BELFAST AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL
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El Bunto
Nobody including the media are talking about the real elephant in the room and that a small airfield in the city......that's the heart of the problem for BFS and its "future" as people like to say and not DUB!
A little village compared to European standards has 2 airports yet places like AMS, MUC, FRA all have one.
Nobody including the media are talking about the real elephant in the room and that a small airfield in the city......that's the heart of the problem for BFS and its "future" as people like to say and not DUB!
A little village compared to European standards has 2 airports yet places like AMS, MUC, FRA all have one.
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Oh and by the way the population of Northern Ireland at 1.8 million is 5th largest county in England not smallest.
And what about Shannon having all the transatlantic flights it has? Surely if a wee town like that can have links then a country can have more?
And what about Shannon having all the transatlantic flights it has? Surely if a wee town like that can have links then a country can have more?
The absolute best BFS would get might be a weekly TS A330 or similar but competing with Air Canada Rouge and Aer Lingus at nearby Dublin or a one stop connection out of BHD over LHR, all at much greater frequency.
Not sure how they grow either airport, one's remote and the other's physically constrained.
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 11th Feb 2014 at 11:30.
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Yet another news report from Belfast Telegraph!
Southern comforts make Dublin Airport easier for passengers than Belfast - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Have they nothing better to do?
Southern comforts make Dublin Airport easier for passengers than Belfast - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Have they nothing better to do?
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
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More unsettling news for BFS/BHD.. lets hope something is sorted for them
Private jet firm for the stars in talks over its future - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
Private jet firm for the stars in talks over its future - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
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BFS V BHD V DUB
I think the problem of declining traffic and difficulty in attracting new airlines/routes at BFS is not unlike the problems currently being experienced at Cork. Until recently Cork was a long and difficult drive from Dublin, now with a new motorway link this is no longer the case. Its now a 2.5 hour drive where as in the past it could be anything up to 5 hours depending on the time of day etc. As a result Cork was very much the local airport for the people of Munster. Now this is no longer the case, with Dublin Airport being an easy bus or car ride from almost anywhere in Munster...(Kerry and West Cork being the exceptions),Dublin Airport which has always had a much larger range of routes and airlines is now the airport of choice for many. Galway Airport which once had 5 daily flights to Dublin and several routes to the UK and seasonal routes to the Continent is now closed due to the opening of a motorway to Dublin. Its raison d'etre ceased to exist.
For Belfast the problems are very similar, its even closer to Dublin Airport than Cork. I dont think Belfast as a city can attract longhaul routes similar to those at Dublin. That said, Belfast should be able to sustain a much better network of routes to Continental Europe than currently exists. Besides Amsterdam and Paris, most routes from Belfast are for the bucket and spade brigade. However, routes to important population and economic centres such as Frankfurt, Milan and Brussels etc should be sustainable in the medium term.
As to whether Belfast can support 2 airports?...I would think the answer to that is definetly not. A cold hard look at aviation policy in NI needs to be taken at Stormont. Something has got to give. In my opinion its going to have to be BHD. There is no room for expansion, it has night time restrictions and the runway cannot be extended. If the 2 airport policy continues, neither will thrive and may ultimately lead to the demise in the longer term of both and then everybody will have to trek to Dublin....I'm sure I'm going to upset all of those BHD supporters. But maybe its time to think bout the future of the city of Belfast and what is best for it.
For Belfast the problems are very similar, its even closer to Dublin Airport than Cork. I dont think Belfast as a city can attract longhaul routes similar to those at Dublin. That said, Belfast should be able to sustain a much better network of routes to Continental Europe than currently exists. Besides Amsterdam and Paris, most routes from Belfast are for the bucket and spade brigade. However, routes to important population and economic centres such as Frankfurt, Milan and Brussels etc should be sustainable in the medium term.
As to whether Belfast can support 2 airports?...I would think the answer to that is definetly not. A cold hard look at aviation policy in NI needs to be taken at Stormont. Something has got to give. In my opinion its going to have to be BHD. There is no room for expansion, it has night time restrictions and the runway cannot be extended. If the 2 airport policy continues, neither will thrive and may ultimately lead to the demise in the longer term of both and then everybody will have to trek to Dublin....I'm sure I'm going to upset all of those BHD supporters. But maybe its time to think bout the future of the city of Belfast and what is best for it.
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Droghwings,
You make a lot of sense and the parallels with the Cork scenario ring through.
However, while 1 airport for Belfast makes sense, and I agree a coherent aviation strategy is needed, both airports have massive price tags over their heads. The only way to move to 1 would be a merger.
This topic was the subject of fierce debate on this thread for some time and there prevailed distinct groups for and against each airport.
I suggest that having easyJet up at BFS offers a certain level of protection for carriers at BHD namely EI and BE. We can be sure if all operated from the same airport , EI wouldn't have stuck out on LGW and BE wouldn't be serving many of their domestic routes except for thinner ones like CWL ABZ INV SOU LBA and EMA.
This is if course hypothetical and nothing much will change. It seems that this limit of ops at BHD will keep EZY where it is and Jet2 due to its Canary Island routes will also stay put. Yes EasyJet did try BHD but I view their assessment of BHD as flawed !!!
You make a lot of sense and the parallels with the Cork scenario ring through.
However, while 1 airport for Belfast makes sense, and I agree a coherent aviation strategy is needed, both airports have massive price tags over their heads. The only way to move to 1 would be a merger.
This topic was the subject of fierce debate on this thread for some time and there prevailed distinct groups for and against each airport.
I suggest that having easyJet up at BFS offers a certain level of protection for carriers at BHD namely EI and BE. We can be sure if all operated from the same airport , EI wouldn't have stuck out on LGW and BE wouldn't be serving many of their domestic routes except for thinner ones like CWL ABZ INV SOU LBA and EMA.
