I have always been really amused at this claim that Bhd is the city of perference for many/majority and the thinking behind the recent move of WW to Bhd. So I thought I would post the following figures from the Caa stats for feb 11, although most if not all months are the same. I had a look at routes where Ezy and Flybe compete, looking at this idea that Bhd was first choice destination for many.
Ezy vs Flybe
Bristol 14716 vs 2360
Edinburgh 19338 vs 7905
Glasgow 20592 vs 8072
Liverpool 35635 vs 5098
Newcastle 15609 vs 2722
Gatwick 25544 vs 15534
Even on Leeds, Flybe has been gradually losing ground to jet2. Last month Jet2 carried 7786 vs 4812, these figures used to very close.
So on all of the above routes, pax had the choice to fly to the preferred airport of Bhd, but instead the majority used Bfs. Now I am sure that if there was the demand, Flybe and others would soon increase frequency/size of aircraft at Bhd.
So it would appear that the claim that Bhd is the preferred airport for many and would attract huge numbers of foreign visitors who do not want to use Bfs, but would come here if they could land at Bhd, needs some more evidence. And it also bodes badly for WW and Flybe when Ezy start Man and maybe Bhx.
TB