DURHAM TEES VALLEY AIRPORT - 4
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Airport access interchange.
Went past the new interchange on the A66 two nights ago but it was dark and 70mph so I didn't get a good look but what I saw looked very impressive. Anyone know how it is working in practice and where does it filter into the airport access roads?
Join Date: Jul 2004
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It is very impressive - especially how quick they have got it completed and fully open. It links into Mill Lane which is the old road from Long Newton to the airport and the old road now terminates just beyond the farm. I think though that the airport is still signposted at the A135 junction coming from the A19 so quite a lot of traffic may still be routing through the back of Yarm 
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Thanks HD
Just read in the local paper that the taxi driver's contract has been terminated at 8 hrs notice and the new contract has been given to Durham Tees Valley Taxis. Sounds remarkably like the airport has set up it's own taxi firm.
The previous taxi operators stated that this came as a complete suprise but surely there must have been some contact between them and the airport management.
Just read in the local paper that the taxi driver's contract has been terminated at 8 hrs notice and the new contract has been given to Durham Tees Valley Taxis. Sounds remarkably like the airport has set up it's own taxi firm.
The previous taxi operators stated that this came as a complete suprise but surely there must have been some contact between them and the airport management.
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No problem - it certainly sounds like it might be something to do with the airport, but I have to say that I haven't heard anything at all regarding the taxi contracts, not my domain I'm afraid!!
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Join Date: Oct 2005
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Lancelot37 - you mean MME 
yea that sounds about right, I've heard that one before too. I've think it's been the case for a few years now, and it needs to be reversed!!
yea that sounds about right, I've heard that one before too. I've think it's been the case for a few years now, and it needs to be reversed!!
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Not true...the marketing department here have been out to local travel agents and actually offered incentives to those selling seats out of MME (this came from the branch manager of a large travel agent chain local to MME). The only thing that would make the holiday more expensive out of MME is if the flight supplements are higher than NCL which is down to the operator, not the agent.
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HeathrowDictator travel agents have always been offered incentives from NCL and MME. In my experience though travel agents have always pushed NCL, MAN and LBA over MME even when asking for the same hotel in the same resort at roughly the same price, I'm taking about travel agents in Darlington as well. This could be down to several reasons, 1. NCL, MAN and LBA offer bigger incentives to the travel agents, 2. the tour operators and airports together offer bigger incentives to the travel agents and 3. the tour operators offer bigger incentives. Ok there are several reasons for doing this and the main one is the economies of scale achieved at places like MAN, NCL and LBA incomparison to MME so they can offer greater financial packages to travel agents. There is though another underhand reason, in which tour operators could be trying (without it being obvious to the public) to get more pax through MAN, NCL and LBA and that is their economies of scale are better through these so pax through these airports are more profitable than through MME. So slowly trying to move pax from MME to MAN, NCL and LBA would allow eventually to close operations at MME and so increase profitbility!
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Unless things have changed dramatically in the 6 years since I worked in a high street travel agent, believe you me that the agent behind the desk gets no extra financial gain for pushing NCL/LBA/MAN ahead of MME. The only thing I can think of as to why that seems to happen may be down to the way the tour operator has ordered the holidays on the computer system. When you search for MME it commonly also looks at NCL and MAN/LBA, and if you search for NCL it normally picks MME and EDI/MAN as alternatives. If the search results are listed favouring NCL/LBA/MAN then surely it is not down to the agent, that is the only point I was making in my original post.
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Well I've booked several package holidays in the last 10 years and each time its been in the Darlington area. More often than not the staff picked NCL as first option and LBA and MAN were second and third, this is even before I had asked for Teesside. This isn't just the case with me but also people I know who have tried to book holidays from Teesside. I hear that your time as a travel agent was spent in Newcastle area and not the Darlington area, so you may not of known the tactics employed in each area by the airports and tour operators!
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Maybe it's just certain agents/operators then. I was in one in Darlington a month or so ago and was offered DTVA as a first choice. I think it's more based on individual training rather than company policies. Despite working in the Newcastle area, I knew collegues in the Teesside stores and even covered down on this patch on several occasions and never saw evidence of bias to NCL/MME/MAN so sorry but I don't think there are any conspiracy theories 
I'm guessing because you know about my travel agent past Onion that you work in ATC - feel free to talk to me about it sometime!!
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I'm guessing because you know about my travel agent past Onion that you work in ATC - feel free to talk to me about it sometime!!
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I know for a fact that airports cannot and never have offered incentives to travel agents to pick their airports. It is just not possible. Unless you are travelling independently with a scheduled carrier the travel agents use a very similar system as you yourself do on the internet. The incentives come from the tour operator and this is usually to push their particular company. The reason travel agents use NCL MAN and LBA is that the choice is better and because in the past several companies were competing on price the price was better as well. The choice from MME has never been great and from October will be virually non existant. The choice from other airports especially to the Canaries and the Western Med will be severely reduced now that there are only two companies in the market and they are not competing to like for like resorts and hotels. The fix is in for MME but it has nothing to do with airports and everything to do with tour companies reducing costs.
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Well I'm just going on personal experience and friends experience when they and I have gone to the travel agents it has been the travel agent that has suggested NCL, MAN and LBA before offering MME, maybe as suggested this is training of the individual by the travel agent, maybe it is the fact that people/travel agent staff in the immediate catchment area for MME still don't realise where you can get to from MME. As suggested it maybe down to the fact that there are more holidays available from other airports, in which case this suggest to me maybe MME is underserved (I believe this) and others are over served, in which case the excess holidays are pushed heavily on customers. A few years ago the choice at MME was as bad as it was now (especially when mytravel and then Thomson had bases at MME) and the case was still the same.
HeathrowDictator I don't work in ATC, but I do know of you.
HeathrowDictator I don't work in ATC, but I do know of you.
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SWBKCB said "or are they getting commercial incentives?"
That's what I was asking. Do travel agents get better commision/fees/bonuses for pushing NCL instead of MMH? That's what I heard, but it was not positive proof.
That's what I was asking. Do travel agents get better commision/fees/bonuses for pushing NCL instead of MMH? That's what I heard, but it was not positive proof.
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Well when Airtours moved to MME in the 90's travel agents were offered a much better commission rate to sell airtours from MME! And it still did not work!!
You will find swings and round-abouts I have been pushed hols from MME and MAN when I have asked for prices from NCL so.....
You will find swings and round-abouts I have been pushed hols from MME and MAN when I have asked for prices from NCL so.....
DTV and Globespan ???
Nothing released yet for DTV for 2009..is the writing on the wall?
Cant beleive we will be left with no based operator next year?
Off the record heard passenger figures could be down 20% July(on last year)...much worse than expected?
What next!!
Cant beleive we will be left with no based operator next year?
Off the record heard passenger figures could be down 20% July(on last year)...much worse than expected?
What next!!
Join Date: Jul 2003
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Looks like a Manx registered Falcon that stayed here a few days a while ago (as it sat in Hangar 1 for a few days). Don't think it's a regular visit like they claim it is. It was filmed a while ago anyway, while Aviance were still here by the looks of it - and they left quite a few months ago.
Good to hear Northern are so busy though!
Good to hear Northern are so busy though!