ABERDEEN
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Good news re OSL. Was surprised it didn't launch at 2x daily in the first place. I wonder if this increase is down to good or bad performance currently.
GIP also own EDI and given the boom of airlines/routes and the infrastructure investment they're currently receiving they would be a favourite I'm sure for many ABZ stakeholders. Maybe they could whisper in EZY's ear?
GIP also own EDI and given the boom of airlines/routes and the infrastructure investment they're currently receiving they would be a favourite I'm sure for many ABZ stakeholders. Maybe they could whisper in EZY's ear?
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If GIP do buy Aberdeen, wont we (the travelling public) be left in the same position in terms of 'lack of competition' that we were when BAA (in whatever guise) ran the airports that GIP currently own/ are looking to acquire! 
Last edited by Inverurie Lane; 15th Nov 2013 at 16:43.
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The thought had occurred! 
Sad to see - but perhaps not altogether surprising - Flybe to close the Aberdeen base as one of six base closures. Inverness is another.
BBC News - Flybe outlines base closures as part of job cuts plan
Sad to see - but perhaps not altogether surprising - Flybe to close the Aberdeen base as one of six base closures. Inverness is another.
BBC News - Flybe outlines base closures as part of job cuts plan
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Not good news regarding Flybe. Didn't realise the base was so small - 12 jobs to be lost but not good anyhow.
Despite the base being closed I am still not anticipating much if anything in the way of cutbacks.
The base aircraft is only doing 3x daily MAN this winter and assuming there's a night stopper once the base closes 5x daily can still be maintained on the route.
BHX and BHD should be safe I would've thought with both of them operating from their respective bases. BHX and BHD have been posting very strong numbers - especially BHD where pax numbers are likely to be up by more than 50% YOY.
So not all doom and gloom hopefully.
Despite the base being closed I am still not anticipating much if anything in the way of cutbacks.
The base aircraft is only doing 3x daily MAN this winter and assuming there's a night stopper once the base closes 5x daily can still be maintained on the route.
BHX and BHD should be safe I would've thought with both of them operating from their respective bases. BHX and BHD have been posting very strong numbers - especially BHD where pax numbers are likely to be up by more than 50% YOY.
So not all doom and gloom hopefully.
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Dark nights - back come the lasers...
BBC News - Laser light shone at plane approaching Aberdeen International Airport
Flybe. In perhaps a selfish mindset, I was hoping they would consider expanding the base given the strength of the area's economy (eg. £4bn Kraken field development announced yesterday) which may have helped Flybe out of the doldrums nationally. We're one of the few areas in the UK - maybe in Europe - still growing strongly, thankfully. But they saw it differently. Hope all affected find alternative employment.
Perhaps Flybe reflect other airlines' present & continued thinking. ABZ too remote, long sectors, catchment area considered insufficient even if it's frequent & high yielding. Yet when I say remote/long sectors I see airlines happily bypassing ABZ as they fly to Iceland, or Vueling up to Bergen (which also has plenty loco flights by the likes of Wizz for example) & so on.
I know the ABZ market is more 'niche' than most but surely there is some sort of demand that Wizz or Vueling or easyjet could be persuaded to serve without basing anything here - but it maybe boils down to what I said above. Maybe a change of ownership of the airport will help. airBaltic are very welcome next year - but AIA always seem to have their work cut out to try & persuade airlines to come here (it took Lufthansa what? 30yrs or so!) - how more successful do we have to be to attract them? How hard do AIA try to get them here? If HAH are about to dispose of the asset maybe not too hard, beyond the press release periodically that they 'continue to talk to airline partners' yet still only a single arrivals baggage carousel...
Noted in Rotorheads that Chevron's decision to serve the Captain field again direct from ABZ means an end to some/all Loganair charters to Wick, but good that these ops have helped the airline's figures. Maybe Logan will be one of the airlines to expand here.
My post probably has the touch of the 'green eyed monster' about it! But I still have the nagging feeling that ABZ can do better given the economic success of the region as a whole. Perhaps I'm wrong - but it's just my view.
BBC News - Laser light shone at plane approaching Aberdeen International Airport
Flybe. In perhaps a selfish mindset, I was hoping they would consider expanding the base given the strength of the area's economy (eg. £4bn Kraken field development announced yesterday) which may have helped Flybe out of the doldrums nationally. We're one of the few areas in the UK - maybe in Europe - still growing strongly, thankfully. But they saw it differently. Hope all affected find alternative employment.
Perhaps Flybe reflect other airlines' present & continued thinking. ABZ too remote, long sectors, catchment area considered insufficient even if it's frequent & high yielding. Yet when I say remote/long sectors I see airlines happily bypassing ABZ as they fly to Iceland, or Vueling up to Bergen (which also has plenty loco flights by the likes of Wizz for example) & so on.
