From following the situation re CWL and Baby very closely (for personal reasons !) I think it is extremely unlikely Baby will strip CWL of anymore aircraft. They want to expand the base. The fact they haven't is nothing to do with any percieved problem with CWL itself or to a lesser extent the management of it. It is due to the fact that there are just bigger things going on in the industry that make small companies, like Baby, have to think long and hard before committing valuable and finite resources. Every penny counts.
The Yields at CWL, I have it on good authority, are higher than BHX, BUT, BHX is where the battle lines are being drawn. Baby admit they do not compete with Easy and Ryanair. They can't. For them the enemy is Fly Be and the main arena is BHX. That's why a/c 21 is almost certainly going there. MME never made any money, they gave it a chance, it never picked up so they shipped out. CWL is not in that position. If more resources become available CWL will get a share. Unfortunately not this year.
Once the dust settles on the BACON / Fly Be fiasco we will all know more.
And while I'm at it on a related point a few comments back. The reason BRS has trumped Cardiff is that when Go were looking for a base BRS had a plan for a new terminal, a runway extension and a massive inprovement in failities. CWL didn't and still doesn't. There's no point whinging and moaning about the unfairness of it all what has actually been done to positively attracted the airlines ! Nothing ! A half hearted rail service, a tent and some crinkly tin walkways just isn't going to attract Emirates ! It's not all about location and catchment area It's about facilities CWL hasn't got and isn't getting any time soon. It is irrelevent whether the CWL area can sustain scheduled services to the world and beyond. It isn't going to get any until it has the minimum facilities companies like EK expect. Airports like BHX, BRS and NCL have moved way ahead. Sorry in this case the chicken has to come first ! No serious investment QED No new services by serious carriers.
CWL is in an unfortunate location. For it to compete with BRS it's facilities and transport links have to be three or four times better. BRS is as bad as CWL to get to, BUT, more people can get to it. If 25 years ago the council's had committed to CWL and built the damn road history may have been very different. With any luck the new infrastructure for St Athan will have a positive impact on CWL's chances, but, without a quality plan for a new 21st century terminal or at least a credible redevelopment of the old one I think it may be too little too late.
Please don't get me wrong I really want CWL to succeed (I want to work there again!) but covering your eyes and ears and shouting all will be well when three new stands are open and how unfair all the airlines are not to come here is just not accepting the real problems.
Blimey that was a long post !
Last edited by CheekyVisual; 29th Jan 2007 at 14:28.