BHX has always been my first choice airport not just in terms of location, but it beat other lage airports hands down in my view. But frustratingly I have needed not infrequently recently to travel elswhere to get the flights that I needed.

It does seem that Brum is missing out for some reason, I notice for e.g. that EMA will soon see BACON / GerBil services to TFS, seems strange when there is a dedicated BA facility atT2. I had looked forward to GB turning their attn. to BHX to save the drive to LGW. Oh hum !

Is there something wrong with BHX's marketing or strategy ?

Well, I certainly prefer travelling from Birrmigoom than from the misery of Thiefrow!

Or used to....

Last Friday night's experience has definitely made me reconsider. I arrived back on the scheduled FRA-BHX flight at just after 2210 - but it took 25 minutes to get through the labyrinthine maze of the immigration and passport area. We had arrived just after a herd of holidaymakers from Corfu and there were a mere 3 out of 9 desks manned - one of which was devoted solely to non-EU passport holders. Luggage then took a further 10 minutes to arrive; after that there was another 10 minute wait for the Long Term carpark bus whislt 3 Staff Car Park buses came and went. As a result it took well over an hour to get from the aeroplane to the car park - where once it would take only half that time.

I shall be taking this up with the relevant person tomorrow. But BHX must sort this nonsense out - or its one overriding advantage will soon disappear.

Not surprised to read about your experience. Whenever I have flown as PAP from T1 I have also experienced Passport Control delays that were nothing short of ridiculous, just because no more than 2 of these civil servants can be bothered to turn up. The baggage reclaim area is fairly limited in size and number of belts and that's a problem when several charters arrive simultaneously. As for the bus, be sure that staff quite often have to wait 15 minutes plus in the freezing morning when there is only one dedicated NCP bus. Most of us then choose to walk.

What BHX should do is REALLY clamp down on the number of cars supposedly dropping off PAX (when they are really picking them up) in front of both terminals. One solution, as at EMA, is to allow for 30 minutes free parking for precisely that - but then again, NCP :yuk: would see that as a loss of income and would prefer that all users face traffic congestion.

Cheers :cool:

I think the extortionate charges are probably one of the main reasons why there is not many long haul charters at BHX, add the fact that the runway is too short and it's probably why FCA moved up the road. It makes no sense to pay top dollar charges when your aircraft has to make a tech stop somewhere else to get the cargo that pays for it, and probably saw a large chunk of the profits eaten up.

GB would be great at BHX in the future but if they had thier sights set on TFS then they would have been going up against ZB from BHX so probably a better move from EMA. Hope we see them in the future as there are stil plenty of destinations that could work for them. :ok:

Fouga

NEMA has just gone down to 10 minutes free parking from 30 mins:\ , which is great except when folk get held up in immigration and you end up going round 4 times to avoid having to pay!. The result of pax feedback, alledgedly.

Monarch have just announced Ibiza, another A321 and increases in just about all BHX flights for next summer.:ok: 120 flights per week from BHX for ZB.

Monarch Press Release
 

Today I spoke with both BHX customer service and HM Immigration and Customs about my experience on Friday night...

To be fair, both were very polite and both promised action. The slothful T2 to Long Stay 1 car park bus service will be investigated; however, the HM C&I chap described a number of possible improvments such as 'fast track' processing for scheduled airline passengers (I'm uneasy about that - queue jumping on the back of a business class ticket seems immoral to me) and an increase in staffing levels.

But, like many, they're stuck with staff budgetary limitations, it seems.

Thanks anyway to the BHX folk who returned my calls!

Flybe
 

Confirmed new routes as Aberdeen, Hanover and Galway.
Some confusion over start dates re Aberden and Galway as the timetable and
booking engine say March 2007 but I had an e-mail from them tonight re ABZ
claiming 29/10/06

If correct that will be six based flybe for winter 2006/7.

Faro has been chopped and Murcia showing as only two a week but of course
Monarch are operating both routes for the first time in the winter.

At last some decent news :) although still no new destinations just more of
the same.

OltonPete

So you mean these nice Cabin Crew promoting Flywho in the T1 concourse a while ago weren't actually hosties? :sad: :{

Does anybody know what has happened to the proposed new start up airline 'Birmingham European'? :confused:

Birmingham European website updated recently, still not raised all the finance required.

Regds.................

Does anuone know what routes Birmingham European plan to operate?

Or anyone have any ideas?

Well its all finger pointing in the Ops office of Swissport Birmingham tonight, I'm betting my last pound that it was the office cat, who in true swissport style has still failed to sort the mice running in and out of the rest room. :rolleyes:

P.S
"I Seem to have a sharp pain between my sholder blades, is this your knife number1delta" :*

swissport bhx
 

this is a resspone to everyone who is slagging swissport off its not as bad as you think
well all i can say is that i have moved from avaince to swissport and think its alot better in some areas not so much the other areas but they will improve in time
i think a big problem is the staff most of them are now new and inexperince and need to know the job before they get trained on anything but this is not the case with the flybe contract now in full operation they are trying to make inxperince staff experinced but this comes with time and not training dont get me wrong the trainers are doing there best and keep it up.
please dont get me wrong the experinced staff that are there know there job and are brillinant at it and keep it up

as for the bitching in the company whats all this about and the end of the day to turn round aircraft it needs team work which we had at avanice so why bitch at each other just keep your thoughts to yourself and get the job done theres no need for it.
i must say there are alot of improvement to be made to make the company work better in certian areas and departments but this will take time and is it time airlines have to wait for or will they go else ware

At last some common sense. Nice one Gaza:ok:

You also forgot to mention

3. Everybody is unemployed so can't afford to go on hoilday.

4. Nobody flys in or out on business because all your industry has
moved out to China

5. Manchester is a much nicer place to go with a better airport.
(also know as Gatwick 2) :ooh:

And here was me thinking that MAN was Liverpool East :rolleyes: ah well
watp,iktch

does anybody know whats going on with that TNT Aircrath over on the western Apron, is it going to be fixed or are we going to have a bit of fire training with it, can of petrol and a box of matches and we can have a very expensive barbaque........

Hi folks,

About 7:40 this morning a Corsair 744 flew over on approach to 15. I've just checked bhx.co.uk and it appears flight TOM 6294 from Palma was due last night, but arrived this morning at 08:19. Did the 744 replace the usual TOM aircraft?

It seems strange it took almost 40 minutes to land after I saw it though. I've flown over my house on the same approach in a 752, and we were down within 10 minutes - if that. I live in about 5 minutes away from IKEA Wednesbury. Those who know the approach will have seen the huge IKEA letters on the roof!

Anyway, thanks to all those who reply.

eP