I know the ABZ market is more 'niche' than most but surely there is some sort of demand that Wizz or Vueling or easyjet could be persuaded to serve without basing anything here - but it maybe boils down to what I said above. Maybe a change of ownership of the airport will help. airBaltic are very welcome next year - but AIA always seem to have their work cut out to try & persuade airlines to come here (it took Lufthansa what? 30yrs or so!) - how more successful do we have to be to attract them? How hard do AIA try to get them here? If HAH are about to dispose of the asset maybe not too hard, beyond the press release periodically that they 'continue to talk to airline partners' yet still only a single arrivals baggage carousel...
Noted in Rotorheads that Chevron's decision to serve the Captain field again direct from ABZ means an end to some/all Loganair charters to Wick, but good that these ops have helped the airline's figures. Maybe Logan will be one of the airlines to expand here.
My post probably has the touch of the 'green eyed monster' about it! But I still have the nagging feeling that ABZ can do better given the economic success of the region as a whole. Perhaps I'm wrong - but it's just my view.
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SAS to launch OSL
SAS have announced that OSL-ABZ flights will begin on 31/03/14. Flights will operate 3x weekly on Mon, Wed, Fri.
Flights not loaded on SAS website yet so no timings or equipment known yet. Interesting new route and given the low frequency it would seem they are going after leisure pax. Will be interesting to see BM's reaction to this announcement given they very recently announced a doubling of their own schedules.
Also EDI has gained SVG & OSL 2x weekly with LBA also gaining a 2x weekly CPH.
SAS Group - Press
Also in the news, the controversial Full Body Scanners will be introduced at ABZ and 10 other UK airports.
Flights not loaded on SAS website yet so no timings or equipment known yet. Interesting new route and given the low frequency it would seem they are going after leisure pax. Will be interesting to see BM's reaction to this announcement given they very recently announced a doubling of their own schedules.
Also EDI has gained SVG & OSL 2x weekly with LBA also gaining a 2x weekly CPH.
SAS Group - Press
Also in the news, the controversial Full Body Scanners will be introduced at ABZ and 10 other UK airports.
SAS
737-800 on Mon/Wed/Fri, SK4613 departs OSL at 10:15 on Mon + Wed and 11:30 on Fri, SK4614 ex ABZ at 11:25 and 12:40. Monday schedule moves earlier and switches to a 737-700 for July and August only. One can only surmise that SAS really intensely didn't like bmi regional's arrival on Norwegian domestic routes.....
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To put it mildly! All that time OSL was unserved, SAS could have started the route any time they liked! A 737-800 sledgehammer to try to crack a bmi nut!
Few routes out of ABZ can support competition - not even the No.1 route to LHR, where Little Red have been struggling to attract passengers.
Interesting times ahead...
Meanwhile...another airport-side hotel on the cards, or was this one already announced?
Aberdeen airport to get new £30m hotel complex ? Construction Enquirer
Few routes out of ABZ can support competition - not even the No.1 route to LHR, where Little Red have been struggling to attract passengers.
Interesting times ahead...
Meanwhile...another airport-side hotel on the cards, or was this one already announced?
Aberdeen airport to get new £30m hotel complex ? Construction Enquirer
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Are we sure it's a 738? That seems excessively large considering the 37 seat E135 is the largest aircraft to have operated ABZ-OSL. Even a 737-600 is really pushing it.
With it being SK I can't see them selling seats for £9.99 so who exactly are they targeting with this route with the low frequency. Business users will surely be more interested in the superior schedule BM offers and somehow I can't see there being 1200 leisure pax a week between ABZ-OSL!
Good news albeit with some strange revelations!
I believe the hotel project is the Ibis and Novotel that were revealed a while back Richard. See link: £25m hotel development proposals unveiled for Aberdeen airport | Aberdeen & North | News | STV
With it being SK I can't see them selling seats for £9.99 so who exactly are they targeting with this route with the low frequency. Business users will surely be more interested in the superior schedule BM offers and somehow I can't see there being 1200 leisure pax a week between ABZ-OSL!
Good news albeit with some strange revelations!
I believe the hotel project is the Ibis and Novotel that were revealed a while back Richard. See link: £25m hotel development proposals unveiled for Aberdeen airport | Aberdeen & North | News | STV
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Perhaps the presence of Norwegian energy giant Statoil in Aberdeen may have something to do with SAS's OSL route. Statoil have a large presence in both Oslo and Stavanger.
Not enough to warrant a 738 I agree but may have been a factor.
Not enough to warrant a 738 I agree but may have been a factor.
