LBA New Check-in set to open

[LBAir]

The new terminal building housing the extended international arrivals has now opened the O'Brians sanwich/coffee bar is to be extended into the new facility. A new shop, believed to be a Travel Happy will also be completed shortly. The spacious (for LBA) new check-in has now opened with MyTravel, Ryanair and Pegasus using the facilities today (FRI)

It actually looks quite good for a tempory set up and it certainly takes the presure off the main check-in area. Well Done LBA!!!

So what's next in line for LBA expansion???

I understand that plans to extend the main apron are well underway, this will without doubt see the end of runway 27(not such a big deal) which will be concreted over to allow double parking on the main apron. The prodject could take upto a year to complete and is probably going to be done in phases to minimise disruption.

There is talk that a further 2 aircraft will be based at LBA within the next couple of month so parking is going to be a tight squeeze.

I do hope plans to move the security screening to a larger location are speeded up. passenger transit through the 'maze' is starting to become a bottleneck in peak periods.:ouch:

[radarcontrol]

Would you mind me asking from where you are drawing your information with regards to the apron expansion? Are we sure 27 is going ?

RC

[LBAir]

PPRumouRs i'm affraid..... This is the right place for these topics, yes??:( Perhaps you know different, please enlighten us.....?;)

[radarcontrol]

Sorry I can't say I do - I was just genuinely intrigued myself. I hope 27 hangs in there for a little longer... I start PPL training with multiflight in about 10 days time.

RC

[LBAir]

To the best of my knowledge, most of Multiflight operations take place from Runway 32 and not 27 so don't worry and besides 2250m rather than 1100m is a better idea when your a 'L'earner :D

[dbromle]

Rather depends on the crosswind.

[radarcontrol]

I was gonna say... they were using 27 today and generally the wind blows in from the west. Anyway I am not too worried.. I can guess the speed with which projects such as this move.

RC

[LBAir]

I don't understand why it is such a big deal to close 27. It's hardly ever used anyway.

[Smudger]

I would stop worrying about the crosswind on 32 if I were you. You learn to land your particular type in a crosswind up to the type's limit, and if the crosswind is out of limits you land somewhere else - job done!

[682ft AMSL]

Drifting back to the original topic, I had the opportunity to look around the new facilities on Sunday PM. Check-in hall 'B' (as it is known) is indeed a huge improvement over the existing facility (check-in hall 'A') and looks well capable of coping with multiple, high volume flights.

However, who is actually going to use it? It was the arrival of Jet2 that arguably led the airport to build the extension in the first place. Yet according to the lone airport employee in an otherwise deserted hall 'B' on Sunday, Jet2 have said they are staying put in hall 'A' - which unless every one else relocates up to 'B' does seem to rather defeat the objective or providing a more comfortable environment for passengers.

I had, perhaps naively, assumed that the airport authority would use a cut-off of say Fokker-100 size, with flights of this size of lower using 'A' and everyone else in the much more suitable 'B'.

Early days yet, but that is not how its is quite panning out.

682

[javelin]

LBAir - I'll tell you why shutting 27 is such a big deal.

It is the beginning of the end of GA at LBA.

First they get rid of the southern taxiway resulting in extended holding and faffing about.

Then they talk about closing 28 (as it was) which would result in even more delay for light traffic. Then the seniors let slip that they don't care about little stuff as their future was with commercial traffic.

Look what is happening at NCL. No new aircraft based there, talk about shutting down the southside and they definitely don't want light aeroplanes.

[ILS 119.5]

From what I know, 27/09 will not be closed yet. It will only be used for parking a/c overnight. However due to the LBA rapid expansion it may be closed eventually. Maybe in the next two years or sooner if the expansion is more rapid. The decision to close the runway will be made at the last minute as I believe that one of the conditions of the Multiflight Hanger building was to keep 27/09 available. If you look at LBA's decisions over the last few years then you will realise the reactive management they use. Unfortunately, there has to be someone to give way. The commercial side of the airport must decide whether or not they want more large a/c and more passengers, or to continue providing a service to a flying school who provide a small revenue. To me the flying school will be the first to fall due to the commercial pressures of the airport.
As said earlier, you learn to fly and fly within your, and the a/c limits. If you cannot fly because of the crosswind, then do not fly. What would happen if the wind was 030/30. Then you can't use any runways at LBA.
Unfortunately, the GA will end at LBA over the next few years, runway 27/09 will close. But on the plus side for the Yorkshire area, there will be far more holiday destinations for the people of Yorkshire and hopefully the economy, due to LBA, will be better.

[LBAir]

Some great points made. Keep it up PPRuNeRs!!

I Don't know if anyone else has notices but the new check-in hall B desks start in there 40's leaving room for an additional 20 odd more desks to be located somewhere else???

[radarcontrol]

It seems to me that the point to be made about closing 27/09 is this. Those learning to fly at Multiflight or LFS suffer enough weather cancellations and delays as it is. If the crosswind component is above the acceptable level for 32, it might still be within acceptable limits on 27.. meaning students can still fly and instructors can still instruct. Otherwise everyone stays grounded.

RC

[xyz_pilot]

If the management of LBA have half a brain they will hold off on any long-term, irreversible and expensive plans.

They need to see what the effect of “other airport developments in the area” is.!!

It could be that LBA continues to grow fast or it could be that life is hard and the airport needs as low a debt burden as poss and all the revenue streams it can get. Which way things go is a hard call I would not want to bet my money on the outcome.

[nibor]

I have little doubt that they will just sit back and wait but i believe that the best approach would be to expand now and show that they are confident and forward looking.
The best defence is a good offence, as they say, so expand and try to get some new contracts before 'Friar Tuck International' becomes fully operational and therefore a viable competitor.

[682ft AMSL]

All of which rather misses the substantive points that:

* The main competition for LBA is MAN. It always has been and always will be, regardless of what goes on in South Yorks.

* Developing airport infrastructure per se is no guarantee of attracting airlines and sustaining route development.

So the main challenge for the management team at LBA continues to be how to persuade airlines and tour operators that the local market will support 'x' number of seats to 'y' number of destinations. The more passengers that use the airport the easier this becomes simply because the debate becomes less of an hypothesis. However proving the market exists is only one of the challenges and ultimately airlines make route decisions based on many diverse factors such as aircraft and slot availability but most importantly on whether the route has a 'strategic fit'

For LBA the crux of the matter is that the routes they can prove the demand for are generally best suited to airlines who are already flying the route from MAN. So whilst the demand for services between LBA and places like FRA, MUC and CPH has been forecast and despite the fact that bmir have the right size aircraft and can get slots with the Star connections, the routes are unlikely to be flown because of the cannibalisation effect on LH / SAS operations at MAN. Similarly, the IT market from LBA could comfortably support an increase in capacity but again there is no financial benefit for most of the main operators to do so. First Choice and Thomas Cook know they can sell plenty of holidays to people in the Leeds/Bradford catchment area despite only offering MAN as a departure point, so there is no strategic need to invest in a new base at LBA.

682