BIRMINGHAM - 6 [Archive] - Page 9

OltonPete

16th Apr 2014, 10:50

The net increase over 2013 really doesn't tell the full story and as ever with March it is difficult month to judge depending on where Easter falls.

Last year was terrible, as it included some Easter pax and was down on 2012.

The fact is March 2014 was below March 2004 (yes 10 years), as well as below 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The record was March 2008 with 729209 but Easter was the earliest for 90 odd years at around 23 March and that does make a difference.

Back to the present and on long-haul there could be some records broken.

Emirates 48204 average pax 389 at 91% load factor (that could be a record pax figure).

Air India is a record but obviously the re-instated service is still less than one year old - 8227 pax at 229 per flight or 89% load factor is the best so far. Partly helped by 5 Saturdays and 5 Mondays in March.

Possibly even more of a surprise (at least to me) is Turkmenistan at 6260, which could be a record for four services a week (it operated briefly at a higher rate) and a staggering 174 pax per flight giving around 92% load factor based on 190 seats.

Islamabad was a disappointment down 23% at 7904 (Manchester down 42% but due to Air Blue) although still managed 73% load factor.

Business routes were mainly up with the exception of a few such as Berlin, Hamburg (smart move Lufthansa) and very noticeable compared to Dusseldorf which was up a remarkable 16% but this could be decimated shortly with the Germanwings changes but if they are not making money on a network-wide basis I suppose little can be done.

Some Spanish routes still well below East Mids but horses for courses I suppose.

Turkish was okay at around 70% and I can sort of understand why it hasn't gone 12 weekly or double daily although saying that Edinburgh is increasing on some very average winter figures although they do have a strong summer market.

Pete

getonittt

16th Apr 2014, 12:03

There always seems to be some some glitches with the BHX provisional figures, this month not showing Hanover nor Enfidha. I always have a look at the sad decline of the ZRH route which month on month shows a decrease and considering it is a star alliance hub and hence in all the route search engines i find it quite odd. Maybe when LX get the c-series things may improve.
Apart from that some excellent figures , and as O.P. has pointed out the biggest surprise was Turkmen , maybe they have cut their fares to counter the AI presence ? There has been a rumour of them using 777's , now i can see why.

insuindi

16th Apr 2014, 14:25

Hannover's provisional data has been faulty every single month so far this year.

nigel osborne

16th Apr 2014, 15:51

getonitt.

I think Zurich can be explained by the fact that LH now controls LX . Probably putting some from Zurich on their own flights, as LH have seen steadyincreases in passenger numbers.

Its noticeable that MAN LX flts were supposed to be all airbus, however even here theres been quite a few Helvetic F100s on ZRH recently, perhaps for the same reason.

Nigel

All names taken

16th Apr 2014, 19:16

MAN-ZRH will be back to 3 a day soon.

But yeah agree - as part of the LH Group, they will shift capacity (by pricing policy) around their hubs as they see fit.
Just watch the BHX-ZRH route once prices start coming down again, numbers will go up.
LF up / yield down - all a balancing act.

insuindi

17th Apr 2014, 09:31

@Oltonpete trying to follow your post (I always value your posts!): You say Easter props up passenger figures. As such the dip last year was particularly bad as it already included some of Easter. OK. This year March did not include Easter. But it was up (from the low base last year). But esepcially the fact that BHX gained whilst many of its larger and/or regional competitors didn't, is still good, no?

LNIDA

17th Apr 2014, 09:48

I spend a lot of time positioning for flights around Europe and I would observe that in the UK they've not made the experience of flying either attractive or easy, probably LGW is an exception. A lot of the UK regional airports start the rip off process even before you go inside with parking/drop off fee's, just imagine if supermarkets started doing that?

The UK departure tax also is a big turn off. I think a lot of people have got to the point where apart from a main holiday they just can't be bothered with jump through all the hoops on airlines websites, then parking drop off fee's and then security ............

Wishing BHX well, much potential i think.

OltonPete

17th Apr 2014, 10:23

insuindi

I suppose any increase is good especially compared to decreases recorded at Heathrow, Manchester, Bristol, Luton, Leeds, East Midlands, Newcastle and Belfast INT and all I was really trying to do was to add a bit of perspective.

Also to show how after ten years BHX has not progressed as much as other airports, some examples: -

Edinburgh 2004 - 649571 compared to 2014 733176
Luton 2004- 555695 compared to 2014 707909
Bristol 2004 - 335269 compared to 2014 426294
Birmingham 2004 - 665380 compared to 2014 654377

I know comparing one month is not particularly ideal but enough to show a bit of a comparison against some other UK airports. Although to counter-balance that there are airports similar to BHX that haven't moved on (passenger number wise) since 2003/4 such as Manchester (1436506 in 2004 to 1434504 in 2014) and Glasgow.

As for the BHX "bad" month, March 2013 I can only assume that the loss of BMI Baby in the previous September was a major factor, as Monarch & Ryanair were not so keen to add extra capacity in the winter months unlike summer. This again has distorted the increase in March 2014.

Overall the airport is moving in the right direction but as LNIDA states
"much potential i think"

Pete

compton3bravo

17th Apr 2014, 16:26

If you hadn´t noticed already LN-IDA welcome to rip-off Britain. One of the many reasons I spend as little time as possible in dear old Blighty!

Hotel Tango

17th Apr 2014, 18:24

I completely disagree with the short term drop-off/pick-up fees at BHX (and other UK airports. However, as far as BHX is concerned, there are two ways you can drop off/pick up for free. The first, although perhaps not the most convenient, is the long stay car park which allows 15 mins free access and provides a free bus service to the terminal. Not particularly handy in the Winter though. The second, which is the option I use, is to use the International station and then the Air-rail system to the airport. It only takes a few minutes more and there's no exposure to the weather.

Ian Brooks

17th Apr 2014, 19:01

I just can`t see why they have to do that, we are lucky here at Manchester as we still have a free drop of zone but pick up is not as easy as flights can be delayed so passengers can take while to get through
so cars cannot be abandoned while driver goes to find them so I can understand going into short stay

Ian

RealFish

17th Apr 2014, 21:02

I mentioned a few months back that it cost me £7.40 to briefly see no 1 son off to Singapore (via DXB), having been redirected to the furthest reaches of Long Stay 1 because the short / medium stay car parks were full (I'll use the station next time).

Flying from a very pleasant LGW at the weekend to VCE, I couldn't help but notice their FREE 2 hour pick up / drop off...as well as free plastic bags at security!

LNIDA has a point.

TCAS_Alert

18th Apr 2014, 18:37

The second, which is the option I use, is to use the International station and then the Air-rail system to the airport. It only takes a few minutes more and there's no exposure to the weather.

It's also cheaper to park there for the day if you're flying out and back on the same day. £9 a day in the week I believe.

FR8364

18th Apr 2014, 21:50

Flights JAF9102 BHX-SVQ (EMB90) on 9 June and return SVQ-BHX on 12 June have been scheduled... Someone know why? :)

strawberry Ribena

18th Apr 2014, 23:57

Why not? :)

nigel osborne

19th Apr 2014, 10:34

FR8364

To help people out... think SVQ is Saville and JAF Jet AirFly !

Nigel

Shed-on-a-Pole

19th Apr 2014, 15:29

Saville??? Thought we weren't mentioning him any more! Try Seville … that place with the nice marmalade oranges! :-)

OltonPete

19th Apr 2014, 16:16

FR8364

BHX in the past (pre-recession) used to get 20 to 30 outbound one-off charters a year (not inbound for the NEC) and these used to range from the Motor Industry, Banks or Travel Agent jollies but as far as this one goes I haven't found any obvious clues.

The motor industry ones usually have flights from other UK airports at the same time if it involves Car Dealers for a new launch.

Pete

BobBHX

22nd Apr 2014, 11:46

My view on the decline of Swiss is that the flight timings just do not work for using ZRH as a long-haul hub from BHX. When there was a lunchtime flight to ZRH then you had a 6 hour wait in ZRH before the late evening long-hauls - just about bearable. The timing of the evening flight leaves only about 1 hr to get from Gruezi D to the E gates - always assuming the inbound from BHX is on-time, not something Helvetic are renowned for achieving. Last time I used the evening flight to connect it was late into BHX, even later out and I only just made the flight to SIN.

E75toDUS

22nd Apr 2014, 17:11

I've seen special departures with (I think) VW or M-B logos splashed on the screens above check-in, and F-I-L worked for a number of major manufacturers and went on these sorts of days out.

Southern Spain and France are very popular place to launch cars due good food and nice weather for the jolly; coupled with relatively empty and twisty yet well-surfaced roads that flatter both the drivers' skill and the vehicle's suspension.

insuindi

22nd Apr 2014, 17:26

4/7 HAM confirmed for winter 2014/15. TXL also continues to be 4/7. BHX-DUS will switch to 4U on 18th September. Schedule remains as is. Saturday flight will drop out end of October.

Daza

24th Apr 2014, 09:20

Early days but Birmingham seems to have some new destinations and increases with Thomson for Summer 2015. Agadir, Chania and Djerba are new. Cancun, Dubrovnik and Kefalonia get extra flights. Marrakech isn't bookable for Summer 2015. :ok:
Daza

nigel osborne

24th Apr 2014, 17:29

Daza,

Orlando plods on still an embarrassing 1 a week next summer..still. They sold this summers programme within weeks of it being released ,just insane.

Nigel

GayFriendly

25th Apr 2014, 09:30

I stand to be corrected on this but AFAIK, TOM L/H flights from BHX are crewed by MAN crews, with all the additional costs that this brings in HOTAC and surface coach transport - in the W13/14, on arrival into BHX from CUN, BGI etc, crews were put up in day rooms at the Novotel before coaching back to MAN in the evening. The aircraft also have to position in from MAN and/or LGW to operate BHX flights.

This could be a suggestion as to why the TOM L/H programme at BHX stays relatively static? If BHX based crew were 787 trained then we would see a based 787 and therefore more routes? TOM however seem happy at the moment to pay positioning crew and aircraft costs over the cost of training up crew and having a L/H aircraft permanently based at BHX.

Even discounting this suggestion, I agree with Nigel, a 1 X weekly SFB is a bit of an embarrassment.

Has anyone heard anything else about the 777 Turkmen rumour to operate ASB-BHX-YYZ?

Looking at the BE online timetable these seems to be a second M-F Inverness rotation operating from 14th July as an INV based aircraft but obviously operating other flights from BHX in between.

INV 06.20 BHX 07.50 BE830
BHX 19.25 INV 21.00 BE833

Daza

25th Apr 2014, 10:02

To add to the list of new short-haul services from Birmingham is Porto Santo near Madeira, afternoon flight commencing late May 2015 :ok:
Daza

MerchantVenturer

25th Apr 2014, 10:15

Thomson has apparently decided that the combined market in South Wales/South West England is not sufficient to warrant a dedicated service from either BRS or CWL this summer or, according to next summer's programme that was published yesterday, in summer 2015.

LGW and BHX seem to be the airports that TOM wants Welsh/West Country passengers to use so if BHX has only one Florida departure per week it's perhaps not surprising that it's full.

If this policy persists beyond 2015 it's not unreasonable to believe that Thomson will increase its BHX offering to Florida (am I right in saying that Cancun, Mexico has been increased for summer 2015?) if BHX is expected to help take the load from South West Britain.

oceanhawk

25th Apr 2014, 14:54

Birmingham Thomson crews are trained and do fly long haul on the 767 from bhx. The way it works is generally the bhx crews operate the outbound sector to where ever and operate the return sector to another uk airport, stay in a hotel and travel back later that night. Conversely , a Manchester crew for example , operate the outbound from Man to xyz and then fly the return sector to BHX, stay in the hotel and travel back to Man later that night. This is common practice in Thomson for long haul, with other permutations ,as is positioning aircraft around the country.
If the South West is missing out on Thomson long haul, I would say it is purely down to yield. Some 767 s are staying in the fleet until 2018, so they will need to find work for them .

cheesebag

25th Apr 2014, 15:03

I've booked for Summer 2015 TOM flight to Montego Bay, this is listed as a 787 flight.

oceanhawk

25th Apr 2014, 15:19

Yes, your MBJ will be on a 787 from Bhx. It's planned to take over mid July this year.

nigel osborne

25th Apr 2014, 15:32

Oceanhawk,

Thats interesting, if 767s are staying until 2018 and they are TOM ones not Euro TUI. I am therefore assuming that the UK will get the 2 additional TUI 787s on order.

