LEEDS 5

[karlee alpha]

I had my last post deleated for naming the incompetent directors but thats exactly what they are! Leeds city council messed up big style by selling the airport to these fools, they rave on about the passenger experience but at the same time rip their customers off by charging £2 just so your mates can drop you off, a further quid to get a trolly and thats 3 quid they have fleeced off you before you have checked in. And once you have checked in you have to face the dirty, too small terminal where there is nowhere to sit so you just have to move about like cattle at a market. Makes sitting on a Ryanair flight seem like luxury! Just where is the new terminal they have been bleeting on about these last 3 years, just what have Bridgepoint invested? The terminal is a disgrace, the runway is like the cobbles of a famous street across the pennines. I have heard one director say he would like to get rid of the little old lady who is sat in the departure lounge eating sandwiches out of tin foil and replace her with high spenders who buy food from the food outlets! So why not make it more affordable for the little old lady instead of the inflated prices they charge. Im sorry for my rant but i have always been loyal to my local airport but this lot of clowns have pushed me along the pennines to what i used to describe as hell but not anymore !

Edited.

[lbalad]

Bourgas

Just noticed on the airport website,that the BH Air flight goes via Humberside!.

Is this planned for the duration of the flights this summer,I'm a little surprised they can't fill a once a week flight from LBA alone.

[john2408]

The Bourgas flights from HUY and LBA have their own flights from 31/7 until the end of September.

[Helen49]

Curious to know exactly what developments have been funded and completed at LBA by Bridgepoint? [Genuine question - Not been near the place for many years!].

[Facelookbovvered]

Helen49

Its a good question

I think in terms of pax numbers Leeds have done ok, remember that not many years ago nearly 50% of pax number were from bmi of which LBA-LHR were the bulk! regional airports were never going to hang on to the valuable LHR slots, Jet2 came very much at the right time, but they got greedy and expensive, to some extent Ryanair have corrected that and despite all the friendly fares bull sh*t there isn't alot to pick between them, other than FR on time performance make Jet2 look at joke, but we all know that's down to equipment and should improve if and when Jet2 get more NG to operate year round, but the 757's are becoming a bigger problem.

The route network from Leeds is good, but big as the catchment area is its nothing compared with MAN, just glance over your shoulder at poor old MME!

No matter how much they invest it will still be on top of a windy/foggy/sometimes snowy hill with dreadful links to the nearest dual carriageway, let alone motorway

I can't see the runway being rebuilt for under £30m the airlines won't pay the pax aren't bothered, some of the local main roads are far worse.

The real moneyed business man just goes to the South-side or over the hill to join an EK flight

On balance i think Leeds has done ok, but low cost is where the volume is and retail is a volume business

[Helen49]

I was/am interested to know what capital developments have been funded by Bridgepoint.......ie buildings, roads, airside developments/refurbishments etc.

[freightdoggy dog]

Helen 49...I believe Bridgepoint invested in a vending machine to sell pax plastic bags for their 100ml toiletries prior to Security Hope that answers your question

[682ft AMSL]

Not quite.

http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgConv....aspx?ID=51871

For 2009/10 we have delivered:
– £2.0m enhanced forecourt facilities and short stay car parking.
– £0.6m reconfigured and improved central security search.
– £5.0m of infrastructure improvements.
– £0.4m on a new fuel farm facility.
– £0.35m new Premier Lounge.
– £1.0m of new long stay car parking.

The annual report and accounts are available from companies house for a small fee, and show £13m of capital expenditure between Apr 08 and Mar 10, so seems to be broadly consistent.

Next phase of the terminal development has gone out to tender with a contract value of £4.5m - £6.1m + VAT.

Alas, no details currently about a new vending machine

[Helen49]

Thanks for the information 682.

[AIRPORT66]

airport66

Who do the airside operations at LBA like winter ops and bird scarring?

[flybymike]

bird scarring?

That would be rather cruel.

[Mooncrest]

Bird scaring is done by the Airside Safety Unit. Snow clearance by the Fire Service and the ASU, to some extent.

