SecondDog, the restrictions enforced at Harbour are legacy issues which have been continuously reinforced by the Aldergrove sponsored puppets in the guise of concerned residents. Seats for sale, runway extension, curfew hours to name but a few. I think Aldergrove are painfully aware that if Harbour was given a free run at a free and fair expansion proposition without being continually hampered by legal shenanigans from their main competitor then the outlook would be somewhat different.:=

I know it seems like groundhog day yet again on this forum but its simply incredulous to expect a successful and thriving business to close the doors, make employees redundant for the sole purpose of giving a direct competitor a better chance to compete with a third entity in a different jurisdiction. Utter madness and crazy talk!:ugh: I would say that applies to both parties by the way, Harbour have no right to demand Aldergrove shut either even though some days it seems like its already closed up there. I flew out from Aldergrove last week on a trip and there was a 4 hour gap in flights in the middle of the day! I thought I had been left at Eglinton by mistake!:ooh:

Thank you for the sobering post panpanpanpan. The truth of the matter is however both Belfast airports are in growth and new routes are appearing. It's just unfortunate that whenever BHD attracts a new carrier or route there is an accusation of foul play, or the suggestion it won't last or the latest one - it's just playing into DUB's hands. In fact, the irony of it all is BFS is in more growth pax wise than BHD, we should celebrate that!

But even somewhere way west like Omagh it's still easier to get to BHD than BFS. Look at the public transport options - you have to get a bus to the Europa to get another bus for 30mins to BFS ; and that journey costs £7.50 each way. Or you can just get a bus that drops you outside Dublin airport for cheaper.

And despite those shortcomings BFS is in growth. That's a very good point about public transport. Parking however is cheap

Airport of choice
 

Thought I would just throw this into the discussion on BFS V BHD I booked four return flights from Dub to LPL came to a total of €81 I live 19 miles from BHD and 21 miles from BFS but for that price I drove 80 miles to DUB and I guess that is the main reason the more and more people are doing the same

The thing you have to remember is that PanPanPan is a troll
 

[QUOTE=panpanpanpan;9151429]SecondDog, the restrictions enforced at Harbour are legacy issues which have been continuously reinforced by the Aldergrove sponsored puppets in the guise of concerned residents. Seats for sale, runway extension, curfew hours to name but a few. I think Aldergrove are painfully aware that if Harbour was given a free run at a free and fair expansion proposition without being continually hampered by legal shenanigans from their main competitor then the outlook would be somewhat different.:=

I know it seems like groundhog day yet again on this forum but its simply incredulous to expect a successful and thriving business to close the doors, make employees redundant for the sole purpose of giving a direct competitor a better chance to compete with a third entity in a different jurisdiction. Utter madness and crazy talk!:ugh: I would say that applies to both parties by the way, Harbour have no right to demand Aldergrove shut either even though some days it seems like its already closed up there. I flew out from Aldergrove last week on a trip and there was a 4 hour gap in flights in the middle of the day! I thought I had been left at Eglinton by mistake!:ooh:[/QUOTE
Utter utter nonsense.
There is no link whatsoever between BFS and people sick of aircraft noise.
Pretty slanderous I'd say.
This guy spouts nonsense in an aggressive manner. One of a number who have spolt this forum.

Why should the cap on pax numbers be lifted? There is an airport some 30 minutes up the road that has the capacity to handle all the pax that will ever want to travel in/out of NI for many years to come.

When BHD started, it was to handle smaller aircraft on routes to the mainland. That was ok for a while. Then it started to take bigger aircraft, wants to lift the pax numbers, wanted to extend the runway, now takes international flights. It knew what the rules were when it started, just like Ryanair did, same with KLM who were wanting an earlier operating time. All this almost in the middle of a city. A great example of starting at point A, than pressing all the time for the rules to be changed. The requests should all be refused, end of.

TB

CaptJ, I'm not a troll and don't consider myself to be an aggressive old duffer either! May I respectfully suggest you go back over some of your old posts and reflect accordingly. There's an old saying about removing the plank from your own eye before taking the twig out of someone else's - or something to that end anyway! I think you'll find you have been fairly vocal and aggressive yourself in times gone by. :=

Now as this has simply gone back to the old worn out debates yet again I am beginning to lose interest, pity really, just when the debate was widening. :D

appreciate that JMB12, however this is an example of effect rather than cause. If N.I. sorted itself out and created aviation masterplan, removing APD. The fares you mention would be more easily matched from your local airport.

