Doncaster Sheffield-3
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A little more from the Mayor today.
Tui want to come back (no doubt subject to commercials) and have been kept in touch with.
Final stages of agreeing with the Operator.
Will be quiet for next 2 months or so.
Tui want to come back (no doubt subject to commercials) and have been kept in touch with.
Final stages of agreeing with the Operator.
Will be quiet for next 2 months or so.
Join Date: Oct 2000
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If there was no commercial case for the original DSA to operate, I fail to see how anything has changed.
Half a dozen airlines tried it and none, besides TUI, succeeded. TUI alone couldn't keep the lights on.
My concern is that a reopening could be seen as nothing more than a vanity project, burning taxpayers money to the tune of tens (if not hundreds) of millions of pounds, running at a perpetual loss. The guarantees they'd have to provide prospective airlines would be incredibly burdensome if not downright eye-watering. I understand there's a lot of local support but kind words don't pay the bills and if the yields weren't sufficient to keep the cogs turning in the past, why would it change now? Cargo is one possibility but you already have the UK's largest air freight hub less than 60 miles down the road.
I'd rather see a solid plan for viability instead of agreeing to burn shedloads of cash upfront on the basis it might work this time.
I say this as someone who used DSA regularly in the past and supported the airport as much as possible. If it's viable, I'm all for it. If it's not, let's get real.
Half a dozen airlines tried it and none, besides TUI, succeeded. TUI alone couldn't keep the lights on.
My concern is that a reopening could be seen as nothing more than a vanity project, burning taxpayers money to the tune of tens (if not hundreds) of millions of pounds, running at a perpetual loss. The guarantees they'd have to provide prospective airlines would be incredibly burdensome if not downright eye-watering. I understand there's a lot of local support but kind words don't pay the bills and if the yields weren't sufficient to keep the cogs turning in the past, why would it change now? Cargo is one possibility but you already have the UK's largest air freight hub less than 60 miles down the road.
I'd rather see a solid plan for viability instead of agreeing to burn shedloads of cash upfront on the basis it might work this time.
I say this as someone who used DSA regularly in the past and supported the airport as much as possible. If it's viable, I'm all for it. If it's not, let's get real.
Last edited by RAFAT; 22nd Apr 2024 at 21:14. Reason: Correction
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Ahh the lets blame Peel brigade.. The DSA closure was announced on the back of Wizz pulling the base. Wizz didn't try to come back. There was a contract in place to up the base to x3 AC. clearly not the fees that pushed them out. They launched the base at the wrong time, getting bums on seats was a huge issue. all you had to do was look for the dirt cheap fares they were offering. Flybe base, Peel massively incentivised them to DSA. they was actually supposed to launch LBA. Peel did try. The new operator will not get anyone or anything different. the airport is a failure, the catchment area isn't there. Wizz didn't withdraw for LHR.. never has been a Wizz plane there..
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I disagree on why Wizz pulled out. They were establishing new routes but at the same time being beaten up by not enough crew/planes at the established bases. They made a logical decision to concentrate on those (Doncaster was not the only airport they pulled from).
On the Peel front, only time will tell. We know the theory, and now sit to see how it plays out. There are break clauses and if it's not a success the exposure is limited, and Peel get to develop the land. If it is a success, great...
On the Peel front, only time will tell. We know the theory, and now sit to see how it plays out. There are break clauses and if it's not a success the exposure is limited, and Peel get to develop the land. If it is a success, great...
I disagree on why Wizz pulled out. They were establishing new routes but at the same time being beaten up by not enough crew/planes at the established bases. They made a logical decision to concentrate on those (Doncaster was not the only airport they pulled from).
If Peel have put money into the airport over all these years just to get hold of the land, that seems a rather optimistic interpretation of the value of brown field sites in South Yorkshire. I've heard of playing a long game, but blimey...
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As someone who used DSA regularly you must be aware that when Peel stated that the airport wasn't commercially viable, this was their long-term aim and they did all that they could to reach that goal. They wanted the land, not an airport. Yes airlines came and went, but my belief is that it was the exorbitant charges by Peel that forced them out, not a failure to get bums on seats. Wizz withdrew purely to bolster their LHR base and when they wanted o come back, Peel wouldn't negotiate with them. Wizz were a success at DSA. There's also the UPS hub that went to EMA in 2017/2018, that was meant to go to DSA but again Peel quoted massive costs. So it wasn't a failure of the airport, it was a managed closure by Peel. This can also be evidenced by the speed at which they got rid of the assets, they'd been planning it for a long time.
At the time I do not believe the level of traffic FedEx would have generated was enough to justify building the facilities necessary to handle it. Also, FedEx were running everything through Stoke on Trent which is closer to EMA/MAN.
Never heard the UPS rumour, EMA have built a huge facility to handle them and the other parcel freight that is not DHL, which of course has its own integrator facility on site at EMA. Least that’s my understanding last time I was airside at EMA (when they were completing the facility) but perhaps you could correct me on that EMACargo.
Under public ownership, there may be scope to speculatively build facilities that wouldn’t get passed by the board of a private sector owner like Peel.
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If there was good money to be made, Wizz would have found away. The speed with which they dropped DSA suggests forward booking where marginal.
If Peel have put money into the airport over all these years just to get hold of the land, that seems a rather optimistic interpretation of the value of brown field sites in South Yorkshire. I've heard of playing a long game, but blimey...
If Peel have put money into the airport over all these years just to get hold of the land, that seems a rather optimistic interpretation of the value of brown field sites in South Yorkshire. I've heard of playing a long game, but blimey...
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Ahh the lets blame Peel brigade.. The DSA closure was announced on the back of Wizz pulling the base. Wizz didn't try to come back. There was a contract in place to up the base to x3 AC. clearly not the fees that pushed them out. They launched the base at the wrong time, getting bums on seats was a huge issue. all you had to do was look for the dirt cheap fares they were offering. Flybe base, Peel massively incentivised them to DSA. they was actually supposed to launch LBA. Peel did try. The new operator will not get anyone or anything different. the airport is a failure, the catchment area isn't there. Wizz didn't withdraw for LHR.. never has been a Wizz plane there..
"If Peel have put money into the airport over all these years just to get hold of the land, that seems a rather optimistic interpretation of the value of brown field sites in South Yorkshire. I've heard of playing a long game, but blimey.."
If they can build 100 houses that will clear £ 1mm - if they build 5000 ...............................
If they can build 100 houses that will clear £ 1mm - if they build 5000 ...............................
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No private company is going to look at wider contribution to the regions economy. Local government might,
Whether the assessments make sense is a different question.
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Those benefits will only be realised if the airport is a success so the commercial risk is just the same. The difference is the local authority are playing with other people’s money ie yours and mines and not answerable to shareholders for taking unacceptable commercial risks!
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