking. And that is a fairly modern idea. During the Franco era there were attempts to encourage pilgrimage by car. There was no minimum walking distance for a Compostela at the time of my first Camino. You just had to convince the priest who issued them that there was a spiritual dimension to your visit to the Apostle. How you got there was a secondary matter.

 

[trecile]

I'd like a nonstop flight from my small Oregon city to any destination in Europe, but I don't think that it's going to happen.

 

[BarbC]

I wish you well but I won't be holding my breath. We Brits were less than 2% of all those who received Compostelas last year. About 8,000 in total out of over 438,000. And that is from all of the UK. What proportion of that 8,000 were from the northwest? I doubt there would be enough pilgrim traffic from the region to make a regular direct service viable.

Maybe because y'all trying to use cheap airlines - use regular ones that connect thru major cities. Go to Porto

 

[Bradypus]

Hola Terence, if you fly out to or from Santiago de Compestella, you have to stop in Madrid, and vice versa.

Not so. The OP is talking about travel from the UK. There are direct flights between Santiago and London. There are also flights between A Coruña and London. And another option is a short flight to Dublin then direct flights from there. Plenty of options which do not involve passing through Madrid.

 

[lovelyshell]

Considering people fly from all over the world to do the Camino or just to go to Santiago and it generally takes them 2-3 flights, I feel like this a petty gripe. The Camino is filled with Asians, Australians and Americans (who definitely outnumber Brits combined) who fly 20+ hours and you can’t be bothered with a connecting flight in London???!!! My most recent Camino resulted in three flights there and three flights to return home to California which included an overnight layover in Madrid. I did not once question or complain about my travel because doing the Camino is an experience and travel just happens to be a part of it. As an American I am always so impressed with the amount of Australians and Asians that travel a lot farther and longer than I do to do the Camino.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

Considering people fly from all over the world to do the Camino or just to go to Santiago and it generally takes them 2-3 flights, I feel like this a petty gripe. The Camino is filled with Asians, Australians and Americans (who definitely outnumber Brits combined) who fly 20+ hours and you can’t be bothered with a connecting flight in London???!!! My most recent Camino resulted in three flights there and three flights to return home to California which included an overnight layover in Madrid. I did not once question or complain about my travel because doing the Camino is an experience and travel just happens to be a part of it. As an American I am always so impressed with the amount of Australians and Asians that travel a lot farther and longer than I do to do the Camino.

Absolutely agree. This is a first world problem. I’m somewhat aghast as to why the OP thinks these airlines should accommodate them. There are so many other actual issues in the world right now worth fighting over.

 

[SabsP]

Hi im Terence from Liverpool and I have been emailing Vueling Easyjet Iberia and Ryanair to have a new route from Liverpool and Manchester to Santiago de compostela as it is a pilgramidge destination but Im not getting anywhere with these airlines and direct flights to santiago are needed from the northwest without having to travel to london or having connecting flughts wasting time.

Hi and welcome here. I see this is your first post.
Hope you will find some useful information on this forum.

I understand your small frustration, living in a corner of a country and not having decent transportconnections ( same for me but with the advantage that my country is smaller than the UK ).

I agree with @Tincatinker . A pilgrimage is more than walking a Camino.
It is all about intention.
And the Compostela is not a goal for all who reach the cathedral.

I told this story many times in the past : when my grandmother was in her late eighties she went by coach to a local pilgrimageplace to worship the Holy Mary. I am convinced that she was a better Catholic than I ever will be ( not that this is my goal ! ) with all the kilometers on my Caminos.

So to the OP : happy planning!

 

[Mal.C]

Not so. The OP is talking about travel from the UK. There are direct flights between Santiago and London. There are also flights between A Coruña and London. And another option is a short flight to Dublin then direct flights from there. Plenty of options which do not involve passing through Madrid.

Wasnt aware there were flights direct, I found them hard to find to be honest, I dont think the Op is interested in Dublin though is he?

 

[Bradypus]

Wasnt aware there were flights direct, I found them hard to find to be honest, I dont think the Op is interested in Dublin though is he?

The OP wants direct flights from Liverpool or Manchester which do not yet exist. For the moment he would need a Plan B. Dublin is only a 1-hour flight from Liverpool and for most of the year you can buy a one-way ticket for under £20. From Dublin there are direct flights to Santiago which take just over 2 hours. As an example I could book flights Liverpool - Dublin - Santiago next week with a total flying time just over 3 hours and under £60 in price.

I find that searching for flights is easiest using one of the big specialist flight search engines - my own favourite is Kayak.

