No Price Gouging Bus 727 to Aberdeen Airport

[Butts]

When looking at the Timetable for the Stagecoach 727 Service from Union Square in Aberdeen to the Airport I notice the Single Fare is only £3.70. I would not have to pay whatever it was as I have a Coffin Dodgers Card.

This compares favourably to say the 747 Stagecoach Service to Edinburgh Airport which is North of a Tenner.

Journey times are similar so is Aberdeen Airport not extracting such a wedge as Edinburgh in order to facilitate the much cheaper fare ?

 

[AlastairFraser]

When looking at the Timetable for the Stagecoach 727 Service from Union Square in Aberdeen to the Airport I notice the Single Fare is only £3.70. I would not have to pay whatever it was as I have a Coffin Dodgers Card.

This compares favourably to say the 747 Stagecoach Service to Edinburgh Airport which is North of a Tenner.

Journey times are similar so is Aberdeen Airport not extracting such a wedge as Edinburgh in order to facilitate the much cheaper fare ?

I think there are a few differences to explain between Aberdeen and Edinburgh -
1) The 747 from Halbeath to Edinburgh doesn't just include the airport surcharge, but Stagecoach probably has to make more off less passengers, as it's not as well patronised as the city centre - airport buses.

2) Edinburgh Airport has the tram as an alternative provider (and generally the most popular option), while Aberdeen Airport has to rely on buses and presumably has some sort of goal to transport passengers to/from the airport by public transport, so the fares have to be more affordable.

3) Aberdeen is less of a low-cost airline focused airport, and may be looking to supplement their income less from ancillary services, while Edinburgh has to deal with the demands of airlines like Ryanair for a larger share of the overall traffic volumes.

 

[The exile]

Is the bus stop at Dyce on airport land? If not, the answer is obvious!

 

[kkong]

Is the bus stop at Dyce on airport land? If not, the answer is obvious!

Yes it is.

The airport is within Aberdeen City and is therefore also included in Stagecoach's Aberdeen City DayRider (£5.20) and the multi-operator GrassHOPPER Zone A Day (£5.60).

 

[Watershed]

Yes it is.

The airport is within Aberdeen City and is therefore also included in Stagecoach's Aberdeen City DayRider (£5.20) and the multi-operator GrassHOPPER Zone A Day (£5.60).

As well as PlusBus, if I'm not mistaken. Unfortunately I assumed it'd be the same as most other cities where airports are excluded from PlusBus, so when I went to Aberdeen recently I foolishly paid the full public fare rather than the Railcard-discounted PlusBus - which would have been about a third of the cost.

 

[kkong]

As well as PlusBus, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, the airport is within the Aberdeen PlusBus zone according to the map.

Although other errors / inconsistencies with the map which I pointed out to PlusBus a while back have gone into a void... most likely because there is no longer anybody looking at the local scheme administrator's inbox.

 

[Alvin_official]

I'd say its down to the fact that although it's an 'airport bus' it's more of a truly local stopping service whereas 747 Stagecoach Service to Edinburgh Airport looks like it isn't picking up the shorts trips people to and from shops.

 

[kkong]

I'd say its down to the fact that although it's an 'airport bus' it's more of a truly local stopping service.

When the 727 was first introduced, it was "limited stop", but that didn't last very long.

It is now a very well-used service as it serves many commuters as well as the TECA complex.

 

[The exile]

I'd say its down to the fact that although it's an 'airport bus' it's more of a truly local stopping service whereas 747 Stagecoach Service to Edinburgh Airport looks like it isn't picking up the shorts trips people to and from shops.

Presumably the main reason that the airport operators don’t charge a hefty fee to drive on their land, which the bus operator then needs to recoup from passengers.

 

[Butts]

When the 727 was first introduced, it was "limited stop", but that didn't last very long.

It is now a very well-used service as it serves many commuters as well as the TECA complex.

Has there ever been a rival service ?

 

[PG]

Has there ever been a rival service ?

Years ago Grampian Transport (which became First) operated what was then the only airport service, the 27, which took the best part of an hour end to end. Stagecoach Bluebird spotted an opportunity to offer a faster journey by diverting some of their non-city services along the A96 into the airport, as well as improving connectivity for passengers from further afield.

Naturally there wasn't room to charge a premium otherwise canny Aberdonians would have simply paid less to travel slightly further but alighted at the airport!

However the same canny Aberdonians caused a capacity issue which, to cut a long story short, eventually led to the introduction of the current 727, and the withdrawal of the (by then subsidised) 27.

Although both First and Stagecoach have form for shooting themselves in the foot from time to time, Stagecoach seem to have resisted the temptation to hike the fares above their normal fare scale, hence why the service is far more realistically priced than some other Airport services.

 

[GusB]

Has there ever been a rival service ?

There was a period of time when the 10 was diverted off the A96 to serve the airport and that was what nudged me towards taking the train instead. It was very frustrating being on a late-running Aberdeen-bound service knowing that you'd end up being caught in traffic at the airport.

Years ago Grampian Transport (which became First) operated what was then the only airport service, the 27, which took the best part of an hour end to end. Stagecoach Bluebird spotted an opportunity to offer a faster journey by diverting some of their non-city services along the A96 into the airport, as well as improving connectivity for passengers from further afield.

If I recall correctly, the 27 had a very odd frequency. I never had any need to use the service so I don't recall the fares, but I don't think season tickets were valid on it.

 

[kkong]

Years ago Grampian Transport (which became First) operated what was then the only airport service, the 27, which took the best part of an hour end to end.

More recently there was First's X27 service (limited stop) which took a completely different route from city centre to airport, but this was pulled after about a year (?) due to it not attracting sufficient passengers.

 

[Volvodart]

More recently there was First's X27 service (limited stop) which took a completely different route from city centre to airport, but this was pulled after about a year (?) due to it not attracting sufficient passengers.

Originally the city airport First/ Grampian service had a premium fare, but the more recent foray to the airport charged normal fares.

 

[lachlan]

There was briefly services from Peterhead and Montrose (via Stonehaven) when the Aberdeen bypass was opened but these were pulled very quickly.

 

[Red Onion]

More recently there was First's X27 service (limited stop) which took a completely different route from city centre to airport, but this was pulled after about a year (?) due to it not attracting sufficient passengers.

There’s a variant of the 17 (the 17K I think) which has brought First back to the airport, albeit it is a peak time only service and doesn’t pass the terminal building but runs along Forties Road and Argyll Road instead. Normal fares apply.

There was briefly services from Peterhead and Montrose (via Stonehaven) when the Aberdeen bypass was opened but these were pulled very quickly.

The 747 Peterhead/Ellon to Montrose ran until April 2020. It was a good idea but never cottoned on much and the pandemic accelerated the shutdown of the service. I used it a few times but it was always quite poorly patronised. There was the 757 which ran airport to Portlethen but it really did not last long at all. Normal fares applied to both routes too.