Originally Posted by
JW95
I'm largely in agreement with my good friend, Sotonsean. I love Gatwick, and I think that it is a far better airport than LHR by many measures. I want to see it continue to thrive, and not just be used as a "waiting room" for airlines while they seek to move to LHR- it deserves better than that. Having said that, I am intrigued by some of the names that are suddenly being flagged up as possible entrants to Gatwick, and I am sceptical about who (if any) will actually launch from LGW. Examples:
Thai Airways: They've never operated from, nor (to the best of my knowledge) shown any interest in establishing a dual London airport operation, so why would they go to LGW? On the other hand, Thai's capacity on LHR-BKK has been reduced significantly since the withdrawal of the A380 from their fleet (currently they fly to BKK twice a day using the 77W). The don't have any larger aircraft than the 777, so this may be a case of them wishing to add additional capacity in absence of the A380/744 (similar to what SQ and CX have done at LGW previously) and they cannot currently do so at LHR.
Vietnam Airlines: Previously operated at LGW before upping sticks and moving to LHR in 2015. Can't see them reopening LGW unless there has been a sudden surge in demand for for the LON-HAN and LON-SGN markets?
Sri Lankan: Similar to Vietnam Airlines. They already operate daily at LHR, so can't see them opening LGW as well.
Air Asia X: I'm sceptical about them even making a presence in Europe again, despite what they've previously announced in the media. The market since they were last here in 2009-2012 has changed significantly. There are more FSNC options to Asia than ever before, and towards the end of their time in the UK, D7 really struggled to compete against QR, EK et al. who's fares were not dissimilar from Air Asia's, who charge for add ons (meals, seat reservations etc). Scoot also tried a similar strategy with LGW-BKK-SIN and that didn't last long at all. I think Air Asia X's time in the UK has been and gone sadly.
Also important is limited terminal and gate space. LGW is that much smaller compared to LHR, with two terminals and a single runway, and although plans to put the second runway into routine use are progressing, this is still some way off. This will hence limit how many (if any) of the aforementioned carriers can launch from Gatwick.
However, I also realise that LGW had an extraordinary and successful year last year in attracting new long haul airlines to the airport, and I am wondering whether this is a case of airlines coming to the realisation that LHR is unlikely to ever be expanded beyond its two existing runways (even though the writing has been on the wall for some time), and that carriers are now wanting to come to LGW while they still can before there are no slots left? I never once expected Singapore Airlines to launch at LGW for example, and I reckon that CX have noted this and are now eying a return to LGW in the winter, hence why they are being flagged up again.
Problem with Bangkok is two fold -lack of sufficient premium sales and also wrong place in Thailand for many tourists and indeed the hundred or so “digital nomads come social media bloggers or other dodgy dealers ” down by Krabi and/or Phuket.
Thai have been said to be on the verge of operating to Manchester (said to be one of the largest unserved long haul markets on the planet- can’t confirm or deny it) for literally half my life !
Now I am willing to consider the much rumoured Chatham tailed operators at some point as viable.
My understanding is Vietnam desperately wants to remain at Heathrow.
Air Asia X financially aren’t in any position to recommence European long haul - let face it whatever way you look at it Long(er) haul low cost models tend to fail , unless combined with a level of tour/cruise contract and protected income streams.
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