This is as big a blow as loosing FR. Charters are integral to HUY

What are the chances of investment in an upgrade to CATIII? Well looks like XL have gone now so looks like minds are made up across the board. Did notice a couple of vans and some workmen at the end of the runway the other day, perhaps they want to get it done?

XL res staff have recieved an email confirming the closure of the HUY base in S07.

BIG BIG blow:(

Regards

Mike

I'd just like to say that I understand what you're going through with regards to Ryanair and Excel leaving you.

As a Durham Tees Valley fan, I'm still hurtin from last weeks bmibaby announcement. :eek: :mad: :ugh:

I hear RE are a definate for next year so fingers crossed.

Very dissapointing news for XL, what could this say about the airlines financial situation though? Its not just HUY they are pulling but CWL and NEMA too, to concentrate on major airports.

What are the chances of any other airline coming in? And what other airlines could there be?

Hard to see where new business will come from, especially since the marketing department appears to have been dumped in the last Manchester reorganisation. Is there anyone left at the airport whose job it is to attract new business?

isa kite

I believe the answer is yes but they aren't based at HUY. Not 100% sure though.

It used to be Cat II at HUY in the Air UK F50 days, but rumour has it this was lost due to the fire station being built too close to the runway, within the protected area. (?) Sad.

Arent the route development people or what ever they call themselves at NEMA now with the officials from all the MAG airports? If they it could be in an attempt to attract airlines to all of its airports and do deals etc.

NEMA and CWL have had their XL flights taken on by Air Malta, i wonder if HUY will get that?

The fire station was were the helicopter terminal is but got moved further from the runway to its current location :confused:

The ILS at HUY used to meet the requirements of Cat 1 but was unclassified due to the hump in the runway.
When the runway was extended it was reclassified as bog standard Cat 1.
To upgrade to Cat 2 or 3 would cost a fortune (new localizer and glidepath equipment - the present gear doesn't meet the required standard, new lighting etc) and HUY doesn't have a fortune to spend - nor will it for the forseeable future.
As far as marketing is concerned, I am told that the major negotiating and decision making is being made from Manchester, not at HUY, (although there is a token marketing presence in situ there).
The Ryanair venture didn't contiunue, alledgedly, because, (like every other low cost operation which has been proposed from HUY), there was no money to be made by the operator beyond the initial "no charge by the airport" period.
This only goes to prove that low - cost will never work at HUY, scheduled movements will be very very limited and they should stick to catering for the people who want to get away for two weeks every year, i.e. bums to the sun.
If they carry on with the present strategy, they'll be totally decimated by Robin Hood within a couple of years.

Southampton to Humberside showing on the drop down booking engine on the Flybe. website!:D

Regards

Mike

I'm presuming this is for the fans flights on 2nd December - SOU-HUY for the Southampton v Hull football match. They also have one for the Sunderland match to NCL on 11th Nov

mmeteesside

I feel really sorry for the situation at Humberside.
The airport is being strangled by big money at DSA.
The region did not need another airport at this time.
If HUY is more or less killed off, then how to justify opening a new airport down the road.Please, dont anybody mention the big runway again.Passengers make airports not tarmac. Look at Bristol, 6,600ft runway,flights to the states,5.6 million pax, say no more.

wawkrk

I know i will get some flack for this but i do agree, though there is no point looking to the past anymore. DSA may be proving to be able to offer scheduled long haul flights now which must be seen as a good thing for the whole region.

I do think also that M<AG are holding back with investment at HUY, they could do a hell of a lot more with the place if they put some real investment in like they have at their other airports. I wouldnt be surprised if they ran it into the ground then tried palming it off to someone else. It seems like they only bought it to try and prevent DSA. That didnt work.

All we can hope for is that MAG do come to their senses and realise that there may be demand in this region for a number of low cost and charter routes. The unfortunate pulling out of XL has dented any hopes of expansion in that market probably for the next couple of years at least. The only slight glimmer of hope could be RE with flights to DUB.

Its getting harder and harder to be optimistic about the future. Something is fundamentally flawed and teh people of the region need to know why, for the sake of at leats our economy in this region, if we want see a rise in employment and the area flourish like it rightly deserves, and to be able to fly from our airport to the destinations we want to fly to, like people can from much smaller areas like Norwich and Exeter!:ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

Pug. The same could be said about Plymouth. Plymouth is only slightly smaller than Hull and it's airport is woefully inadequate for a city that size. Any major growth in air travel from the far South West Peninsular will be from NQY and EXT both are around 70km from Plymouth. EXT should reach 1 million pax this year and NQY is not far from HUY's levels. It seems HUY is being squeezed by DSA and to a lesser extent LBA. EXT and NQY benefit from their distance from BRS and the absence of any real choice from PLH.

Devonair, please correct me if im wrong, isnt PLH restricted by the size of its runway? I remember a group a couple of years back did a study for an airport to serve both Exeter and Plymouth?

I feel HUY has the infrastructure to expand, DSA may squeeze it and it does unfortunately limit the number of airlines who may look at HUY, but someone i am sure may try in the future. Hence the LS rumours and the RE rumour which i believe to be all go!

The thing the airport will be doing now though, i would assume, is trying to fing a replacement for XL. I believe the charter and the KLM feeder to be priority amongst the management at the present time.

Flybe?
 

Maybe a Fly be based aircraft at HUY could be the solution to some of HUY's recent problems??They could take over the Dub and maybe fly a route to AMS like they do at Southampton. Other routes they could serve could be Glasgow and a regional French destination (or two!;) )

Might be a tad optimistc though:(

Flybe's last excuse was lack of suitable aircraft, now that they are to start at DSA it makes things less likely, though i cant see them doing the sun routes from DSA (HUY would make those with a 195) there isnt realy much demand for the hight freq dash-8 routes except maybe CDG and LGW, the latter is highly unlikely :{

Who knows though they may want to run some sun routes from HUY as the other nearest airport the have that program from is NWI.

;) All the same i think they'd be foolish not to take-over the dublin route should Ryanair pull out as rumoured...it may not have worked for Ryanair with the 189-seaters but a 70seater might be a little bit more practical and more efficient to operate on this route too