BELFAST AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL
Ryanair billboards around Belfast are nothing new. As an example, when they were still flying from Belfast airport back in the day, billboards for flights from there were frequent sights around Derry.
Having said that. I'd love to see FR at BFS. They'd shaft the management to within an inch of their lives, pi$$ EZY off, and make an already grim airport even worse. I wonder would they insist upon some kind of update to the wooden signs that get hung at gates, giving the place the feel of a 1970s third world terminal? All's missing is the cigarette smoke and heat.
Having said that. I'd love to see FR at BFS. They'd shaft the management to within an inch of their lives, pi$$ EZY off, and make an already grim airport even worse. I wonder would they insist upon some kind of update to the wooden signs that get hung at gates, giving the place the feel of a 1970s third world terminal? All's missing is the cigarette smoke and heat.
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All's missing is the cigarette smoke and heat
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I'm sure the old destinations will be signs will be changed relatively soon. Id recon the new owners where very surprised to see them still being used
I think renovating the internationals pier is of higher priority along with all the toilets, look like something u find in a public carpark
And if ryanair do come I don't to honk they will necessarily be calling all the shots, it's not as if the airport is desperate to get them
I'd be more interested in knowing what kind of demands ezy have
I think renovating the internationals pier is of higher priority along with all the toilets, look like something u find in a public carpark
And if ryanair do come I don't to honk they will necessarily be calling all the shots, it's not as if the airport is desperate to get them
I'd be more interested in knowing what kind of demands ezy have
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At what point did my post become tribal as opposed to logic based assessment?
It is a great failing of this country to use tribal defensive arguments to sustain things that are not logical or sensible for its own future. That is why Dublin has been able to laugh at us squabbling while they become the now uncatchable major hub for the geographical entity upon which we live.
The BFS/BHD argument may be repetitive and usually pointless now but I stand by what I said, If you were to sit down as a government and plan an effective air travel strategy for the province, based on currently available resources it would not put the one international airport the country needs on the side of Belfast Lough with a short runway incapable of launching services to long haul destinations and flying restrictions due its city location. You wouldn't have LDY either if you want to be brutally honest because we don't have a market for more than one airport.
Of course that view wouldn't suit the people who work at BHD/LDY and many Stormont folk but the way we are going is only sending business 2 hrs down the road to a foreign country's (again technically correct if not to everyone's view) shiny new airport. This gives BFS (as NI's only realistic choice for an international airport as things stand) no chance to garner the business needed to reinvest in it's renovation and repair in order that some of the approachable emerging airlines might be impressed enough to start/increase services.
You should have also noticed that my post says that because their are two airports for Belfast (and because noone in government is brave enough to have the above discussion or create said strategy) that there is no alternative to the current balls of a situation where the two fight over the same carriers and fail to create the capital needed for future growth.
There is nothing tribal about me or my post, how about some creative response. Maybe you see some great scheme whereby BFS/BHD can reach a point where they both offer a great routemap and are happily making money and Dublin's control over our aviation industry slackens off.
It is a great failing of this country to use tribal defensive arguments to sustain things that are not logical or sensible for its own future. That is why Dublin has been able to laugh at us squabbling while they become the now uncatchable major hub for the geographical entity upon which we live.
The BFS/BHD argument may be repetitive and usually pointless now but I stand by what I said, If you were to sit down as a government and plan an effective air travel strategy for the province, based on currently available resources it would not put the one international airport the country needs on the side of Belfast Lough with a short runway incapable of launching services to long haul destinations and flying restrictions due its city location. You wouldn't have LDY either if you want to be brutally honest because we don't have a market for more than one airport.
Of course that view wouldn't suit the people who work at BHD/LDY and many Stormont folk but the way we are going is only sending business 2 hrs down the road to a foreign country's (again technically correct if not to everyone's view) shiny new airport. This gives BFS (as NI's only realistic choice for an international airport as things stand) no chance to garner the business needed to reinvest in it's renovation and repair in order that some of the approachable emerging airlines might be impressed enough to start/increase services.
You should have also noticed that my post says that because their are two airports for Belfast (and because noone in government is brave enough to have the above discussion or create said strategy) that there is no alternative to the current balls of a situation where the two fight over the same carriers and fail to create the capital needed for future growth.
There is nothing tribal about me or my post, how about some creative response. Maybe you see some great scheme whereby BFS/BHD can reach a point where they both offer a great routemap and are happily making money and Dublin's control over our aviation industry slackens off.
