LEEDS 5
Join Date: Aug 2000
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The tram line was paid for locally, through local taxes with a huge payment from the airport. Maybe you should be complaining that your local population aren't calling for you local politicians to fund improvements in the links to the airport, as happened in Manc in 2004.
Remember when I posted a link to local transport priorities in West Yorkshire?
Why would central government fund a scheme that's not even a local priority in West Yorkshire?
Remember when I posted a link to local transport priorities in West Yorkshire?
Why would central government fund a scheme that's not even a local priority in West Yorkshire?
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/news/pages/£...-and-York.aspx
Join Date: Aug 2007
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LA
Firstly your enthusiasm aside you have absolutely no idea how airlines and airports operate.
Your arguments are way too simplistic and pure fantasy. I think you have an issue with Manchester in general which is clouding any rational thinking. Your arguments have been torn to pieces but you won't accept that. Fair enough you are entitled to your beliefs but CF will never happen and Yorkshire will not have an airport to fly the millions around the globe you seem to think it deserves.
As I have stated and others too LBA will continue to offer flights and I am sure passenger numbers and destinations will increase but the simple fact is there are not enough willing passengers to make anything more economically worthwhile. Just having 5 million living in your region does not mean airlines flying them all over the place on nice jets.
Airlines will go where they can get the most passengers and profit. That's Manchester not LBA and certainly not CF.
As for where I live or lived, well I don't live in Manchester and haven't for many years. Whether MAN does well or not does not affect me but what I can see is the massive importance it has for the whole of the North. LBA has a more local benefit and quite rightly so but anything more than that for Yorkshire won't happen. Airlines are what matters and they have shown what they want.
Firstly your enthusiasm aside you have absolutely no idea how airlines and airports operate.
Your arguments are way too simplistic and pure fantasy. I think you have an issue with Manchester in general which is clouding any rational thinking. Your arguments have been torn to pieces but you won't accept that. Fair enough you are entitled to your beliefs but CF will never happen and Yorkshire will not have an airport to fly the millions around the globe you seem to think it deserves.
As I have stated and others too LBA will continue to offer flights and I am sure passenger numbers and destinations will increase but the simple fact is there are not enough willing passengers to make anything more economically worthwhile. Just having 5 million living in your region does not mean airlines flying them all over the place on nice jets.
Airlines will go where they can get the most passengers and profit. That's Manchester not LBA and certainly not CF.
As for where I live or lived, well I don't live in Manchester and haven't for many years. Whether MAN does well or not does not affect me but what I can see is the massive importance it has for the whole of the North. LBA has a more local benefit and quite rightly so but anything more than that for Yorkshire won't happen. Airlines are what matters and they have shown what they want.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Yes, and they can progress with that.
I was replying to the suggestion that a tram line to Manc was unfair as equivalent isn't provided by central government to Leeds.
LA is clearly uninformed about how these things get progressed.
I was replying to the suggestion that a tram line to Manc was unfair as equivalent isn't provided by central government to Leeds.
LA is clearly uninformed about how these things get progressed.
Join Date: May 2007
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It is a priority. A link road to the airport from the A65, close to the Leeds Outer Ring Road was recommended by the Govt and is included as a funded project in the West Yorks Combined Authority transport plan.
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/news/pages/£...-and-York.aspx
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/news/pages/£...-and-York.aspx
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Yet that is YOUR local politicians priority.
Politicians elected directly by the population of Yorkshire.
The population of Yorkshire who clearly have different properties to yourself.
Nothing to do with central government, nothing to do with Manchester.
Perhaps you need to look far closer to home to understand why things develop as they do and not jump to uniformed ideas that are incorrect.
Politicians elected directly by the population of Yorkshire.
The population of Yorkshire who clearly have different properties to yourself.
Nothing to do with central government, nothing to do with Manchester.
Perhaps you need to look far closer to home to understand why things develop as they do and not jump to uniformed ideas that are incorrect.
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I wont be arguing with manc plane / tram spotters anymore. Glasgow and Edinburgh have perfectly fine airports and so should the two sides of the pennines. Both in suitable locations with usable runways and well connected. Only politicians will deny this. Yorkshire has propped MAN up for too long by having a completely inadequate airport. I will watch what happens at CF with interest.
