Timmy W
 

The prospects for DSA are not wonderful, but I don't think as dire as you make out. You do make several valid points.

However, your occasional over-speculation and your friend at the Free Press who seems unable to file copy do not help your credibility on here.

jc, spot on re his credibility, to quote TW himself, the facts speak for themselves.


He can't even string a coherent sentence together, when he writes as above, 'no new routes are being added apart from the new routes being added by Thomas Cook'. :D


Now then, now then, perhaps our Leeds correspondant will be kind enough to advise which cargo movements haven't been planned?

Then I'll pass the message on to my source to check that the organised cargo movements have been planned. We wouldn't want any unplanned organised cargo movements would we. Howz about that then?

Thanks for agreeing with my post. But don't bring him into it. Thank the lord DSA had Sean Bean and Brian Blessed at opening ceremonies and statues.

DONCASTER SHEFFIELD
 

Interesting earlier comments about two loco carries coming to dsa that allegedly featured in the free press a week or three back so who knows ....
Timmy is simply trolling with none sense stories and so on

jc
Thanks for agreeing with my post

Well I was being specific to TW's foot placed on top of foot, and six shooter skills.

Valid points from him? Haven't seen any yet, but then he's only shown a real in depth knowledge of shooting himself in the foot. The only comment I'd be likely to take any notice of would be his reccomendation for a chiropodist ...

I presume you are referring to me JC in regard to the quote above.I never said that extra cargo flights were not being planned for the future,I hope that you are correct has it will bring in much needed revenue for the airport and maybe protect jobs.What I said was that the Cessna Service Centre and extra cargo will not sustain the airport.The general consensus is about the long term future of the airport.

onyxcrowle - what locos? Genuinely interested to hear.

Still waiting for who these mythical two lo co's are :D

With only one departure on some days during the winter, i'd be if the the airport can be kept going for passengers.

However, I personally believe the owners have no in interest passengers services.

TW

Quote:

---

With only one departure on some days during the winter, i'd be if the the airport can be kept going for passengers

---

You'd be what? Unable to string a coherent sentence together? :D

I'd get your mate from Doncaster Free Press to proof read your postings mate before you submit them. Mind you with his reliability theres no guarantee of any improvement ...

So just remind us when Wizz start at Manchester?

The Wizz rumor has been doing the rounds on here for a long time.

Fact remains, the airport cannot be commercially viable with only one departure on some days during the winter.

I still want the other poster to clarify who these two supposed lo co's are. Because I can assure you, they don't exist. There isn't a slight bit of interest from any lo co in operating out of DSA.

Why are you so obsessed about traffic volumes on one day. Any airport will base performance on 12 months, which will include seasonal peaks and troughs. UK regional flying is a seasonal business - always has been and always will be.

And the yearly figure is one of decline. And probably further decline next year based on flights currently available.

Could quite easily be looking at another Teeside in a few years.

TimmyW
I agree with you that the decline is alarming and disappointing and that on one day at least in the week there is very little movement which must have financial implications for the management. It is difficult to see other operators coming on the scene in the near future, just looking at the track record of DSA over the last few years will not help either.
Bye the way your coherent and balanced comments are appreciated.

It's is a rough time for most uk airports, pax figures are down at almost every airport. DSA has a low forecast winter 2012/13 but summer is looking good, better than this year so in a sense evens it's self out.

its a tough market but with the new link road things will only look more attractive for the airport.

DONCASTER SHEFFIELD
 

Only time will tell , The link road may well make dsa a bigger cargo centre than civil.
Wednesday was quiet last winter , But put this in perspective totally not involving the uk airport scene but a neighbour has a son who lives and works in Germany ,He wanted to fly to one of the Greek islands from his local regional airport and couldn't get a ticket , he was told the reason was that the island pretty much closes down in winter and its usually busy airport didn't have ANY international flights !. So yes we can expect DSA to be quiet .
However your concerns are valid but maybe you should take up the idea I raised and write a decent open letter to their management and ask what they plan to do about it !.

onyx - as a very general guess, comparing a regional airport in Germany with an island airport in Greece is not an equal comparison. One airport is a major exporter of people going away for 2 weeks in the sun, while the other imports people visiting for 2 weeks of sunshine. Despite the efforts of the tourist board, Germany remains a significant net spender on tourism rather than being a recipient of funds.

The average Greek island relies on good weather and depends very heavily on summer tourists to make enough money to cover the winter when there is little work and few jobs. The average Greek beach in January just isn't that appealing.
The average regional German airport, e.g. Bremen or Leipzig, is close to a city whose economy is active throughout the year and predominantly weather independent, much like the economy of Sheffield or Doncaster.

For DSA to be credible and demonstrate that it's useful to the local and UK economy and not just a way of helping people spend their money in a different country, there should be some non-beach flights (e.g. Wizzair) all year round

DONCASTER SHEFFIELD
 

Have Wizzair loaded summer flights yet ?

Nothing showing for Wizz or Ryanair for next summer as yet.

Wizz's schedule is down on last winter, and Ryanair operate one route last winter but nothing this year.

