Birmingham happenings
 

As there isn't a BHX happenings I'd thought I would start one.
To get the ball rolling lets clear up the runway length issue from other threads. I have been lead to believe by others not on this forum(or maybe) that

1- AA offloaded cargo on ORD flights on more than 1 occassion due to weight restrictions(summer only and as W-N-C pointed out HOT days)- pax not sure on that one

2-PIA had doubts over 777 BHX-Pakistan due to weight restrictions, that being fully loaded pax freight and fuel to Pakistan

comments...............

and of course any more news anyone?

BHXviscount

The press said that there would be a strike during Christmas week over pensions etc. I am due to fly on PIA at that time - wonder how that will affect me and many other travellers!!!

If it does - then I wonder how many carriers would think about operating out of good old BHX in the future!!!

Didn't AA pull their flights to BHX about 3 years ago? What relevance does this thread have to anything?

AA stopped flying to Chicago October 2002.

BHX
 

Surely there has never been a better time for BHX to announce a major expansion with the government white paper backing it other airports are steadily evolving but millenium link, a few check in desks and some cosmetic work aside there has been little happening at BHX since the Eurohub opened. The limited runway length will affect any potential long haul carriers. AA was one of Birminghams flagship airlines and runwaqy length or not it was a big blow to lose them. It is obvious with
MAN's ever expanding network that long haul flights can work outside London but unless the management at BHX act soon once again BHX will be playing catch up.

AA OFF LOADS
 

My brother worked for both AA and AA on the ground for the entire period of their operation with servisair and BA he was both passanger services supervisor and then a dispatcher after speaking to him he CANNOT remember any occasion when weight restrictions caused all or any of the a foremetioned things happening. AA AND THE AIRPORT HAD SOME SORT OF FALLING OUT MY BRO DOES NOT KNOW THE EXACT DETAILS BUT SUDDENLY WITH RELATIVLY GOOD YEILDS THE SERVICE WAS WITHDRAWN??!!I feel that BHX is trying its best it has a good mix of flag carriers and low fares airlines. Next year will be much better for BHX in my oppinion it is MyTravelLite that have cut their ops that have caused most of the monthly falls as they like their parent are struggling!! Also my brother has hinted at BA are expanding into Italy next summer so far relativley untapped from BHX. Also AZ are well exceeding their loads and are looking at utilising 319s 2x daily in the summer.
Lets stay positive Daza:D :D :D

I asked this in a seperate part of the forum and the Maanchester lot highjacked it
CO UK Services
CO are commencing BRS, BFS, HAM, ARN, and TXL all with 757s if EDI, GLA and BHX (with its 2x daily services) where are all these transatlantic config 757s coming from? Does anyone have any ideas how many EROPS 757s CO have?? Will we get 767s??
Daza

TXL, BUD, OSL, TRN an increses in DUB services the passenger numbers are there. Also what about BLQ,VCE, NAP,VRO, LIS, SVQ, OPO, ATH, SKG, JFK, ATL,PHL, MIA,MCO,BGI,IAD,BOS, YYZ and defiantely ORD and maybe due to car links DTW
What do you guys think??
Daza

I think you've been sniffing glue.

Sniffin Glue
 

What sort of an adult reply is that????
Are you one of the many people on this forum who live from Manchester northwards??
If you have no news dont waste our time with your inane oppinions
Daza

Bradford it is then!!

Anyway back to BHX just so that everyone understands the routes i mentioned are POTENTIAL ones!!!
DAza

Sorry, next time I'll just type a random list of places that I'd like to be able to fly to from my local airport.

ABUSE
 

Do u have any interest in this topic??
Do you have any interest in Birmingham Airport?
I have reported your previous comments to the moderator. If as I suspect your interests lie with northern UK Airports there are loads of opportunities to voice your oppinions on them!!
Daza

The above comments always come up when BHX is mentioned or lies about the airport, runway, lack of services etc. This is why BHX related comments soon fall off the first page so lets try to keep this one about BHX eh!!
Daza

It has always been a mystery to me why BHX cannot support more than two daily transatlantic flights. There should be enough willing travellers in the West Midlands - the population is large enough.

I would have expected the two daily CO flights to be achieving near full loads this summer - all the other regional transatlantic flights were full over the summer. BHX flights seemed to peak at around 80%.

Is it as simple as being too close to LHR?

Could be an advantage
 

Being so close could be an advantage due to overcrowding at LHR hence the 2x daily CO for better connections rather than pure capacity. I lve in Lichfield and its possible to commute to London so Londoners could potentially utilise BHX services.
Daza

One of the problems with poor old BHX is that there is not much consistancy on any of the long haul routes.