 

[timr]

The OP wants direct flights from Liverpool or Manchester which do not yet exist. For the moment he would need a Plan B. Dublin is only a 1-hour flight from Liverpool and for most of the year you can buy a one-way ticket for under £20. From Dublin there are direct flights to Santiago which take just over 2 hours. As an example I could book flights Liverpool - Dublin - Santiago next week with a total flying time just over 3 hours and under £60 in price.

I find that searching for flights is easiest using one of the big specialist flight search engines - my own favourite is Kayak.

It is a l-o-n-g flight from Liverpool to Dublin which takes an hour! Quite commonly it's more like 35 mins. Ryanair give that estimate so they can always come in ahead of schedule. But they are my good friends, over the years!

And now, for the first time in more than a decade, AerLingus are back in Liverpool so there is competition. I have been checking flights in the past few days and still plenty below £20 as @Bradypus says. it is a good option for us here in Liverpool.

 

[Mark McCarthy]

Ryanair did run a direct flight Liverpool to Santiago for a short while over a decade ago. Flights out of Liverpool and Santiago have not quite returned to pre-pandemic levels buts lets hope! Maybe just maybe the option might return. Liverpool is such a better airport to travel thru than Manchester.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I'd like a nonstop flight from my small Oregon city to any destination in Europe, but I don't think that it's going to happen.

You could put in a request to Santa Claus.

 

[Hertsseasider]

I'm not convinced the op is for real but hey, I want my Camino to challenge us, not just the walk but the logistics of getting to and from Spain. We also expect to deal with the unexpected, that's half the fun.
We do the Ingles in September and it's been real fun organising everything.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I''m not convinced the op is for real

I'm not convinced either; you may just be on to something.

 

[henrythedog]

Hi im Terence from Liverpool and I have been emailing Vueling Easyjet Iberia and Ryanair to have a new route from Liverpool and Manchester to Santiago de compostela as it is a pilgramidge destination but Im not getting anywhere with these airlines and direct flights to santiago are needed from the northwest without having to travel to london or having connecting flughts wasting time.

Drive to Edinburgh or fly to Madrid and take the train.

You have the good fortune to live close to an excellent well organised airport in Liverpool. I’m north of you in Cumbria. I’d welcome a bus service. (We do have a bus stop - but it last saw a bus 20 years ago)

 

[Tincatinker]

I'm not convinced the op is for real but

A Google search of our new friends username will lead to some chucklesome discoveries.
Meanwhile I’ve given up on the yacht club. I’m gonna start persuading the local Piper Club that one of them should fly me to Coruna

 

[Bristle Boy]

A Google search of our new friends username will lead to some chucklesome discoveries.
Meanwhile I’ve given up on the yacht club. I’m gonna start persuading the local Piper Club that one of them should fly me to Coruna

I was raising a red flag yesterday (Thursday) concerning this thread....It was deleted (reason: not helpful on this thread)

 

[Robo]

Considering people fly from all over the world to do the Camino or just to go to Santiago and it generally takes them 2-3 flights, I feel like this a petty gripe. The Camino is filled with Asians, Australians and Americans (who definitely outnumber Brits combined) who fly 20+ hours and you can’t be bothered with a connecting flight in London???!!! My most recent Camino resulted in three flights there and three flights to return home to California which included an overnight layover in Madrid. I did not once question or complain about my travel because doing the Camino is an experience and travel just happens to be a part of it. As an American I am always so impressed with the amount of Australians and Asians that travel a lot farther and longer than I do to do the Camino.

22+ hours travelling normally (2 flights), for me to just get to the 'entry point' such as Paris or Madrid.
Then usually an overnight stay and another half day traveling to get to my Camino start point.
So really a 36-48 hour journey to get to the start. (and the same going home)

But isn't that all part of the Adventure?

 

[Former member 104756]

I was raising a red flag yesterday (Thursday) concerning this thread....It was deleted (reason: not helpful on this thread)

I thought the same, as in the red flag. I notice the OP hasn't been on (logged in to) the forum before or since posting the question. Who knows!

 

[Bristle Boy]

I thought the same, as in the red flag. I notice the OP hasn't been on (logged in to) the forum before or since posting the question. Who knows!

Thank you. For me there were a few more signifiers beyond that.

 

[Former member 104756]

Thank you. For me there were a few more signifiers beyond that.

Yes, I agree! Thé comment about lack of activity was just an observation from today.

 

[trecile]

Since this is a rather pointless thread, and the OP hasn't returned, I'll close it now.