I have to say 7006_fan that I disagree with your comments. In the past, HUY may not have been as active on the scene as most of us would have liked, but it IS talking to prospective airlines, and you might be surprised to hear that in fact, what is stopping the LCCs coming in is more to do with the demographics of the catchment area than the fact that HUY are completely ignorant to what is going on, THAT my friend, is from the big cheese's mouth!
The airport has, in fact been advertising considerably in the local press and online, not to mention a copy of their magazine with every issue of certain local newspapers at different times of the year. The LCC market is now somewhat saturated, with an excellent selection of destinations from nearby LBA and DSA, HUY will indeed find it a struggle, but we are starting down the right path with the DUB flights, which are selling in line with expectations. HUY WILL get a committed LCC, but unfortunately, there seems to be few suitable operators. With BE, the Q400 is too big for the likes of EDI, GLA, SOU and maybe even ABZ. The EM9, however, is a great size for the sun routes. With LS, the 733 is suited to sun routes, and the likes of AMS and CDG, however, domestic operations would be very limited. The ideal solution would be more along the lines of LS doing the sun routes, AMS and CDG and a smaller operator such as Air Southwest doing the likes of Bristol, Edinburgh and Belfast for example.
Tui expansion has not been finalised yet, but is not likely to involve anything LIKE basing an a/c at HUY. Maybe a few extra weekly flights for Summer 2007, at a guess, I would say maybe Bourgas, Corfu and Dalaman.
The Air Southwest service in prospect is Bristol, and we may see something come online for the winter 06/07 season, IF a suitable deal can be agreed.
It IS indeed frustrating, but the airport has'nt done too badly for 2006, the fish flights are almost daily, we have FR coming in and 4 new holiday routes, compared to previous years, that's quite good going. The story is not finished, not by a long shot!
Regards
Mike