Take BOAC back in 1970 with their slogan 'Brum Brum Brum to New York' with the SVC.10 That didn't last long and disappeared around 1974 then along comes the BA 767 operation in the 90's and that didn't last. Oh yes what happened to the Tajik flight that used to go direct to JFK two years ago?

We also saw all the hype about Flyblu to Florida this year with all the promises of a professional carrier, and that came to nothing.

Now we have 'odd' carriers trying for India etc. Last year it was flyjet doing the Delhi run via Gatwaick, this year we think it's 'Midland Airways' with an old TWA 767, oh yes plus one or two other Central Asian carriers flying to India via an Eastern European point.

The only carrier to have proven success at the moment is Emirates. They plan to expand next year so much so that Gulf Air are jumping on the bandwagon, will they last the course? Who knows

Then there was PIA who used to come into BHX with a 743. What happened to that it had to be routed via CPH because of the runway length. Then they tried the services with an A310 which seemed to work and BHX became a nice little hub for them - until they bought the B772 into operation and what happened? it all got transferred to MAN!! Now all BHX is left with is a couple of flights a week to ISB and one to PEW & LHE.

What does 2005 hold in store for long haul operators???

BA JFK AND TAJIK
 

BA had no real interest in BHX-JFK the 757 killed that one as it coulnt carry any freight (the 767 could) did you ever travel on it?? must have been BAs oldest 757!! As for Tajik I thought that the Airline was grounded by Tajik authorities due to safety some years back.. I will never understand why Air India dont fly to BHX??
They would make a LOAD!!
Daza

Daza,
I started my ATC career at Brum in 1969. The "management" said then, that they were looking for a runway extension. what happened? They "promised" a larger apron. What happened?... East Mids extended both r/y and apron....nuff said
The [then] Airport director at Manch [Gordon Sweetapple] dragged Manch into the International league, Gill Thompson carried on where GS left off.
Example 1...Extend runway 2. More stands 3. Promote the Airport
Brum has got the NEC...whoopie do, 'cos it isn't being "pushed"
We also said that Brum was a potential "London Airport" instead of Maplin..
watp,iktch

Air India at one stage used to operate a 707 flight via Moscow many moons ago. That died a death as well

I also remember when British Midland used to operate Kingston flights using 707's as well. I also recall the story that they used so much runway that on one occassion they 'took the lights' with them to Jamaica.

Having chatted to many long haul pilots over the years- they all say without doubt BHX needs a longer runway for performance. BHX is a great place to divert to, but not to operate out of!!

BHX
 

Maybe the reason AI haven't started yet is because of the 777 Emirates seem to have been successful with it but DXB is not really that far for long haul but can't see how AI wouldn't be successful. A new airline flying west is definately needed hopefully AA will return in the not to distant future but 2 would be nice. Also the BHX marketing department should be questioned as BHX is ideally placed for long haul passengers from the M5 corridor and Wales who want to avoid the M25.

BHX is just too close to LHR and LGW, that's the sad fact. Long haul operators are not going to start a spearate service from BHX when BHX#s and LHR's catchment overlap so - i.e. Oxfordshire/Warwickshire borders, Morthants and Gloucestershire.

MAN is considered better for long hauls like CX, AI, EK, RB, DL, AA, MH and SQ because Manchester ahs a far wider catchm,ent area i.e. northern England from Birmingham to Carlise and Newcastle, Wales and Scotland.

Iy's nor rocket science.

If anyone had of said 5 years ago that emirates were going to offer a weekly flight to Dubai I would have told them to stop dreaming, if they had of told me it would be daily and would also be a huge success with both Manchester and Heathrow offering the same flights I'd have given it 6 months, but hey guess what.......daily 777 and soon to be double daily 332 ooh err.

I guess the point being BHX can be successful between the umm mighty Manchester and not so convenient Heathrow.

Be positive and Manchester be grateful.

Also a twice daily service to EWR which is carrying decent loads when LHR + MAN offer the same service. Its not just runway length that hinders BHX, T1 at peak times is at breaking point and with the lack of airbridge served stands any potential airlines must look at the service them and their passengers would be getting. T1 cant really handle more than a couple of wide bodied aircraft at once and with baby and gulf starting the facilities will be stretched even more. What BHX needs is a runway extension and a T3/major T2 expansion then I think we'd see more airlines choosing BHX. Seems everyone else but the management can see this. :(