Newcastle-9

[SWBKCB]

Originally Posted by LTNman

Easter in April as well so makes the figures even worse.

I guess the ongoing monthly Heathrow and Dubai reductions, plus the extra Dubai reductions caused due to the runway work will account for much of that.

[Jamesair]

Plus loss of Berlin and Madrid services which accounted for over 6,000 passengers between them in April 2018 and Warsaw 2,500. That represents a loss of 8,500 + to the April 2019 figures.

[VentureGo]

What the hell is "odd ball" Leon McQuaid - Aviation Development Manager and his recently appointed side kick Chris Ions (Aviation Development Executive) doing to earn his / their salary?!! - Growth Down, Overall Business Down -- Time to get serious and Develop the business into the Airport the region deserves. Former CEO Dave Laws started a successful plan with Emirates and United long haul services. Maybe time has come to capitalise and further grow route development ... or recruit new team...

[PDXCWL45]

Originally Posted by VentureGo

What the hell is Leon McQuaid - Aviation Development Executive and his recently appointed side kick doing to earn his / their salary?!! - Growth Down, Overall Business Down

I the airlines don't want to operate routes or the customers use them then there is not a lot airport management can do!

[VentureGo]

Originally Posted by PDXCWL45

I the airlines don't want to operate routes or the customers use them then there is not a lot airport management can do!

It is the job of an Aviation Development team to sell, promote and incentivise growth - The current team are simply not doing their job well / at all

There are plenty of opportunities waiting to be managed:
East Coast USA (NYC, PHL, ORD)
More flights / operators to Orlando
Munich, Frankfurt
Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen low cost operators
Paris Growth - AF + LCC
Madrid
Seville
Lisbon
More London Routes (LGW, STN, LCY,) to compete with rail (Not necessarily with BA connecting via LHR)

[PDXCWL45]

Originally Posted by VentureGo

It is the job of an Aviation Development team to sell, promote and incentivise growth - The current team are simply not doing their job well / at all

There are plenty of opportunities waiting to be managed:
East Coast USA (NYC, PHL, ORD)
More flights / operators to Orlando
Munich, Frankfurt
Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen low cost operators
Paris Growth - AF + LCC
Madrid
Seville
Lisbon
More London Routes (LGW, STN, LCY,) to compete with rail (Not necessarily with BA connecting via LHR)

Yes it is but unless the airlines are interested they might as well be bashing their heads against a brick wall.
For example the US east coast, the US3 have essentially withdrawn from uk regional airports so aren't likely to turn up.
Orlando only TCX and VS as possibilities there and both are becoming MAN focused and TUI already operates the route so the demand might be covered.
As for hub routes NCL already has 4 so another airline like Lufthansa may not feel the demand is there. City routes as point to point as well aren't high yielding hence why routes like Madrid may not work well.
As for London with APD and ever quickening rail airlines no doubt feel that they can make more money on other routes.

[SWBKCB]

There are plenty of opportunities waiting to be managed:
East Coast USA (NYC, PHL, ORD)
More flights / operators to Orlando
Munich, Frankfurt
Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen low cost operators
Paris Growth - AF + LCC
Madrid
Seville
Lisbon
More London Routes (LGW, STN, LCY,) to compete with rail (Not necessarily with BA connecting via LHR)

That's an aspirational list - at least half of which have been tried before. What's changed in the market to make you think they would be successful now?

[PorkyPig76]

What’s been said about Munich and who would opperate that?

[PorkyPig76]

Does anyone think Newcastle will get any new routes soon and has anyone heard any rumours? With the speculation over new share holders maybe this could happen. Would love to see some long haul routes, does anyone have any news/speculation over them?

[VickersVicount]

Originally Posted by PorkyPig76

What’s been said about Munich

Nothing....

[VickersVicount]

Originally Posted by PorkyPig76

Would love to see some long haul routes, does anyone have any news/speculation over them?

My speculation is that there is zero chance in coming 18-24 month period.

[skyman771]

Originally Posted by PorkyPig76

Does anyone think Newcastle will get any new routes soon and has anyone heard any rumours? With the speculation over new share holders maybe this could happen. Would love to see some long haul routes, does anyone have any news/speculation over them?

These are difficult times, reality is that if there is not much money about in the UK as a whole, there is even less in North East and disposable incomes are under increasing pressure. Against this is a background of rising prices & poor exchange rates.

As pointed out by SWBKCB many routes have been & gone, & as to what's changed in the market in recent times I'm afraid is little to be positive about.
NCL are trying to retain & "grow" >5M pax p.a. which historically has been around the ceiling in numbers.
Does this not suggest that an increase offered by a new route simply causes a reduction in others i.e. a substitution effect?, as I've already said there is insufficient money in the local economy available at this this (& any??) time to support further growth in air traffic.

