ABERDEEN

[DAVYDAY]

Its all for LHR slots

Its all for LHR slots
We heard 3 years ago that we would pull from LGW to LHR
the main reason Slots. and staffing costs in both stations

Take the Scottish slots into LHR and hey presto!
They won`t come back.

BA have no intention of returning canx flights.

Merge our 2 London airports into 1.
reduce costs - steal sorry use the Scottish slots.

Job done!

[Richard Taylor]

GSM Summer 09

I know they get pilloried, but GSM seem to have done a reasonable job at ABZ since they arrived a couple of years ago.

Their S09 routes are being released, & IBZ is new, on a short season, late Jun-Aug.

The comments this morning (OK, albeit in the P&J!!) from GSM & AAL suggest more routes to be announced "in the near future" - but whether that is just the same routes as before (eg. AGP) or somewhere new again remains to be seen.

[papa600]

RT;

Should we be worried if BA finally pull out of ABZ?

For the business traveller probably. For the leisure traveller unlikely.

I'd imagine 60-70% of BA custom to London is business related either to London directly or for onward connection Internationally. The flights being cut will not be those frequented by the business community (early / late on weekdays).

[Richard Taylor]

I see this morning that there are reports of INV possibly getting a link to Germany, rumoured to be DUS with Lufthansa. Talks at an "advanced stage".

Given that we have some pretty nice scenery around this part of the world (honestly - if you look!! ) I wonder if we might get a link soon, for both leisure & business travellers? We do get some German biz now & again & the MD has said in the past that they are looking at links to Deutschland.

Mind you, the BAA can't even get anyone to look at CWL for example!!

Don't think it's been reported on here, is there work ongoing to widen the stands to allow for more flexibility, especially at peak periods, instead of having a/c having to wait for certain stands to become available. No Stand 0, but will this help? Or do we still need more remote stands somewhere? Or is the work for something completely different?

Good luck to the crew of A109 that staged through ABZ last night on their round the world speed record!

Thanks for the reply P600. Doesn't change my view of BA though!

[virginblue]

Has there ever been serious talk about a Lufthansa link from ABZ, either to FRA or MUC? Lufthansa is increasingly eyeing the oil related market both with long-haul (SSG) and continental routes (SVG). so I was wondering if ABZ is on the radar.

[c2lass]

Pray for Lufthansa to look at ABZ. Germany is our fave Country but is a to get to from ABZ.

Flew Lufthansa in April from LHR and excellent service (apart from the two very bumpy landings )

Back off to Germany in Sept but have once again to go via LHR (good excuse for a lunch at Gordon Ramsay's plane food though) this time flying with BA to Basel in Switzerland.

I for one do hope this could be something for the future.

[Richard Taylor]

A109

OK, I'm confused! The online map thingie shows it to be in Austria, but it seems to have routed UK-Netherlands-Germany, but then appears to have double-backed on itself, back through Netherlands, & around France, now in Austria.

Storms? Routing issues? Or did the crew forget the wine?

Seems a bit of a round-about route if they're trying to beat the speed record!

Anyway, Malaga has now appeared for GSM again for Summer09. Wed (from June), Sat & Sun. The Sat/Sun flights are interesting, haven't had consecutive flights to this destination before as far as I recall. On the GSM thread the talk is they may be looking to operate another rotation "overnight", similar to what bmi do with IBZ at the mo. Seems a bit tight schedule-wise if it is all with the same a/c.

See a 3rd Regional (AFR) rotation for CDG is back on a Sat, E145.

[Richard Taylor]

Family "nut" flying KLM again

Anyone see the recent story about a family whose travel plans flying KLM USA to Aberdeen were disrupted, as KLM could not guarantee a "nut-free" flight, as the son of the family had a peanut allergy?

How does an airline guarantee that a flight will be "nut-free"? Are there meals that can be made nut-free (surely there must be? Although many ingredients & meals can contain a trace of nuts). Problem also seems to have been that the previous sector may have had nuts or meals with a trace of nut served, & KLM could not guarantee that this would be cleared before the family flew?

