Originally Posted by
Rivet Joint
what a truly ridiculous comment. Circa 2 million people are just flying from SOU as a hobby? Newsflash for you, demand equals supply. The bulk of SOU’s customer base is for business and regional connectivity. There have never been more than a couple of bucket and spade routes and now there are none. So your comment may perhaps be valid if it was an airports like BOH, DSA etc that historically just caters for holidaymakers but with SOU people want and need to fly from there. It’s the cruise capital of Northern Europe which equates to 1.8 million passengers annually alone. Not to mention the 40,000 plus students that largely come from abroad, the fact the largest oil refinery in the country is down the road, all the local military bases and huge naval base in Portsmouth, the second largest container terminal in the country, the boat show which is the biggest in Europe, the new forest national park etc etc etc. Southampton has and always be a transient place and therefore very much requires an airport to cater for the huge amount of people that pass through it.
I cannot understand why people cannot Appreciate that BE is a unique case in that it is pretty much like all the train operators in this country combined and therefore is hugely important for this country. It’s a bit rich of BA to throw their toys out of the pram when they abandoned the regions years ago and only compete with BE on a couple of routes out of LHR where they have a monopoly. Yes all airlines play a part but this is about regional connectivity, and no other airline comes close to what BE provide. As another poster has pointed out, other operators with larger aircraft will reduce the frequency making a lot of short trips impossible from local airports. BE needs to survive but of course they must pay every penny back.
You’ve missed my point entirely. None of those routes you describe are “Lifeline” routes. They’re beneficial to local population and economy, yes, but not comparable to say an island route where the only other option is a long ferry trip.
If BE fail, then if those routes out of SOU are as important and profitable as you say, then another operator will come in and provide the service. At the end of the day, market forces apply and it’s a business which has clearly been failing for years. As has been done to death here over the last few weeks, the owners of BE have no shortage of cash, and are very clearly unwilling to inject that cash into the business, so I see no justification for the taxpayer to wade in to prop up a failed business model.