Otherwise there would surely be a cut to TOM long haul in 2018 when the 767s leave.

TOM used to do 2 flights from BHX to Orlando, until they took the strange decision to open up EMA as a long haul base and our 2nd flight was presumably lost to them.
Think EMA has been scaled back a bit in 2015 so I hope BHX benefits in 2016.

Nigel

rutankrd

25th Apr 2014, 18:01

I am therefore assuming that the UK will get the 2 additional TUI 787s on order.

Two scheduled in the UK in July.

nigel osborne

25th Apr 2014, 18:37

Rutankrd.

Yes know that Im on one from BHX late summer.

They have 2 additional ones ordered in Nov 13.. Just found out and they are due in 2016.

Nigel

Mike16

25th Apr 2014, 18:50

TOM used to do 2 flights from BHX to Orlando, until they took the strange decision to open up EMA as a long haul base and our 2nd flight was presumably lost to them.
Think EMA has been scaled back a bit in 2015 so I hope BHX benefits in 2016.

Well just read this post, is there a reason why EMA should not have a orlando flight ?

The Derby, notts, Leics area is quite a large area and we also like to go long haul as well, and we don't to be going down the A38 to BHX all the time.

EMA is a fast growing airport with full flights. Mexico is a very full packed out service from EMA too.

chinapattern

25th Apr 2014, 19:00

I think the point being made is that for whatever reason TOM decided to split the midland long haul programme between BHX and EMA unlike further north where the focus is solely on MAN rather than splitting it up and offering long haul flights from say LBA or DSA.

Diverskii

25th Apr 2014, 19:53

TOM are getting G-TUIG and G-TUIH to replace the 767s once the three former Britannia birds leave the fleet. Also worth noting the 787's are owned by TUI so they will rotate around all the airlines to meet demand.

nigel osborne

25th Apr 2014, 20:38

Mike16.

China Pattern has it as I said it...

Nigel

Daza

28th Apr 2014, 14:25

Conformation from Thomson and the airport about the summer 2015 charter flight increases (link below), they forgot to add there is also a new Cancun flight which will operate twice weekly with 787 during Summer 2015. Sal is not new just a re-introduction. Good news

Thomson and First Choice Increase Capacity and Introduce Five New Routes From Birmingham Airport - Birmingham Airport (http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news/2014/04/thomson-and-first-choice-increase-capacity-from-bham-airport.aspx)

Daza :ok:

insuindi

28th Apr 2014, 17:21

Not sure if the have done this in previous years also, but during July and August Swiss is down to 12/7, with one rotation only on 6 & 7. I hope they won't reduce the ZRH service much further.

GayFriendly

28th Apr 2014, 18:12

I certainly do not wish to rain on your parade Daza, Agadir and Chania maybe new for TOM but both have been operated from BHX before. Agadir was a number of years ago now - I can't remember who operated it though! Djerba and Porto Santo are definitely brand new for BHX

Whilst this is very good news on the short haul IT front, it is worrying that there appears to be no increase in long haul IT (still 4 x weekly departures in 2015, including the additional Cancun), despite the runway extension - no sign of Cuba, the Dom Rep, Tobago, Las Vegas....even more worryingly, I think BHX will have to rely solely on TOM for any new long haul IT routes as TCX seem to be focusing exclusively on developing a long haul hub at MAN in cooperation with BE.

Ending on a glass half full note however, at least we do still have TOM long haul though unlike our friends down at BRS.

jon01

28th Apr 2014, 21:07

Thomson S15

A quick look at the schedule and it appears that 7 aircraft are required on some days, including the long-haul B787

A welcome return from Air Europa B737-800s from Palma and Nouvelair A320s from Enfidha, both on Wednesday mornings for Thomson

nigel osborne

28th Apr 2014, 21:12

Gayfriendly.

With what would airlines use for extra long hauls from BHX.All the planes are fully utilised.

Best hope, 2016, when TUI get 2 further 787s if them come to the UK.

Nigel

nigel osborne

28th Apr 2014, 21:14

JON01.

Yes if they stick, sadly BHX recent history shows such outsourcing is often chopped and amalgamated with TOM/TCX/MON flts.

Fingers crossed it doesn't happen this time.

Nigel

Daza

28th Apr 2014, 21:41

Gay friendly wrote Agadir was a number of years ago now - I can't remember who operated it
I do seem to remember Thomson trying Agadir before, was it was withdrawn before its operating period?
I think Royal Air Maroc used to operate Tangier with a 737 very late Saturday night many years ago for Inspirations/Falcon I think?
Remember guys keep smiling :} what other airports are getting so many new routes and increases on existing routes from Thomson? :ok:

getonittt

29th Apr 2014, 15:45

Remember guys keep smiling :} what other airports are getting so many new routes and increases on existing routes from Thomson?/
Yes i guess so . But you have to think for what reason? These days people choosing IT packages to the med ( not so much LH) are on the decline because it is easier and sometimes more convenient to tailor your own flights/accomodation etc. As BHX is so totally underserved by loco's you can see why thomson have seen the niche .

Daza

29th Apr 2014, 15:45

More good news Flybe Florence, Bordeaux, Toulouse and Cologne continue in Winter 2014/5 as do the increased Hannover and Stuttgart. :ok:
Daza

adfly

29th Apr 2014, 15:55

Good news for BHX although I'm surprised to not see ALC operate year round!

getonittt

29th Apr 2014, 16:01

And Bordeaux actually increases to 5 a week !

ATNotts

29th Apr 2014, 17:22

Good news for BHX although I'm surprised to not see ALC operate year round!

I'm not! At the risk of being ageist, Alicante (and principally Benidorm) as a winter destination is mainly for the older generation on long stay holidays getting away from the UK winter.

These people are IT fodder, rather than being independent travellers. Now Palma, that's a different kettle of fish - and can be marketed as a city / short break destination.

Are FlyBe continuing PMI into the Winter?

mart901

29th Apr 2014, 18:17

NOC 4 weekly, WAT 3 weekly and I'm glad to see BHD remaining at up to 7 daily - more power to the flybe elbow! I went to book some EZY flights to BFS yesterday and landed up £10 better off with BE, lack of Saturday flight to BFS surely can't be a good thing and only 1 flight on a Tuesday. Seems BE is holding its own.

OltonPete

30th Apr 2014, 20:54

Monthly figures from the CAA but I only had a part SBS log for rotations so might not be that accurate this month but did use libhomeradar to help.

Some figures provided by the CAA don't show the split between schedule and IT correctly.

These seem okay but plenty of room for improvement on some.

BRUSSELS.............10382......43.......55%........9900
LARNACA................3328.....166.......86%........3119
COPENHAGEN...........7422......79.......86%........7036
SHARM EL SHEIKH.....5131....197.......92%........3238
CHAMBERY.................586...................%.......318
Grenoble..................3759....125......75%........3785
LYON......................3347......54.......68%............ 0
PARIS (CDG)...........32770......98.......75%......29993
BERLIN (TXL)............3128.....87.......63%........3688
DUSSELDORF...........16968.....52.......60%......14671
FRANKFURT.............25436....103......64%.......22471
HAMBURG.................2626......55......61%........2858
HANOVER...................N/K............................
MUNICH..................15275......92......75%......16128
STUTTGART..............2864......55......70%........1604
GIBRALTAR................2999....115......66%........1062
AMRITSAR/Delhi .4114/4113....229......89%............0
CORK.......................6358......51......72%.......6638
DUBLIN...................57132.....115......70%.....49252
KNOCK.....................1463......49.......63%......2550
SHANNON.................2094......34.......69%......2775
WATERFORD.............1638......59.......75%.......1760
BERGAMO.................3913.....151.......88%......3711
MILAN (MXP)............3627......59.......67%.......2617
ROME (FCO).............3027.....151.......78%......4817
MALTA....................2755.....153.......81%......3002
AMSTERDAM...........39538......90.......80%.....39421
ISLAMABAD..............7904.....232.......73%.....11037
BYDGOSZCZ.............4444.....171.......90%......4388
KATOWICE...............3176.....159.......84%......2833
KRAKOW..................2910.....162.......86%......2854
RZESZOW................2697.....163.......86%......3659
FARO......................8540.....178.......87%......7900
FUNCHAL.................3149.....174.......82%......2801
BRATISLAVA.............2888....160.......85%......2982
ALICANTE...............13529....183.......92%....13906
BARCELONA..............4822.....161.......85%......5702
MALAGA.................11802....184........93%....13379
ARRECIFE...............13283........?.........?%.......7742 IT pax included
FUERTEVENTURA.......7049......?.........?%.......3608 IT pax included
LAS PALMAS.............2936.....133.......67%.....3450
TENERIFE...............16672........?...........?......13417 IT pax included
GOTEBORG...............1179......23.........46%..........0
Stockholm................1519.....76..........66%.....2971
GENEVA.................12495.....136.........85%....11616
ZURICH...................8309.......78.........79%.....9380
ISTANBUL................9728.....108.........70%.....7018
ASHKHABAD..............6260....174.........92%.....5210
DUBAI....................48204.....389........91%....45282
NEW YORK (EWR)......7621.....141........84%......7687

Pete

JennyB

1st May 2014, 08:37

Well the airport should be fully open from tonight.

Though possibly the only airport that can shut at night for 6 months for runway extension work and actually open with reduced distances!

Centre cities

1st May 2014, 10:20

Not finished, over time and I bet over budget as well. The question is when will it open, if they require night closures of which there is no chance in the summer you could be talking next winter. Hopefully not.

Will someone be paying the price?

Centre cities

JennyB

1st May 2014, 10:23

Already got planned closures for next Winter.

Centre cities

1st May 2014, 10:38

Jenny.

I appreciate that their are closures next winter but I believe that they are to iron out the undulating surface of the existing runway, hopefully not connected to the opening of the extension.

Centre cities

ATNotts

1st May 2014, 12:52

Not finished, over time and I bet over budget as well.

Well at least the Germans responsible for Berlin Willy Brandt (BER) weren't given the contract.

It would have probably been 2 years late, rather than 2 weeks judging by the debacle in Berlin!

Invicta DC4

1st May 2014, 15:16

I'm assuming that the runway length has been reduced to it's original length because the new NATS charts came into force today showing the new runway extension and taxiway as available. From what I can see from the NOTAMS, the new taxiway isn't finished yet and will not be for another 2 weeks.

nigel osborne

1st May 2014, 15:33

Centre Cities,

Yes the runway extension opening has turned into a shambles.Two deadlines missed and the latest from the airport..no date yet fixed for its opening.

It started off acceptable, we had 3 months of floods so that can account for a big part of the delay.Expected opening went from mid April to late April then 1st May all missed.

However we have then had over 2 months of fairly dry weather.Yet during the day when you would have expected them to ramp work up,the new taxiway in the day was abandoned with hardly any work going on.

Its only in the last 2 weeks that the contractors have been like headless chickens with extra staff working on the still unfinished taxiway in the day.

They should have put more resources into it in the day..the fact they haven't may point towards very weak penalty clause implications imposed by BHX ?

There has been a reshuffle of the BHX management Im told, the day after the airport shrugged its shoulders when it would now be open..not sure if its connected.

If there is any good news perhaps its the fact that BHX has not been able to secure an airline that needs the extension from May.

Nigel

oceanhawk

1st May 2014, 15:51

14 day delay to the opening of the new runway extension and taxiway Sierra . Declared distances reduced and Rnav Sid trial introduced. Looks like resurfacing and replacement of lighting down the 15 end still a long way from finished as well.

nigel osborne

1st May 2014, 16:06

oceanhawk.

Lets hope so. Im told that the latest NOTAMS runs to mid May, but may well get extended.

