How can LBA expand ?
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How can LBA expand ?
Let us imagine for a minute that the big bosses at LBA wish to expand the airport to attract new business. How would they do it?
Lets start with the lifeblood of any airport, the runway.
How long does it need to be for a fully laden A330 or B767 to go transatlantic and is there enough room to hold this massive landfill site? Would it be viable to extend towards the chevin knowing that you can only use 14 for long haul?
Now lets look at the terminal.
Nobody can keep throwing good money at the random group of extensions that is currently calling itself the terminal. A new start is the only option.
The best place to build a terminal is obviously adjacent to your biggest stands and you need to be able to board and disembark from all stands without incuring the wrath of the Department of Transport by letting inbound and outbound pax mix.
So you erect a 3 storey building from stand 9 to the east end and either have airbridges on all stands or get just the walkway over the road with a set of stairs, like stand 7 would look without the actual airbridge portion. The ground floor (level with the apron) would house the arrivals hall, check in desks and any other passenger related offices. The first floor would be a large departure hall with holding lounges at each gate and the basement (on the level of the long stay car park) would be the ideal place for a baggage hall, access to which would be either around the end of the building or by a ramp that comes up onto the apron, therefore not interfering with the flow of passengers in any way.
Of course with the loss of so much car parking a multi storey would have to be built where the shortstay car park is and it would have to be connected to the terminal by an aerial walkway so that people did not have to run the gauntlet with the traffic.
Of course this whole subject is only academic as we all know that there is only one thing going to happen, the management will bury their heads in the sand and prey that the bad aircraft will just go away!!
Anyone got any other ideas for expansion ( and i don't means moving LBA to Doncaster)
Lets start with the lifeblood of any airport, the runway.
How long does it need to be for a fully laden A330 or B767 to go transatlantic and is there enough room to hold this massive landfill site? Would it be viable to extend towards the chevin knowing that you can only use 14 for long haul?
Now lets look at the terminal.
Nobody can keep throwing good money at the random group of extensions that is currently calling itself the terminal. A new start is the only option.
The best place to build a terminal is obviously adjacent to your biggest stands and you need to be able to board and disembark from all stands without incuring the wrath of the Department of Transport by letting inbound and outbound pax mix.
So you erect a 3 storey building from stand 9 to the east end and either have airbridges on all stands or get just the walkway over the road with a set of stairs, like stand 7 would look without the actual airbridge portion. The ground floor (level with the apron) would house the arrivals hall, check in desks and any other passenger related offices. The first floor would be a large departure hall with holding lounges at each gate and the basement (on the level of the long stay car park) would be the ideal place for a baggage hall, access to which would be either around the end of the building or by a ramp that comes up onto the apron, therefore not interfering with the flow of passengers in any way.
Of course with the loss of so much car parking a multi storey would have to be built where the shortstay car park is and it would have to be connected to the terminal by an aerial walkway so that people did not have to run the gauntlet with the traffic.
Of course this whole subject is only academic as we all know that there is only one thing going to happen, the management will bury their heads in the sand and prey that the bad aircraft will just go away!!
Anyone got any other ideas for expansion ( and i don't means moving LBA to Doncaster)
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Say this miracle comes true, the runway is extended and a real terminal built there is still the problem of parking the extra aircraft that would be required to carry all the extra passengers or freight that would be attracted. The only option there would be closing 09/27 and pouring a lot of concrete. Even then the airport would never buy the busses to service these remote stands.
But at least we can all dream.
But at least we can all dream.
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I believe that LBA is jointly owned by five local authorities through a company set up for the purpose of owning and running the airport.
If that is so would not there be problems in raising the amount of cash that would be required for the massive amelioration scheme envisaged in the opening post to this thread? I thought that local authorities were restricted in the amount of money they could borrow, even in the guise of an airport company.
I remember in the mid 90s when Bristol Airport was considering a new terminal building it was accepted that the then owners, the City Council, would never be allowed to obtain the amount of funding that would be required. They therefore sold 51% of the airport to First Group plc and later sold their share altogether. Today the airport is owned by the Australian Macquarie Bank and Cintra, a subsidiary of the Spanish Ferrovial company.
