Originally Posted by
LAX_LHR
But in terms of subsidies, haven’t you just created an extension of the question and also cast doubt?
as you say, CWL handles 1.5m pax. It has a select number of scheduled routes and also some charter. Yet, here we are. We have a Qatar B787 touching down at what is, and by your own admission, a small airport (and I genuinely don’t mean it as a derogatory statement, you too have insinuated the same).
there are airports with more long haul and larger pax numbers than CWL that don’t have QR. Glasgow, Porto, Lisbon, Lyon and Düsseldorf to name a few. Now, I know ‘rights’ may be an issue in some and it’s not a clear cut case as to why those airports are not served, and I’m not saying CWL doesn’t deserve a chance at the route, but don’t you find that just a teensy bit ‘out of the ordinary?’ And let’s not forget, outside of CWL, we are talking about an airline that is blocked from serving some of its biggest markets and still sailing away just fine, so, not beyond the realms of possibility the welsh government agreed to subsidise the route.
it’s back to my original point though. How can it be considered purely good news that the airline CEO has come out and said what he has. My question had nothing to do with ‘I want the route to fail’ or ‘CWL doesn’t deserve the route’. I was genuinely intrigued how the interpretation of ‘the route hasn’t yet met expectation’ translate down into ‘good news’.
Only Qatar will know why they choose Cardiff. Is it because it was subsisided? I honestly don't know if it was or if it is. I do know there is a marketing deal but i'm not privvy to the contents of it and if i was i wouldn't be able to release it anyway. I do believe in the long run that deal will probably come out into the open.
If the route was subsidised what difference would it make? The Welsh governments job is too promote Wales, it's too help strenghten the Welsh economy and encourage inward investment into Wales and attracting Qatar Airways helps with that. Providing better access for business and tourism and cargo into Wales directly and promoting Wales in large parts of the world.
As for CWL being a small airport what difference does it make? Should these routes only go to large airports. In the end time will tell if the route will survive or not and another thing would Qatar increase to 6 weekly in April and May if the route was doing so badly?
And where has anyone said the article was good news? I said it was more advertisement for the route whether it's good or bad it's still advertisement in a national newspaper.