Finally it may be a worthwhile exercise for those of you who continue to dream up or reiterate unsubstantiated rumours of new destinations to take time out and list all the routes that have "been and gone" over the past 15 or so years. You should then look at the annual pax that used these routes , add them all up & just say take 50% you would come up with a figure in the millions no doubt. You should then ask yourselves where have all the pax gone, when in real terms most haven't gone anywhere, they have simply switched and now support those routes that are currently on offer!! while those that have, simply "take the train" to London & Manchester on which routes traffic growth continues.
It's all very well to attack the current management as to their performance in the short term, making ridiculous wish lists of destinations offers zero help to anyone.

[ash666]

I've no idea how the airlines work.
I seem to remember that Berlin was doing a roaring trade and it was dropped.
The same with Prague.
What do airlines want other than full flights???

[PDXCWL45]

Originally Posted by ash666

I've no idea how the airlines work.
I seem to remember that Berlin was doing a roaring trade and it was dropped.
The same with Prague.
What do airlines want other than full flights???

Flights that earn lots of money and full ones don't necessarily do that especially on city routes.

[SWBKCB]

It has now been reported that AMP, which also bought Leeds Bradford Airport in 2017 and has investments in assets worth more than $20bn around the world, has been approached by pension groups and other investors looking to buy its stake.

A spokesman for AMP Capital said: “No comment on this – we don’t comment on market speculation.” The airport also declined to comment on the reports, which suggested the airport could be worth more than £1bn - a big rise in value since AMP’s 2012 investment, when it was rumoured to have paid around £150m for its half share.

Chronicle - Stake in Newcastle Airport could be up for grabs in massive deal, reports suggest

[VentureGo]

Originally Posted by GAXLN

I doubt it. Reason being Routes Europe was held in April!

Forthcoming Smart Airports Europe Conference, 7th - 10th October, Munich

Maybe Newcastle will be represented? - Although, not an airport routes promotional event, opportunities for Networking

https://smart-airports.com/europe/?d...DM%2C3BMCF%2C1

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

I seem to remember that Berlin was doing a roaring trade and it was dropped.
The same with Prague.

These tend to be one off visits unlike the Spanish sun routes say where people go every year or Dubai which is a gateway to the East.
NCL is much like GLA, comparing unfavourably with EDI where (I suspect via aggressive discounting) which is now a major European city in a way it wasn't until recent years.

These are difficult times

Actually these are good days, some of the best, take a step back, we went through a loco bubble which has skewed perceptions. More people are flying more often, but we still have too many airports with marginal business models fighting on the margins in the regions.

[jensdad]

I agree, Skipness. It's always nice to aim higher, but it pays to take a reality check every now and again.
Strange psychology here in Newcastle. Our football team hasn't won the league for 92 years but we seem to have delusions that should be a major European force. It creeps over into some folks' attitude to our local airport which, as I have said before several times, is punching well well above its weight. Maybe because we are (by relative English standards anyway) isolated. As Craig Bellamy said: they think they're a big club. And they are. In the North East.

[SWBKCB]

Originally Posted by jensdad

I agree, Skipness. It's always nice to aim higher, but it pays to take a reality check every now and again.
Strange psychology here in Newcastle. Our football team hasn't won the league for 92 years but we seem to have delusions that should be a major European force.

I'm from the north-west, but have lived near Newcastle for twenty odd years. I've only come across this view of north-east football reflectecd from outside the north-east. The locals just think they should be doing better, and don't expect to be one of Europe's elite (and just to be clear, I'm not agreeing with anything Craig Bellamy says...)

The point about airport is spot on - the North east is a (relatively) poor, isolated region. As todays news further south has shown “when London sneezes, the north east catches a cold.”

[skyman771]

Unfortunately there is another significant adverse factor creeping in, to further undermine expansion, in that historically a significant number of Scots from North of the Border supported routes that are now being aggressively marketed / available closer to home....
Interestingly the recent news as to the potential sale of a 49% shareholding by an "investment fund" fits in with my take that the sale is simply a financial one, in that an appraisal has taken into account the significant potential gain and high market capital valuation due to the achievement of recent high profits, has likely concluded to sell at the top of the market. Falling pax numbers in future would adversely effect potential profits. Furthermore I do not see new investor(s) contributing much, as they would be buying in at a significantly higher valuation, with the ensuing pressure to drive dividends for their investors as opposed to reinvestment in airport infrastructure.