£40 million has been spent on the new terminal (now three years old), new control tower and other improvements. Without this injection of money from private owners the airport could never have made the dramatic leap forward of recent years - 3.5 million pax last year and up to 4 million in the present year.
If that is so would not there be problems in raising the amount of cash that would be required for the massive amelioration scheme envisaged in the opening post to this thread? I thought that local authorities were restricted in the amount of money they could borrow, even in the guise of an airport company.
I remember in the mid 90s when Bristol Airport was considering a new terminal building it was accepted that the then owners, the City Council, would never be allowed to obtain the amount of funding that would be required. They therefore sold 51% of the airport to First Group plc and later sold their share altogether. Today the airport is owned by the Australian Macquarie Bank and Cintra, a subsidiary of the Spanish Ferrovial company.
£40 million has been spent on the new terminal (now three years old), new control tower and other improvements. Without this injection of money from private owners the airport could never have made the dramatic leap forward of recent years - 3.5 million pax last year and up to 4 million in the present year.
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Let's turn the question around. If the airport did stick in a 300m extension and build a state of the art terminal, what airlines do you *realistically* think would begin services that otherwise wouldn't. Would the revenue from these additional services justify the significant investment?
Look more closely at the opportunities and threats to LBA's potential for future expansion and it is fairly obvious that the biggest opportunity is for growth in short-haul low-cost, scheduled and inclusive tour services. Jet2 are around for the low-cost side of things but the biggest barrier to fulfilling the potential in the other areas is not apron, runway or terminal constraints but the simple fact that most of the airlines and tour operators who could offer these services already do so from Manchester. In a low margin business, filling the maximum number of seats at the highest yield and lowest seat cost is pretty fundamental. If airlines think that flying Yorkshire passengers from a consolidated Manchester base is more profitable than operating duplicate services from LBA (or Doncaster or Humberside for that matter) then no amount of additional apron space, runway length or terminal capacity will change these sums. That's the harsh reality that has faced every LBA maangement team since about 1984 when the failure of the local councils to allow H24 operations effectively tied one hand behind their back and allowed Manchester to steal a march.
To answer your original question then 'how can LBA expand' - the management need to find a way of offering tour operators like JMC, First Choice, etc a way of switching some capacity out of Manchester into Leeds in a way which is value-adding for the tour-operators concerned. Ditto, the likes of Air France, Lufthansa, SAS etc for services to their main European hubs. LBA's ultimate goal has to be a based aircraft (operating a full programme) from each of the main tour operators, frequent links to LHR, CDG, AMS, FRA and CPH with airlines that offer genuine inter-lining capability and low-cost for just about everything else. In today's terms, this would give you a throughput of about 3m - 3.5m pax.
Yes there would need to be infrastructural improvements to the terminal and apron but this in itself would not bring in the airlines. This makes the financial considerations around how terminal capacity should be expanded, somewhat tricky. The capacity needs to be in place if the airlines can be persuaded to bring services in, but building something on the assumption that it would prove a magnet to airlines is dangerous for the reasons explained above. The danger of a white elephant is real For now, piecemeal extensions to the terminal and ad-hoc overnight parking arrangements on the apron look fine for what is planned for summer 2004.
682
Look more closely at the opportunities and threats to LBA's potential for future expansion and it is fairly obvious that the biggest opportunity is for growth in short-haul low-cost, scheduled and inclusive tour services. Jet2 are around for the low-cost side of things but the biggest barrier to fulfilling the potential in the other areas is not apron, runway or terminal constraints but the simple fact that most of the airlines and tour operators who could offer these services already do so from Manchester. In a low margin business, filling the maximum number of seats at the highest yield and lowest seat cost is pretty fundamental. If airlines think that flying Yorkshire passengers from a consolidated Manchester base is more profitable than operating duplicate services from LBA (or Doncaster or Humberside for that matter) then no amount of additional apron space, runway length or terminal capacity will change these sums. That's the harsh reality that has faced every LBA maangement team since about 1984 when the failure of the local councils to allow H24 operations effectively tied one hand behind their back and allowed Manchester to steal a march.
