CARDIFF - 2
Join Date: Jan 2007
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British Airways Maintenance Cardiff usually deals with heavy maintenance on all the BA longhaul fleet including the installing of new cabin interriors and in-flight entertainment.
I believe the hangar at Heathrow have been modified to accomodate the A380 which of course may bee required for light maintenance etc. In the long-term there hasn't been anything solid to say that major checks which will be required a few years downline may not be completed at Cardiff. CWL will also remain an alternate so it is a possible for diversionary reasons.
There's several rumours that the B787 will be maintained at Cardiff and also not certain at the moment if the aircraft will be delivered to Cardiff and have the final cabin interior added as have been done with the B773.
A350 as another longhaul aircraft intending to replace the B747 it would make sense if heavy maintenance was performed at Cardiff as there will be room available.
BA shorthaul fleet. There has been talks of the shorthaul fleet moving to South Wales from Glasgow and likely to be in the superhangar at St Athan but with the MoD not intending to hand the hangar to the Welsh Government until 2017 then not sure if this has been cancelled.
Lots of rumours at the moment but very little facts regarding to future maintenance of BA aircraft.
I believe the hangar at Heathrow have been modified to accomodate the A380 which of course may bee required for light maintenance etc. In the long-term there hasn't been anything solid to say that major checks which will be required a few years downline may not be completed at Cardiff. CWL will also remain an alternate so it is a possible for diversionary reasons.
There's several rumours that the B787 will be maintained at Cardiff and also not certain at the moment if the aircraft will be delivered to Cardiff and have the final cabin interior added as have been done with the B773.
A350 as another longhaul aircraft intending to replace the B747 it would make sense if heavy maintenance was performed at Cardiff as there will be room available.
BA shorthaul fleet. There has been talks of the shorthaul fleet moving to South Wales from Glasgow and likely to be in the superhangar at St Athan but with the MoD not intending to hand the hangar to the Welsh Government until 2017 then not sure if this has been cancelled.
Lots of rumours at the moment but very little facts regarding to future maintenance of BA aircraft.
Join Date: Apr 2013
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It would be great to see a new airline announced sometime soon, it will be a morale booster !!! New airline & new destination.....I wonder what / who would be on the wish list ?
Any suggestions or thoughts ??
Wizz, Delta ........
ORK, BRU, VCE, NCE ??
Any suggestions or thoughts ??
Wizz, Delta ........
ORK, BRU, VCE, NCE ??
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Brussels is a route that doesn't seem to work at Cardiff I know in the last 7-8 years it was tried and failed by both Eastern Airways and Air Wales.
Cork as a leisure route always seemed to attract bums on seats but the yield couldn't have been there with Aer Lingus Regional / Aer Arann as it was dropped. An ATR / Dash8 is a perfect aircraft size for the route and certainly since the Swansea - Cork ferry no longer operates it should be a no brainer. I wonder if Citywing could ever be persuaded to operate it in between the Anglesey rotations.
Venice and Nice may work as a leisure destination but not sure if it would be large enough to operate a weekly service in the Summer. I wonder if Newmarket Holidays will continue to grow the Venice offering in 2014.
We also need to look at Atlantic Holidays Funchal charters who will operate two this year and may further increase them in the future.
I certainly think Faro in Portugal is a no brainer for a destination to be added at some point on a higher frequency than the current 1 x weekly charter by Thomson.
Winter sporting charters to Ski resorts should also make a comeback soon as there's a large void left since the 3 x weekly bmibay to Geneva and the 1 x weekly to Innsbruck & Chambery by Thomson.
I do believe that the airport will be doing what they can to link to another hub for connections preferably in Germany I would imagine.
A major positive sign would be return to
4 x daily Amsterdam (Currently 3 x daily)
3 x daily Dublin (Currently 2 x daily, 3 x daily Th,Fri,Su)
2 x daily Belfast City (Currently 2 x daily)
2 x daily Paris CDG (Currently 1 x daily)
Several opportunities for Vueling who are pleased from the support they have from Cardiff Airport and their friends.
Mahon, Ibiza, Faro (However they tend to operate to Lisbon) there may also be increases on their current routes. I fear Barcelona may be removed but we will have to see. There's also a market to keep Alicante and Malaga year round.
Could there be a market for Pegasus to operate from Cardiff to Turkey.
Cork as a leisure route always seemed to attract bums on seats but the yield couldn't have been there with Aer Lingus Regional / Aer Arann as it was dropped. An ATR / Dash8 is a perfect aircraft size for the route and certainly since the Swansea - Cork ferry no longer operates it should be a no brainer. I wonder if Citywing could ever be persuaded to operate it in between the Anglesey rotations.
