Originally Posted by
NWSRG
I reckon terminal development will only come once we have more legacy carriers at BFS, something that seems stubbornly difficult to achieve. Legacy carriers will pay the higher landing fees that justify the lounge facilities and airbridges they want for their customers. If we had Air France or Lufthansa offering short-haul, and perhaps a US carrier (again), added to the VS service to MCO, maybe we'd be on the way. The long-haul pier is crying out for rebuilding...the rest of the airport is a bit messy, but generally in decent order. If we had those airlines, then a long-haul rebuild could be part of a bigger phased effort.
However, while EZY and FR dominate traffic, it's hard to see much in the way of development coming (sadly).
I would say it's more likely to be the other way around. When full-service carriers are choosing between BFS & BHD, they see that BHD has a) better transport links, b) a better (though a little small) terminal, c) better business facilities. The only things BFS currently has going for it is its runway length, and the ability to expand the terminal in the long term. BFS management need to take the initiative and improve the terminal immediately in order to attract full-service airlines. Given these airlines have a choice of two airports when coming to Belfast, they're not going to choose BFS in the hope that the terminal will be improved in the long run, they'll choose BHD because it is currently fit for use, just like British Airways, KLM, Brussels Airlines and Icelandair have already done.
It's a rather sad fact that out of the island's five main airports (DUB, BFS, BHD, ORK, SNN), four of them are connected to the Oneworld and SkyTeam networks, and three are connected to the Star Alliance network, yet BFS doesn't have any alliance connections. It is extremely disappointing that the airport cannot attract any full-service carriers, except for Virgin Atlantic on a seasonal point-to-point basis.