To answer your original question then 'how can LBA expand' - the management need to find a way of offering tour operators like JMC, First Choice, etc a way of switching some capacity out of Manchester into Leeds in a way which is value-adding for the tour-operators concerned. Ditto, the likes of Air France, Lufthansa, SAS etc for services to their main European hubs. LBA's ultimate goal has to be a based aircraft (operating a full programme) from each of the main tour operators, frequent links to LHR, CDG, AMS, FRA and CPH with airlines that offer genuine inter-lining capability and low-cost for just about everything else. In today's terms, this would give you a throughput of about 3m - 3.5m pax.
Yes there would need to be infrastructural improvements to the terminal and apron but this in itself would not bring in the airlines. This makes the financial considerations around how terminal capacity should be expanded, somewhat tricky. The capacity needs to be in place if the airlines can be persuaded to bring services in, but building something on the assumption that it would prove a magnet to airlines is dangerous for the reasons explained above. The danger of a white elephant is real For now, piecemeal extensions to the terminal and ad-hoc overnight parking arrangements on the apron look fine for what is planned for summer 2004.
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682, you want to be careful posting carefully considered, commercially reasoned opinions like that. You could hurt somebody. Have you not seen "Field of dreams" or "Phoenix Nights"? Build it and they shall come!!!!
Let's stick to pie in the sky fantasy wishlists on here shall we? Anyway I'll redress the balance by saying that I've heard that Gulf Traveller are looking to operate a daily feeder service in to their south asian network. That is all.
Let's stick to pie in the sky fantasy wishlists on here shall we? Anyway I'll redress the balance by saying that I've heard that Gulf Traveller are looking to operate a daily feeder service in to their south asian network. That is all.
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Expansion the only option
The only reason LBA has not been able to attract major airline investment, is the fact that, firstly the runway is too short. Secondly its terminal, a 1960 building with ineffective add-ons.
The runway 32/14, can handle the largest aircraft at present, however this is with reduced payloads; ie. full load of PAX half load of fuel. The DFT has already said the airport is capable of extending its runway to the southeast (Horsforth end) by the previously quoted 300m. This within the current airport boundry.
Wiilst this alone would allow transatlantic flights and flights to the Middle east possible with full payloads, it would be advisable to extend at the northwest end by 300m to improve safety margins for aircraft landing on 32 and departing on14.
As for the terninal, well, frankly, its seen its days. The previously mentioned Bristol terminal, whilst, yes its nice and new and works great, however given the rate of growth in aviation, Bristol managers too have fallen into the HEAD IN SAND catogory. Not planning far enough ahead. Leeds needs major investment, maybe a company like PEEL HOLDINGS would be able to provide the sort of resorses required. I would expect the money required, realistically would run into HUNDREDS of millions, given the cost of Manchesters terminal 2. There is the room to provide this between stand 9 and 17. The cross runway is certain to go. New taxiways, multi-story carparking and road improvements a must.
I think LBA has the potential and could carry upto 8 million PAX
Will the managers have the bottle??
The runway 32/14, can handle the largest aircraft at present, however this is with reduced payloads; ie. full load of PAX half load of fuel. The DFT has already said the airport is capable of extending its runway to the southeast (Horsforth end) by the previously quoted 300m. This within the current airport boundry.
Wiilst this alone would allow transatlantic flights and flights to the Middle east possible with full payloads, it would be advisable to extend at the northwest end by 300m to improve safety margins for aircraft landing on 32 and departing on14.
As for the terninal, well, frankly, its seen its days. The previously mentioned Bristol terminal, whilst, yes its nice and new and works great, however given the rate of growth in aviation, Bristol managers too have fallen into the HEAD IN SAND catogory. Not planning far enough ahead. Leeds needs major investment, maybe a company like PEEL HOLDINGS would be able to provide the sort of resorses required. I would expect the money required, realistically would run into HUNDREDS of millions, given the cost of Manchesters terminal 2. There is the room to provide this between stand 9 and 17. The cross runway is certain to go. New taxiways, multi-story carparking and road improvements a must.