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Yet that is YOUR local politicians priority.
Politicians elected directly by the population of Yorkshire.
The population of Yorkshire who clearly have different properties to yourself.
Nothing to do with central government, nothing to do with Manchester.
Perhaps you need to look far closer to home to understand why things develop as they do and not jump to uniformed ideas that are incorrect.
Politicians elected directly by the population of Yorkshire.
The population of Yorkshire who clearly have different properties to yourself.
Nothing to do with central government, nothing to do with Manchester.
Perhaps you need to look far closer to home to understand why things develop as they do and not jump to uniformed ideas that are incorrect.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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You confuse arguing with someone highlighting how your mistaken view of the world has occurred.
There is no local or national political desire to see what you want.
The economics don't make sense.
You don't understand why what's important to you is entirely irrelevant to the point you're trying to make.
What's fair isn't relevant, airports and airlines are commercial enterprises, there's no reason to think that they'll be evenly spread across the country as you seem to desire.
There is no local or national political desire to see what you want.
The economics don't make sense.
You don't understand why what's important to you is entirely irrelevant to the point you're trying to make.
What's fair isn't relevant, airports and airlines are commercial enterprises, there's no reason to think that they'll be evenly spread across the country as you seem to desire.
Join Date: Feb 2004
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That's been posted already several times by more than one person. One thinks your wasting your time Kurt as the important things in today's commercial aviation LA does not seem to want to hear, consider or accept !
Join Date: Nov 2006
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OMG What a real **** this LEEDS APPROACH is.
You keep telling him Kurt
as this guy needs to be put down as he has no idea of Aviation and how Airports are run, he clearly lives in a fantasy world!
You keep telling him Kurt
as this guy needs to be put down as he has no idea of Aviation and how Airports are run, he clearly lives in a fantasy world!
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Yeadon v. Church Fenton
I'm just surprised the mods haven't called enough on this, given what happened on the MAN thread, when in my view most of the debate then, although lengthy, was well articulated and reasoned.
Yeadon v. Church Fenton
This is exactly the same as Heathrow v. Boris..........and we all know what happened to the estuary airport: the Commission sunk it without trace.
Join Date: Sep 2007
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A polite request...
Could we keep the Church Fenton related stuff to its own thread, and leave this one to topics directly connected to Leeds/Bradford Airport? And if possible please something a bit more interesting than flight XX zzz spent 15 minutes holding yesterday...
Thanks
Could we keep the Church Fenton related stuff to its own thread, and leave this one to topics directly connected to Leeds/Bradford Airport? And if possible please something a bit more interesting than flight XX zzz spent 15 minutes holding yesterday...
Thanks
Join Date: Aug 2000
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Interesting article here.
Also, Aer Lingus going to 3 x daily on Friday's in the summer.
Why Leeds Bradford Airport is on the rise - Yorkshire Post
Also, Aer Lingus going to 3 x daily on Friday's in the summer.
Why Leeds Bradford Airport is on the rise - Yorkshire Post
Last year Leeds Bradford Airport welcomed a record number of passengers. But what are the challenges ahead? Chris Bond spoke to chief executive John Parkin.
LOOKING out of his office window John Parkin has good reason to be happy.
The snowy panorama might be a headache for anyone running a major airport, but it’s going to take more than Arctic winds and a flurry of snowflakes to blow Leeds Bradford Airport’s plans off course.
Last year was a record-breaking year for the airport with 3.3 million passengers passing through the terminal – the biggest figure in its 84-year history. Not only that but it has been the fastest growing regional airport over the last five years, while last month British Airways celebrated its 250,000th passenger flying on the London Heathrow route since it was launched two years ago.
British Airways is one of three airlines that have started operating flights here in the last two years, along with Aer Lingus and Monarch, and they, along with the likes of Jet2 – which now flies to 48 destinations from Leeds Bradford – have helped boost passenger numbers.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Parkin took over as the airport’s chief executive in 2007, just as the world was about to slip into economic meltdown. The global financial crash had a dramatic impact on the aviation industry and passenger numbers at Leeds Bradford fell to 2.4 million. This might still sound like a lot, but airports are all about footfall and when passenger numbers drop that spells bad news.
