A number of interesting press pieces over the festive period regarding LBIA, some good & some less so:
1)
Leeds Bradford Airport has insisted that increasing losses are ‘as per business plan’, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports. The private equity-owned airport blamed the £10.7m loss on disruption from Icelandic ash clouds and adverse weather and planned extra costs from its investment programme. The previous year the airport made a loss of £4.4m. Revenue increased 5.3 percent to £21m during the year ending March 2011 and passenger were up by 10.9 percent due to extra capacity.
2)
With passenger numbers around the 3 million mark, 2011 has been another great year for Leeds Bradford Airport, the Telegraph & Argus reports. But rather than resting on his laurels, chief executive John Parkin is driving forward with ambitious plans to make sure next year is as good, if not better.
The airport has seen passenger numbers increase by around 13 percent in the last year as more routes and investments by airlines have been backed up by a £28 million redevelopment of the terminal. It is the fastest-growing regional airport in the country and was the 16th busiest passenger airport in the UK.
The next stage of the development is under way, with an £11 million project to transform the terminal and improve the passenger experience. This should see passenger numbers up again in 2012, with the target of 5 million by 2016 in sight.
3)
Leeds Bradford Airport has been fined £45,000 after admitting releasing potentially harmful surface water into a nearby beck. The airport appeared before a district judge at Leeds magistrates court and admitted four charges of breaching its Discharge Consent and one charge of causing pollution to enter Scotland Beck, Yeadon.
Also on the plus side a more general piece in the "Torygraph" about regional airports doubling in size by 2050....
So as its the end of the year, what do we think the future holds for LBA?
Picking through the
PR hype, I'd have said 2011 wasn't a bad year overall but losses on the increase & a tough economic outlook - it's going to be hard going for aviation for a few years yet. Here's hoping Bridgepoint have deep enough pockets to last through the next few years. If they can I reckon the medium term outlook for shorthaul point to point routes is rosy.