I think LBA has the potential and could carry upto 8 million PAX
Will the managers have the bottle??
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I think everyone will agree that the only way to raise the money required for a worthwhile expansion programme is by dipping into the private sector, which is unlikely to happen while councils own all the shares.
As for expansion, it is not a case of 'build it and they will come'. THEY are already here, Leeds is one of the biggest cities in the country and Bradford is hardly a small suburb either. Which is bigger Manchester or Leeds ? My guess is Leeds. Can anyone confirm?
While 682 is right about the strategy required by the management to attract tour operators i do not agree with the statement that airlines will not operate out of LBA because they already fly from MAN. This attutude does not make financial sence at all. Lets say that both BA and AZ fly 5 times a day MAN-FCO, each using 50 seater jets. Other things being even they would get half the passengers each. If 150 of these come from the LBA area what makes more sense, Flying all 150 LBA passengers on a 3 times daily service from LBA and fighing it out on the other 2 sectors at MAN or just sitting back and accepting that the only way to increase the number of bums on seats is to cut prices.
Airlines follow the passengers, why else start new routes or increase capacity?
Although the demand may be high around LBA the infrastructure is not there to provide for the demand.
People fly from MAN because that is where the flights are.
Flights are from MAN because it has the facilities to handle them.
If both the demand and facilities are at LBA where would you operate from?
As for expansion, it is not a case of 'build it and they will come'. THEY are already here, Leeds is one of the biggest cities in the country and Bradford is hardly a small suburb either. Which is bigger Manchester or Leeds ? My guess is Leeds. Can anyone confirm?
While 682 is right about the strategy required by the management to attract tour operators i do not agree with the statement that airlines will not operate out of LBA because they already fly from MAN. This attutude does not make financial sence at all. Lets say that both BA and AZ fly 5 times a day MAN-FCO, each using 50 seater jets. Other things being even they would get half the passengers each. If 150 of these come from the LBA area what makes more sense, Flying all 150 LBA passengers on a 3 times daily service from LBA and fighing it out on the other 2 sectors at MAN or just sitting back and accepting that the only way to increase the number of bums on seats is to cut prices.
Airlines follow the passengers, why else start new routes or increase capacity?
Although the demand may be high around LBA the infrastructure is not there to provide for the demand.
People fly from MAN because that is where the flights are.
Flights are from MAN because it has the facilities to handle them.
If both the demand and facilities are at LBA where would you operate from?
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Leeds has a larger population than the city of Manchester but nowadays we need to think in terms of conurbations. Thus Greater Manchester is larger than the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, and catchment areas of course extend even further.
LBAir
The BRS terminal was designed to be extended and will be.
The Bristol conurbation is probably less than half the size of the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, so on that basis alone LBA should be carrying more pax than BRS.
But of course there are many other considerations and the BRS management will say that having a new terminal was a major plank in their successfully attracting more airlines and routes.
Leeds has a larger population than the city of Manchester but nowadays we need to think in terms of conurbations. Thus Greater Manchester is larger than the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, and catchment areas of course extend even further.
LBAir
The BRS terminal was designed to be extended and will be.
The Bristol conurbation is probably less than half the size of the Leeds/Bradford conurbation, so on that basis alone LBA should be carrying more pax than BRS.
But of course there are many other considerations and the BRS management will say that having a new terminal was a major plank in their successfully attracting more airlines and routes.
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LBA expansion
I can't see LBA services expanding significantly due to several reasons:
1.Infrastructure; I have used the airport 4/5 times and the main problem imo is not the terminal but the roads to the airport. Manchester has direct motorway access, whereas Leeds has no direct link even to the A1. This restricts the catchment area; people don't mind travelling longer distances when the roads are a high standard.
2.Competition; Manchester, Teeside, Humberside and most importantly Doncaster/Finningley.
