FDF wrote:
Maybe that's where SZD went wrong: no connections to London.
LHR rather than LGW for onward connections, but unachievable because LHR is full.
LCY for point to point city centre-city centre business flights would probably been the way forward. However both LHR and LCY are expensive airports and there may have been inadequate traffic for this to be viable.
Maybe it's the same situation at DSA?
Air routes from DSA to any airport in London were never considered, as the train takes only 1h 40 and operates at least twice an hour. The rail service from Sheffield to London takes just over two hours. Presumably MAN-LHR survives as there is a greater catchment and more interlining. Even then VLM's service to LCY died.
The resurrection of LBA's BA service to LHR has received a great deal of scepticism that it is there as a slot-holder - see that thread.
EGCA wrote:
Second:-Further, is there any current campaign in Sheffield for scheduled destinations from Finningley? Business people in South Yorkshire presumably do fly to Europe on business, how do they cope at present? Are they shouting from the rooftops for scheduled flights from Finningley?
It doesn't really work like that though. I would be delighted if there were flights I could use on business to Brussels about six times a year either from Sheffield or Doncaster. But I doubt there are sufficient potential business flyers from South Yorkshire to justify this - or any other destinations, surrounded as we are by MAN, LBA and EMA denying us a wider catchment. This is not helped by Eurostar moving to St Pancras, so we can be on a train to Brussels or Paris within an hour of arriving in London, with a choice of many departures each day.
There is also no specific linked industry in South Yorkshire like oil or chemicals which keeps the KLM services from MME and HUY going.