This is if course hypothetical and nothing much will change. It seems that this limit of ops at BHD will keep EZY where it is and Jet2 due to its Canary Island routes will also stay put. Yes EasyJet did try BHD but I view their assessment of BHD as flawed !!!
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Quote from Ali Gayward "Moving to Belfast City Airport was always a trial, but in over a year we have seen no tangible benefits."
I would hardly describe the above as a flawed assessment. In fairness though if BIA were running things right I don't think easy would have moved down to the city in the first place.
I would hardly describe the above as a flawed assessment. In fairness though if BIA were running things right I don't think easy would have moved down to the city in the first place.
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I know it will never happen but apart from it's cargo flights, what would stop jet2 moving to BHD in the future (again I know if will probably never happen) I know they have used airbus in the past and if the ever did bring in a319 or a320 I believe they could operate their network from BHD,
Also although the airport does close at 9:30 what stops airlines leaving at 9:30 and arrive back 6am when the airport opens, after doing a canaries route?
Also although the airport does close at 9:30 what stops airlines leaving at 9:30 and arrive back 6am when the airport opens, after doing a canaries route?
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Jet2
REUS, IBZ, ACE, TFS and one of the ALC plus cargo all arrive after 9.30pm. The airline promotes its friendly flight times so unless they want to change that!!
Also on time performance not as good as other airlines so would have to pay a penalty if arriving after 9.30pm at BHD
Also on time performance not as good as other airlines so would have to pay a penalty if arriving after 9.30pm at BHD
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Quote from Ali Gayward "Moving to Belfast City Airport was always a trial, but in over a year we have seen no tangible benefits."
I would hardly describe the above as a flawed assessment. In fairness though if BIA were running things right I don't think easy would have moved down to the city in the first place.
I would hardly describe the above as a flawed assessment. In fairness though if BIA were running things right I don't think easy would have moved down to the city in the first place.
I completely respect your acceptance of easyJets assessment. However, if all things had been equal, ie there were no significant changes in the market the same period in the year before etc, it would be easy to call . When easyJet moved their LTN route to BHD a lot of things were at play;
1. AerLingus had recently arrived at BFS with a LHR route
2. Ryanair had recently arrived at BHD with a STN route, carrying 30k pax per month at fares as low as £1 each way all in
3. Recession was making for toughest winter period flying we had seen for some time
Hence, without understanding how they arrived at their assessment we can only speculate . Maintaining passenger numbers and achieving the same revenue and yield may not suggest that there were no tangible benefits . To achieve that would be spectacular at that time .
I'm not suggesting that BHD was a better option for easyJet as clearly there are limiting factors that yield the airport unattractive namely restrictive opening hours, but I simply am not convinced that the results of the BHD experiment were conclusive....
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Please don`t start the whole "only one NI airport" debate again. If I remember the debate stalled because one commercial enterprise is required to be forced to close so another commercial enterprise can then try and be successful. utter tosh and madness!
The bottom line is that Dublin airport is now very convenient to get to, whether by car or using public transport from Northern Ireland. We all live in a free market where we all have choices to travel from wherever is most convenient/cheapest for us, get used to it.
If Aldergrove think they could ever pose a real threat to Dublin they are in cuckoo land.
If I remember the debate stalled because one commercial enterprise is required to be forced to close so another commercial enterprise can then try and be successful. utter tosh and madness!The bottom line is that Dublin airport is now very convenient to get to, whether by car or using public transport from Northern Ireland. We all live in a free market where we all have choices to travel from wherever is most convenient/cheapest for us, get used to it.
If Aldergrove think they could ever pose a real threat to Dublin they are in cuckoo land.
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Is Dublin airport really 'easy' to reach from NI? For anyone not in the centre of Belfast it's a mess of bus and / or rail interchanges that adds six hours to a round trip.
People go to Dublin because they don't have a choice from Belfast, not because they enjoy sitting on a coach for 2.5 hours without a toilet.
Aldergrove should be aiming to capture that market.
People go to Dublin because they don't have a choice from Belfast, not because they enjoy sitting on a coach for 2.5 hours without a toilet.
Aldergrove should be aiming to capture that market.
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TB - thats a bit negative, even from you!
I still think it is somewhat ironic that City has progressed from a tin hut and a few twin otters to where it is now. Aldergrove has been going downhill and gathering speed, does this mean that City should be now told enough is enough and stop competing? When you think about it logically its crazy, I run a small business but I cant demand that no-one else produces the same product as me because it might hurt my future. I would be laughed at by any potential competitors if I came out with that line.
Dublin is relatively easy to get to now compared to years ago, that point is undeniable.
I still think it is somewhat ironic that City has progressed from a tin hut and a few twin otters to where it is now. Aldergrove has been going downhill and gathering speed, does this mean that City should be now told enough is enough and stop competing? When you think about it logically its crazy, I run a small business but I cant demand that no-one else produces the same product as me because it might hurt my future. I would be laughed at by any potential competitors if I came out with that line.
Dublin is relatively easy to get to now compared to years ago, that point is undeniable.
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True Blue,
You pose an interesting perspective . We could see that DUB is a useful convenience for us.
My view is that DUB's advertising in NI has next to zero influence in the travelling publics behaviour. Due to the availability of routes from DUB NI customers will use these anyway.
EI-BUD
You pose an interesting perspective . We could see that DUB is a useful convenience for us.
My view is that DUB's advertising in NI has next to zero influence in the travelling publics behaviour. Due to the availability of routes from DUB NI customers will use these anyway.
EI-BUD