The "White" Elephant In The Room !
So it's not just Santa Claus that's coming to town !
Rejoice, put up the bunting The Davies Commission is on its way ....at bloody last !
Will they show Davies a rather large shiny airport, The Airport City proposal AND the considerable investment in a transport network that supposedly based on the airports own mantra could support 22m people
........or some pamphlets for what may emerge at STN in 30 years !
It's one thing keeping the dream of Aussie investors on side, quite another if you are so hamstrung by the weight of that expectation it causes you to miss a golden opportunity in your own back yard !
Since Davies started gathering evidence and indeed since STN was purchased a dilemma has emerged.
This synopsis is taken from another well respected forum !
-Saudi Airlines increases Jeddah to 4 weekly from 9th November.
-Pakistan Airlines increases Islamabad from 4 to 5 weekly from March*.
-Virgin Atlantic introduces daily Atlanta on A330-300 from March
-Delta introduces daily New York JFK on B757 from June.
-Thomas Cook introduces 3 weekly New York JFK on A330-300 from May*.
-Thomas Cook also introduces 2 weekly Miami on A330-200 from May.
-Air Canada increases season of Toronto.
-Thomson to increase Montego Bay from 2 to 4 weekly on B787 from May
-Jet2 to introduce Air Asia A330-300 on Manchester routes
-Cathay Pacific introduce 4 weekly Hong Kong from December on B77W.
-Turkish Airlines use much larger A330 on selected flights over the winter.
Boston and LA with Thomas Cook also appear nailed on !
IcelandAir Increasing
China beckons......
It's an impressive list
Here is the one for Stansted over the same timeframe !
.....oh dear !
Fabulous loco airport for London but sadly little interest in long haul.
Despite the performance of Manchester, to say the management are somewhat sheepish about proclaiming this success would be an understatement, why ?
Where is the tub thumping, setting the agenda, the strategy ?
Where are OUR presentations to Chambers of Commerce in the North Midlands, Humberside , South Yorkshire, and dare I say it Lancashire !
Where is our media representation to regional editors, radio. etc
I'm sure we are all heartily sick of the Heathrow Adverts proclaiming it "could" connect all points of the UK, with a new runway, very true it possibly could but MY GOD Manchester does that NOW but the silence is deafening .......Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast IOM, Norwich, Southampton, Exeter, Newquay, Channel Islands.
What on earth is the rationale behind this reticence ?
PR to the MEN is cosy but its hardly setting the national agenda. Any other organisation would be hammering home these messages across there perceived demographic catchment area, .......yes still its 22m people and 90 minutes...... "lest of course we forget". IF they believe it themselves they need to start shouting not sqeaking !
And yes access for 22m people is a "national not a regional issue", it should be communicated as such in a professional coherent manner !
Oh if only Gil Thompson was here, can you imagine ripping into Davies and his Civil Service sidekick (remember him), and would the good members of the Lancashire Chamber of Commerce have got off so lightly in their support of Heathrow, I really doubt it.
Maybe MAG is embarrassed at all this expansion "up North" instead of "darn South" ? Lets be honest maybe its made things a bit awkward.
There should be a real opportunity with Davies to suggest that if LHR RW3 does not go through, its not all bad news, airlines by choice OR constraint are looking outside the M25 , BUT instead of the focus being on Manchester which is where the expansion is clearly happening I suspect there will of course be mandatory lip service to STN, we would not want to upset Crocodile Dundee and his mates would we..... therein lies the problem, dilution and distraction !
"whisper it ...don't say anything, we've got the expansion, its just at the wrong bloody airport...."
AND lo and behold why has Davies "suddenly" come North, has he been prodded by Osbourne maybe ?
With the sudden emergence of Devo Manc etc on the national agenda, and what has to be said some great publicity, maybe the airport will also get on-board, but somehow I doubt it.
The airport is bursting at the seems but investment in infrastructure is sadly in as much short supply as it's national profile.
"......Strewth Cobber, you want how much , sorry mate its not bloody Stansted ....."
Meanwhile contrast this with the City of Manchester which is boom town, another circa 30 storey scrapper announced yesterday, I think that's about 8 now, the largest housing investment in Europe taking place in East Manchester, Middle Eastern and Chinese investment pouring in.
hmmmmm.... a taste of what might have been had our backers been focused purely on "Our Airport" without the continuing distraction of others !