1.Infrastructure; I have used the airport 4/5 times and the main problem imo is not the terminal but the roads to the airport. Manchester has direct motorway access, whereas Leeds has no direct link even to the A1. This restricts the catchment area; people don't mind travelling longer distances when the roads are a high standard.
2.Competition; Manchester, Teeside, Humberside and most importantly Doncaster/Finningley.
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Perhaps we should also mention LBA's dismal weather record ; low cloud , poor vis and perpetual crosswinds.
Unless they think seriously about Low Vis operations it will always be a problematic destination.
Unless they think seriously about Low Vis operations it will always be a problematic destination.
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Whilst I agree with most of the points above regarding the problems to expansion, lets not forget in the last year or so LBA has been one of the fastest growing UK airports in terms of passenger growth. Whilst most of this can be put down to Jet2/Planetair lets not forget that this has been achieved despite the poor road links, probably because of the huge population within the immediate local area. As for crosswinds not much you can do here but most modern ac can accept a fairly strong component. As for the vis problem, LBA was one of the first UK regional airports to get a CAT3 ILS. Whilst CAT3 ops are limited when there is an easterly component this is being looked at with a possibility of 14 being upgrraded to CAT2, the other option is of course a further runway extension at either end allowing a greater tailwind component to be acceptable. Unfortunately when the runway was extended in the 80's the CAA enforced the thresholds at both ends to be displaced meaning that despite the runway being 2250m the LDAs on 14/32 were 1802/1916m. The 14 displacement was due to high ground on approach but 32 has no such problems and here lies the CAT3 problem for larger ac.As for Doncaster Idoubt it will affect LBA too much, HUY need to worry more on that score!
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Page 209 REF 7.16.2 DFT AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT
[Of the regions currently operational airports, the development of Leeds Bradford offers perhaps the greatest scope for developing new services within the region.]
As for Doncaster, well its just as quick for the people of West Yorkshire to travel to Manchester, so why bother using Doncaster, when the flights already opperate from Manchester.
The fact is, people just don't want to travel to airports. If the same services are available from Leeds, I am sure they would be utillized.
Yes, Leeds' weather record is not the best in the world, but new technology using GPS, I believe is already been used for BLIND landings in the US. It will be possible for all aircraft to land or take-off on any runway, without ILS GLIDE fluctuations, such as those seen on the 14 end. This, in the not too distant future.
I understand that the airport is looking into improving road/rail links to the airport, I understand the airport is looking at the possibility of a road link to the A65/A6120 Outer Ring Road.
Page 49 REF 2.6.7 DFT AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT , Catchment
[Although Leeds Bradford and Shefield airports have smaller one-hour drive time catchment populations than Manchester and Liverpool, their relatively central location means that their 2-hour drive time catchments are actually similar to those for Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon or ever bigger.]
Leeds Bradfords' best asset has got to be the fact that Leeds is the fastest growing city in the country. Any airline looking at expansion, would be mad not to take this into consideration. Airlines such as JET2 have already capitalized on this. I expect, and am certain, that they wont be the last.
LBA its upto you!!!
[Of the regions currently operational airports, the development of Leeds Bradford offers perhaps the greatest scope for developing new services within the region.]
As for Doncaster, well its just as quick for the people of West Yorkshire to travel to Manchester, so why bother using Doncaster, when the flights already opperate from Manchester.
The fact is, people just don't want to travel to airports. If the same services are available from Leeds, I am sure they would be utillized.
Yes, Leeds' weather record is not the best in the world, but new technology using GPS, I believe is already been used for BLIND landings in the US. It will be possible for all aircraft to land or take-off on any runway, without ILS GLIDE fluctuations, such as those seen on the 14 end. This, in the not too distant future.
I understand that the airport is looking into improving road/rail links to the airport, I understand the airport is looking at the possibility of a road link to the A65/A6120 Outer Ring Road.
Page 49 REF 2.6.7 DFT AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT , Catchment
[Although Leeds Bradford and Shefield airports have smaller one-hour drive time catchment populations than Manchester and Liverpool, their relatively central location means that their 2-hour drive time catchments are actually similar to those for Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon or ever bigger.]