Nigel

Invicta DC4

1st May 2014, 16:18

The extension is open, but nothing can use it as backtracking is not allowed according to NOTAMS.

kgoodall

1st May 2014, 16:22

It would be nice to see it open on the 14th - I'm booked on the flight form Toronto that day.

oceanhawk

1st May 2014, 18:32

Nigel.
It looks like the extension part will be finished and useable some time soon. The other end look s to be a different matter.
Ils 15 is cat 1 only and 33 glide path is u/s , both until futher notice . The lighting has an affect on the type of approach as well.
The question is, with regard to resurfacing , how will the contractors have access to complete now the season is upon us?

nigel osborne

1st May 2014, 18:53

oceanhawk.

They are 2 seperate projects but linked. The runway extension has been complete for a week or so but the new taxiway is the problem.

Think the 2nd project.. plan is to restart the resurfacing work in November, so looks like yet another winter with no Cat 3..poor show !

Nigel

oceanhawk

1st May 2014, 19:42

Nigel.
Thanks . That all adds up.

ATNotts

2nd May 2014, 07:11

Seems to me as though the "experts" here have increased their field of expertise.

Not only can they run an airport, and airline operations and marketing departments better than the professionals, they have now become experts in civil engineering and construction.

I wish I was as clever and that my foresight was half as good as my hindsight!

JennyB

2nd May 2014, 10:18

Not only can they run an airport, and airline operations and marketing departments better than the professionals, they have now become experts in civil engineering and construction.Possibly some experts in civil engineering and construction could have been employed by the airport?

Yes, there was some rain this Winter(who would have expected that eh?), but basically it's been the best Winter for about 5 years.

There wasn't one night lost to snow or ice this Winter, not once did they not close the runway at night due to weather, generally starting early and often finishing late.

Somebody screwed up on their estimates down the line somewhere.

ATNotts

2nd May 2014, 11:23

JennyB

Yes, there was some rain this Winter

That is probably the understatement to end all understatements!

I am not an employee of the airport company, nor of any of the contractors involved, but neither am I, nor most others here I would wager, an expert on the extending and resurfacing of the runway, and the difficulties of doing so, whilst keeping the (single runway) airport open for business when it needed to be.

I feel sure that the airport has robust penalty clauses in place for over runs in the contract, but equally the extremely wet weather must have been a mitigating circumstance. The contractors are hardly new to projects such as this, and won't have "deliberately" sought to delay the project - but hey, sh1t happens!

After waiting 40 years for a decent runway length, I really can't see that a few weeks makes much difference either way. I don't imagine anyone here has unintentionally arrived late for work, delivered orders orders late, or even delivered the wrong stuff? I know I have!

JennyB

2nd May 2014, 12:08

That is probably the understatement to end all understatements!

Not really, actually less rain than the previous Winter in BHX, and as I stated before, no disruption at all due to snow or ice, which could have been expected based on the last few heavy Winters.

Sure that they would have allowed at least 10 days loss due that in contingency planning which were not actually needed.

ATNotts

2nd May 2014, 15:54

Nigel.

I am not going to enter into a slanging match over things that you, quite rightly say, I am not in possession of the full fact on, however:-

I feel sure that the airport has robust penalty clauses in place

I don't KNOW - as someone who has spent many years in business, I merely "feel sure" that there will be penalty clauses in place. Some profess to "know" I am merely conjecting!

We had 3 months of heavy rain and floods but also over 2 months of dry weather.

Again, I'm no expert, however, without this starting to read like Gardeners Question Time, my soil is still extremely wet - it depends not on what the topsoil is like, but how much water is retained in the subsoil. I don't think the two months of slightly below average rainfall will make up for the December to February deluge!

but the day after BHX had to admit to airlines they now have no idea when the runway extension will open

Did BHX make such an "admission" to airlines? Were you, or was anybody actually at a meeting in which these assertions were made? My information, albeit second hand, is that the new date, in the most recent NOTAMs - 14.5.14, may well be improved upon - but we'll see.

The delay in the commissioning of the the runway extension and associated works is frustrating, I am sure to the contractors, who will want to get paid and move on, to the airport and it's operators - but seemingly, most of all to enthusiasts?! Whatever, BHX has a long way to go to reach the levels of apparent incompetence before it even starts to compete with Berlin!

hillwalker2004

2nd May 2014, 16:52

It depends on what is scheduled at the time when the weather related event takes place, earthworks will be most impacted in the event of snow or ice.

Rain should normally not make as much of an impact unless it is sustained, tends to be more of a productivity issue. It will definitely slow things down a bit unless flooding has occurred in the vicinity. From contracts I've been involved in it is unusual for more than a couple of weeks to be lost over the course of long term construction contracts (remember good weather can accelerate delivery). Anybody have access to weather station data for the area over the last few months?

All contracts I've ever come across will have 'average' weather related events built into the schedule so, unless its 'extraordinary' (i.e. 1 in 50 events) it should not impact the works schedule.

I'd wager that the delays are probably not weather related, or at least certainly not the overriding issue at play here.

OltonPete

3rd May 2014, 09:59

Notices to Airmen | NOTAMS | Birmingham Intl Airport | Birmingham, United Kingdom | EGBB (http://www.charternation.com/airports/EGBB/notams)

More Runway closures in May albeit in the middle of night and for short periods but things are obviously amiss. CAT 1 ILS 15 only now showing to 23 May and same with the 33 restrictions.

I too am sceptical of the weather as the sole factor here but a press release from the airport or Contractor might stop all the speculation but at the end of the day it seems the project failed to deliver on time but as Nigel as said it doesn't seem to have affected the operating airlines adversely.

I arrived back from Florence last Friday (circa 85 pax on the 175!) in what looked like a monsoon and when we were on final approach and no sight of the ground I though whether we would get in due to the restrictions but we did although there were overshoots earlier in the day but nothing diverted I believe.

Note the runway distances are still in force until 14 May and has not been put back further.

Pete

EZYA319

4th May 2014, 09:29

Hi folks
Can anyone tell me how many based units MON have at BHX and how many routes they operate from the airport?
Cheers

rutankrd

4th May 2014, 11:36

Can anyone tell me how many based units MON have at BHX and how many routes they operate from the airport?
Cheers

Think it stands at 5 A321 and 2 A320s at the moment

Plus "w" pattern on the Gibraltar run with an A320 based at Luton

Currently the Monarch web site are marketing 36 scheduled and charter routes from Birmingham, however Grenoble is a winter ski route so that's 35 currently and mostly to the usual summer sun prospects.

Highlights include longer sectors such as Hurgharda and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt whilst city services include Rome, Bordeaux and Venice.

Elmdon Heath

4th May 2014, 11:46

So when was the runway extension supposed to have opened?

Do any of you have a feel for when it will now open? - are we
talking weeks or months before it is finished? - going to be
embarrassing if not ready for the first China flight

Elmdon

OltonPete

4th May 2014, 14:31

EZYA319

Just to add a bit more to what rutankrd has stated, eventually it will be nine based from the end of the month. I believe on the Monarch thread the spit was said to be 7 x A321 and 2 x A320, which could be correct although a couple of days I have checked I found the seat-maps to show 6 x A321 and 3 x A320 but up to the last minute in 2013 it was showing 5 and 4 in favour of the A321 and it ended up 5 A320's.

So whether it is 6 or 7 still an increase in seats.

Early May varies with Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday seeing 8 based in the morning and 7 the rest of week.

The number of destinations for ZB in summer are 26 plus 6 Monarch charter (CFU, JSI, RHO, KVA, ZTE, PVK) and there are still two Bordeaux flights left at the end of May before it restarts and ends within a week and of course Grenoble in winter.

Elmdon Heath

Who knows as there hasn't been an official announcement of the delay just NOTAMS indicating 14 May and feedback from BHX workers quoting the same date.

Pete

Elmdon Heath

4th May 2014, 16:32

OltonPete - thanks for that - sounds encouraging - I got the
impression from Nigel's earlier comments that they were weeks
behind with no indication of a completion date and the whole
thing was turning into a major embarrassment

Will the extra night closures have effected the April pax?

Elmdon

OltonPete

4th May 2014, 19:49

Elmdon Heath

Don't forget there are two aspects to this with the extension and the resurfacing.

As Nigel has stated the resurfacing is waaaaay behind and there will be winter night closures 2014-15.

With the extension I am not sure and I have only assumed that it is looking good for the 14th due to the lack of press release announcing a further delay and that the NOTAM dated 2 May shows that the current runway distances are in force until 14 May but this still could get pushed back.

As for the April passenger figure, the night closures had little affect as most had re-scheduled and after 5 April the runway only closed after the last Monarch or Thomson flight had landed and that was between midnight and 2am depending on the night. Some flights were lost to weather but nothing too significant.

April should show a big increase as will most UK airports due to Easter falling late this year and subsequently a lot of flights starting earlier than they would normally do.

The only question in my mind is if it will be a record April with the target 716965 (April 2009). I haven't done my "back of a fag packet" estimate for April but if I get time I will try to do one.

Last year was 650154 which I believe will be well beaten by April 2014. In fact April 2013 was actually below 2003 and 700000 has been breached on four occasions since.

Pete

Suzeman

4th May 2014, 22:45

the night closures had little affect as most had re-scheduled and after 5 April the runway only closed after the last Monarch or Thomson flight had landed and that was between midnight and 2am depending on the night.

Were these closure times based on the scheduled times or the actuals? Not very good if you have to wait for an off schedule movement and have resources hanging around. Good reason for counter claims from the contractor.

And there's not a lot you can do in 4-5 hours, bearing in mind that you have to set up the worksite, do the work, ensure that the runway is safe for operation, break down the worksite, sweep and inspect the runway and have it ready.

If they've been waiting for off-schedule movements before starting out, no wonder they are behind.

OltonPete

5th May 2014, 18:00

Suzeman

Up to 5th April the runway was closed 23.00-06.00 except Sat & Sun and after that I believe it was agreed it would close after the last scheduled flight.

I have checked a local SBS log and it indicates that all the scheduled movements from 6 April until 30 April arrived on time although on the night of the 23rd a Thomson arrived at 03.05.

The early hours of Wednesday and Friday had the Monarch Sharm inbound at 02.10 but most other nights it was 01.00-01.30 and nothing of note was late.

Therefore it seems the contractors got the runway as arranged. Over the winter there were a couple of extensions beyond 23.00 but equally a couple of times the runway was handed back late causing one or two diverts (United & Fed Ex).

Pete

JennyB

6th May 2014, 09:14

Suzeman,

Were these closure times based on the scheduled times or the actuals? Not very good if you have to wait for an off schedule movement and have resources hanging around. Good reason for counter claims from the contractor.

No reason for counter claims from the contractor as the work was supposed to be completed at the end of March in the first place.

Suzeman

6th May 2014, 13:35

Thanks OltenPete for the figures. Most nights then seem to have been quite short - 4-5 hours. As I said earlier there are lots of preliminaries and clearing up to do however long the period - so not much time to work. But I assume the contractor agreed to all this.

No reason for counter claims from the contractor as the work was supposed to be completed at the end of March in the first place.

Jenny -If only it was so simple. Have you ever worked on contract claims? Probably employs more people than on the rest of a project put together. :eek: There will probably be lots of claims on either side, which happens on any of these large infrastructure projects.

Looks like the Contractors were granted an extension to the contract as it ran on beyond March - that is quite possible bearing in mind any unforseen delays eg weather, resources, etc during the life of the contract and there will be clauses covering this. It depends what the terms of the extension were.

Claims sometimes only get resolved some time after the thing is finished - and at great expense as m'learned friends often get involved :rolleyes:

Monty Gordo

8th May 2014, 16:10

Flying in on RYR from FAO at 11.30 am, the United plane was at the far end of T2. Had there been a problem?

chinapattern

8th May 2014, 20:06

The Tue flight went tech and was therefore cancelled; must be serious the fact it is still there?

Fried_Chicken

9th May 2014, 15:14

Does anybody have any info on the old hangars, H1 & H2? There was a suggestion that these hangars were to be demolished now that Flybe are no longer using them to make more room on the Elmdon apron. If these hangars are demolished, I guess a new hangar would have to be built for the Police ASU who currently use the small hangar on the end attached to the former Flybe hangars

FC

Guest 112233

10th May 2014, 12:35

Just our of curosity: looking at the AIS airfield layout PDF and recent photo's of the extension looking North West up Rwy 33 from the physical end of the concreate by the white edge line (on a Photo log web site)

I have noticed that although the extension segment of runway between Echo and Sierra does have centerline lighting fitted from taxiway S to the extension line up point and centreline lighting as needed for CATII/CAT III Operations, there appears to be no white[Edit: Sorry it can be Orange/Red] runway edge lighting fitted along this segment as yet.

