excuse my ignorance but where do all the pax for the Gloucester route come from? I'm just curious as to how such a small area can sustain regular air service?
are there any future routes that could be sustainable?
The airport is smalll but is strategically situated. It is bang on the junction of the M5 motorway and the A40. Bristol approx 30 miles, Oxford 40 miles Swindon 40 miles Cardiff and south Wales approx 1 hour away. Cotswolds on the doorstep.There are a lot of people living within 1 hour of the airport.
Gloucester and Cheltenham are fairly small on their own but they are only 8 miles apart and if you put them together there's 1/4 million people (and there's the transport links).
Local pax have always been in the mindset to use BRS or BHX but I think this is changing..... allegedly Manx2 affected Easterns loads into BRS so they dropped the route.
It could probably sustain routes to DUB, GLA or EDI and if the RESA reinstatement happens you could see WOW, Arran or FlyBE having a look.
The catchment extends far further than the immediate local area, particularly given the proximity of the M5/A40 junction.
Allied with the free parking, 50 yard walk from car to aeroplane, never more than 19 pax in the security queue and no ATC delays (except when LACC won't play ball!!), the whole experience is far easier than BHX or BRS, for anyone from North Bristol to Redditch.
The infrastructure isn't really in place for more than 40 seats, but Manx2 have found a niche and are making a damn fine job of exploiting it. Pax up again last month...
I flew GLO-JER on 25th July and the flight, on the SWM, was almost full. Hardly surprising, of course, considering it was peak season and there's only three weekly services.
I presently live around 45 minutes by car from GLO.
Started 3rd September last year, second Dornier imminent..........loads on GLO routes really strong and still growing....probably top 20 000 pax in the first year of operation
Chester - yep, I saw that too on the Ronaldsway board. Most probably a Manx Grand Prix charter, so expect to see a departure tomorrow. Didn't realise that Hawarden had security etc to process pax. Thought it was BAe corporate or freight only?
Don't think chester was a charter, at least not judging by the people who came off it....
Possibly a test, Is just near LPL and MAN enough to be convienient and if the Landing charges etc. are low enough just the right place to annoy BE. They certainlycouldn't take on BE but seem to be confident enough to wind them up!!
I lived for 6 months in Chester and for a few years in the Bangor and Snowdonia areas. I used to use the Chester-Bangor railway quite a bit, and I enjoyed seeing Chester Airport as I whizzed by. It'll be interesting to see whether the scheduled route commences.
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