[SWBKCB]

http://democracy.leeds.gov.uk/mgConv....aspx?ID=51871

Quote:
For 2009/10 we have delivered:
– £2.0m enhanced forecourt facilities and short stay car parking.
– £0.6m reconfigured and improved central security search.
– £5.0m of infrastructure improvements.
– £0.4m on a new fuel farm facility.
– £0.35m new Premier Lounge.
– £1.0m of new long stay car parking.
The annual report and accounts are available from companies house for a small fee, and show £13m of capital expenditure between Apr 08 and Mar 10, so seems to be broadly consistent.

Next phase of the terminal development has gone out to tender with a contract value of £4.5m - £6.1m + VAT.

Gosh - hope they are better at running airports than preparing Powerpoint presentations.

Also, I love lists like this where the descriptions of the small amounts are detailed but the biggest amount has a nice bland description like 'infrastucture improvements...

[682ft AMSL]

The original powerpoint was fine. The council, being the council, have to upload their documents into a standard template and so some of the formating was lost.

The £5m was (I suspect) the work required to address a problem of deicing fluid draining off into the local streams and becks which had aroused the interest of DEFRA. Given this was a problem dating back to the days of council ownership, I'm sure the wording in the presentation was deliberate. It would have been an interesting moment in the room when that point came up.

It also explains why £5m of spend has not benefited the passenger experience - although the local fish and wildlife are probably feeling the benefit.

[EXS258]

Heard from a friend today who works up at the LBA that Servisair have ordered the equipment to accommodate PIA's Triple 7 going on to say its first ISB-LBA run will be 27 July.

Anyone else heard anything. Having a quick look on their website flight still coming up as an A310 but as always with these rumours about PIA's comings and goings, take it with a pinch of salt until i see it on Yorkshire tarmac!


EXS258

[Aircrew101]

Was talking to one of the firemen the other day and he says that over time is needed as of the end of the month for the PIA for cat nine cover...

[Runway 32/14]

Wednesday July 27th, that's a date for my diary!!!

[Runway 32/14]

Ryanair return to Manchester

Just thought Leeds/Bradford followers should read this!!!



Ryanair announce Manchester Airport base / expansion

13.07.11
Ryanair has announced it will launch a base and add a number of new routes from Manchester Airport, nearly two years after it axed nine routes blaming airport charges. It will fly to 13 destinations by October, rising to 26 next summer. The airport said it had made some sacrifices to win back the airline.
The airline will initially base two aircraft at the airport from October operating 17 routes. Next summer Ryanair plans to grow to four aircraft and will fly from Manchester to: Alicante; Barcelona (Girona); Bezier; Biarritz; Bremen; Brussels, Dublin; Faro; Frankfurt; Ibiza; Katowice; Madrid; Malaga; Memmingen; Milan; Murcia; Oslo; Palma; Paris; Reus; Rome; Rzeszow; Tallinn; Tours; Tenerife and Valencia.
Ryanair fell out with the airport in August 2009 when a deal to run an additional 28 weekly flights if the airport charges were reduced could not be reached. At the time the airport said its charges were reasonable.
Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said a compromise had been agreed. He said: ‘The market has changed and the tour operators have declined, which formed a large part of the airport's business. I think they have been keen to get us back and we have learned from our mistakes last time.’ He said the new base will deliver up to two million passengers a year.
Penny Coates, chief operating officer of Manchester Airport, said: ‘We have seen a decline in passenger numbers over the last two or three years particularly since the recession kicked in.’ She said the airport had lost Ryanair passengers to Liverpool and to Leeds, adding: ‘We want those passengers back to fly here from Manchester.’

[lbalad]

Well I wish Ryanair had introduced some of those routes from Leeds instead of duplicating Jet2 established routes like Palma,Malaga,Faro,Barcelona etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if this new expanded base at Manchester it to the detriment of the Leeds base.

I for one won't be rushing to fly from Manchester,I prefer flying from Liverpool anyday,if I can't fly from my local airport.

[easyflyer83]

I'm a Yorkshire lad born and bred but you almost sound jealous of MAN.