Originally Posted by
Bagso
1.3m from a standing start is pretty good !
I don't know the local politics but long term I reckon this is a good shout!
Yes it would be good if it was true! DSA is sub 1 million passengers. Any airport can have millions of passengers selling unsustainable tickets for £20 odd quid and then they drop like a stone (and vice versa). It is what happened at DSA years ago and has happened at many many airports. Prestwick, Girona, Liverpool, Teesside etc etc etc Short term passenger throughput tells very little these days. Cardiff another airport with little catchment that is rocketing up - ridiculous.
Certainly though the people within Leeds City Region knew they had to act (DSA has much better aerodrome characteristics)- and they have. It will take a while though and so LBA will be shoe horned up to 5.5 milion. Talking about a parkway station for LBA stops everyone (mostly clueless local politicians with a vested interest) chuntering on about building a nonsensical rail link while the essential bypass gets built that increases the value of the land and makes it residential usable. But where are the plans for a parkway station? They do not exist and never will - the matter has only just been completely ruled out. It serves a purpose that's all.
If 2 pitts specials wrote in the air to the local plane spotters what was really going on they still wouldn't get it!
Between 15 and 25 years I believe the Yeadon site will be a housing estate with associated industrial estate. I don't believe DSA will be the replacement. RYR came and went. EZY came and went. Will BE fill 100+ seats to Berlin everyday from Donny and Lincs when there is flights 30 minutes down the motorway? It's not rocket science. Catchment Catchment Catchment.
I would love DSA to be thee airport for Yorkshire but I just don't think it will be. It's too far away from Leeds City region. 11 years and what have we got - Flybe daily to Berlin with planes they don't really want. Thank goodness for Wizz eh!