BIRMINGHAM - 6

[Daza]

New Wizz route

Reported from another forum
BHX-SOF Every Monday and Friday from March 28th. Bookable now on their mobile site/app.

W6 4371 SOF 18:25 BHX 19:55
W6 4372 BHX 20:25 SOF 01:45

Six routes in less that 4 months operating from Brum
Daza

[Fairdealfrank]

Midlands campaign to cut APD
This could apply to any of England's regional airports but this seems to be gathering pace in the midlands too.


Midlands in for the long haul debate on air duty - BBC News

This is nonsense: ADP can't be devolved to English regions. It either has to be devolved to county councils, or central government has to take the decision to scrap at BHX (in the same way as it was for long haul at BFS).

Better still, scrap it entirely or levy it at a low rate of, say, £5.00 for shorthaul and £10.00 for longhaul in economy and premium economy (for the entire UK).

[chaps1954]

You can`t scrap APD in one area and not another except perhaps London
to help pay for it`s new runway

[MerchantVenturer]

Re the discussion in the previous posts, the Westminster government has three proposals out for discussion to mitigate the effects of APD devolution to Scotland, and possibly to Wales, and has been seeking responses from various groups and organisations.

1. Devolve APD to local authorities or combined local authorities.

2. Vary APD in England with the Westminster government retaining control.

3. Provide aid to regional airports.

The snag with the first is that a sum of money equal to the amount raised in APD through those airports in an area would be deducted from the Westminster grant to the local authority or combined local authority. The local authority would then have to decide by how much (if at all) it could reduce or even abolish APD in its area.

The government itself accepts that its second proposal might not be legal and was going to seek the views of the European Commission on its legality.

The third proposal could only be applied to airports with a throughput of less than 3 mppa and exceptionally to airports between 3 mppa and 5 mppa.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...l_airports.pdf

[getonittt]

Better still, scrap it entirely or levy it at a low rate of, say, £5.00 for shorthaul and £10.00 for longhaul in economy and premium economy (for the entire UK).

That is what it used to be before a succession of chancellors decided to treat this tax like they do and increase it the same way as alcohol ,petrol and tobacco because they thought it was a luxury to be able to fly around Europe for 2 pence. Well it stopped that but also caused a lot of hurt for the aviation industry in the U.K. At least , it seems, that this lobbying has not only stopped the continual increase but will also cause a rethink about how this tax should be collected going forward. I have read that a straight abolition of APD across the U.K. would pay for itself but I'm sure that debate should be for a different thread.

[nigel osborne]

Looks like there will be no return to flights to Egyptian resorts for a considerable time.

Been another terrorist attack today this time in Hurghada, on tourists in a hotel one with a gun another with a suicide vest on. Three European tourists injured.

Nigel

[number1delta]

Qatar

Any idea if the handling agent has been announced yet for Qatar airways yet?

[Fairdealfrank]

You can`t scrap APD in one area and not another except perhaps London
to help pay for it`s new runway

Why not? it was done at Aldergrove for long haul flights.

That is what it used to be before a succession of chancellors decided to treat this tax like they do and increase it the same way as alcohol ,petrol and tobacco because they thought it was a luxury to be able to fly around Europe for 2 pence.

Certainly did for most, not for those swanning around in private jets of course. APD started as one of Ken Clarke's many so-called "stealth taxes" in the early 1990s, and the tradition of "stealth taxes" has continued with subsequent chancellors.

Well it stopped that but also caused a lot of hurt for the aviation industry in the U.K. At least , it seems, that this lobbying has not only stopped the continual increase but will also cause a rethink about how this tax should be collected going forward.

Yes, it gives the impression that the government is anti-aviation, a pity as the aviation industry is one of the UK's success stories.

I have read that a straight abolition of APD across the U.K. would pay for itself but I'm sure that debate should be for a different thread.

Apparently present levels of APD deters inbound tourism, chokes off investment and costs the economy 25,000 jobs.