Leeds Bradfords' best asset has got to be the fact that Leeds is the fastest growing city in the country. Any airline looking at expansion, would be mad not to take this into consideration. Airlines such as JET2 have already capitalized on this. I expect, and am certain, that they wont be the last.
LBA its upto you!!!
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Doncaster will be far easier and quicker to get to than LBA for those who live to the South of Leeds. I can even get to HUY in around the same time as I can get to LBA, even though they are more than twice as far away. Manchester, and even East Midlands have much better access from certain parts of West Yorkshire due to the motorway links. Negotiating the ring road is, quite frankly, a nightmare, and puts me off using LBA, even though I consider it my local airport.
I think LBA will lose out to Doncaster when it opens, but it will take time, and they already have a substantial size runway in place.
The weather is another issue. Even the YAA is considering relocation, but easier road access would be the best thing for LBA.
I think LBA will lose out to Doncaster when it opens, but it will take time, and they already have a substantial size runway in place.
The weather is another issue. Even the YAA is considering relocation, but easier road access would be the best thing for LBA.
LBA is ill thought out from the start. Badly sited. Wrong runway alignment. Extremely poor weather record. Terminal in the wrong place. No level ground. The worst road access of any UK airport and little hope of any significant improvement from the south and west [the major part of the catchment area]. Little realistic chance of a rail link. Man, Huy, Lpl, Mme and soon Fin offering more reliable alternatives. Politicians who took 20yrs to get a runway extension....need I say more!
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"The worst road access of any UK airport "
Helen49,
LBA must be bad in this respect if it is worse than BRS which is also the 'wrong' side of the city it serves, as well as having a dreadful weather record at times.
But it copes, it has to.
Helen49,
LBA must be bad in this respect if it is worse than BRS which is also the 'wrong' side of the city it serves, as well as having a dreadful weather record at times.
But it copes, it has to.
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The biggest threat to LBA is Jet2/Doncaster, if the first moves to the second, then there (would) be a lot of red faces and empty buildings, which is why they'll put a `tent` up for next year and see how it goes and as a local tax payer i think that is a sound plan. Yes its not brave, but follow whats going on at the enquiry into the cost overshoot at Scotlands toy town parliment Holyrod or what ever its called, projected cost £40m current cost £410m and it ain't finished yet,major capital investments and local councils nearly always end in tears!!
All the walls at LBA are stuck in place with velcro, outside they are digging up kerbs and tarmac that have hardly set since they were laid last year.
Time to bring in a private companyand its cash to sort it out, the work at the South side shows what can be done!
A longer runway would help everyone, including the people who object about noise as most aircraft could do `flex` performabce if it were 300m longer.
I don't expect to see LBA push the boat out any time soon!
All the walls at LBA are stuck in place with velcro, outside they are digging up kerbs and tarmac that have hardly set since they were laid last year.
Time to bring in a private companyand its cash to sort it out, the work at the South side shows what can be done!
A longer runway would help everyone, including the people who object about noise as most aircraft could do `flex` performabce if it were 300m longer.
I don't expect to see LBA push the boat out any time soon!
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LBA will only expand as quick as the Airlines dictate. It will not expand to accommodate future long haul or other operations. As I said in my previous comments they do not have foresight. You cannot expect a company which is run by accountants to be able to have the vision to run an airport for the future. Imagine the investment to expand:- 1. Longer runway. 2. Ground Movement Radar. 3. New Tower & Equipment. 4. More Controllers (50K each per annum is a lot of money). 5. Bigger terminal. 6. More managers. 7. More operations staff (which they will have to get anyway due to JET2). 8. ILS approved to CAT3 on 14 (which will never happen). 9. More staff!! All this is a massive investment and at the moment I would not think that the LBA management nor the councils would invest. However, if LBA was sold off to a larger company with a bit of "speculate to accumalate" attitude then things may be different. This may make you all think again about a public service industry being owned by a few local councils who have not got the ability to run themselves let alone an airport. Maybe now is the time to sell LBA to a company who can run a successfull business and who have the foresight to expand for the people of Yorkshire and maybe even make a few bob for themselves.
