Originally Posted by
Seat62K
You ask why I think Montreal is a poor comparison. Montreal is not one of the small number of "world cities" and for many years the local economy was stagnant with major financial services companies moving away
I wonder how much this was influenced by carriers preferring Toronto to Montreal in the first place. All the international flights into Toronto could offer connections to the rest of Canada. Any flights into Mirabel - nothing. Don't forget that Montreal was, pre-Mirabel the pre-eminent Canadian air hub. After Mirabel it lost it. I notice now everybody is back at Dorval/Trudeau it seems to be regaining lost ground again.
Affluent residents in West Island communities such as Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue and those living farther west in places like Hudson and St-Lazare found getting to Mirabel a pain in the neck, especially in bad winter weather.
Isn't this EXACTLY what all the heavy premium-class users who live in the Thames Valley and west of London (precisely because they are near Heathrow) would think about an airport halfway to Dover like the one proposed here.
How long do you think it would take to get to the new airport from say Maidenhead on a Friday afternoon ? I'd give about 4 hours. Maidenhead to Exeter might be quicker.