Cardiff's varying fortunes
Everyone who contributes to this CWL thread is rightly concerned for the airport's future.
Many ideas for its salvation are mooted and many reasons for its perceived demise, some well informed and others less so, are thrown up. All points of view are valid and contribute admirably to the discussion.
I think it is important not to lose sight of our 'raison d'etre'.
It is not about being the biggest or the best; it is not about rivalry with BRS or BHX.
It is about providing air services for our market-place; for our catchment area.
It is about doing what we do with the limited available resources well.
Yes, it would be good to host a new scheduled airline. Realistically, the only contender for that in the UK is FlyBe who are the only airline able to provide the right equipment for CWL's market scenario; the EMB175 and the Dash Q400. Passengers could expect to pay a little more for their services, but I believe that public disenchantment with the low-cost con would mean this might not be such a problem.
Whether FlyBe take up the challenge or not remains to be seen.
Of great interest will be the Helvetic ZRH service. ZRH is currently the 12th most popular European destination available with the KLM connection from CWL. With ZRH's potential mix of business, cultural and leisure traffic, and its perfect on-site transport infrastructure which can whisk you from the airport to any Swiss destination or neighbouring country with great efficiency, this will be one to watch and perhaps an indicator of how the other 11 more popular KLM European destinations might perform were they individually served.
Personally, I think this service is the most exciting thing to happen to CWL for a long while and the CWL management are to be applauded for their part in bringing Helvetic here.
Let us not be too downcast; there is much potential for the future.
I just hope the lo-co-con is not part of it.