Route Development & Rumours

[Ray Finkle]

To clear a few things up.

The second city debate is not one for this forum. It has little, if anything, to do with aviation and is one that continues around in a vicious circle. I'm sure that people from both sides of the fence could spend endless hours posting statistics to back up their individual claims, if that is what is wanted then there are forums that welcome such things.

Secondly, as far as I am concerned there are no 'outsiders', we are all here because we share a common interest. That said there is an increasing issue which only ever occurs on the Birmingham forum and inevitably features posters from one specific place. That is not me pointing fingers at either side (both can be as bad as each other), just merely stating fact. I have asked posters to show restraint but when there is a discussion on the BHX forum about a potential new route and we have a post that begins 'Obviously Manchester already has the route but.....' I find it hard to blame people for reacting. This is the Birmingham forum for discussion about Birmingham Airport, I'm not saying that other airports should never be mentioned but I'm sure that people are capable of discussion without turning every little thing into a comparison. All I ask for is a little common sense.

This forum is not one that is heavily moderated and it is something that we are quite proud of. Sadly the time may well have come when each post will need to be looked at and anything that may be seen to be inflammatory either edited or deleted. I hope that it doesn't come to that. Before anyone accuses me of targeting one specific group I will make assurances that it is not my intention. Everyone and every post will be treated the same, no matter where they come from.

I wish for peoples understanding but should anyone have any issues with the above then contact me privately where they can hopefully be resolved. If people do not feel comfortable contacting me then I'm sure that the forum owner will be only too glad to help.

This thread now needs to get back to route development.

 

[Glenn Eldridge]

Glenn – is there still talk of Delta among the BHX ground staff or has it died down?

Ive not heard anything, all the talk at the moment is will Aviator survive going into winter

 

[Ray Finkle]

Ive not heard anything, all the talk at the moment is will Aviator survive going into winter

Whatever happens I hope that you and your colleagues get the best outcome from what must be a very worrying time.

 

[hammerb32]

Whatever happens I hope that you and your colleagues get the best outcome from what must be a very worrying time.

I echo this, the team that looked after us this morning were excellent.

 

[JENNYJET]

With reference to the bickering about the designation of the 2nd city in any jurisdiction, this is school playground stuff...my dad is bigger than your dad etc...IT MUST END NOW.

I did not join this group of aviation nerds to fight irrelevant battles that are in the domain of politicians, I am interested in BHX matters above all others yet remain interested in other airports and my particular interest in my neighbourhood military sites.

I was born in Birmingham, Winson Green to be exact.. but actually am a citizen of Ireland due to parental links.

BHX is not actually a part of the City of Birmingham but is under the jurisdiction of the Borough of Solihull.

I am a member and supporter of Manchester United even though the Stadium resides within the City of Salford.

Now folks, can we dispense with the bickering and concentrate upon what really matters upon this 'aviation' forum please?

No, I am not seeking a position of moderator and would decline any invitation to become one. I could not offer legal insights to postings etc...

 

[Ray Finkle]

It has ended and we have moved on, the discussion is now about route development

 

[JENNYJET]

Thank you Sir Raymond...must look into your Earldom......

 

[Ray Finkle]

So Mr Kehoe has recently Tweeted that he has left for World Routes in Chengdu, as we know others from BHX went earlier in the week.

The trade mission led by Mr Javid has now moved on to Toronto. Obviously Mr Kehoe isn't there but other members of the RD team were in Montreal only a couple of weeks ago.

BHX are certainly putting the miles in, lets hope that it leads to some interesting announcements soon.

 

[Butty]

Good luck to Mr Kehoe and the team. Bring back some goodies.

Brilliant to see the government inviting 'us' along.

Fingers firmly crossed.

 

[Paulsstrange]

Indeed Ray and all fingers crossed on all fronts next week onwards is core announcements season I'd say.

I also notice Paul Kehoe went to Chicago I wonder if anything about future routes was discussed there.