I want the airport to succeed as much as everyone else, but people need to be realistic. The hope for any new routes or carriers is a pipe dream, link road or not,

Holiday Extras Customer Awards
 

Category 2012


Best Airport


Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield named best airport!
It takes a bit more than duty free and gaudy souvenirs to keep passengers happy these days, and with international airports such as Singapore Changi and South Korea's Incheon raising the bar all the time, how do our homegrown hubs compare?
The best airports in the world offer top notch customer service and facilities in award-winning buildings, featuring anything from fine dining restaurants, live music and casinos to spas, relaxing gardens and comfy napping spots.
Our trusty HolidayExtras.com globetrotters know what makes a good departure airport, and when rating their home airports they will no doubt be looking at facilities including shops, bars, restaurants and WiFi, as well as cleanliness, comfort and customer service.
The following key factors can also make the difference between loving and loathing for a UK airport: location, public transport links, signage, length of security and immigration procedures, and walking distance to the gates.
More than 60,000 customers voted in the Holiday Extras Customers' Awards 2011, with Belfast International picking up the award for best airport in the UK for the second time.
The 2012 best airport shortlist
Birmingham Airport
Exeter Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Newcastle Airport
Robin Hood Doncaster Airport

Timmy: Both Girona and Jersey have been loaded into booking systems so far for Summer 2013. Any more 'predictions'?

Yep the Jersey route might be on sale for next summer but flybe have reduced both frequency and capacity from 3x weekly mix of Dash 8 & Embrear to just 2x weekly Dash 8's. But its good to see the service has been retained.

Also after hearing the news about ryanair returning next summer, I've just checked there website and I can’t seem to find any flights available from Doncaster to Gerona in either June, July or August. So what dates did you find bookable ryansf?

Ryanair Summer 2013 - They only appear to have loaded the first week so far, starting 31st March. It is just the same for Newcastle so am presuming it is at an an early stage in loading.

Ryanair Summer 2013
 

Schedules for Girona and Tenerife now fully loaded for the summer. Same as this year.

Wizz loaded for next summer as follows, just Vilnius to go.

Katowice 4 x weekly
Gdansk 4 x weekly
Poznan 3 x weekly
Wroclaw 3 x weekly
Warsaw 2 x weekly

Slightly up on this summer by one flight. Would be good to see Wizz do Budapest 2 x weekly.

Frequencies down on this year, apart from at peak times.
Vilnius frequency reduced for the whole summer.

Where are all the new routes that were promised with the link road? :ooh:

I notice Sheffielders are campaigning for Sheffield airport to be reopened. Clearly they are not interested in using an airport a few miles up the road.

Source? Or will it be in the Free Press tomorrow?

Has the link road been built yet?

johnnychips - the only related thing to TimmyW's comment that I could find was this:
BBC News - Sheffield airport runway plea to Vince Cable
It seems some people want the remains of the runway left in place in the hope that the airport *might* reopen some day in the future. I can't find any credible reports that people are actively campaigning for the airport to open

... from the web link.

It doesn't.

Sheffield airport flights to 'business' destinations didn't make a profit, and DSA will not attract that sort of traffic either. So it's off to MAN or the Eurostar - whose relocation to St Pancras incidentally makes the train option for Europe more attractive from both Sheffield and Doncaster, especially if Eurostar and/or DB realise their plans to have services extend beyond Brussels in the next few years.

Perhaps if DB ran the railways we would be better off !

I think you will find that DB run trains in the UK, they bought Arriva in 2010 and run trains including Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Grand Central Railway, Tyne & Wear Metro etc
BTW
DB Schenker Rail are at Lakeside Business Park
Carolina Way
Doncaster

I was meaning the East coast route. Perhaps using their I.C.E train ;)

Wizz Air Signs 5-year deal with Doncaster
 

Wizz Air Signs 5-year deal with Doncaster Sheffield Airport

Excellent news!

http://www.routesonline.com/news/36/the-hub/171067/wizz-air-agrees-new-deal-with-liverpool-and-doncaster-sheffield-airports/

5 year deal...

DB
 

Imagine the furore in the Mail, Express and Sun were the DB to advertise the fact that they run great chunks of our rail system! Even worse if they painted their trains in DB livery!

As for ICE on the east Coast Mainline - chance would be a fine thing!

This is excellent news, as they state their fleet will increase by 11 to 50 by 2014. IMO a couple of these may be earmarked for DSA.

If DSA was to become a base, it would open the possibility of adding routes to other parts of Europe.

TimmyW - any thoughts or comment on the news from Wizz ?

I think that the mention in the announcement of "lowest possible cost base" and "low fees" indicates which side had the upper hand in the negotiations. The recent hints
about a move to Manchester no doubt helped persuade Peel to accept the deal.
I would think that ancillary revenue, such as car parking income, would be pretty low from Wizz flights. However it is a good to see this deal guaranteeing some level of security for both airports.

A move to Manchester was a very real possibility. As reports confirm.
It seems Peel have been forced to drop their demands to ensure they keep Wizz.

Hopefully DSA can build from this positive news. I remain skeptical of any real growth however.

News**/**Wizz Air signs up for another five years at JLA THEBUSINESSDESK.COM#

It depends what he would consider as a 'couple of years', but considering Wizz currently carry around 300,000 passengers to/from DSA p/a, then it would suggest there is some 'real' growth to come.

I'd like to see a few more Ryanair destinations. Not saying it should become a base (although a small one a bit like Bournemouth could work) but a few more European routes eg. the return of Alicante, Dublin Faro, Pisa and may be one or two new ones like Milan or maybe Wroclaw to compete with Wizz and perhaps a few routes on W patterns to places like Krakow or Warsaw. Not sure Peel would like that idea though but some more Ryanair flights to other European destinations would be highly welcomed I'm sure!