90,000 jobs would be created and £4 billion added to the economy within a year of scrapping APD. Who knows if this is accurate but if so, it's a no-brainer.

The government must be aware of this, it has been chipping away at APD for the last couple of years.

[jon01]

Thomson S16 update

The additional seventh based aircraft is now reported to be a B738 from the Canadian airline Sunwing

On Saturday, the afternoon Izmir departure has gone and is now operating to Verona, which replaces the lunchtime Verona 'W' B738. Thomson have also added extra capacity to Verona with a chartered Flybe ERJ-175 that departs at 08:00

[BHX5DME]

Any idea if the handling agent has been announced yet for Qatar airways yet?

Swissport

[bhx bod]

The official press release for the Wizzair flights to Sofia also included an increase of flights to Budapest.These will be 3 weekly from the summer.
2016 off to a very good start.

[jon01]

2015 & December pax

December 2015 passengers 683,291 (Up just under 10%)

2015 total 10,188,880 (Up just under 5% compared to 2014)

[Daza]

Passengers 2016

All bodes well for 2016 lets hope we get many more monthly double digit increases in passenger numbers next year. It looks like PKs predictions about the Christmas period added to Decembers great totals.
Daza

[Daza]

Wizz

bhx bod wrote

The official press release for the Wizzair flights to Sofia also included an increase of flights to Budapest.These will be 3 weekly from the summer.
2016 off to a very good start.

Now official Wizz BHX-BUD now bookable three times a week in 2016. Flights operate Tue, Thu and Sat from 29/3/16 departing BHX 2000 arriving 1930.
Daza

[AviatorGlenn]

United 757s

Sometime last year I see reports that United were going to upgrade all European services from the 757 to Boeing 767s and Boeing 777s.

Im guessing BHX will get upgraded to Boeing 767 in the near future, but does anybody know when?

Glenn

[GayFriendly]

Wizz

Wizz have been nothing but good news for BHX so far! Surely they must hold the record for the biggest number of new routes launched by a new airline to BHX in the shortest space of time? I assume they must be happy with bookings so far and that we will see more frequency increases on existing routes in the future.


Looking at their route map I can see a few other potential routes for BHX - if Bucharest goes well, maybe another Romanian destination (Timisoara, Cluj or Tirgu Mures) could start. Riga and Kosice have potential. Split, Ljubljana and Bourgas could work in summer?

[Doors to Automatic]

That is what it used to be before a succession of chancellors decided to treat this tax like they do and increase it the same way as alcohol ,petrol and tobacco

I think you will find that it was only one chancellor - dour, one eye and no idea how to handle money.

[ATNotts]

Originally Posted by GayFriendly

Wizz have been nothing but good news for BHX so far! Surely they must hold the record for the biggest number of new routes launched by a new airline to BHX in the shortest space of time? I assume they must be happy with bookings so far and that we will see more frequency increases on existing routes in the future.


Looking at their route map I can see a few other potential routes for BHX - if Bucharest goes well, maybe another Romanian destination (Timisoara, Cluj or Tirgu Mures) could start. Riga and Kosice have potential. Split, Ljubljana and Bourgas could work in summer?

I believe there is every chance that within 2016 BHX will become the second largest UK destination for Wizz; of course after Luton. I agree Bourgas does seem a possible additional route, and with all the terror scares around the eastern Med. Constanta could be another outside bet, though probably not now until 2017.

[getonittt]

Split, Ljubljana and Bourgas could work in summer?

Summer only flights ? You have to realise that the vast majority of pax on the existing flights are migrant workers who are VFR or just commuting. As for new routes I would guess cluj and perhaps another polish destination .

[chaps1954]

AviatorGlenn
Very much doubt in next year or so as I don`t think ant UK regional
airports are due other than possibly EDI or the long rumoured ORD to
MAN but I will believe it when I see it

Ian