“The market was seismically hit,” admits Parkin, “but what we’ve done in the teeth of the worst economic gale I’ve ever seen in my career is we’ve grown the number of passengers when many airports have gone backwards.”
In 2012, £11m was spent improving the terminal and there are plans for further upgrades with work about to start on a new “premium” car park at the front of the airport which will include a covered walkway to the terminal.
The website has recently been revamped and from the middle of next month passengers will be able to access free, ‘super-fast’ broadband. “As we stand at the moment our broadband is really frustrating because it’s so slow, but this will be the fastest broadband service of any airport in the world, so you will be able to download movies and check your emails.”
Waiting at an airport can be a tedious experience and all of this is aimed at making it a little more comfortable. But Parkin’s main job is to convince people that they can get to where they want to go by using his airport. “We want to get the message across that you can get anywhere in the world from here and you can do it pretty easily,” he says.
In the past one of the criticisms has been the lack of destinations once you go beyond Europe’s boundaries, which is why the airport has recently introduced flights to Dubai, via Amsterdam, with KLM. Parkin also points to the success of the British Airways flights to Heathrow. “The fact we fly to terminal 5 has been a big plus because it means people can then head off to LA or Sydney, or wherever else.”
Increasing the number of destinations people can fly to isn’t the only reason for the rise in passenger numbers. “One of the reasons why we are continuing to grow is that people want the right price but they also want convenience. When you’ve been on holiday you just want to get home and that’s where regional airports score highly.”
Despite its success there are still challenges facing Leeds Bradford, not least the vexed issue of traffic congestion on nearby roads, and the long-standing question of whether the airport will get a rail link. Manchester Airport has its own train station while at Newcastle they’ve had a metro link for more than 20 years now. There has been a lot of talk about building a train connection to Leeds Bradford and while it remains part of the long-term plan, this hasn’t yet translated to work on the ground.
As is often the case with projects of this size, the cost is the main sticking point. But Parkin wants to see it happen and says a rail link connecting the airport to the existing Harrogate line is “achievable”. He says the network between Harrogate, York, Leeds and Bradford is incomplete and that an airport link could close the gap. “The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) supports this and there is support from the government for it, too. There is a big political push towards the North of England right now, and high time too, so we need to keep at it and that’s what we’re doing.”
He is keenly aware of the impact the airport can, and does, have on the regional economy. “It’s like a mini town, only one that never closes. Airports are job creation machines and we have added a thousand jobs here since 2007. We are now one of the biggest employers in the city region with more than 3,000 jobs.” These range from pilots and air traffic controllers, through to baggage handlers and caterers. “If we win a new airline contract the moment that aircraft touches this tarmac jobs are created.”
This idea of a powerful regional infrastructure ties in with his support for HS2. “We have supported that from the very beginning and some people have been surprised by that. Of course we want people on planes but we want a thriving regional economy and we want people to have a choice, so that if they want to fly, or travel by road or rail they can.”
The airport itself has a massive catchment area of around 5.3 million people, yet only five per cent of overseas visitors to York fly into Leeds Bradford – a figure that airport bosses want to see rise to more than 10 per cent by 2017.
Parkin says that Manchester Airport remains their chief rival. “Our biggest challenge, and at the same time opportunity, is we know there are more people flying from Manchester who live in this region than we have passengers.”
Manchester is bigger, of course, and has a wider choice of destinations but Leeds Bradford is expected to more than double its passenger numbers over the next decade. “If you look at some of the recent government reports, Leeds Bradford is picked out as the airport that will be the largest east of the Pennines in ten years’ time because it sits in a massive catchment area that is under served, something we are trying to fix.”
But Parkin believes the airport is on the right path. “Our average statistic for getting bags from the aircraft to people’s hand was eight minutes – that’s pretty good,” he says. “You can only go on what people tell you, we had a lot of people saying to us ‘when are you going to improve the terminal?’, ‘when are you going to have a service to Heathrow’ and when are we going to have more choice of places to fly to? – well, we’re doing all of this.