Family have said they will never fly KLM again, but must be difficult for airlines to guarantee a nut-free experience? Or is it something, given the number of people that do have such an allergy, that could/should be overcome?

(Didn't help that they were then delayed in AMS as the ABZ flight went tech!)

[Mister Geezer]

Sounds like KLM were just playing it safe and that is to be commended. I was a pax on a flight a few weeks ago when a pax with a nut allergy was on board. The cabin crew did a PA to ask fellow pax to not consume anything containing nuts during the flight. However the company could potentially get themselves into a sticky situation since if someone does not understand the announcement due to language barriers then cracks open a good old packet of KP's finest - the airline will be held over a barrel!

[Richard Taylor]

BAA developments

I still think the BAA is a "dead hand" on ABZ moving forward, but at least they are developing the place to some extent...better now than never!

I see a new heated, split international walkway is being created, to divide pax from incoming & outgoing flights.

Also improving the stands that I alluded to earlier (although I don't think it means more stands).

Next phase includes - woo!!! - improvements to baggage reclaim, which I take to mean at least another carousel.

Some might say tinkering at the edges only.

Now instead of advertising the SHOPPING experience BAA, howz about talking to airlines about new routes - SERIOUSLY talking to them & getting a deal to encourage them to come, instead of rigidly sticking to BAA mantra & charges?

I know it's difficult in the current climate...but some airlines ARE still looking to expand.

What happened to the Polish route? Rotterdam? London City? All "about to commence" allegedly but no sight nor sound of them since. Credit-crunched?

[Richard Taylor]

GSM Summer 09

Flyglobespan have now added TFS, on a Fri & timings as before from the look of it, 0700Dept. So we have:

TFS
PMI
AGP
PFO
IBZ (high season)
ALC
FAO

Only one missing is BCN. Will it return next summer? How is it doing currently?

[c2lass]

Interesting article in the P&J today re Aberdeen airport

BAA could be forced to sell its Aberdeen ‘cash cow’ - Press & Journal

[webby1919]

GSM still have no flights for Thurs - room for BCN and another flight. Lanzarote?

[Richard Taylor]

Thanks Webby. I see it's to be Dalaman as a new route for S09 weekly May-Oct.

Local press seem to think "more in coming weeks" & even "more this winter"!

So has BCN bitten the dust after this summer?

[simfly]

Please globespan, saturday GVA in the winter!!!! PPLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! (but slim chance...)

[atcomarkingtime]

A fly on the wall tells me that Flightline didn't get the oil contract from Feb...who did????

[Richard Taylor]

So ABZ will have to endure the continuing straitjacket of the BAA - they have been told (as expected) to divest itself of two of the three London airports plus either GLA or EDI.

Suppose BAA needs ABZ to fund developments elsewhere, even after the sell-off!

Flightline rumour is interesting. Until they took over the contract had always been turbo-prop operated. Especially in these days of high fuel costs, for such a short journey, would the Oil Consortium return to props for the contract? Would Eastern for example with Saab 2000s be a possibilty?

EDIT:
Interesting that the Commission seems to be recommending some sort of "regulation" re ABZ, to increase competition on routes, I presume. Heard on BBC Radio Scotland the BAA spokesman being asked about this, he wasn't sure "what this meant for ABZ or other UK airports".

[UKpaxman]

Shame if the 146's are history on the SCS route, I've enjoyed a lot of trips in all sorts of interesting weather
Return to turboprops? don't know, the 146's are expensive for the route but their 'catch up' ability is very useful on a route renowned for delays - remembering that the real expensive bit of the contract is the choppers.

Maybe it was the need for the hot standby aircraft that made the contract too expensive?

Lets just hope there's no-one in a desert somewhere dusting down a few ATP's for a new contract

So are Eastern the hot rumour - guess it would be Saabs then?

Maybe Flightline could lease one of the 146's to Gary Glitter for a few years

[MIKECR]

What about Logie?

[cmf146]

ABZ- Scasta

It would seem that someone with turboprops would suit the cost cutting consortium but who apart from Flybe has a 70 seater ? Nothing smaller would do I am sure.

IAC may live to regret dumping the 146, if that is what is happening, as there are only rumours about at the moment !