Obviously It might be one of the things to be done before the extension becomes operational or is there an operational reason for this ? - I see that some of the 33 Calvert approach lighting is embedded along this part of runway because of the displaced 33 threshold.

Does this mean that the extension can be used only during promulgated daylight hours and also seperatly during CAT II/III 15 Ops; only exits via taxiway Echo would be allowed ?

CAT III

getonittt

10th May 2014, 18:05

Fried Chicken - Hangars 1 & 2 will be due for demolition some time. When exactly who knows , the main problem is they have asbestos and the removal of such is expensive and the land they currently sit on is not needed in the immediate future.

nigel osborne

10th May 2014, 18:28

Friedchicken,

Last I heard from someone who works on the Elmdon side of the airport was that the closest hangar to the old tower is due to be demolished first, but as Getonnit says no date has been mentioned.

The other hangar is slightly newer and some work was done on it by Fly Be so may stay up a bit longer.

Unless they are in a dangerous state of repair doubt they will come down that quickly, unless BHX has a company already lined up that want to use the space left.

This as its very expensive to remove asbestos.

BHX do continue to look for opportunities to make revenue, so perhaps they can pull a rabbit out the hat as they did with the Monarch Hangar.

Nigel

nigel osborne

10th May 2014, 18:43

Elmdonheath,

Re runway closures and runway extension opening, sadly the opening date has been put back yet again until at least the 1st June :eek:

Latest NOTAMS below;

TWY SIERRA CLSD. RWY 33 DEPARTURES WILL BE AS PUBLISHED FROM TWY ECHO WITH NO BACKTRACK. 09 MAY 12:14 2014 UNTIL 31 MAY 23:59 2014. CREATED: 09 MAY 12:16 2014
RWY 15 DECLARED DISTANCES REDUCED AS FOLLOWS: ALPHA: TORA 2569M TODA 2672M ASDA 2569M LDA 2279M BRAVO: TORA 2014M TODA 2117M ASDA 2014M LIMA: TORA 1006M TODA 1109M ASDA 1006M GOLF TORA 786M TODA 889M ASDA 786M ALL AIRCRAFT MUST VACATE RWY 15 VIA TWY ECHO. 09 MAY 12:01 2014 UNTIL 31 MAY 23:59 2014. CREATED: 09 MAY 12:04 2014
C2411/14

Luckily theres no airline that needs the extension at present, as long as its open by mid July for the first China Southern charters.

Am also hearing from one of the handling companies that they have been advised the runway resurfacing that restarts in November, is now expected to extend into January 2015 and CAT 3 will not be available during that time.

However I cannot find anything in writing verifying this so treat as rumour at this stage.

Nigel

Ian Brooks

10th May 2014, 19:47

Nigel
Quite big ammounts of time have to be built in for runway work due to our wonderful winter weather plus Christmas and New Year to boot where all the workers will be off for at least 2 weeks however if every thing goes to plan things can be improved on

Ian

nigel osborne

11th May 2014, 10:17

Ian Brooks,

Hi Ian, not all can be blamed on the weather.

Think I and Pete have covered all the points about that.

Luckily overall as long as its open for July it doesn't matter, as no one needs the extension at present.

The saga continues re the resurfacing later in the year...

Nigel

Elmdon Heath

11th May 2014, 11:42

Ian Brooks

11th May 2014, 12:20

Nigel it was this coming winter that I was talking about because we have had winter closures here at Manchester for several winters whilst maintenance is done and time scales have varied because of rain wind snow etc as some resurfacing cannot be done in bad weather

Ian

Suzeman

11th May 2014, 18:13

Nigel/Pete - thanks - when did the airport say the runway
extension was going to be open on 1 May 2014?

I could not find a Press Release about that - its just that
an old mate told me last week the opening is now in July
when some big event at the airport is taking place

Elmdon

I would imagine there will be two openings

One will be the "operational" opening when the new runway lengths will be available. This will only happen when the works are completed sufficiently for the CAA to approve the use of the longer length. In all likelihood, this will happen without any ceremony and first aircraft in the queue at the appointed hour will be the first movement on it - it may well be a Dash 8 :ooh:

I would imagine the one in July will be the official opening in cojunction with the Chinese flights with all the accompanying press brouhaha; these flights will "justify" the runway extension works as I can hear the interviews and press release saying now...

You just have to hope that the operational opening has happened by the time the Chinese flights come in...:E

Fried_Chicken

11th May 2014, 21:41

Thanks Guy's ref the hangars, with the airport still in the process of finding a tenant for the ex Eurojet hangar (I did hear they were in discussions with a couple of interested parties but it's still very early days), I guess new hangarage isn't on the to-do list unless its on the scale of the MAEL hangar.

FC

simoncorbett

13th May 2014, 11:18

The busiest ever April ... 2014 up 16% at758,456 :Dand EK up again
Fantastic
Simon

nigel osborne

13th May 2014, 12:03

Suzeman,

It was supposed to be open by end of Spring this year for the start of the JFK-BHX-Dhaka 77W flights, which were due to go direct..Dhaka needing our extension for that

This from an airport spokesman.. not attached the whole story as think breaks Pprune Rules to advertise the article source as its a newspaper with the header showing ;

<< "Thanks to the scheme, the airport will be able to run twice-weekly scheduled flights to both New York and Dhaka for the first time from next year.

David Lavender, a spokesman for the airport, said: “It’s all on schedule. Spring 2014 has always been the aim and we’re on track for that" >>

Nigel

Daza

13th May 2014, 12:52

Simon Corbett wrote The busiest ever April ... 2014 up 16% at758,456 and EK up again

More good news passengers were actually up 16.7% :) Link http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news/2014/05/passenger-numbers-soar-as-birmingham-airport-records-busiest-month-in-history.aspx
Even with Easter in April (Many of Birminghams business routes fly reduced schedules during Easter) This is an amazing figure! Lets now try to be positive about Birmingham Airport. :ok:

ATNotts

13th May 2014, 13:10

Daza

This is an amazing figure! Lets now try to be positive about Birmingham Airport.

I'll second that! Too much time spent in some quarters constantly bemoaning everything the airport does. Whether it's infrastructure, or new routes - there always seem to be naysayers willing to rubbish what is being achieved.

If people "support" the airport (and it's not the aviation equivalent of your local footie team!) then support it, rather than pick flies.

The place ain't perfect - but credit where credit is due.

Daza

13th May 2014, 13:20

ATNotts wrote I'll second that! Too much time spent in some quarters constantly bemoaning everything the airport does. Whether it's infrastructure, or new routes - there always seem to be naysayers willing to rubbish what is being achieved.

If people "support" the airport (and it's not the aviation equivalent of your local footie team!) then support it, rather than pick flies.

The place ain't perfect - but credit where credit is due.

I completely agree ATNotts. You don't see so many negative posts on other pages here, Manchester for example.
This is good news and illustrates the improving state of the West Midlands economy. :ok:

GayFriendly

13th May 2014, 21:54

Great news for BHX, this is the first time in ages that I can remember double digit monthly pax growth. The trend for 2014 as been very much upwards so lets hope that continues. I will be interested to see OP's monthly stats analysis, particularly for long haul destinations. With DXB showing growth again, a third daily EK must at least be being considered by the planners over in EK HQ? BHX has shown that with the right long haul routes it can pull in the punters, lets hope there is growth in long haul, sadly at the moment there is nothing on the cards even charter wise. PK to KHI/LHE could be a possibility, I have always wondered why PK only fly to ISB from BHX. As for short haul, I hope Berlin, Stockholm and Hamburg have done better than the last few months.

I have certainly voiced criticisms about BHX on here in the past and am therefore probably seen as a 'naysayer' however it's easy to be positive on here but the most positive thing any of us can do is to actually get out there and use BHX! I flew out from BHX four times in April (all at my own expense!) and have more flights booked over the summer, now that's what I call support!

The reason that the MAN thread is (quite rightly in my opinion) so positive right now is due to the fact that they are riding a wave and have pulled in so much long haul - Riyadh, Jeddah, Miami, Charlotte, Hong Kong amongst others, as well as good growth in short haul from Jet2. Monarch and Ryanair - however if you have the time and willpower to do so, go back about 12-18 months and you will find outpourings of negativity that easily out moan anything on this thread.....

nigel osborne

14th May 2014, 09:36

DAZA

Great news indeed for BHX for them to be proud of.:ok:

However you are only as good as your last lot of figures and as Gayfriendly has said MAN is able to point to multiple new airline and route gains in the last 12 months or so for a lot of their success.

The only worry for BHX is that most of our growth has come from current airlines in particular Fly Be and Monarch. Also some from the highly successful Air India route,Emirates and increases in our full fare euro airlines to main destinations such as FRA,CDG,IST.

To keep these great figures rolling and with the economy now back on track BHX needs to attract more airlines and routes.

There is a slight danger in having to rely on just Fly Be and Monarch for significant Euro growth if anything happens to them then they have a problem.

Obviously if you cannot attract other airlines you have to make do with any expansion you can get with your regular ones.

However heres to BHX getting some significant new carriers as well.

Nigel

ATNotts

14th May 2014, 12:01

Nigel,

What is really impressive is how good the figures are without new carriers and masses of new routes. It means the broad spread of carriers that BHX has - and it has a broader spread than most UK airports outside London - are enjoying success, and hopefully making good money, which is what their businesses are supposed to be all about.

I really don't see the range of airlines that BHX has as a worry. I would worry more if another "cheap" carrier parachuted half a dozen extra aircraft in and flooded the market.

Over time those existing carriers will grow organically - perhaps AI going daily; Emirates increasing capacity - perhaps a third service, increased capacity from the likes of LH / TK / KL / AF and new routes from the two biggest based carriers. I must admit I am concerned how long a single daily Newark can survive - but as long as it remains profitable enough, I guess it will hang on.

nigel osborne

14th May 2014, 13:21

ATNOTTS,

Andrew,

Yes understand what you say. However Fly Be are a worry. They have had to axe lots of flights in the UK and re organise due to big losses.

Its great to see them finally making much better use of their fleet utilization,more rotations etc. They have to bring their costs down a lot.This reorganisation might be their last throw of the dice so hope they are successful.

With the economy picking up, I think they have a good chance of surviving and thriving,but we shall see.

Yes agree another big base with Easy Jet etc might overcook some routes. However there are lots of routes not covered from BHX where an away based Easy Jet plane flying to a new destination could benefit us.

Lisbon, Madrid, Vienna, Helsinki come to mind ,although Id prefer a full fare airline.

Keeping everything crossed for some more new route announcements soon.

Nigel

nigel osborne

14th May 2014, 13:29

ATNOTTS,

Sorry Andrew missed covering United.

They seem to do well 10 months of the year on it. I think the 757s might have another 4 to 5 years left on such routes, what do you think ?.

However the bigger worry would be other UK airports.

If MAN,EDI etc get upgraded to 767 or 787 to EWR and they pull the 757s off LHR too would they want to keep just BHX in the UK as a 757 route, I don't know ?

If they don't then its a big step up in premium seats for BHX front end on a 767 or 787.

Hopefully BHX will have grown its yield and be able to absorb the larger plane otherwise we might loose it.

Nigel

cornishsimon

16th May 2014, 11:12

Well the first flybe NQY-BHX rotation is in the air, fingers crossed to them, looking at prices going forward, they are looking for a decent amount for some days ! Any ideas on loads ongoing ?

cs

chinapattern

16th May 2014, 12:13

Don’t forget that it’s not just the UK that sees these jets – they cover a lot of secondary European markets and United are not going to want to lose all that feed when the 757’s are retired. United currently have options for 35 788’s and I think it’s safe to assume that these will be switched to firm orders soon enough and will begin to replace the transatlantic 757s – the domestic ones are to be replaced by the 737-900s/MAX.

If anything the 787 - with its lower operating costs - could actually help make the route more lucrative. If United configure them much like Air India have done then they could be a good fit for the likes of BHX.