Venice and Nice may work as a leisure destination but not sure if it would be large enough to operate a weekly service in the Summer. I wonder if Newmarket Holidays will continue to grow the Venice offering in 2014.
We also need to look at Atlantic Holidays Funchal charters who will operate two this year and may further increase them in the future.
I certainly think Faro in Portugal is a no brainer for a destination to be added at some point on a higher frequency than the current 1 x weekly charter by Thomson.
Winter sporting charters to Ski resorts should also make a comeback soon as there's a large void left since the 3 x weekly bmibay to Geneva and the 1 x weekly to Innsbruck & Chambery by Thomson.
I do believe that the airport will be doing what they can to link to another hub for connections preferably in Germany I would imagine.
A major positive sign would be return to
4 x daily Amsterdam (Currently 3 x daily)
3 x daily Dublin (Currently 2 x daily, 3 x daily Th,Fri,Su)
2 x daily Belfast City (Currently 2 x daily)
2 x daily Paris CDG (Currently 1 x daily)
Several opportunities for Vueling who are pleased from the support they have from Cardiff Airport and their friends.
Mahon, Ibiza, Faro (However they tend to operate to Lisbon) there may also be increases on their current routes. I fear Barcelona may be removed but we will have to see. There's also a market to keep Alicante and Malaga year round.
Could there be a market for Pegasus to operate from Cardiff to Turkey.
Join Date: Apr 2013
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Totally agree, ORK always had good loads with Air Wales as did their DUB flights. Wish they were still around as with proper guidance & management they would have been great. Look at the old days when BA Express had all those flights & destinations with their EM4 and J41's. CWL needs another airline like that with 29 to 48 seat aircraft. I remember flying to CDG on numerous J41's which were always full !!
J41 sized aircraft be ideal for CDG, IOM, GCI, JER, ORK, DUB & similar places. Further afield, lets hope Vueling get persuaded to do flights to TFS, ACE & LPA -a definately market on top of their current destinations.
With regards to Atlantic Holidays, fingers crossed but they used to do a weekly a few years back initially split with BOH using Air Luxor A320 then direct with Astraeus 737's so obviously quite a popular choice.
Only time will tell eh !
J41 sized aircraft be ideal for CDG, IOM, GCI, JER, ORK, DUB & similar places. Further afield, lets hope Vueling get persuaded to do flights to TFS, ACE & LPA -a definately market on top of their current destinations.
With regards to Atlantic Holidays, fingers crossed but they used to do a weekly a few years back initially split with BOH using Air Luxor A320 then direct with Astraeus 737's so obviously quite a popular choice.
Only time will tell eh !
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I had the pleasure of having discussion with the International Sales Manager and Network Planner of Vueling recently and it seems that the Canaries do not fit in with their operation style due to the sector length. They only tend to operate the long sectors from their main base at Barcelona.
Of course these operation styles alter and you never know in the future this stance may change. Also at present Vueling do not fly to TFS they have a base in TFN which is not ideal for leisure traffic.
Of course these operation styles alter and you never know in the future this stance may change. Also at present Vueling do not fly to TFS they have a base in TFN which is not ideal for leisure traffic.
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cwl routes
lots of the routes suggested in the last few posts have been tried in some shape or form in the past. they did not work then and will not work now. no recession when lots of routes were tried. we are in a deep recession and wales hit very hard. not only that routes suggested are mainly done from brs on loco airlines.
airlines will go anywhere where there is money to be made. sad thing is that new routes would have to compete with established loco ops from brs. and as said recession does not help and will not help;so end of day lots of routes suggested from cwl are operated from brs.so new routes from cwl are going to be hard to get and run with a profit.airlines are in it to make money and not charities to run services to wherever at a loss.
airlines will go anywhere where there is money to be made. sad thing is that new routes would have to compete with established loco ops from brs. and as said recession does not help and will not help;so end of day lots of routes suggested from cwl are operated from brs.so new routes from cwl are going to be hard to get and run with a profit.airlines are in it to make money and not charities to run services to wherever at a loss.
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An article based on the way forward for Cardiff Airport and a face to face interview which may be of interest.
Cardiff Airport CEO vows to stop the rot - Source-Airport World
Face to Face: Jon Hornel, Cardiff Airport - Source-Travel Daily UK
Cardiff Airport CEO vows to stop the rot - Source-Airport World
Face to Face: Jon Hornel, Cardiff Airport - Source-Travel Daily UK
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Cardiff Airport is to see a 17% increase on operations at Cardiff Airport this winter compared to winter 2012 due to additional capacity on Tenerife and Alicante thanks to Thomson Holidays.
More choice and variety for Welsh sun seekers - Source - Wales Air Forum
Also the additional capacity provided by Thomas Cook this summer at Cardiff Airport equates to an additional 12,000 seats.
