Southampton Airport...any new carriers/destinations

[TJ747]

HI GUYS,

Just wondered if there is likely to be any further expansion at Southampton for winter or summer 05.

Southampton seems to be a little busy airport yet it doesnt seem to have much in the way of charter work there.... i know they have pmi/tfs flights but i think that is about it on the charter side of things.

FlyBe are very busy there too.

Anyone know of any new carriers or destinations to be added in the near future.
Southampton for me seems to be a better choice over bournemouth if i had to choose which one i would choose from.

Hope someone can help

Many thx

TJ747

[Dash-7 lover]

Don't think SOU can cope with anything else at the moment. The only handling is Aviance and they're maxed out which shows in the delay statistics which are appalling........

[MerchantVenturer]

This recent PPRuNe thread talks about Air Berlin to start Paderborn-Southampton.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=137725&highlight=air+berlin+paderborn

[xyz_pilot]

Runway is abit on the short side for most of the charter boys.

[surely not]

The 757 has no problem with the runway ex SOU. BY have operated very successfully ex SOU in the past. The A320 has also operated without any due concerns.

The main problem is the minute stand size.

[SOU-Bloke]

There is no 'main' problem, so to speak. As at most airports there are a combination of issues that come together.

Firstly, runway length and also obstacle clearance is an issue for some aircraft/carriers. 757 can operate nicely out of SOU, as can the 737-3/4/500. The -800 is slightly restricted but can still operate Mediterranean routes. A320 is happy to the med also.

Lesser powered aircraft are more restricted due to the terrain to the south of the airfield, the 146-300 and E145 both having weight penalties in certain weather.

Stand size can be an issue, stand width is 32m, but with foreward planning, stand allocation can be arrranged without a problem. More restricting is the fact that only stands 2, 3 and 4 can be used for any a/c with a tail height over 10.5m, due to the sideslope.

Stand planning is a major issue. SOU currently has 12 stands, but stand 1 is out of use for another month while building work takes place. There are 11 night stopping aircraft. During the day there are a number of times when it gets completely full and it only needs one tech aircraft or an ad-hoc charter to be thrown in and it causes a problem.

I haven't seen any delay stats, but Aviances performance isn't too bad in my experience. Airport facilities also need upgrading, but that is in the pipeline (larger departure lounge, better check-in, baggage belts, Hold Baggage Screening x-ray equipment etc), and a combination of these two do sometimes lead to delays, but generally delays of this nature are not too bad, compared to tech delays.

There IS capacity at certain times on certain days and SOU is far from being full, but then again at certain other times (Monday and Saturday morning for example) it is almost too busy.

Charters currently operating are: 1 weekly TFS, 1 weekly FAO, 4 weekly PMI, 1 weekly IBZ, 1 weekly ALC. So there are a few already. The charter market is quite volatile at the moment anyway, and SOU has apparently lost a couple of routes for next summer, but so has BOH also.

As for new routes, nothing rumoured at present, although I know the airport is looking for more routes to fill gaps in the day. FlyBE's competition with BA on the MAN and GLA routes, aswell as EDI, will be interesting and could dictate what happens to BA here in the long term.

Once some of the infrastructure is improved there's no reason to suggest why SOU can't get more new routes, but it will be in the medium term IMO.

[chippy63]

Wouldn't mind a bit of competition on the Paris route. AF fares make your eyes water.

[Barbara Cassani]

Looks like Flybe are starting SOU-CDG. It is being advertised by travel agents across the country. Not sure why its not on their web site though.