“There are things we need to improve on but I think if we can get it right then our combination of convenience, price, the right airlines and the right destinations is unbeatable.”
LOOKING out of his office window John Parkin has good reason to be happy.
The snowy panorama might be a headache for anyone running a major airport, but it’s going to take more than Arctic winds and a flurry of snowflakes to blow Leeds Bradford Airport’s plans off course.
Last year was a record-breaking year for the airport with 3.3 million passengers passing through the terminal – the biggest figure in its 84-year history. Not only that but it has been the fastest growing regional airport over the last five years, while last month British Airways celebrated its 250,000th passenger flying on the London Heathrow route since it was launched two years ago.
British Airways is one of three airlines that have started operating flights here in the last two years, along with Aer Lingus and Monarch, and they, along with the likes of Jet2 – which now flies to 48 destinations from Leeds Bradford – have helped boost passenger numbers.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Parkin took over as the airport’s chief executive in 2007, just as the world was about to slip into economic meltdown. The global financial crash had a dramatic impact on the aviation industry and passenger numbers at Leeds Bradford fell to 2.4 million. This might still sound like a lot, but airports are all about footfall and when passenger numbers drop that spells bad news.
“The market was seismically hit,” admits Parkin, “but what we’ve done in the teeth of the worst economic gale I’ve ever seen in my career is we’ve grown the number of passengers when many airports have gone backwards.”
In 2012, £11m was spent improving the terminal and there are plans for further upgrades with work about to start on a new “premium” car park at the front of the airport which will include a covered walkway to the terminal.
The website has recently been revamped and from the middle of next month passengers will be able to access free, ‘super-fast’ broadband. “As we stand at the moment our broadband is really frustrating because it’s so slow, but this will be the fastest broadband service of any airport in the world, so you will be able to download movies and check your emails.”
Waiting at an airport can be a tedious experience and all of this is aimed at making it a little more comfortable. But Parkin’s main job is to convince people that they can get to where they want to go by using his airport. “We want to get the message across that you can get anywhere in the world from here and you can do it pretty easily,” he says.
In the past one of the criticisms has been the lack of destinations once you go beyond Europe’s boundaries, which is why the airport has recently introduced flights to Dubai, via Amsterdam, with KLM. Parkin also points to the success of the British Airways flights to Heathrow. “The fact we fly to terminal 5 has been a big plus because it means people can then head off to LA or Sydney, or wherever else.”
Increasing the number of destinations people can fly to isn’t the only reason for the rise in passenger numbers. “One of the reasons why we are continuing to grow is that people want the right price but they also want convenience. When you’ve been on holiday you just want to get home and that’s where regional airports score highly.”
Despite its success there are still challenges facing Leeds Bradford, not least the vexed issue of traffic congestion on nearby roads, and the long-standing question of whether the airport will get a rail link. Manchester Airport has its own train station while at Newcastle they’ve had a metro link for more than 20 years now. There has been a lot of talk about building a train connection to Leeds Bradford and while it remains part of the long-term plan, this hasn’t yet translated to work on the ground.
As is often the case with projects of this size, the cost is the main sticking point. But Parkin wants to see it happen and says a rail link connecting the airport to the existing Harrogate line is “achievable”. He says the network between Harrogate, York, Leeds and Bradford is incomplete and that an airport link could close the gap. “The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) supports this and there is support from the government for it, too. There is a big political push towards the North of England right now, and high time too, so we need to keep at it and that’s what we’re doing.”
He is keenly aware of the impact the airport can, and does, have on the regional economy. “It’s like a mini town, only one that never closes. Airports are job creation machines and we have added a thousand jobs here since 2007. We are now one of the biggest employers in the city region with more than 3,000 jobs.” These range from pilots and air traffic controllers, through to baggage handlers and caterers. “If we win a new airline contract the moment that aircraft touches this tarmac jobs are created.”
This idea of a powerful regional infrastructure ties in with his support for HS2. “We have supported that from the very beginning and some people have been surprised by that. Of course we want people on planes but we want a thriving regional economy and we want people to have a choice, so that if they want to fly, or travel by road or rail they can.”
