Tourism
You would have thought that when airlines are introducing new routes or setting up shop at an airport, that they would set fares etc to ensure that they maximise their yield so that if loads are good, then so is yield. There are too many tales of protests at the costs of operating at ABZ by airlines for there not to be some substance to them. GSM didn't give much time for the winter routes to establish themselves before pulling them. As TAD said, you just don't generally book these city breaks months in advance. There HAS to be more to it than that, & I agree BAA are a factor, no matter their denials.
So how to diversify at ABZ? Oil will always be a factor, but is ABZ forever to be a business destination only? How is the tourism angle for the city & 'shire marketed? I noted recently that NE Scotland was the only area where tourists numbers had dropped. Maybe that was just the lousy summer. But maybe not enough is done yet to market the "charms" of the area.
As everyone knows up here, golfing tourism is high on the agenda with several large projects being mulled over, not least of which is Trump's. Nicklaus is also designing a course. The drop in tourists may exercise all with an interest in developing the area (& BAA Abdn are apparently are one of those signed up to the "City & Shire initiative", the campaign that adornes literature up here (& an Eastern Saab).
But with the terminal was packed to capacity, BAA has to stop reacting & start being proactive in its expansion plans. Why was the situation allowed to build up where queues merged into one, there is STILL a lack of baggage carousels, & no-one knows which check-in queue is which. Also they had supposedly signed a deal to allow a second taxi firm to pick-up/drop-off at the terminal, yet still there are problems. What about the joke of a bus service??