Pan. I don't consider you a troll and quite happy to think about your alternate point of view. I realise it become repetitive on here at times but I consider that to mean we have distilled the thing down to its fundamental issue. The more interesting chat is limited because info is not easily sought or given with any bus. dev. talks or legal proceedings.

Well the good news continues.......Brussels airlines is 5 weekly from end of March, using avro aircraft. Afternoon departure slots. Tue and Sat will be the gaps.:D

Good news indeed for NI, more pax coming through any airport and into the country spending their cash can't be a bad thing.:ok:

TrueBlue, never mind lifting a pax cap, why should there be one in the first place? If I recall the original cap was put in place by planners to do with physical numbers going through the old Harbour terminal, probably using the same logic as limiting the numbers in a nightclub etc, no problem with that. When the new terminal was built this relic should have gone with it rather than be used as a club by legal types to beat the potential business expansion to death. Only in NI could business be artificially stifled whilst at the same time the same people are happy to complain about lack of jobs and opportunities being created.:rolleyes:

Not strictly correct, the only reasons Jackmyboy12 got such a deal is because EI are starting this Friday and FR have been pushed into very low pricing. Easily paying between €5-10 more per flight if EI didn't decide to launch the route.

APD goes in NI, I bet you won't see EasyJet match the 9.99 fares to LPL.

My point though is IF N.I. could consolidate its aviation strategy, we would have more airlines flying from BFS and instigate the type of competition you refer to.

Fantastic news indeed on the new route. It's nice to see a brand new destination. I hope it will do well. Fingers crossed now for a route to Germany! I wonder would Vueling do any more routes next summer?

What a strange statement.

Have a look at the International passenger movements for today:

Live Flight Information | Belfast International Airport

Three Jet2 arrivals, one Thomas Cook... and EVERY single other arrival is Easyjet. Who's holding what airport to ransom, pray tell?

At least City are trying to spread their bets across a number of airlines, even if FlyBE remain dominant they're at least not holding the core hub connections.

City could just about survive the loss of FlyBE, or two of the second-tier. International would be nothing if Easyjet withdrew ( unless you start counting freight and medical movements, plus those SOCATAs on delivery, oh and the AAC Islanders... I suppose they could all chip in a few more quid to keep the runways swept )

And where would EasyJet withdraw to in NI?


TB

A very welcome delvelopment re: Brussels Airlines at BHD. This route will no doubt be well utilised by those who frequent the European Parliament in Brussels. Could also be a toe in the water by the Lufthansa group to gain first hand knowledge of demand via onward connections.

BHD are facing some very unique challenges posed by this recent rapid growth. One of which will erode away further one of the reasons I love using BHD ie. Small, less busy spaces with shrt walks to/from aircraft. Parking has also been discussed at length both for passengers and aircraft. It will be interesting to see this develop.

In terms of the debate around passenger numbers cap I think it should be removed. The people of Northern Ireland should be free to choose which airport they fly from and that should be done so with both Belfast airports operating on an equal playing field. It is becoming clear that BHD appears the airport of choice for the perceived premium carriers serving NI and the majority of those new entrants.

From a purely observers perspecitive, would it be possible to implement on a more permanent basis the looped departure as was used from 04 a number of years ago? Inseem to recall it being referred to locally as the Paddy1A departure? Could a similar departure with a right turn from 22 be used to minimise aircraft noise over Belfast? AC

Seats for sale cap is an excellent mechanism for controlling growth at BHD. IF removed BHD could expand to 4 million pa without going over the cap on flights. This would upset the aviation balance in NI. Noise pollution is a massive issue at BHD and must be controlled. Most professionals who are in the know would realise this so I wouldn't expect it to be removed - however never say never.
If I remember correctly the analogy in defence of the cap removal from management at the city airport went something like 'it's like having a 300 bedroom hotel and only able to fill 250 rooms'. Well why did you build a 300 bedroom hotel when you knew you could only hire out 250 rooms?

Obviously their investment in therouteshop.com has paid of that's 2 routes they are advertising for and have got

I wouldn't be surprised if management is trying to poach wizzair from BFS