CO/UA have served BHX for over 15 years now; there have been highs and lows but they are still here and have obviously built up a strong customer base. If dropping a few rotations in the low season during a global economic crisis was what was needed to keep it going them I’m all for it and hopefully as the economy continues to pick up we’ll begin to see some improvement.

Skipness One Echo

16th May 2014, 12:40

True, but if you just about fill a B757, the B788 is a much bigger aeroplane. It's bigger than a B763 and a lot of the routes flown by B757s just won't make the step up, though I suspect BHX will.

OltonPete

16th May 2014, 16:19

cornishsimon

Sorry all I have like you is the booking engine to monitor seat-maps and fares.

However last night when I checked for the first outbound today from BHX it was showing full but the only real way of getting a bit of an idea is to monitor fares on a daily basis and that takes time.

United

In respect of the April figure it has to be noted that there were 5 Wednesdays in the month which of course was the non-ops day and the actual pax per flight was 148 or 87%.

As sort of point of interest I was 50 in April and my intended destination was New York and I monitored fares for 11 months for the whole of Apil 2014, although in reality I was restricted to the school holidays. United fares at BHX never came close to anywhere near what I could afford at any point in those 11 months (£600-900 economy return), which I would like to think is good in one way and although I am under no illusion that 87% is probably the least they would expect on an ageing 757 with only 16 BF seats.

The thing is, I doubt we will have to wait that long to see whether it survives despite information to suggest they will be around to 2018, as things can change quickly and the 757 is slowing getting more unreliable with one tech in BHX for nearly three days this month although I haven't got access to the UA 757 despatch reliability but the number of outbound cancellations in the last year has risen compared to nil from AI (although not daily) on the much-maligned 787 although that might be masked by the sheer number of spare wide-bodies they have at times.

On a positive note, a post on another site mentioned that American Airlines 787's will be configured 28/198 and that is not a bad config for a secondary airport like BHX, if they ever do consider ORD sometime in the distant future.

April Passenger figures

This is the CAA version rather than BHX's.

April 2014 passenger figure for BHX 758692 up 16.7%, rolling year 9347077 + 5.5%

April ATM's 7124 +11.5% rolling 86415 +4.8%

Some very encouraging figures on the routes with EK at 90% again, AI and PK around 80%, amazing increases on Stuttgart and Milan even when taking the Easter effect into account and the dreadful April 2013.

Pete

All names taken

16th May 2014, 16:47

UNITED

Got to say those UA 757s are really starting to show their age even with the refurb of a couple of years back. The BF product is pretty dismal for the daft money they want.

Some of their Economy fares are also silly and represent very poor value for money, especially given that the CC don't seem to give a damn.

Coffin Corner

16th May 2014, 17:02

Inaugural NQY-BHX-NQY load factors are very good indeed, but then it is Friday. I have the exact figures but don't wish to post them here just yet. If they continue at today's percentage then the route will do very well.

Elmdon Heath

16th May 2014, 18:06

Why are the BHX and CAA figures different? - that said
the April figures are very good - will May also be a record?

Maybe the whole year will be a record one with all these
new routes that the airport has attracted?

Elmdon

nigel osborne

16th May 2014, 18:15

Some great April figures Pete, when you take out the extra Easter bank holiday Pete.

China Pattern re United BHX will probably have to get itself in a position when the airlines confident it can operate all year round making money.

This winter saw the first ever 5 a week for one month and usual 6 a week for another period.Can we assume the yields were not expected to be good during that period ?

Going from 12 business class to 28 is a bit of a jump. However with the economy picking up think BHX does have a chance to achieve an upgrade to a 787, if enough come on line to replace 767 and 757 Int.

One step at a time,and will be interesting if BHX can become daily for the whole winter coming up. If it doesn't and stays similar to last winter then little progress has probably been made..one to watch.

Nigel

getonittt

16th May 2014, 18:25

EK at 90 % again !!! Well, all I can say is that Emirates are losing money on the BHX service . That statement obviously doesn't mean they are losing money overall , far from it . To put it another way I'm sure there are not exactly 389 people and no more wanting to go on each flight based on 2 rotations every day. so there must be many who find the flight they want unavailable , hence lost passengers who could be accommodated on a third daily service. This is a priority.
As OP has pointed out re STR & MXP these have had capacity increases and are being used and not losing money!!

cornishsimon

16th May 2014, 18:35

Think NQY-BHX could do nicely as a fill in route. Looking at the prices ongoing, some very high and some low would suggest a mixed load, some days high, some low.

Hope it does well.

cs

ATNotts

17th May 2014, 09:04

getonittt

EK at 90 % again !!! Well, all I can say is that Emirates are losing money on the BHX service . That statement obviously doesn't mean they are losing money overall , far from it . To put it another way I'm sure there are not exactly 389 people and no more wanting to go on each flight based on 2 rotations every day. so there must be many who find the flight they want unavailable , hence lost passengers who could be accommodated on a third daily service. This is a priority.

I'm a bit confused - I guess it's my age! How can anyone not actually working in the bean-counting department at Emirates actually know that a particular route is losing money; and if it is, the reasons why. Then, if the service is already losing money, what could be the rationale for increasing capacity? Adding another 800 seats (30+% extra passenger capacity) would do nothing to improve profitability. If you are an insider at Emirates in a position to know such information, my apologies!

If Emirates isn't making money at an LF of 90% plus a hefty contribution from cargo then they really need to review their cost base and / or their fares structure! I honestly doubt that to be the case!

pwalhx

17th May 2014, 09:24

I believe he means that they are losing money because aircraft are full and therefore the passenger will go elsewhere.

However true that may be, and it may be for routes other than EK, as you say you need to be working in yield management to know the answer.

Firstly, are those passengers booking from LHR/LGW or MAN on EK, in which case there is no lost revenue to EK.

How many 'lost' passengers are there, is it just a few a day, if so that does not justify another aircraft.

I am fairly sure EK know what they are doing and when they are ready they will add a flight.

OltonPete

17th May 2014, 14:16

cornishsimon

The second Newquay has arrived at BHX and it was a 175! Don't get excited as I think it was unplanned as the seat-map last night was showing 58 seats taken out of 78 not 88.

It probably had something to do with the EDI Dash 8 flight BE840 disgracing itself over BHX's runway this morning causing holding delays and AF1164 to divert to Manchester.

"OF" landed safely on 7700 Squawk but deposited I assume hydraulic fluid and I suspect a BHX based Dash (EV) was pinched for the outbound leaving the Dash 8 schedule short. However with Bergerac and Salzburg jet services not starting until next week and I assume there was a 175 spare.

Emirates

Not many BHX pax would be lost to EK at Manchester as they are in the same position, in fact if they hadn't seen 23 upgrades in April to the 428 seat aircraft their load factor would have been 94%. It will be interesting to see what are the next steps at BHX and MAN, not easy decisions as what ever happens it is going to a fair increase in capacity if BHX need 3 and MAN 4 flights a day and the alternative of 380's, reduces cargo capacity.

Pete

Centre cities

18th May 2014, 09:24

OP.

True, but they might be lost to other alternate carriers who operate just up the M6 as per some of my work colleagues.

Centre cities.

OltonPete

18th May 2014, 10:50

CC

True. Most I know head south rather than north to go direct rather than one-stop.

Ryanair

Curious winter schedule seemingly three based but very light flying most days although Tuesday sees six flights from the three based with gaps but six away based flights making 12 equal number of flights to a Thursday or Friday in May.

You certainly wouldn't think an airline such as Ryanair would offer the same number of flights in January as they do in May on certain days.

Pete

Daza

20th May 2014, 07:00

Flybe will launch daily Oslo (midday departure from Birmingham) and daily Hamburg (evening departure from Birmingham am Saturday) on Flybe.com routes commence in October. Great news! :ok:
Looks like media spin of 8 new routes are actually 2 new and 6 routes are the continuation of routes launched this summer, Florence, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Cologne, Oporto and Reykjavik. http://www.ttgdigital.com/news/flybe-announces-eight-new-routes-from-birmingham/4691409.article

GayFriendly

20th May 2014, 08:07

Great news!! BE are showing a really strong commitment to BHX to develop it as it's core base and obviously has a strategy of route growth in place, which is more than can be said for other airlines, hello FR. Glad to see KEF and OPO continuing, I thought they would almost certainly be seasonal routes.

I wonder if there will be more routes for next summer - it would be nice to see even just a couple of the likes of PRG, BUD, WAW, MAD, LIS and VIE back on the departure/arrival screens at BHX!

insuindi

20th May 2014, 08:22

FlyBE

that is excellent news re OSL and HAM, and also about the continuation of the other 6 routes into winter (even if somewhat surprising for some of those?!).

the HAM route is interesting of course, given LH's push to get rid of BE on that route 2 years ago (with double daily for summer 2012 vs BE's daily), just to reduce to 6/7 in winter 2012 (with BE gone), and now 4U's planned 4/7 for winter 2014. I wonder if 4U will fly turn up at all for the winter flying (given their loads, I doubt they will put on a great fight).

PS: OSL is also nice, just last week I had to do that trip via FRA. The midday timing is good for onward connections from OSL (usually to elsewhere in Norway).

ATNotts

20th May 2014, 08:24

Glad to see KEF and OPO continuing, I thought they would almost certainly be seasonal routes.

OPO doesn't surprise me, as although it's Portugal's second city, it's where the industry is, and as such there's scope for a mix of business and leisure travel. As for KEF, well I can only surmise that the plan is to attract Icelandic shoppers to come to Birmingham. There is a history of "shopping tourism" from Iceland to UK as everything is so expensive - but if that's the case will a 175 have enough room for all the Selfriges bags??? Can't see many Brits taking holidays in Iceland in the depth of winter, too dark, too cold, and Santa doesn't live there!!

GayFriendly

20th May 2014, 11:49

insuindi wrote: I wonder if 4U will fly turn up at all for the winter flying (given their loads, I doubt they will put on a great fight).

It would appear just looking at LF's alone that 4U are struggling at BHX full stop - TXL is hardly setting load factor records, a pity after such a great start when operated by LH. 4 x weekly to HAM I can't see as being any form of competition for BE, as you say I wonder if they will fly it at all. Yield must be good for these flights to continue and of course 4U are a low cost operation. I really hope BHX-TXL continues for personal reasons as it saves me the journey to either LHR or EMA when flying out to visit family. If it goes I can see this as a route BE could start.

I think that 4U suffer from a low brand awareness in the UK, even though you can book flights on both LH and 4U websites. I just don't think people are aware of who 4U are and where they fly to from BHX, certainly when I tell people I'm off to Berlin they always assume I'm going from MAN or LHR and have no idea who 4U are when I tell them! It will be very interesting to see how DUS fares when 4U start on that route.

chinapattern

20th May 2014, 21:07

Great news about Oslo; Flybe really have made some impressive inroads into Europe this year. Really hope that all these routes work out well for them.

OltonPete

20th May 2014, 21:18

Oslo & Hamburg

Despite the grim figures I posted on the flybe thread for BHX - Oslo it is certainly one of the routes which you would hope will do well this time round. Have to agree with GF re Hamburg and Berlin as well and I certainly fear the worse for Hamburg Germanwings.

April International route analysis

Monthly figures supplied by the CAA but the average pax and load factor have had to be estimated as there were gaps in the records I used. Some great figures including many improvements. The 2013 figures are in brackets.

