- The last time LH flew their own metal to GLA was iirc over 20 years ago. I'm not sure how stuff that happened decades ago provides a predictor for now. If we take ZRH for instance, that's "failed" twice in the last 20 or so years from EDI on Crossair and bmi, so presumably the current Edelweiss service is destined to fail too? Of course not. What happened decades ago is little if any guide for now.
- Every time I see this kind of discussion come up I see the same lazy and incorrect stereotypes peddled here around tourism in Glasgow - "No inbound demand to Glasgow", "No tourists come to Glasgow", "All outbound/bucket and spade", blablabla. FACT: Glasgow is pretty consistently in the top 5 or 6 most visited destinations in the UK by foreign visitors. FACT: Glasgow is pretty consistently 3rd in the UK for foreign visitors with a "holiday" visit purpose. FACT: In 2017 (the most recent year with full stats) foreign visits to Glasgow were up 20% and N American visits up 40%, to make Glasgow the 3rd most visited UK city by Americans only behind London and Edinburgh.
(
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-sc...-west-45018809, visit Britain
stats) All this is before we consider pax who might use the airport as an access point to other popular areas like the W Highlands etc. I'm not saying Glasgow has as many tourists as Edinburgh, it clearly doesn't, but it does have markedly more inbound demand than is regularly suggested on here. Imo if there are not enough inbound pax using the airport the blame lies as much, if not more, with the airport and airlines rather than with the underlying market.
Finally, S1E - the other posters comments were over the top and uneccssary - but, with all due respect, as a poster who has posted here, like yourself, for many years, I'm sorry to say that on more than one occasion over the years I've felt your posts to imply a dismissive and sometimes disparaging view of the city of Glasgow and the wider west of Scotland, all too often trading on stereotypes of the region - your #thatlldaeme hash tag being a case in point. Perhaps you don't intend this, but I'm afraid that's how you come across on occasion.
You can of course post whatever you wish.........
I live in London nowadays so when I see GLA now I see it from a distance and perspective that will differ from someone who fights the corner locally. Looking back (home) I would say that too many Scots lack aspiration, don't like change, and believe they're "pure dead brilliant" or "the best wee country in the world". Travelling wider than younger me and having seen a fair few wee countries, I am not sure I agree. I have never suggested Glasgow had no inbound tourism, that's a classic straw man. What is very evident is that EDI growth was intentionally constrained at a group level by Scottish Airports who intended GLA to be Scotland's flagship airport.
However open competition has led to further market fragmentation with growth in long haul firmly in the East alongside connectivity to major airlines.
GLA remains pretty much as it was physically in 1994, aside from Gate 30 having more airbridges and a lounge added to the old International Pier. Loganair demolished one hangar and built another whereas Bond is net new. Now compare that with EDI or MAN in the same period. GLA has relatively under-performed against a booming UK aviation market.