From the YEP
Some blue sky thinking
John Parkin
The credit crunch may be biting, but the chief executive of Leeds Bradford International Airport remains confident that he can deliver ambitious plans to turn it into a modern gateway worthy of one of the UK's most important business regions. Business Editor Nigel Scott caught up with John Parkin
THE artist's impression of a "new look" Leeds Bradford airport for the 21st century will certainly capture the imagination of travellers to and from the region.
But don't expect to see it for yourself just yet. Despite agreeing in principle on the project very recently, the board at Leeds Bradford has yet to put it into the public domain.
Which is why, when John Parkin asks me if I would like to see the image for myself, he has to disappear momentarily from his office and into a storeroom to retrieve a large photograph frame.
The image within it is striking, and one that is likely to cause a stir when it is eventually given a wider dissemination ahead of an expected early 2009 planning application submission.
Mr Parkin took over the reigns at LBIA in September following European private equity firm Bridgepoint's £145m deal, a few months earlier, to take control from the five West Yorkshire local authorities which had previously owned it.
The deal came with promises of a £70m investment plan – but casual observers might think very little has happened since then.
Casual observers, Mr Parkin respectfully suggests, would be wrong.
He tells me: "A lot of progress has been made. Time moves quickly when you come into a new job and this is no exception. Some of it is visible and some of it is not – it's planning related.
"We've got a new senior team in position. It's a strong team. In investment terms, we have spent a lot of energy and time looking at the feasibility of our terminal plans and speaking with teams of external consultants – architects and engineers – on how we can make our terminal capable of handling significant further capacity.
"The project itself, and associated projects, were put to the board in principle a short while ago, and were signed off.
"As a consequence, you will notice outside of the terminal at the moment work has begun on the first parts of that which are about, in two phases, putting in a new approach area and forecourt, with a pick up and set down, in the car park which is much more effective than the one we have had and dovetails in with the works that need to be done on the terminal over the next 18 months to two years."
"As the plans include a section of new build to the front of the terminal, on two floors, then it will go out a little further than perhaps would meet the eye now."
The current less-than-satisfactory look of the airport is the result of historical development, he says, and he is adamant that the same mistakes won't be made again.
"We have many buildings in the terminal, which is a consequence of the terminal being built piecemeal over the years.
"What we have tried to do in our planning is to get away from that and to futureproof what we do for further expansion in the years to come in a way that makes holistic design sense and to take account of things that customers expect and want – and deserve – a better environment that needs to go hand-in-glove with the services and destinations and airlines that they want.
"We plan to move from three million passengers a year to in excess of five million by 2012/13. That's quite a strong agenda for growth and the current infrastructure can't cope with it. So there are a number of key reasons why it's necessary to invest."
Investment
But will the credit crunch scupper that investment in development? Only last week, it forced the developers of Leeds's giant Lumiere towers project to put a hold on their plans.
"Will it affect it? The trading environment for any business always affects a business.
"Is there any reason to doubt that this is going ahead at the moment? No."
He continues: "It's been signed off in principle by the board. The business case is strong. The investment is clearly required but, just like any other business, in the economic cycle we appear to be in at the moment, we will have to make judgements as we go along.
"We expect to go for planning permission around the early part of next year but that's only one element of the project. The last bit of projects of this kind is actually the build but people tend to view it as the first bit.
"Nothing's actually started yet but, actually, you can't build anything until you've planned it and prepared for that build to take place. And, of course, at the same time as that happens we have to keep the airport operating properly.
"The investment agreed in principle is the biggest tranche of single investment this company has ever had, by a long way, and that makes it a seminal moment in the history of the airport.
"We are not looking to just slightly refine things. We want to transform this place into what the region, our shareholders – all our stakeholders – want."
Mr Parkin, whose track record includes spells in charge at Bristol and Newcastle airports, says he has found the job at Leeds to be "pretty much exactly what I expected it to be".
"Yorkshire's not exactly alien to me – I was born in Sheffield. I think, if anything, my positive perception of the potential of this place has become stronger in the few months I have been here than it was before I arrived.
"This is a region that demands, and is crying out, for more air links. The catalytic effect that a thriving airport can have on a successful region, in terms of inward investment and the status and the way in which the region is perceived, particularly outside of the country, is particularly important."
"We want to give people, where possible, the widest choice of destinations. The example of the Pakistan International flight is an excellent one." (Pakistan International Airlines has recently started regular non-stop flights to Islamabad following the start and abrupt halt of a similar service by fellow Pakistani carrier Shaheen Air International).
"It clearly meets needs of a key part of our community. It is already successful. It is two flights a week to Islamabad direct – which is a long way – and, I think, what is also important with this is that these are two flights that have moved from Manchester to Leeds.
"We have taken market share from Manchester. Given how many people in our catchment area use Manchester I think that is an important signal.
"Convenience is a huge driver these days – other factors price, destination, choice, frequency, time of day – all sorts of things are in there in the mix – but if you have combination of competitive price and convenience you're probably going to have success.
Convenience and competitive price have certainly been key attributes for Leeds-based low cost operator Jet2.com which was recently angered by larger rival Ryanair when it suggested rising oil prices might force the business out of the skies.
Mr Parkin, who doesn't share Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary's view, is acutely aware of the importance to the airport of Jet2.com.
"The two companies' fortunes have been inextricably linked from Jet2's inception. We have a very successful business partnership with them and we expect them to be central to our plans going forward.
"It's a tough climate for all airlines and all airports – and many other businesses for that matter – but we've had tough climates before.
"Those of us who are old enough can remember them and, just as they come, they also go and so with businesses, particularly like this one, you have to take a medium-to-long-term view on what you're doing.
"I have no reason to doubt that they won't (be around for the foreseeable future]. The industry in general is going through some leaner times, with some difficult pressure in the market place, but it's happened before and I think that people want to fly, they want to go to the sun, to be able to get to their business meetings around Europe from their local airport and the convenience factor for us is very strong."
He says he has been "very pleasantly surprised" by the degree of support from the business community for a successful and developing airport.
"Everybody has loads of ideas about what that means and what they would like to see.
"We recently had a dinner presentation in Leeds for a cross-section of Leeds business leaders and politicians to hear first hand what their views were and to talk them through what we are actually doing. And it was terrific stuff, really.
"We got some really useful, honest, straightforward responses – as you would expect from this part of the world – to the agenda and offers of help and assistance in trying to attract airlines.
"It's striking the positive view about the future. My team was struck by how positive it all was. It's important for us to know that we have the support of the region and that the region has a voice in shaping what we do here.
"Notwithstanding the current economic ills of the world, I think we have got every reason to look forward with confidence.
"It would be ridiculous to say those circumstances won't affect us because they will affect us, but I don't think it is at such a level that it will in any way cause us to question our development plans.
"We are in growth. We'd like to grow faster and we're working on it. Investment is key.
"You can't wave a magic wand and just do everything overnight but we were all pleased to see diggers and bulldozers arrive the other day.
"At least we can now see that something physical is starting to move."