For Helen49
I find that the country roads are a very pleasant access to LBA, not crowded and free from idiots except the odd farmer with his tractor, far better than the M25/M4 etc.
LBA has a record of bad weather but not many flights are lost due to this. Most of the a/c are CAT3 equipped and most of the pilots can land with a 30kt crosswind. On rare occasions there are winds exceeding the a/c limits but few divert, same for the fog. The majority of the based crews are highly skilled, and can operate from LBA in the extreme weather conditions that occur. The only thing that I can say to the non LBA based crews is that the LBA based crew know that the colour of adrenalin is brown!
For Helen49
I find that the country roads are a very pleasant access to LBA, not crowded and free from idiots except the odd farmer with his tractor, far better than the M25/M4 etc.
LBA has a record of bad weather but not many flights are lost due to this. Most of the a/c are CAT3 equipped and most of the pilots can land with a 30kt crosswind. On rare occasions there are winds exceeding the a/c limits but few divert, same for the fog. The majority of the based crews are highly skilled, and can operate from LBA in the extreme weather conditions that occur. The only thing that I can say to the non LBA based crews is that the LBA based crew know that the colour of adrenalin is brown!
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Jet2/Finningley
Hmmmm. yes. Come to think about it Dart Group do have exceptionally strong links with the Donny area and the whole A1 corridor through their Fowler Welch operation. They've been keen to link the two already with their 45ft boxes painted up in Jet2 livery running up from East Anglia to Tesco's, Morrisons , Asda and Sainsburys logistics centres in West Yorkshire and Manchester.
And as for the "country road" approach to LBA, well I can only assume that you've got lost and have ended up in Cookridge, Bramhope of Menston as I'm sure you'll find that the main Bradford/Leeds to Harrogate Road is refreshingly short of tractors.
Let's be honest, LBA knows it's place, it's a niche airport, at the moment that niche is expanding and fair play to them, but the best they can hope for really is that Jet2 will continue to expand and that they'll get decent connections to the hubs of the major airline alliances to allow worldwide connections. Couple this with an adequate domestic services and it'll serve the many local business travellers well. The West Yorkshire package holiday market will be happy to continue to fly from LBA if they can but will probably be happier to pocket the £30-£40 each that they'll save by making the trek across the pennines to go on their jollies.
Horses for courses, and LBA is certainly more Wetherby than Ascot.
And as for the "country road" approach to LBA, well I can only assume that you've got lost and have ended up in Cookridge, Bramhope of Menston as I'm sure you'll find that the main Bradford/Leeds to Harrogate Road is refreshingly short of tractors.
Let's be honest, LBA knows it's place, it's a niche airport, at the moment that niche is expanding and fair play to them, but the best they can hope for really is that Jet2 will continue to expand and that they'll get decent connections to the hubs of the major airline alliances to allow worldwide connections. Couple this with an adequate domestic services and it'll serve the many local business travellers well. The West Yorkshire package holiday market will be happy to continue to fly from LBA if they can but will probably be happier to pocket the £30-£40 each that they'll save by making the trek across the pennines to go on their jollies.
Horses for courses, and LBA is certainly more Wetherby than Ascot.
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Sorry ILS but you're wrong there are frequent bad wx diversions to NV and CC , it is an unreliable desination.
Helen49 is quite right , the airport is a legacy project built in the wrong place ,on top of a hill , and with no usable runway in the direction of the prevailing wind. Long term it's future is resticted.
GPS approaches are unlikely for decades.
Open Finningley ( long runway , flat ground ) with a few Portacabins and you've lost Ryanair and other low cost carriers.
Helen49 is quite right , the airport is a legacy project built in the wrong place ,on top of a hill , and with no usable runway in the direction of the prevailing wind. Long term it's future is resticted.
GPS approaches are unlikely for decades.
Open Finningley ( long runway , flat ground ) with a few Portacabins and you've lost Ryanair and other low cost carriers.