The airport itself has a massive catchment area of around 5.3 million people, yet only five per cent of overseas visitors to York fly into Leeds Bradford – a figure that airport bosses want to see rise to more than 10 per cent by 2017.
Parkin says that Manchester Airport remains their chief rival. “Our biggest challenge, and at the same time opportunity, is we know there are more people flying from Manchester who live in this region than we have passengers.”
Manchester is bigger, of course, and has a wider choice of destinations but Leeds Bradford is expected to more than double its passenger numbers over the next decade. “If you look at some of the recent government reports, Leeds Bradford is picked out as the airport that will be the largest east of the Pennines in ten years’ time because it sits in a massive catchment area that is under served, something we are trying to fix.”
But Parkin believes the airport is on the right path. “Our average statistic for getting bags from the aircraft to people’s hand was eight minutes – that’s pretty good,” he says. “You can only go on what people tell you, we had a lot of people saying to us ‘when are you going to improve the terminal?’, ‘when are you going to have a service to Heathrow’ and when are we going to have more choice of places to fly to? – well, we’re doing all of this.
“There are things we need to improve on but I think if we can get it right then our combination of convenience, price, the right airlines and the right destinations is unbeatable.”
Join Date: Feb 2002
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Nice article. If they intend to double the oveseas passengers coming through the airport maybe they should start looking at adding some more infrastructure. Ac parking is already at a premium. Yes more bums on present servicies doesn't need more parking but if they want to grow they desperately need more servicies. Also the loss of the PIA is not mentioned, that was doing well on that score good load factors bringing in overseas visitors. What is their response? Try to get Air India in. Well the Indian population is tiny compared to the Pakistani population who are now forced to fly from MAN. How about Air India to Delhi then on to ISB or LHE with a 787, that may work.
Join Date: May 2007
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Passenger numbers dropped in the calendar year 2014 from the actual 3.3 million people who did use the airport in 2013. Just completely misleading PR claptrap.
An airport being left behind. I cant wait for the masterplan to be released in a month (crossed fingers). It should have kept the local population updated on airport plans in 2011. Perhaps there was little to say!?
So glad a service to Dubai has been added via Amsterdam while the B777 to Pakistan quietly bit the dust- you could not make it up! Still dreaming of a rail connection to be built for an airport that may possibly add 2 more million passengers. Then what happens?
I hope the link road to near the busy ring road goes ahead - after all housing estates need connecting too.
An airport being left behind. I cant wait for the masterplan to be released in a month (crossed fingers). It should have kept the local population updated on airport plans in 2011. Perhaps there was little to say!?
So glad a service to Dubai has been added via Amsterdam while the B777 to Pakistan quietly bit the dust- you could not make it up! Still dreaming of a rail connection to be built for an airport that may possibly add 2 more million passengers. Then what happens?
I hope the link road to near the busy ring road goes ahead - after all housing estates need connecting too.
Join Date: May 2007
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'...only five per cent of overseas visitors to York fly into Leeds Bradford – a figure that airport bosses want to see rise to more than 10 per cent by 2017.'
I know a good way of changing this figure.... please proceed to the Church Fenton thread.
The airport always wants to do certain things by certain dates but there is a very good reason why they never happen. Will people remember this 'wish' in 2017? Even 10% is miniscule to what it should be.
I absolutely hate PR and spin doctorism in the aviation industry these days.
I know a good way of changing this figure.... please proceed to the Church Fenton thread.
The airport always wants to do certain things by certain dates but there is a very good reason why they never happen. Will people remember this 'wish' in 2017? Even 10% is miniscule to what it should be.
I absolutely hate PR and spin doctorism in the aviation industry these days.
Join Date: Feb 2002
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Leeds Approach. Adding 2 million more passengers would cement the airports position as a top 15 UK airport. Despite all the problems it has it has recently been one of the fastest growing airports in the UK. Yes it should be top 10 based on the size of the Cities it serves, note I didn't say catchment as we all know the poor road/Rail links mean it cannot serve as well as it should.
Let's just be thankful the place does as well as it does with all its constraints.
Let's just be thankful the place does as well as it does with all its constraints.