Fossett
 

It's a shame Manston did'nt get it's 15 minutes of fame from Fossett

Well it needs 15 minutes of something!

hmm
 

don`t get excited people.

the airline industry is more than familiar with the `new management` and their modus operendi and will probably steer clear and not touch them with a bargepole.

there was more chance of this airport getting going when OI was in charge.

Prudential threw it away wasting millions on EU jet which is why Planestation went broke.

Give Infritil perhaps two years max before they go bankrupt then a decent owner will come in and the place will then be good for the future.

In the meantime just sit back and watch cos there will be a lot of hot air and no action:ok:

Manston
 

What if anything is there to stop Infatril closing MSE and building 1000's of houses on it and thereby not going bust?

"Prudential threw it away wasting millions on EU jet which is why Planestation went broke" - Speed 5

Planestation "went broke" because they were foolish enough to be talked into buying EUJet by McGoldrick, even though it was clear to almost everybody (see archive posts on this) that EUJet would not survive.

"the airline industry is more than familiar with the `new management` and their modus operendi and will probably steer clear and not touch them with a bargepole" - Speed 5

Except of course, the aviation industry does touch them with a barge pole - look at the success of their operation in Prestwick.

"there was more chance of this airport getting going when OI was in charge" - Speed 5

Then why didn't it happen?

"Give Infritil perhaps two years max before they go bankrupt" - Speed 5

As Desk driver suggests, they'd sell the place to new owners (don't think Kent County Council would permit housing there) before they'd go bust, if only to safeguard their future at Prestwick, so I really don't think that this is a concern.

I am afraid that I am not convinced by any of your points. Maybe there will be hot air and no action for a while, but I for one have my fingers still crossed for scheduled services in the not too distant future.

What MSE needs is a decent Rail connection before Pax services will make money in my opinion, until then it's got to be Cargo & poss maintainence if they can build the facilities. In fact are'nt Marshall looking for a new home?

Here we go again!

The last thing I wish to see is an airport struggling to survive. There are
people hanging onto their jobs, with families, and mortgages to pay here. BUT:

Manston is not a scheduled service airport. Where is it's catchment area?
Where are it's good rail and road links? It is on the edge of the known
universe, a little like Ostend, but with far worse surface access.

It may well have a future as a freight airport providing operators are given an
incentive, and charter companies may consider it, but where are the pax
going to come from to support a lo-co scheduled network?

I hope I am wrong.

Passenger flights from Kent to USA imminent
 

How about this then?

The county could become a gateway to the United States by
next spring, Kent on Sunday can reveal.

Negotiations are at advanced stages to operate passenger flights between Kent International Airport at Manston and Norfolk, Virginia, on the east coast of the US.

Alex King, deputy leader of Kent County Council, told KoS: “Although nothing is yet settled, we think there is a high probability that it will go ahead.” And he emphasised KCC was using no public subsidies to help the operation get off the ground. He added: “I am hopeful that there will be flights to the US out of Kent and vice versa by the beginning of April or May next year.”

The timing could prove crucial if the county is to capitalise on two major American celebrations. First, there is the 400th anniversary of the first American colony at Jamestown, also in Virginia. Many of the first settlers were from Kent, and KCC has taken an active role in promoting a series of celebrations, planning for which are already well under way – both here and in the US. And Kent is the first English county to be invited to attend the major Smithsonian Folklife Festival in the centre of Washington DC in the Summer of 2007, as a result of its participation in Virginia. Some one and a half million people visit the 10-day festival that includes the 4th of July – America’s big holiday. More than 100 Kent businesses have so far expressed a serious interest in taking up the invitation to attend the festival, which will also feature a mix of arts, crafts and culture.

Mr King said he believed there was a lot of mileage to be made from the 2007 celebrations, “not only in terms of tourism, but in the longer term trade relationships across the Atlantic, using Kent as a gate-way to Europe and the US respectively”.

He predicted the flights to Kent would prove popular with American tourists, who would be on the doorstep to Europe from Manston. “There is a big NATO base in Norfolk, Virginia, and there is already a significant number of people travelling every week between there and the NATO base in Belgium,” said Mr King. “This is a regular opportunity for quite a few passengers every week.”

An official at Norfolk International confirmed to KoS he expected “some key decisions would be made during the next week”. The airport offers more than 200 arrivals and departures daily to major cities throughout the US, serving almost 3.8 million passengers in 2004. Mr King said: “There is now a lot of work to be done in terms of getting people on both sides of the pond together to finance the project and make it happen. “That is already happening in Virginia and will begin to happen here.”

A spokesman for Kent International Airport said: “Details of individual discussions are commercially confidential, but we would naturally be delighted to explore the opportunity of such flights.”

Isn't this exactly the sort of ****ocks that the previous owners of Manston used to spout?

Indeed, I think the the most pertinent quote is hidden towards the bottom.

bonkers is the only word for it

An article UK-Airport-News.Info lists Monarch as the most likely airline to operate a Norfolk route

There have been plenty of US tourists winging into MSE every Summer from all over their Country for some years now, usually in a World Airways MD11, to join a cruise ship down the road in Dover.

Are these flights continuing/able to operate under the current set-up?

Wycombe

Yes, but the cruise flights stop after 9/11, World Operates last years and this years flights for a another customer.

they fly for a insurance company (state farm) last year and planned for thisas well but they are also looking at STN, as they are concerned at how MSE is these days

A post on the MSE yahoo group says World Airways will operate the cruise charters to MSE again this year

same old same old!
 

just like the old days, derelict aircraft litter the airfield.
MK and Cargo Lion DC8 on charlie, two rusting 747's on delta. when is the rosey future going to get here? rumour has it that the fire crews are no off-loading the cargo flights and no casual labour is being used.
does anyone know how well the token holiday flights are looking re:booking numbers ?

All casual ramp crew finished at end of Feb, will MK stay or will they go they not happy bunnies

Fire crews are turning MK 747's around with ramp crew and doing a good job considering the time given.
NOT HAPPY - but doing what they need to do, to meet the airports business.
I have no doubts that they will stay as they still get a good service.

It is said that Newmarket Holdays/Travel will operate charters this summer.
Taken from the KIA website.....
Does anyone have any idea's when and how frequent these flights operate? Which airline/aircraft operate these routes ???

fom the Infratil website:
http://www.infratil.com/1/5848.htm
Kent International Airport
Freight volume of 1,388 MT for the month of February continues to be delivered in the main by three weekly MK Airlines 747 freighter aircraft. The average weights of freight are slightly lower at 63 metric tonnes as opposed to an average of 74 MT since operations restarted in September. Included in the 1,388 MT was 133 MT of ad hoc charter business.
A program of minor servicing for Air Atlanta 747 aircraft has commenced. These aircraft are undergoing some deep cleaning and basic maintenance generating landing, parking and associated revenue.
Charter passenger services from Kent Escapes, a new trading name of Prestwick based Seguro Holidays, have been announced and will commence in late May. Two destinations, Barcelona and Faro, will be served on a weekly basis for 26 weeks and early indications are positive in respect of ticket sales.