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BE328 ABZ-BHX
Does anyone know why BE328 (Q400) was over two hours late leaving ABZ last night and had to divert to EMA as BHX was then closed for runway maintenance? Arrived at EMA at around midnight and pax bussed to BHX. Absolutely zero reason or explanation provided by FlyBe ground, cabin or flight crew. Many disgruntled pax. Very poor.
HW
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SAS Frequent Flyers will like it - otherwise the schedule looks poor
The main business won't be Statoil employees but the support companies - well loggers, drillers, and other oil field trash
The main business won't be Statoil employees but the support companies - well loggers, drillers, and other oil field trash
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All well and good having new international flights but the problem remains of where all these aircraft park!
With now 3 Scandinavian arrivals, double daily Dublin, the Frankfurt Amsterdam and Paris arrivals plus the double daily bmi Oslo I don't know how all these aircraft fit onto the 4 international gates, not to mention all the flights from bergan, stavanger plus bmi esberg and kristinsund, a dilemma I'm sure the airport has no idea how to fix
Bring on the new owners ASAP please
Plus the new route to Riga starting early next year, almost forgot that one
With now 3 Scandinavian arrivals, double daily Dublin, the Frankfurt Amsterdam and Paris arrivals plus the double daily bmi Oslo I don't know how all these aircraft fit onto the 4 international gates, not to mention all the flights from bergan, stavanger plus bmi esberg and kristinsund, a dilemma I'm sure the airport has no idea how to fix
Bring on the new owners ASAP please
Plus the new route to Riga starting early next year, almost forgot that one
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ABZ-BHX
Happy Wanderer
The schedule went haywire yesterday evening.
Possibly tech problems, also compounded by one the spare 195's seemingly covering for routine maintenance on one of the 175's all week at BHX.
Also not sure if the weather at other stations was a problem as the morning DUS was 3 hours late and the evening Jersey one hour but the rest of the schedule was fine at BHX per the flybe stats.
Also BHX is only CAT 1 which meant problems this morning but last night as far as I know it was fine. The ABZ really needs to be rescheduled this winter to an hour earlier and it is not as if the current fleet is hard-pushed although I am sure that will change.
flybe are not the only ones scheduling close to 23.00, the LH Munich is the same and a couple of Thomson's sit at BHX to late morning do one flight (to non-slot restricted airports) getting back just before the closure. I do have sympathy with pax although if there are late tech problems little can be done.
Pete
The schedule went haywire yesterday evening.
Possibly tech problems, also compounded by one the spare 195's seemingly covering for routine maintenance on one of the 175's all week at BHX.
Also not sure if the weather at other stations was a problem as the morning DUS was 3 hours late and the evening Jersey one hour but the rest of the schedule was fine at BHX per the flybe stats.
Also BHX is only CAT 1 which meant problems this morning but last night as far as I know it was fine. The ABZ really needs to be rescheduled this winter to an hour earlier and it is not as if the current fleet is hard-pushed although I am sure that will change.
flybe are not the only ones scheduling close to 23.00, the LH Munich is the same and a couple of Thomson's sit at BHX to late morning do one flight (to non-slot restricted airports) getting back just before the closure. I do have sympathy with pax although if there are late tech problems little can be done.
Pete
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HAH announce investment
Aberdeen Airport set for £13m overhaul - The Scotsman
So, what does £13m overall get you?
And what does this mean for any potential divestment of the asset?
So, what does £13m overall get you?
And what does this mean for any potential divestment of the asset?
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Bigger Duty Free shop?
It does seem unusual that any company would throw £13 mil at an asset they are supposedly about to divest themselves of. Pity if a sale now out of the question. Just look at the growth at EDI since GIP took over there. Funny the difference an owner set on development rather than stagnation can make.
It does seem unusual that any company would throw £13 mil at an asset they are supposedly about to divest themselves of. Pity if a sale now out of the question. Just look at the growth at EDI since GIP took over there. Funny the difference an owner set on development rather than stagnation can make.
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Here's the local rag's take on the story...
Aberdeen International Airport set for major £13 million redevelopment - Local / News / Evening Express
More retail opportunities...hmmmm...
Still, some investment is better than none. Could they be tarting the place up to get a better price if they decide to sell?
Aberdeen International Airport set for major £13 million redevelopment - Local / News / Evening Express
More retail opportunities...hmmmm...
Still, some investment is better than none. Could they be tarting the place up to get a better price if they decide to sell?
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13 mill is not going to touch it, lets be realistic about this.
Someone needs to wake up and get a grip on the situation on the apron and the lack of parking space for international flights as well as the embarrassing arrivals hall.
Someone needs to wake up and get a grip on the situation on the apron and the lack of parking space for international flights as well as the embarrassing arrivals hall.