Brussels........9979 (9050).......51 per flight..66% load factor
Larnaca........5810 (3363)......171 pax.........80%
Paphos..........2779 (nil)........154 pax.........76%
Copenhagen...8051 (7146).....88 pax..........88%
Chambery........403 (0)..........67 pax.........76%
Grenoble........1613 (1314)......90 pax.........50%
Lyons............3611 (nil).........69 pax.........79%
Montepellier.......nil (2181)......................
Paris CDG......34684 (31654)..103 pax.........83%
Berlin TXL.......3720 (4489).....98 pax.........71%
Cologne..........1994 (nil)........47 pax.........60%
Dusseldorf.....17284 (16015)...53 pax.........62%
Frankfurt.......24591 (23763).121 pax.........85%
Hamburg.........3004 (2687)...60 pax..........65%
Hanover........figures not provided
Munich..........14002 (14428)..85 pax.........70%
Stuttgart........6735 (3401)....65 pax..........74%
Gibraltar..........3576 (2364)...138 pax.........79%
Cork...............5898 (6198)....51 pax.........70%
Knock.............2781 (2489)....46 pax.........60%
Dublin............56705 (42700).122 pax.........76%
Shannon..........3753 (2678)...33 pax.........60%
Waterford........2086 (1569)...61 pax.........79%
Florence..........2592 (nil).......72 pax.........82%
Milan MXP........7147 (3486)....64 pax.........73%
Bergamo.............nil (3530)
Rome FCO........3785 (5343)..157 pax.........84%
Trieste...............nil (1897)
Venive...............nil (3643)
Malta.............2977 (2976..)..186 pax........98% (some IT pax included?)
Amsterdam.....44900 (40985)..96 pax.........82%
Faro.............15362 (8649)..179 pax.........87%
Oporto...........1102 (nil)....61 pax.........70%
Funchel..........2143 (1993)..134 pax.........67%
Alicante........24028 (20232).143 pax.........80%
Almeria...........2744 (nil)...172 pax.........80%
Barcelona......10485 (4955)..154 pax.........80%
Girona...............nil (2172)
Ibiza.................nil (3216)
Malaga.........19633 (15863).175 pax.........87%
Murcia...........5090 (5299)..150 pax.........79%
Palma..........11757 (5712)..151 pax.........76%
Reus.............2084 (2894)..130 pax.........69%
Arrecife........13007 (7277) incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Fuerteventura incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Las Palmas.....5046 (4576)...149 pax.........74%
Tenerife.......19126 (14450) incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Gothenburg....1271 (nil).....28 pax.........56%
Arlanda.........2403 (2409)....86 pax.........75%
Geneva.........6228 (3947)...145 pax.........87%
Zurich..........9422 (8836)....79 pax.........79%
Bodrum.........1953 (nil)....122 pax.........70%
Dalaman........5897 (nil).....164 pax.........79%
Istanbul......10035 (9910)..119 pax.........78%
Kaunas.........2958 (2527)..164 pax.........87%
Bydgoscz.....4585 (4340)...176 pax.........93%
Gdansk.......3003 (2865)....167 pax.........88%
Katowice.....2830 (3953)...177 pax.........94%
Krakow........3140 (2534)...174 pax.........92%
Bratislava....4317 (4423)....166 pax.........88%
Sharm........5004 (3493).....192 pax.........90%
Ashkhabad....5441 (4932)...163 pax.........86&
Dubai.........46398 (40817)..387 pax.........90%
Delhi...........2851 (nil)
Amritsar.......4044 (nil).......203 pax.........79%
Islamabad....9062 (8818).....267 pax.........76%
Newark.......7380 (7764).....148 pax.........87%

Pete

Daza

21st May 2014, 11:49

Interesting article from Birmingham chamber of commerce. Birmingham Airport is number two UK airport (after MAN) for shortest baggage carousel wait times! Well done to those people who do the hard work often for low pay! :ok:
web link to article http://birmingham-chamber.com/BCCG/Enews/ViewArticle.aspx?NewsID=862&StoryID=0

Phileas Fogg

21st May 2014, 12:18

Interesting article from Birmingham chamber of commerce. Birmingham Airport is number two UK airport (after MAN) for shortest baggage wait times!

I'd suggest that Barra, for one, and other "Highlands and Islands" airports have shorter baggage wait times than both MAN & BHX ... Which just about makes a nonsense out of these statistics that modern day businesses dream up!

Daza

21st May 2014, 12:23

Phileas Fogg wrote I'd suggest that Barra, for one, and other "Highlands and Islands" airports have shorter baggage wait times than both MAN & BHX ... Which just about makes a nonsense out of these statistics that modern day businesses dream up!

If you read the article it states baggage collected from carousels. I've never been to Barra but I would guess there are none? I have amended my original post to avoid confusion.

ATNotts

21st May 2014, 12:36

Daza

Interesting article from Birmingham chamber of commerce.

I for one would expect something better from the Chamber of Commerce - that's a bit of statistical work better suited to the local rag than a respected business organisation.

I expect their next bit of statistical exercise to "reveal" that Birmingham is the biggest airport in the West Midlands!

insuindi

21st May 2014, 14:31

OT: At Barra the luggage gets delivered by pick-up to a bus shelter type hut 'landside' outside the terminal building.

Daza

21st May 2014, 15:24

I will report the positive and Birmingham came second in the survey! If people have a problem with positive reports about Birmingham Airport here TOUGH! This same article was also posted on the Manchester thread (well done Manchester too)! Oddly at the time of writing this no one have given any negative feedback on the Manchester thread. How strange :confused:

There are many trolls and cyber bullies here who really don't need to be fed, so I will say no more on this.

hammerb32

21st May 2014, 15:52

Agreed Daza - the survey indicates a high level of performance for MAN and BHX, congratulations to all involved.

LN-KGL

21st May 2014, 16:23

The time measured was from arriving at the baggage carousel to the bags coming through. I does not stipulate any time to get from your seat on the plane to the baggage carousel - walking time from the aircraft to passport control, queue time at UK Border Control and walking distance the last bit to the baggage carousel. With long UK Border Control queues, the bag may already have been on the belt a long time at the time you arrive. Airports with awfull border queues and long walking distances may end as the best airport in this "research" - and that is maybe the reason why MAN is so high up on the list?

PPRuNe Pop

21st May 2014, 16:53

So PF - you have to swear and I have to see that it stops.

You are banned from the thread for a few days.

PPP

All names taken

21st May 2014, 18:18

Oh come on, quit all the negativity.
Credit where credit is due.
Well done to MAN and BHX for taking the top two spots AND with significant sized operations too.
Good news folks, good news :ok:

simoncorbett

21st May 2014, 20:58

LN-RCL

Also don't forget the border control is operated by government agency not BHX so the airport has no control of staffing etc
Simon

LN-KGL

21st May 2014, 22:07

simoncorbett, I would say BHX has no control on how an aircraft is unloaded and loaded. That task the airline has given to a ground handler.

johnnychips

21st May 2014, 22:33

simoncorbett, I would say BHX has no control on how an aircraft is unloaded and loaded. That task the airline has given to a ground handler.

But if a poor ground handler started giving the airport a bad reputation?

kasuga

22nd May 2014, 08:30

That may well be the case at the end of this summer :E

LN-KGL

22nd May 2014, 10:55

But if a poor ground handler started giving the airport a bad reputation?

If an operator at the airport is doing a poor job, the passenger will always blame the airport, not Servisair, UK Border, G4S, Dixons, Costa, NATS, ...

bhx bod

22nd May 2014, 19:12

Some disturbing news coming from BHX this evening.
A man has fallen 20ft from the first floor to the ground floor close to the check-in area.It is being reported that he has life threatening injuries.
Local news sources have been reporting this for the last couple of hours.No other details are known at this time.

grundyhead

22nd May 2014, 19:20

Holidaymaker critically injured in Birmingham Airport balcony plunge - Birmingham Mail (http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/holidaymaker-critically-injured-birmingham-airport-7160871)

bhx bod

22nd May 2014, 21:30

Thanks to a very lively thunderstorm over LHR today BHX like other airports in the UK received some diverts.However 1 of them BAW82 from Abuja,(772 G-RAES)was reportedly struck by lightning as it landed on runway 33 @ BHX.
No-one was hurt and while the passengers were bussed down to LHR,Golf Echo
Sierra was towed to MAEL for checks.:)

LTNman

22nd May 2014, 21:45

Interesting article from Birmingham chamber of commerce. Birmingham Airport is number two UK airport (after MAN) for shortest baggage wait times!

Mark Twain once wrote "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.

I have to say that I visited Birmingham Airport for the first time in 15 years. Wow what a fantastic airport and terminal.

getonittt

23rd May 2014, 16:59

That's very kind of you LTNman . I travelled through there this week and departed from the old T2/Eurohub (what is this part of the terminal referred to now? ) It has improved with the new all bar one and other outlets and is less dingy than it was before but I still stand by my past comments that it should be demolished and rebuilt!

nigel osborne

23rd May 2014, 20:34

BHX Bod,

Re diversions, we got 5 from LHR/LGW which I think was the most to any of the other airports MAN took 3.

BHX stated it could take up to 10 diversions yesterday but not sure how many widebodies and how many narrow bodies in that number

Well done BHX.

Nigel

FQTLSteve

25th May 2014, 11:39

Looking at MAN and EDI posts, several new North American services, albeit some seasonal. Just wondered why is BHX so bereft of services to North America, seems not only the two mentioned but I think GLA as well has more routes to that part of the world too. Is there any chance of an increased North American offering at BHX, and are the airport route development team working on it, or is it a case of a waste of time?

Elmdon Heath

25th May 2014, 12:10

Is the runway extension opening this week per the last NOTAM?

Anyone got a fix on how the passenger numbers are going for
the month/year? - all these new routes must be helping?

Elmdon

crewmeal

25th May 2014, 12:26

Just wondered why is BHX so bereft of services to North America

It's the same old story, MAN is 90miles north of BHX and LHR is 100 south of BHX. No carrier at present will 'dip their toe' into the BHX water so to speak. Remember BA tried JFK and YYZ back in the 90's. AA tried ORD, although that worked well before 9/11 American carriers are reluctant to come to BHX. EDI is a new market with plenty of tourism around the area. What has Birmingham got? I can only think of Stratford and that's usually done in a day out from the Capital.

Invicta DC4

25th May 2014, 12:59

According to the contractors Facebook page and questions asked on there, the runway extension isn't open yet because there are no services or aircraft operating from BHX at the moment that require it.

OltonPete

25th May 2014, 14:58

Runway

It does seem that the general information going around is similar to the contractors Facebook page statement and that the extension is finished but not open and the explanation that it is not required as yet seems fair enough.

However there is other work in progress which I assume is to do with the runway lighting, ILS and possibly landscaping but the only entity that can give a definitive answer to that is the airport itself and I assume the operating airlines have been informed as to the exact reason.

Having a couple of flights booked in the next two months I would be glad if this information could be shared or is a case of "I can tell you but I will have to kill you" scenario :E?

On 22 May at around 22.00 the latest Notam showed BHX ILS 15 CAT 1 until 23 May 16.00 and LOC/DME only on 33.

I got home Friday at 4pm expecting CAT 3 ILS restored on both ends to find another NOTAM timed at 16.08 23/5 CAT 1 runway 15 now 11 July and 33 LOC/DME only 2 June.

I realise these were only update times and not 100% stating that both the 15 & 33 ILS would be back to CAT 3 but I assume something drastic affecting 15 has happened as the 11th July with be around 9 months at CAT 1 or less.

The current runway length's are in force until at least 31 May.

Pete

Guest 112233

25th May 2014, 15:26

The one or two common factors affecting all of the points that you have made, is perhaps Runway Centre Line lighting and or emergency backup power supplies' operational status - Just an uneducated guess.

Is taxiway S operational ?

CAT III

OltonPete

25th May 2014, 19:49

CATIII-NDB

Co-incidentally there is a NOTAM timed at 15.32 today stating Sierra is closed and aircraft using 15 must vacate at taxiway E. If you overshoot E and can't turn on the runway advise ATC but only valid from 5am tomorrow (o600 local)for a day - The runway is closed from 02.30 - 6am local in the early hours.

There is another NOTAM (same time as above) stating Code E aircraft using Sierra from 05.00 on 27 May will be provided with a follow-me vehicle and this is valid until 30th June.

So reading between the lines Sierra will be available from 0500 (06.00 local) 27 May 2014.

30th June is also the date the restriction ends for Code F as well.

There are various runway lighting NOTAMS valid until 31 May.

It sounds like it will all become clear in the next few days.

Pete

Elmdon Heath

26th May 2014, 12:10

A mate tells me runway extension now open?

Some photos at Birmingham Airport Photo Blog
- would post link but not sure how to do that
so best to google it!

Also told Bank Holiday passengers a record

Elmdon

OltonPete

26th May 2014, 12:38

Elmdon Heath

Confirmed the extension is finished but Sierra is not in use until hand-over tomorrow.

