It really is quite shocking how an international airport can look so bad, there is so many extensions here and there and they look soo cheap and tacky ( obv because they have been cheap) there is better looking airports in 3rd world countries
With 2 airports competing heavily for airlines attention here, I cant see how the airports are sustainable, and given this reality I cant see where the money is going to come from to reinvest in the future, its as simple as that. BFS has done quite a bit to improve the place over the last few years and yes there are some empty units, but with passenger number quite down over the peak years and customers spending less and looking for greater value on fewer shopping occassion this further compounds the problem.
As regards Dublin marketing the local customers here, they have a lot to play for especially in the area's in the middle, Louth, Down, Fermanagh and Armagh for eg. However, the Belfast airports need to be able to reassure the locals that the cost of driving and parking etc is not warranted, and yes customers like a nicer airport terminal etc, but in this climate the customer in the main wants, price, punctuality and an airport close to where they need to be. So I am not convinced customers in the Belfast area would see a value in going to Dublin unless it is for a destination not served from Belfast, which is going to be quite a few airports, so in reality there is a massive market the Dublin can target that cannot be served from Belfast.
Im not convinced that DUB will capture customers in the NI market who currently use Belfast, as in my experience on similar routes served from NI Dublin is not cheaper, so I would question are DAA spending money unncessarily on targeting customers who will fly from Dublin anyway as the destinations that they want are not available from Belfast?
Finally, I dont want to reignite the debate about the long term sustainability of 2 airports in Belfast, I have made my views clear on those, but again the point is in times like when DUB airport with in the region of close to 20M pax a year splashes out on a marketing campaign, Belfast's 2 airports with combined pax of a portion of that would find the cost the same to fund a similar marketing campaign, hence again 1 airport 1 strong marketing fund based on airlines paying the airport a fee that is sustainable for the future where also the funds are available to invest in the facilities.
EI-BUD