LHR Press release
Bagso is so going to love this one, only LHR can save us :
Heathrow - Press releases - Only Heathrow can connect North and Western Lancashire businesses to emerging markets
Norman Tenray of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce is correct. The fact is that some cities can support longhaul routes to several UK cities (e.g. New York), others to just one (e.g. Sao Paulo) and that one will be Heathrow. Some can support two (e.g Singapore and Hong Kong soon) and the two will usually be Heathrow and Ringway.
Obviously the majority of cities will only link to one UK airport, particularly in the BRIC countries and the other up-and-coming countries with which the UK needs to develop new trade links.
So yes, irrespective of the amount of longhaul routes that can be brought to Ringway (and the more the better obviously), links to Heathrow will always be needed. Think Mr Tenray was rightly hinting that flights between Speke and Heathrow would also be beneficial to Lancashire.
No need for heart pills, it's not either/or.
Wait a minute.
That article / press release.....
Quote: Heathrow is now the largest port in the UK in terms of freight handled End Quote
Really?
Wouldn't that be Felixstowe?
AFAIK, it's Heathrow followed by Dover.
re the LHR campaign, this really is no different to the campaign that we used here in the 90s to promote R2. "Only Manchester Can Save The North" wasn't the strap line, but it might as well have been. There's oodles of runway capacity in the North and to persuade the public that digging up the Cheshire countryside was necessary meant the case needed to be made that capacity in Liverpool and Leeds wasn't the right sort of capacity or in the right place. This is no different to the LHR campaign of today.
Like all campaigns, there's an element of truth and an element of marketing. It was true in the 90s to say that certain markets and routes would only work from MAN in the North just as it's true to say today that on a national level there are routes that are only commercially viable form LHR.
Exactly.
It's also true to say that the economic value of a UK route into LHR is significant at the 'regional end' of the route. MAN-LHR is a large contributor of GVA in the North West because of it's premium mix and use by overseas visitors. The same thing is emerging on LBA-LHR too. But what about Liverpool, Teesside, Blackpool etc - they are effectively denied access. Is that useful for attracting inward investment and stimulating their economies ?
Yes, have stated this many times, for smaller airports that are struggling to survive, a Heathrow link could make the difference. Clearly it can't happen under the present circumstances.
To me at least, it's not an 'either / or' question. Northern cities should have fast and regular access into LHR, either by air or rail. This will contribute to economic activity and over time increase the propensity to fly across the North of England. MAN will benefit from a more prosperous and economically active North as a result.
Would say "by air AND rail", rather than "by air OR rail". Reastically, Heathrow will never be connected to large parts of the rail network, access via London (or on very slow trains with a change at Reading) will be needed and that is very inconvenient.
Hasn't it been tried more than once, long haul full fare airlines from STN just haven't worked ?.
Whether there is the demand for extra sched flights to Beijing from the south is also debatable.
Looking at the CAA stats LHR-Beijing have trodden water in recent months, up about 1% last month for example.
Add to this Air China chopping the 1st class from its LHR flights , can Hainan make a profit from STN.
If MAG bought STN to build on long haul full fare they may be disappointed ?
Nigel
Think that Stansted is a red herring (unless we're talking cargo only). It's Ringway and/or Heathrow, and as mentioned above, there's already over-capacity on Heathrow-Peking, so why would anyone consider Stansted-Peking?