Having done the "2hrs down the road" thing I wouldn't be in a hurry to do it again, after a long return journey it's horrid knowing you have a 2 hr drive home. Never say never but Dublin would have to be *much* cheaper for me to consider flying out of - that's for practical/logical, not tribal reasons
. That said however I'd imagine there is still a sizeable populus here who would never use it for tribal reasons 
I told a friend from New Zealand who was staying with us last week that we, a land of about 1.6m, have 3 aspiring international airports. He laughed at me and wondered what sort of idiots we were. Sadly, he saw Dublin as our main international airport.
All that said, it's been great to see some great new routes recently announced from BFS, I wish them success and hope they stick around!
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Have to agree Madgav....flying out of Dublin might be ok, but for me it's a 2.5/3 hour journey home when I get back so try to use BFS when possible especially after TA flight
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I agree aswell. I live in the NW and I've only flew to Dublin once recently and that was to America. If I were to fly aout of there again i'd be going to America or Dubai, nowhere else.
Flying from Dublin clearly extends your journey by quite some time meaning a very early start. It wasn't really worth it the last time I have to say, we ended up being awake 24 hours just to get to Florida and the amount of time wasted in that airport was pathetic. Personally the only people who could really use that airport are from Newry.
And yes tribal reasons, I know people from Coleraine who won't use Eglinton - yes I know pathetic.
Flying from Dublin clearly extends your journey by quite some time meaning a very early start. It wasn't really worth it the last time I have to say, we ended up being awake 24 hours just to get to Florida and the amount of time wasted in that airport was pathetic. Personally the only people who could really use that airport are from Newry.
And yes tribal reasons, I know people from Coleraine who won't use Eglinton - yes I know pathetic.
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Yes living just north of Belfast I tend to forget it's 3 hours from the north west and 4 from parts of Donegal. All the more reason to have a strong BFS 
Completely different story if you live in Newry.... but argument applies the other way too since Belfast is just as accessible as Dublin from a lot of areas south of the border.
For Dubai I would prefer to connect - plenty of options since EK serve 6 UK airports (sadly not Belfast - yet?). If just connecting in the middle east then there are even more options, I've used both Dubai and Doha (twice) for connections to Asia.
The US is slightly different since I hate flying in the 'wrong' direction, but even then I'd prefer to connect so long as the price is right, I just hate that 2 hour drive after a long flight!
Not sure what most businesses do but our company only book us travel ex BFS or BHD.
Completely different story if you live in Newry.... but argument applies the other way too since Belfast is just as accessible as Dublin from a lot of areas south of the border.
For Dubai I would prefer to connect - plenty of options since EK serve 6 UK airports (sadly not Belfast - yet?). If just connecting in the middle east then there are even more options, I've used both Dubai and Doha (twice) for connections to Asia.
The US is slightly different since I hate flying in the 'wrong' direction, but even then I'd prefer to connect so long as the price is right, I just hate that 2 hour drive after a long flight!
Not sure what most businesses do but our company only book us travel ex BFS or BHD.
Last edited by madgav; 16th Sep 2014 at 09:36.
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BFS Stats August 2014
Passengers this month: 419,854 -1.5
Passengers rolling Year: 4,049,132 -0.7
Domestic:
Gatwick: ..............39,658 +5
Luton: .................22,995 -8
Stansted: ............26,146 -4
Birmingham: ........12,717 ...-20
Bristol: ................21,382 ...0
Edinburgh: ..........20,447 ...-7
Glasgow: .............21,027... -8
Jersey: ................2534 .....+2
Liverpool: ............36,752 ..-6
Manchester: .........16,365 .+4
Newcastle: ...........16,193 .+2
Newquay: .............594 .....=
Oxford: ................4 .........=
International:
Dubrovnik: ...........1457 ....-37
Split: ...................40 ........-
Larnaca: ..............1704 .....-31
Bordeaux: ............1303 .....-
Nice: ...................3887 .....-3
Paris CDG: ...........7743 .....+1
Paderborn: ...........17 ........-
Corfu: ..................1861 ....-
Heraklion:............. 3302 ...+138
Rhodes: ...............1632 ....+23
Genoa: ................122 ......-
Pisa: ...................1375 .....-44