Notices to Airmen | NOTAMS | Birmingham Intl Airport | Birmingham, United Kingdom | EGBB (http://www.charternation.com/airports/EGBB/notams)

This just leaves the ILS work with 33 next update 2 June and 15 Cat 1 until 11 July 2014.

Monarch

Gibraltar seems to increase from February half-term from three to four weekly and stays that way for the rest of the winter. It also changes day in the New Year but still three a week until mid Feb (Friday instead of Tuesday)

Usual extra Christmas flights but Funchal sees an extra flight for 4 weeks on a Wednesday.

Tenerife also goes daily for the whole winter with Thursday added but the same number flights as 2013/4 as only one Friday service.

Pete

insuindi

26th May 2014, 16:57

Germanwings will re-time its HAM-BHX-HAM eff24JUN-24OCT:

HAM1425-1500BHX1535-1810HAM 1-5, on 7 unchanged.

peter2193

27th May 2014, 12:28

Extension is now in operation. As of 6:00 AM GMT 27/05/2014.

Monty Gordo

27th May 2014, 15:55

Does anyone have any concrete info on how Ryanair's random seat selection is working? Picked up someone from BHX this morning who had arrived on the inbound flight from Malaga and apparently three people all had the same seat allocation number in row 9.

Needless to say there was a certain amount of confusion. All were seated but what if the flight had genuinely been full?

ericlday

27th May 2014, 16:00

Being very courteous the flight deck would have offered them their seats !!!

hammerb32

27th May 2014, 16:24

They would surely have chargef extra for the more generous leg room and better view....

peterhr

28th May 2014, 08:14

Michael O'Leary has probably worked out how to get three times as many passengers on a 737 (excess charges - anyone who weighs over 32 kg will pay for double, 64 kg for triple and 96 kg for quadruple seating, to be distributed over the entire aircraft)

BHX5DME

28th May 2014, 10:21

Monday and Thursday from 05 Feb 2015

Excellent news

Ian

ATNotts

28th May 2014, 10:25

Ian

Icelandair to serve BHX
Monday and Thursday from 05 Feb 2015

Excellent news

Provided they are here for the long haul (pardon the pun!!) not just long enough to run FlyBe off the route.

Daza

28th May 2014, 10:39

Great news! They can of course provide onward connections, so hopefully won't interfere with Flybe too much? :ok:
Daza

insuindi

28th May 2014, 10:39

With a 757-200??! for O&D traffic this would be too much, however, very reasonable connections to North America become possible, with connecting times anything between 60-120mins.

hillwalker2004

28th May 2014, 11:47

Great news with icelandair.

Tickets go on sale today with one way fares to Iceland from £119.23. Flight numbers and timings are scheduled accordingly;

• FI494 departs Reykjavik (KEF) 07:50, arriving in Birmingham (BHX) 10:25
• FI495 departs Birmingham (BHX) 12:25, arriving in Reykjavik (KEF) 15:10

Icelandair To Start Flying From Birmingham AirportTravelandtourworld.com (http://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/icelandair-start-flying-birmingham-airport/)

I'd suggest that the route is unlikely to support two carriers on a route such as this but good luck to both FI and BE!

hillwalker2004

28th May 2014, 12:07

Just had a look at timimgs to JFK and they look reasonable. That said I cant see see much challenge to United on to/from NYC route.

Feb 15 prices I found below.

Icelandair
Economy £600
Business £1,350

United
Economy £467
Business £2016

Obviously United prices are sky high in peak season so Feb 15 is possibly not a fair comparison but that said Icelandair are not a true full service airline either. I hope they are looking more at connections elsewhere in US.

Phileas Fogg

28th May 2014, 12:28

From KEF's Wiki:

Icelandair

Amsterdam, Birmingham (begins 5 February 2015), Boston, Copenhagen, Denver, Edmonton, Frankfurt, Glasgow-International, Helsinki, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Munich, New York-JFK, Newark, Oslo-Gardermoen, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Seattle/Tacoma, Stockholm-Arlanda, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Dulles

Summer seasonal: Anchorage, Barcelona, Bergen, Billund, Brussels, Geneva, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Halifax, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan-Malpensa, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Saint Petersburg,[10] Stavanger, Trondheim, Vancouver, Zurich

Summer seasonal charter: Dublin
Winter seasonal: Orlando-Sanford

compton3bravo

28th May 2014, 16:42

Don´t envy Flybe competing with Icelandair and easyJet just down the road at Luton, me thinks they will not last long on the route.

Centre cities

28th May 2014, 17:17

A lot of seats to fill on a 757 compared to a 170 though.

Centre cities

chinapattern

28th May 2014, 17:17

Hurrah! For a long time I've back Icelandair starting up BHX as a viable alternative to a second US carrier. Interesting timing though; certainly one to watch.

Guest 112233

28th May 2014, 17:35

The amouncement from Icelandair does look like an attempt to protect their market share from other locations - Why now ? I'm old enough to remember Air Canada's brief service to Toronto to expunge Wardair from BHX/CWL. A relativly big airliner, twice a week commencing in FEB !

CAT III

chinapattern

28th May 2014, 18:28

On that basis why haven't they started LTN and BRS then?

compton3bravo

28th May 2014, 20:10

I doubt they could compete with easyJet on prices so keeping well away.

adfly

28th May 2014, 21:16

'A 170' I assume refers to a Flybe E175, which has 88 seats. So yes, a 95 seat difference is quite a lot, even down the back.

chinapattern

28th May 2014, 22:12

Remember we are talking about x2 757s and x3 E175s a week and I should imagine Icelandair will be targeting connecting pax and feeding their hub while Flybe aim at point to point traffic. Also worth pointing out Icelandair operate a higher frequency at MAN with far more competitoon to the US aswell as competion from EZY. Flybe also reported healthy bookings for KEF so there is obviously demand.

LN-KGL

28th May 2014, 22:32

It is very hard to find free hotel rooms at both Keflavik and Reykjavik this summer. We had to abandon one of the options for our flight in to MAN (OSL-KEF-MAN with Icelandair) in August due to this.

GayFriendly

29th May 2014, 17:01

Fabulous news and I give myself a pat on the back for suggesting this as an ideal airline and route for BHX to be chasing a few months ago! They will vastly improve the range of North American connections from BHX without having to resort to back tracking to FRA, AMS etc (and lets face it, BHX needs better N Atlantic connections as at present there appears to be no interest from AA, DL, UA to start flying from or expand at BHX). You can also take advantage of a free packaged stopover in Iceland on the way back if you have the time. Having been to Iceland it is a great short break destination, even in winter (I went in November, yes quite dark but still loads to do). I really hope this works out.

As for BE, if I'm being completely honest I would rather see BE put the aircraft to use on something like LIS or BUD, however there may be room for both as BE I think will mostly be cheaper than FI if just travelling to/from Iceland, they are both going for different markets. Good luck to them both!

111KAB

4th Jun 2014, 18:19

Airlines should be encouraged to use regional airports (http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2011834&c=setreg&region=2)

Airlift21

5th Jun 2014, 11:58

You can offer airlines all the incentives you want, but if they can't fill the aircraft with their desired yields, it won't make the slightest difference. Airlines would have to be convinced that using regional airports would result in more revenue than by using say LHR. Good luck with that. It's been said a hundred times before.

BHX also says Birmingham Airport is only 70 mins from London. Great, that means it's only 70 mins travel to catch your flight from a London airport. Happy days!

ATNotts

5th Jun 2014, 12:49

Airlift21

BHX also says Birmingham Airport is only 70 mins from London. Great, that means it's only 70 mins travel to catch your flight from a London airport. Happy days!

That, if I may say so, sums up the Londoncentric attitude that prevails in the southeast of the UK - to the detriment of the majority of us who do not (thank heavens!).

That said, frankly I believe that what Paul Kehoe is purported to have said is nothing more than political spin - aimed at getting press coverage for BHX, which of itself is a fair objective. It would be great if economically the UK were more balanced but it ain't going to happen anytime soon, so BHX, and most of airports outside London will continue to fight hard for every new service they can attract - and BHX isn't doing too badly in that department at the moment!

Skipness One Echo

5th Jun 2014, 14:45

"This means changes to tax rules to encourage airlines to use regional airports for long haul routes, and a concerted government-led marketing push around the world to let growing markets and foreign airlines know Britain's city regions and our airports are open for business."
He's using a lot of words to say "Subsidise me".
Yes, now the state needs to do the job of......his own marketing department????

That, if I may say so, sums up the Londoncentric attitude that prevails in the southeast of the UK - to the detriment of the majority of us who do not (thank heavens!).
Hardly, it's a statement of an obvious reality. People in Birmingham use Heathrow as it has many more long haul connections at better prices than BHX simply becasuse it has an immense O&D market that supports a huge number of frequent fliers upfront which holds down prices in the back allowing more people to travel for less year round at a higher frequency, than anything a local airport can match. Quite why this is a bad thing for the general consumer, I have yet to understand......

btw London is the majority of the South East by far, it's around 9 million people, fast approaching the combined populations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined. I think BHX is great airport, it's way better than many in the UK of a similar size, however the absurd witterings of those that claim BHX is in some way any kind of answer to the London Airports capacity crunch shows an ignorance of the market they claim to serve. Glasgow has a great wee airport at PIK with it's own railway station, based Ryanair fleet and great rail prices. It was recently nationalised for £1. Capacity and location count for nothing in a free market when people having tried both options, keep using the "wrong" one......

Fairdealfrank

6th Jun 2014, 23:02

BHX also says Birmingham Airport is only 70 mins from London. Great, that means it's only 70 mins travel to catch your flight from a London airport. Happy days!

From London-EUSTON only. Realistically, how many journeys start or end there? In reality there's going to be another 1-2 hours to add to that.

Going by road? could be a great deal more. The long and short of it is quite simple: if you're catching a flight from Elmdon and travelling from London (or the south east generally) allow a hell of a lot more than "70 minutes"!

BHX also says Birmingham Airport is only 70 mins from London. Great, that means it's only 70 mins travel to catch your flight from a London airport. Happy days!

Not necessarily "London-centric", it's a similar distance/time to Manchester. The truth is that BHX is squeezed by the proximity of both Heathrow and Ringway, and both are larger airports.

virginblue

8th Jun 2014, 23:25

I have not travelled through BHX in ages, so my excuses for this question:

Is it possible to do an airside transfer when arriving from Dublin and connecting on a domestic flight? Or are passengers arriving in a separate arrival lounge and need to clear security again from landside if they are connecting (it would be a "self-built" connection, hebce the asking).

The last time I made a connection at BHX was when BA still had its Eurohub...

BobBHX

9th Jun 2014, 09:13

Sorry, BHX "does not do" connections. You will have to go landside and back through security.

Phileas Fogg

9th Jun 2014, 11:23

The truth is that BHX is squeezed by the proximity of both Heathrow and Ringway, and both are larger airports.

To jump to BHX's defence ...

For a few years I lived in Northamptonshire and then a year in Shropshire, I'm a Londoner by birth, but BHX became my local favourite, I could pretty much travel wherever my business, and social, directed me often via an intermediary hub stop but that wasn't a problem for me.

The joy of BHX was that at a local rail station I could park the car for free and then take a 3 minute train journey in/out of the "International" station and particularly when transiting thru the smaller terminal it was simply a pleasure.

LHR, MAN and others might be described as supermarkets, I wouldn't describe BHX as a corner shop, more like a 7/11, and whilst some of the local enthusiasts might take exception to me describing their airport as a 7/11 it is intended as a compliment, of all the UK airports that I have transited through, combined with the choice of destinations available, then BHX was No.1 for me and I'm saying that as a southern git :)

nigel osborne

9th Jun 2014, 11:25

Hillwalker,

Re fares UA/ICE to New York just done a sample for late April 2015.

UA- BHX-EWR-BHX cheapest fare £735.00

ICE BHX-JFK-BHX ( via Iceland) £599.00

As you are heading in the right direction , ICE may certainly tempt me if we can save £250.. plus, per couple, depending on the connection time in Iceland..

Nigel

Phileas Fogg

9th Jun 2014, 12:47

http://www.pprune.org/airlines-airports-routes/192576-forum-sops-please-read-updated-29th-october-2013-a.html

It seems that some people are under the impression that posting airline services is acceptable. Sorry, but it isn't. It is advertising, and PPRuNe does not allow it.