 

[Ray Finkle]

So once again both Manchester and Birmingham are included in the 'popular destinations' list from Mumbai. This time via Paris on Jet Airways.

When will someone take the plunge?

As a result of the revised timings, passengers will now be able to connect to 25 European and more than 10 North American cities over Paris.

Some of the popular destinations in Europe include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Vienna, and Zurich.

http://indiablooms.com/ibns_new/new...s-announces-new-flight-schedule-to-paris.html

 

[David_itl]

Was busy reading this article about Turkish tourism (scheduled UK traffic up 24% in the first 6 months!)

http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/268766/turkish-turbulence-tips-tourism-traffic/

when at the bottom of it, there's a link to Routes News issue 6. Page 79 has a spotlight on BHX and lists (presumably?) the top 10 markets they are looking at. Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Beijing feature in it.
http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/268766/turkish-turbulence-tips-tourism-traffic/

 

[Dobbo]

Current site capacity of 30million? Presumably with a larger terminal and aircraft stands?!

 

[Ray Finkle]

Current site capacity of 30million? Presumably with a larger terminal and aircraft stands?!

The numbers quoted are for runway capacity, I believe that Birmingham currently operates at around 44%.

There is no way that the terminals could handle even close to that amount. We've only just passed 11 million and at peak time they are bursting at the seams. To come anywhere close to 30 million would require massive investment.

 

[Dobbo]

Cheers Ray! Looked a bit odd. Does BHX have any plans for expansion in the public domain?

 

[Ray Finkle]

A new, updated master plan is due and was thought to be released this year.

My personal opinion is that we won't see anything until the decision on LHR RWY 3 is known. A master plan with RWY 3 happening is likely to look very different to one without as BHX will probably be one of the airports to be hit the hardest should it get the go ahead.

 

[Dobbo]

Possibly, but even if RWY3 gets the go ahead now, the likes of BHX are going to get a clear 15-25 years of static London runway supply in which to grow, consolidate and then raise the battlements (so to speak).

If LHR is approved and LGW is now, the clear looser will by LGW. If both are approved, who knows...

 

[Ray Finkle]

Possibly, but even if RWY3 gets the go ahead now, the likes of BHX are going to get a clear 15-25 years of static London runway supply in which to grow, consolidate and then raise the battlements (so to speak).

If LHR is approved and LGW is now, the clear looser will by LGW. If both are approved, who knows...

Most definitely and it's an opportunity that the airport are desperate to make the most of.

LGW would be by far the best option for the Midlands as it is the opposite side of London and would have much less of an impact than LHR. It is no coincidence that Mr Kehoe has been so vocal in his support.

It's tough for us here you know, wedged in between the long haul heavyweights of Heathrow and Manchester We are slowly getting better though but it will take time.

No matter what anyone claims LHR has a huge gravitational pull which overlaps not only the Greater Birmingham area but also the affluent regions of South Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, which if anywhere else would be firmly in our catchment area. London is often the default choice for many in our region, especially when it comes to long haul travel. Even those that entertain BHX as an option often find greater choice at a cheaper price only a short journey down the road. Mr Kehoe was quite correct when he said that not only do we have to change ingrained passenger behaviour but also ingrained airline behaviour, a massive task and one that I don't envy. RWY 3 may make that task almost impossible.

 

[Dobbo]

Yeah - I feel for BHX - it is certainly not easy but the airport is on a good run of results and it is probably time to cash in over the next couple of decades. Necessity may change airline behaviour, perhaps the passengers follow the airlines capacity management systems?

Interested to see what comes out of the routes conference.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray and all, I think with the shortly announcement of Heathrow or Gatwick, wouldn't it be a complete shock and reverse, if it was announced by the prime minister, that no to both heathrow and Gatwick, but yes to a massive investment and expansion in Manchester and Birmingham to ease uk airspace, and yes I'm just hypothesising, it could and would be the only option available for the prime minister to prevent a huge resignation from ministers within her cabinet, which would then cause a general election due to majority been wiped out...let's just wait and see what the result will be, it could completely shock us all....andyc