I agree with much of what 7006 fan is saying - this is very much a cut throat business. However the DSA loading figures POL1W quotes are incorrect, as Bundybear has pointed out. The DSA charters even in the winter are doing exceptionally well, and last summer most of the scheduled routes were well filled as well. Bookings for next summer are good too. This winter there has been over capacity on some routes (most noticeably Lyon) but it's mischievous to suggest the overall loadings are as low as 20-30%.
With any new airport there is inevitably a trial and error process to find which routes and timings work best - inevitably there'll be some failures before you hit on the successful formula.
I'd love to see all these airports thrive. I don't trust MAN's motives though. They want to suppress the 'local' airports and force people from the North to have to travel to Manchester as we had to in the past for the majority of flights. It's not just a question of everything in business being fair competition - remember it's not a level playing field because of the way MAN is financed. They are financed by the Manchester taxpayer but are competing with private companies. It's a moot point whether Manchester taxpayers' money should be used to deny taxpayers East of the Pennines the opportunity have a wide range of flights available closer to home.
At the end of the day all these airports can only survive if the long term demand for air travel increases in line with current predictions. I hope (and think for what that's worth!) it will, but we have hit a bit of a blip at the moment due to current economic factors. The main loser from DSA succeeding will inevitably be MAN because for many years most people from East of the Pennines have travelled to MAN for their holiday flights. What MAN are trying to do now is redress the balance by encouraging those people to go from EMA or HUY instead of DSA. However I do wonder whether MAG really do have a long term committment to EMA and HUY or whether that interest would rapidly disappear if (God forbid) DSA was to close.
A fascinating situation is starting to develop. I look forward to some interesting debates in the future.
Last edited by mpr27; 26th Feb 2006 at 16:16.