planeaddict..

Why would they provifde an indoor spotting area at BHX? With the exception of Manchester (and even there prices are rising to spot) no other UK airport provides good spotting facilities anymore.

The reason..cost.. look at BHX, I have been a spotter their for nearly 40 years. The upstairs spotting area went as it was hardly used towards the end,and the book shop keeping it going went bust. BHX were charging for entry.

Airports will now only provide spotting facilities if it will make them money..its sadly the only thing that matters these days.

I wish I could say that spootting from the boundries would get better sadly they won't. Seems a grass bund will go up when the Monarch hangar is built next year, blocking views from the golf course path.

The new A45 loop has been dug 20ft down to allow a bridge over the road in the future so no views of the runway/airport from here A new very long grass bund goes up from behind the Tristar Hotel all the way past the runway extension.So no views of the runway looking down the hill southwards.:eek:

Sadly also heard that the multi storey car park Elmdon side which currently affords good view from its roof is also to be demolished:{

Nigel

Air Algerie
 

I heard this rumour a few weeks ago.

Looking at 2-3 weekly B738's from Q1/2013

I think BHX will become more attractive to airlines such as AH as they are unable to expand at LHR.

BHX is a very good expansion option being so close to LHR.

A lot of people are quick enough to knock BHX as being too close to London but surely on the flip side there is potentially a lot of airlines that could add frequencies to BHX.

Watch this space.

AH was a total waste of time most flights ex MAN had 10 or less pax
there was no advertising done from memory and I just cannot see BHX
getting near that the way things are over there at present


Chaps

I think the only way to get an idea of when Qatar may start their service (well, until they announce it) is to see when they get deliveries of new aircraft (787s presumably).

RE the indoor viewing area, I hadn't been to the aviation experience since around 2007 and they weren't charging then. Maybe in the recent years, it wasn't being promoted enough?

If Air Algerie actually goes ahead, will it actually benefit BHX more than similar airlines, which only have one other destination in the UK (Turkmenistan is an example)?

I know Shaheen Air and Airblue were rumours, but one of them going ahead would provide a bit of competition for other airlines and could expand the Asian market further.

I've mentioned this before, but what have Continental done that other US carriers haven't, to keep hold of their service for the last 15 years?

MAN A380
 

The 2nd A380 at MAN will add about 60 outbound seats to over 10,500 on offer every day across MAN, LHR and BHX to the middle east. Plus the 1000s on offer non stop from LHR to destinations that avoid the need for a connecting flight from BHX or MAN at all.

Confused as to why anyone thinks it is a game changer

If it does change a game it's the drop in cargo capacity from MAN.

Plainaddict..re

"I think the only way to get an idea of when Qatar may start their service (well, until they announce it) is to see when they get deliveries of new aircraft (787s presumably)"


Its a good hypothesis, unfortunately they have 60 on order, 3 already delivered and last delivery expected now in early 2018.

So depends where BHX is on ther priority list !

Nigel

They announced it in July, I can't imagine it'd be that far away. If they planned to start in March, maybe we'll hear about it in the first few weeks of January? ;)

Still hoping that this ORD service goes ahead.

It's not a game changer in the context you suggest.

It is however significant in that, once travellers are aware of it, many choose to specifically fly on it. A trickle of just 40 passengers from BHX to MAN's A380s represents a loss of 10% of BHX's B77W capacity.

Well, less than 5 per cent. There are 2 x777s from BHX.
If passengers were fussed about trading up from a 777 to an A380, wouldn't they already be heading south to London? Isn't it 4 daily already, soon to be 5.

Agree entirely, cannot see 40 pax per day saying they would rather fly the a380 over a 777. Would suggest price will be the only factor that would sway people to other airports.

Umm and also because they are flying from their nearest airport if they are from a 40 mile radius, even further towards the east and west.
Is this 2nd A380 from MAN just a rumour or definite anyway? It's only a matter of time for the EK39/40 to upgraded to an A380 methinks

That one-off flight only had the pax of a 777. Quoting what I said earlier about a few comments on a YouTube video:

"A388 has very good take off performance and could take off with a full load from BHX safely as it would not require full tanks of fuel to reach DXB, and that it performs very well on runways significantly shorter than BHX's."

If they were to start operating the A380 at BHX before the runway extension is completed, they would have to use the ENTIRE runway methinks if the plane was fully loaded.

We would get a third daily flight sooner than an A380 however.

Yes i am quite aware of all that planeaddict , the summer of 2014 is not that far away , that is what i was thinking.

What are you basing this on? The cargo capacity of the A388 is poor in comparison with the B77W, this is why Emirates SkyCargo are operating into LHR now as the five daily A380s mean a drop in cargo capacity.

pLaneaddict; re Qatar and BHX.

Yes certainly hope they announce dates in the New Year that would be great.

Unfortunately the fact that Al Bakar mentioned BHX again a doesn't mean much by itself.

Qatar and Helsinki Airport had a joint press conference launching a new Qatar flt from there...yet over a year later still no start date announced ?

Lets keep everything crossed :)

Nigel

Them announcing Qatar would be a great start to 2013 :D

But let's keep looking into these 'rumours' that seem to float around about new services, Air Algerie being the latest.

I've been wondering what is going to be done about Hellenic Imperial Airways. I think they should definitely try BHX again, but with an A320/A310, as the 747 was completely the wrong aircraft for the route (they do seem to be flying in A340's to LHR though...)

?

Hellenic are without an AOC .
Their only airworthy 747 was last seen doing some Hajj flights over a year ago.

The two A343 aircraft were painted up but returned to Gulf Air before delivery and are now stored probably awaiting a gas axe !

The only financially sound and viable Greek carrier is Aegean and they route all their UK regional passengers via alliance partners SN Brussels.

Face it the Birmingham, West Midlands, Warwickshire and Worcester business man finds it far too easy (once in the company car) and on the M40 to drive down to Hounslow and Slough regional !

This is NOT going to change in the next decade.

What Birmingham needs to do is develop those solid European business routes (the ones that connect the good old fashioned metal bashers with their European suppliers).

Give up on this long haul nonsense other than to the Sub continent and a few holiday routes.

I am afraid the geography can't be altered.

It's a fantasy to believe that because LHR slots are a premium, carriers might look at Birmingham.
They won't and neither will they look at Manchester based solely on those grounds.

If they can't expand into the South East then expansion will leave these shores for mainland Europe with the UK becoming a branch line feed via alliance partners !

Sorry but thats the facts of the matter.

rutankrd

Cannot agree more regarding these "fantasy" routes and unlikely carriers.

However your analysis that your average midlands business person would rather driver to LHR is flawed. On the contrary, business people from as far south as Oxford are more than happy to drive to BHX, rather than risk the car park that is the M25 between the M40 and M3, past Heathrow.

Where the problem arises is that to foreign visitors, especially those geographically challenged ones from across the Atlantic, the England is London, and London is England, so getting the inbound business and leisure passengers that come to UK to think beyond London is always going to be an uphill challenge. You can't make a business out of just catering for UK originating passengers, they are probably less than half the story.

Visit England does little to help change that mindset with it's constant diet of advertising to the outside world being based around red double-decker buses, and London landmarks!

I would use BHX any day over LHR or LGW. However, not necessarilly for direct Long Haul since flying through another hub such as AMS, BRU, FRA, MUC can offer much cheaper fares than direct flights.

I would agree with ATNotts that business men (to whom time might be more important than cost) would favour using BHX over LHR if given the choice.