KLM is not essential to the existance of Teesside airport but undeniably it is important.
The more important users of the airport revenue wise are holiday charters. This has been discussed at length and I will not labour the point.
At the moment there are effectively only two holiday companies in the UK. I have been using both of them in their various guises for 30 years and have never yet paid full price for a holiday. However,this year is the thinnest year ever for value holidays which are usually called late deals. There are virtually none. This suggests that either they have sold all of their holidays or that they are holding their collective nerves and hoping that people will pay the full price for a holiday even at the last minute. I am not a great believer in poker selling therefore it would appear that they have reduced their holiday numbers and are happy with their loading.
This year is gone and we must therefore look forward to the Winter 09 and the Summer 10 seasons.
With a bumper 09 Summer season in progress we must approach both companies with offers they cannot refuse for the follow on seasons. Every stop must be pulled out to secure their continuance in MME and we must sell the airport to them with whatever it takes.
In the meantime if anyone in authority at MME wants to make a name for themselves I guarantee that I came double the meagre revenue stream from passengers with a relatively small £8/10 K investment.
I will of course need the terminal to be renamed as recompense. Parmo International will suffice I think.