Verona: ...............123 ......-
Malta: .................2670 .......+1
Amsterdam: .........11,666 .....0
Faro: ...................15,843 .....+21
Alicante: ..............14,292 ......-1
Barcelona: ............5319 .......+7
Ibiza: ...................6920 .......+35
Mahon: .................4685 ......+12
Malaga: ................15,516 ....+25
Murcia: .................2594 .......-31
Palma: ..................27,988 ....+3
Reus: ...................9041 .......+56
Lanzarote: ............4290 .......+12
Las Palmas: ..........1825 .......-50
Tenerife: ..............6388 .......+27
Antalya: ...............2103 .......+35
Bodrum: ..............1745 ........-40
Dalaman: .............7091 .......+52
Burgas: ................2870 ......-31
Krakow: ................3948 .....-3
Sharm El Sheikh: ...1331 .....-11
Enfidha: ................269 .......-
Newark: ................9423 .....-4
Teterboro:............. 8 ..........-
Oil Rigs: ................16 ........-
Passengers rolling Year: 4,049,132 -0.7
Domestic:
Gatwick: ..............39,658 +5
Luton: .................22,995 -8
Stansted: ............26,146 -4
Birmingham: ........12,717 ...-20
Bristol: ................21,382 ...0
Edinburgh: ..........20,447 ...-7
Glasgow: .............21,027... -8
Jersey: ................2534 .....+2
Liverpool: ............36,752 ..-6
Manchester: .........16,365 .+4
Newcastle: ...........16,193 .+2
Newquay: .............594 .....=
Oxford: ................4 .........=
International:
Dubrovnik: ...........1457 ....-37
Split: ...................40 ........-
Larnaca: ..............1704 .....-31
Bordeaux: ............1303 .....-
Nice: ...................3887 .....-3
Paris CDG: ...........7743 .....+1
Paderborn: ...........17 ........-
Corfu: ..................1861 ....-
Heraklion:............. 3302 ...+138
Rhodes: ...............1632 ....+23
Genoa: ................122 ......-
Pisa: ...................1375 .....-44
Verona: ...............123 ......-
Malta: .................2670 .......+1
Amsterdam: .........11,666 .....0
Faro: ...................15,843 .....+21
Alicante: ..............14,292 ......-1
Barcelona: ............5319 .......+7
Ibiza: ...................6920 .......+35
Mahon: .................4685 ......+12
Malaga: ................15,516 ....+25
Murcia: .................2594 .......-31
Palma: ..................27,988 ....+3
Reus: ...................9041 .......+56
Lanzarote: ............4290 .......+12
Las Palmas: ..........1825 .......-50
Tenerife: ..............6388 .......+27
Antalya: ...............2103 .......+35
Bodrum: ..............1745 ........-40
Dalaman: .............7091 .......+52
Burgas: ................2870 ......-31
Krakow: ................3948 .....-3
Sharm El Sheikh: ...1331 .....-11
Enfidha: ................269 .......-
Newark: ................9423 .....-4
Teterboro:............. 8 ..........-
Oil Rigs: ................16 ........-
Last edited by BFS BHD; 27th Sep 2014 at 17:16.
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Iberia AirNostrum is due in Monday; will be one Monday to/ from Madrid and one again later in the week Thurs/Fri. Will be CRJ1000. Charter flight for Musgrave.
Would be nice to have regular Madrid route ... Alas, unlikely !
Would be nice to have regular Madrid route ... Alas, unlikely !
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Very interesting........assume we will have to wait and see.
Probably lots of speculations later on this thread
Any ideas as to why Belfast is now appearing on the germanwings website?
Can be selected but does not give a destination
Probably lots of speculations later on this thread
Any ideas as to why Belfast is now appearing on the germanwings website?
Can be selected but does not give a destination
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If German Wings brand comes to Belfast in the form on a code share with an existing carrier , it can only be EI ex BHD on the LHR route. German Wings operates soon ex T2...
Or perhaps with United on their EWR BFS route, but for that to work German Wings would need a quite early arrival into BFS to interline ?
Or perhaps with United on their EWR BFS route, but for that to work German Wings would need a quite early arrival into BFS to interline ?
Last edited by EI-BUD; 20th Sep 2014 at 20:21. Reason: Typo
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I would guess it would be a summer season flight aimed at german tourists doing the Fermanagh lakes type tour. Did deutsch BA not doo some kind of thing like that many moons ago? Maybe 4U is going into BHD
Or the whole Game of Thrones theme tour thing, which, I believe, has been massively successful. You know, to my shame, the only part of "Norn Iron" I've visited is Belfast. I must change that next year, do the Giant's Causeway and drop in to the Distillery of the best whiskey on the Island (the 10 year old is nicer than the 16)