There is also a possibility of more positive news in the coming days.
More choice and variety for Welsh sun seekers - Source - Wales Air Forum
Also the additional capacity provided by Thomas Cook this summer at Cardiff Airport equates to an additional 12,000 seats.
There is also a possibility of more positive news in the coming days.
Last edited by mathers_wales_uk; 21st May 2013 at 11:21.
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Thanks for that Mathers ! I have also heard that Jon Horne has said that there is the possibility of more news in the coming days. Are there any rumours around there as to what it could be ?
While an increase in passenger flights is helpful, Cardiff always seems to be a bit of a beach route junkie. Apart from flights to Scotland, N Ireland, Amsterdam, Paris and a summer only Dublin, virtually everything else revolves around helping Welsh residents spend their money on a beach somewhere. This doesn't really benefit the Welsh economy and suggests an airport that has almost given up on acting as an engine for jobs and investmen
Yes I know about Bristol, but Cardiff needs to start seeing new routes to major city airports. Without it, it's on a dangerous slope to losing it's reason for existence.
Yes I know about Bristol, but Cardiff needs to start seeing new routes to major city airports. Without it, it's on a dangerous slope to losing it's reason for existence.
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DJ6,
CWL is air linked to many a major city, particularly, eastwards via the AMS link and the KLM worldwide network ... I say eastwards because it can be offputting, let's say, to travel an hour or so eastwards before connecting westwards, past where one has just travelled from, to cross the Atlantic.
If it's being suggested that CWL should expect to be DIRECTLY linked to major cities then perhap's compare to the UK's 2nd largest city of BHX not too far up the road from CWL.
Just how many major cities is BHX directly air linked to before passengers need to connect via the likes of DUS, FRA, MUC, AMS, CDG, CPH, ZRH, BRU, DXB and NYC?
Something like 10 or so directly linked major cities for the UK's 2nd largest city might suggest that CWL, and many another regional airport, is likely to remain a, quote, "beach route junkie" for many a year to come!
CWL is air linked to many a major city, particularly, eastwards via the AMS link and the KLM worldwide network ... I say eastwards because it can be offputting, let's say, to travel an hour or so eastwards before connecting westwards, past where one has just travelled from, to cross the Atlantic.
If it's being suggested that CWL should expect to be DIRECTLY linked to major cities then perhap's compare to the UK's 2nd largest city of BHX not too far up the road from CWL.
Just how many major cities is BHX directly air linked to before passengers need to connect via the likes of DUS, FRA, MUC, AMS, CDG, CPH, ZRH, BRU, DXB and NYC?
Something like 10 or so directly linked major cities for the UK's 2nd largest city might suggest that CWL, and many another regional airport, is likely to remain a, quote, "beach route junkie" for many a year to come!
Join Date: Apr 2013
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How come DUB is seasonal ? There was always good loads on this route with Manx Airlines, Ryanair & Air Wales.......surely the market is still there ??
What's happened with EI Regional ?
What's happened with EI Regional ?
My apologies if saying that Cardiff-Dublin was seasonal is incorrect - my source was the Aer Lingus website. I've just checked it again and flights do not seem to be on sale or timetabled beyond 26 October 2013.
Anyone know the reason for why winter flights for Cardiff-Dublin have not yet been loaded when all the other UK-Dublin year-round Aer Lingus Regional routes have been loaded ?
Anyone know the reason for why winter flights for Cardiff-Dublin have not yet been loaded when all the other UK-Dublin year-round Aer Lingus Regional routes have been loaded ?
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EIR have not loaded many flights, will do very soon, BRS, SEN, EDI are all loaded but not full schedules while BOH, ABZ have no flights out yet.
Last edited by EI-A330-300; 23rd May 2013 at 01:07.
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Excellent news coming out of the airport this morning ! Vueling is to operate year round services to both AGP and ALC. Flights being on Tuesdays and Saturdays using A320's. Flights currently on sale until the 17th December ! Great news !
Vueling to fly all year round - Cardiff Airport
Vueling to fly all year round - Cardiff Airport
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Good to see things actually happening at Cardiff. Well done ! How could the previous owners get it so wrong ?
I'm hoping Abertis sell BFS and it will rid of the spanish noose that has been around their necks also. I wonder would Northern Ireland PLC buy it, take control of APD, get some new airlines in and then be able to compete with DUB.
I'm hoping Abertis sell BFS and it will rid of the spanish noose that has been around their necks also. I wonder would Northern Ireland PLC buy it, take control of APD, get some new airlines in and then be able to compete with DUB.
Last edited by ILS25; 24th May 2013 at 09:48.