Once again people are trying to blatantly advertise routes, new operations - the list goes on.

PPRuNe Pop

9th Jun 2014, 13:35

Correct! However, anyone who wishes to advertise on PPRuNe may do so at the going rate.

PPP

virginblue

9th Jun 2014, 14:14

Sorry, BHX "does not do" connections. You will have to go landside and back through security.

Thanks.

So I would have 90 minutes to make a connection arriving on the first flight in the morning from DUB. How bad is security at this time of day and would FR or EI the better choice (use of jetway, terminal etc.)?

PS: Maybe BHX should make an effort given that Flybe offers quite a few connections via BHX from the continent to UK domestic destinations. I seem to remember that I connected airside from EDI to DUS at the Eurohub in the late 1990s

chinapattern

9th Jun 2014, 15:04

BHX is a "one terminal" operation so technically it doesn't really make much difference if you choose EI or FR as you will have to go through same arrivals/departures security system for both - it's worth noting that Ryanair operate from the old Eurohub side which is now looking a bit tired compared to the new pier which Aer Lingus use.

For FR you'll exit the plane via stairs and then walk up a jetway into the terminal. With EI you'll definatley deplane via stairs if your on the ATR - I have seen the A320s use jetways occasionally - it just depends on time of day.

From personal experience I've never suffered long security checks flying from BHX - 10 mins max and that is based on different times and different days.

getonittt

9th Jun 2014, 15:26

The peak time for security is first thing when all the based and night stoppers depart but by 07.30 they have all gone. I recently had a 10.00AM departure from BHX and it was nearly deserted when I passed through security an hour before. If you fly FR you will arrive on stand 1 of the former eurohub and if you arrive EI you will be on the 50's of the main terminal , in effect no advantage even though they are at opposite ends of the airport as no bussing required. If your flight is on time you will comfortably make a connection in 90 minutes (hand luggage and pre printed boarding pass).

Transfer pax are a tiny proportion of Birmingham's passenger figures ,less than 3% , but you are right that every effort should be made to make connections easier .

I seem to remember that I connected airside from EDI to DUS at the Eurohub in the late 1990s

That is what it was designed for!

virginblue

9th Jun 2014, 17:15

Thanks @getonitt & @chinapattern. So I guess I can risk it as the first flights in the morning should be reasonably on time, be it EI or FR.

Transfer pax are a tiny proportion of Birmingham's passenger figures ,less than 3% , but you are right that every effort should be made to make connections easier .

Given the number of routes Flybe operates from BHX particularly to Germany BHX could be the logical choice to make connections to places like the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Inverness, Knock, Waterford, Newquay etcl. for which no proper connections are available via LGW or LHR anymore. BHX could also be quite competitive when it comes to connections from the continent to places like ABZ, EDI, GLA or BHD. One effect of BA deserting the regions and the take-over of LGW by the LCCs is that it has become quite difficult to connect to most of the regional airports from the continent unless you are willing to fork out a big load of money for KLM's services via AMS.

Suzeman

9th Jun 2014, 17:51

Quote:
It seems that some people are under the impression that posting airline services is acceptable. Sorry, but it isn't. It is advertising, and PPRuNe does not allow it.
Quote:
Once again people are trying to blatantly advertise routes, new operations - the list goes on.

Could someone please clarify what posting airline services means?

Does that mean there should be no mention anywhere of new services starting up? Seems to involve the content of many threads in the Airlines Airports and Routes section and would make this section in particular lose a lot of interesting discussion.

Or is it (in this instance) the comparison of airline fares that caused the intervention?

Or has something been removed that I didn't see?

Thanks for some clarification

chinapattern

9th Jun 2014, 19:28

Fairdealfrank

9th Jun 2014, 22:19

Sorry, BHX "does not do" connections. You will have to go landside and back through security.

This needs to be seriously addressed if the airport management have ambitions to be a third "London" airport ("only 70 minutes", etc.) or a hub of some sort with links to China.

Phileas Fogg

10th Jun 2014, 03:24

Or has something been removed that I didn't see?

Suzeman,

something has been removed.

Clearly one can't have an airlines, airports and routes thread without discussing services offered, clearly this is a grey area and a difficult call for the mods to decide what is acceptable and what is overstepping the mark.

If you look at the top and bottom of this page you'll find links to commercial aviation websites that are selling a product or products, those advertisers pay for those links and the revenue earned pays for you and I and everybody to sit here chatting for free.

So if links to commercial websites that are selling a product or products get posted here by the likes of you or I then those that pay to advertise here are likely to question "WTF?".

A link to a commercial website and some "overstepping the mark", in the opinion of the mods, became removed.

Suzeman

10th Jun 2014, 10:36

Thanks Mr Fogg

I was finding it difficult to understand what had caused offence; no wonder as it already had been removed.

groundhogbhx

10th Jun 2014, 11:11

A slight correction to the EI/FR comments earlier, neither airline uses airbridges and EI flights are bussed in as it isn't possible for passengers to reach the Common Travel arrivals area by foot.The only possible exception is the the EI Airbus can use the bridge if the weather is exceptionally bad, but the inbound passengers still have to get down to ramp level to get bussed in.

Skipness One Echo

10th Jun 2014, 11:50

Given that BHX is now by far Flybes largest base I do wonder if there are plans to hub BHX and offer connections from UK points to the European network - can only see it as being beneficial to both parties
From the Eurohub complex built to do exactly that for Big Airways? Connections adds complexity and cost though, are flybe not cutting costs?

Remind me, airside connections in Eurohub days did not require re-screening of passengers though?

bhx bod

10th Jun 2014, 13:58

Skipness One Echo.

I think you are correct.I believe that there was no need to go through a 2nd screening.The whole point of the "hub"was to transfer from flight to flight with the minimum of fuss.
However if you were transferring from the "hub"to the main terminal or vice versa then you would have to go through the screening procedure.
Unfortunately with all the new regulations after 9/11 and BAW pulling out of the regions the need for this type operation diminished at BHX.
I wonder if there are any plans for re-introducing a transfer facility at BHX in the coming years,especially if Flybe are successful with their expansion.
I realise the need for security but it must be pain to get off 1 flight,only to go through a full security check to get on another.

Skipness One Echo

10th Jun 2014, 16:02

Yup, the UK has no circle of trust unlike Schengen to Schengen, only UK domestic to domestic/international do not require re-screening.....

OltonPete

10th Jun 2014, 16:57

Finally BHX is linked with Athens again, with AEE636 just airborne on route to BHX. Although it appears only to be seasonal it is a welcome route and airline.

The other day of operation is Saturday followed by two Aegean IT flights, one from Heraklion (Tuesday) and one from Rhodes (Saturday).

Maersk :( were the last airline to operate a regular schedule flight BHX-ATH and if my memory serves me well there were some good loads (might just dig deep into the CAA stats).

Long gone are the days of IT flights to Athens but I remember travelling on an Air Europe 757 from BHX back in September 1989.

Pete

OltonPete

10th Jun 2014, 18:21

Passenger figures and number of rotations from the CAA.

Operated by Maersk in 2002/3 although interestingly the CAA have credited the whole operation to Duo although Companies House (Public Domain version) shows it was Maersk until 24/04/2003.

The Service began in June 2002 and carried 8958 pax until the end of the year at an average of 50.33 a flight but some could of been on the CRJ7 which operated in the winter or at least part off.

The breakdown is as follows

June..........1052 pax....40 per flight....31% load factor based on 131 seats
July...........1493 pax....75 per flight....44%
August.......2396 pax....86 per flight....65%
September..1645 pax....69 per flight....52%
October......1127 pax....43 per flight....33%
November.....555 pax....21 per flight...unsure of type but max 31% load factor
December.....690 pax....31 per flight..
January........574 pax....23 per flight
February......187 pax....19 per flight.

Obviously didn't do as well as I thought even the peak summer loads were modest. I have not bothered to find the stats for the brief 747 operation a few years later.

Pete

virginblue

10th Jun 2014, 18:50

Connections adds complexity and cost though, are flybe not cutting costs?

You can book tons of connections with Flybe - it is not that they are discouraging connections. Their main hubs are simply not up to making a connection a seamless travel experience.

LTNman

10th Jun 2014, 22:25

I think Birmingham's terminal and CTA is physically the perfect size for an airport. Not too big so you get lost and suffer from tired feet and not to small so to not have the facilities passengers expect. I was so impressed when I visited the place last month.:ok:

OltonPete

11th Jun 2014, 18:32

Two new schedule routes for winter albeit pseudo-IT flights for ski holidays

BHX- Turin and BHX - Salzburg by Monarch start 13 December 2014 once a week on a Saturday.

The Turin was posted on the Monarch thread I am sure 10 minutes ago Salzburg was on there or I just missed it.

I thought they might have gambled on Salzburg with a Wednesday departure as well but better than nothing. Salzburg I also thought flybe might have tried.

Pete

TartinTon

11th Jun 2014, 20:15

They will both be heavily committed to tour operators. I'd be surprised if they are selling more than 60 seats as seat only.

OltonPete

11th Jun 2014, 21:53

Turin and Salzburg

Apparently Inghams are using these services replacing flybe IT flights.

At least an increase in capacity.

Pete

nigel osborne

16th Jun 2014, 09:53

Norwegian B787 EI-LNA arrived at BHX last night, and went straight into the MAEL hangar for an engine change.

No known departure details known yet.

Nigel

Daza

16th Jun 2014, 16:42

Birmingham saw a record May with a 5.3% increase and the busiest May on record. See link.Birmingham Airport Achieves Another Record Breaking Month in May - Birmingham Airport (http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news/2014/06/birmingham-airport-achieves-another-record-breaking-month-in-may.aspx)
Great news :ok:
Daza

chinapattern

16th Jun 2014, 16:43

Another record breaking month! (although Daza beat me too it)

Birmingham Airport Achieves Another Record Breaking Month in May - Birmingham Airport (http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news/2014/06/birmingham-airport-achieves-another-record-breaking-month-in-may.aspx)

BHX5DME

18th Jun 2014, 12:25

17 June 2014
http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/~/media/Images/content/news/800px-China_Southern_Airlines_Airbus_A330-200_web.ashx?h=186&w=275 Direct charter flights between Beijing and Birmingham to operate this summer with China Southern Airlines - the first airport outside London to offer direct flights to China.

Birmingham Airport’s CEO has welcomed talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on trade and visa requirements as essential for bolstering UK-China relations.

Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham Airport, said:

“As the only region in the UK to have a positive balance of trade with China we know how essential these talks are. Businesses in the Midlands are telling us they want to fly direct to China which is why we have extended our runway for longer haul destinations and, on 22 July, are delighted to be playing host to the first Beijing flights to a UK airport outside of London.”

Home Secretary Theresa May announced on Monday (16 June) that the Government will introduce easier forms for visa applicants from China and an agreement to allow travellers from China or India to come to the UK on Irish visas.

On 22 July, Birmingham Airport will play host to the first ever flights from and to China from a UK airport outside of London. The charter flights are a result of a joint initiative between Birmingham Airport, China Southern Airlines, Caissa Travel Management Co Ltd and Birmingham China specialist agency, United Travel.

The West Midlands is the only UK region to enjoy a net balance of trade surplus with China, selling £1.74 billion more last year than it imported.

The Prime Minister visited Birmingham Airport in April to announce the completion of the Airport’s new long haul runway extension, allowing direct long-haul flights to emerging economies previously out of reach, such as Brazil and China, as well as tourist hotspots like the West Coast of the USA. The runway is part of the Airport’s £200 million long-term investment programme.

Birmingham Airport has recorded the busiest May in its history, as almost 900,000 passengers passed through the terminal last month, a 5.3% increase compared to the same period last year. May’s figures also saw a major rise in the number of passengers flying on long-haul services from Birmingham, up by 14.5% compared to May last year.

BHX5DME

18th Jun 2014, 19:53

Birmingham Airport Carries 200 Million Passengers Since Opening

You are here:Home (http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/)http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/img/breadcrumb-separator.gifNews (http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news.aspx)http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/img/breadcrumb-separator.gifBirmingham Airport Carries 200 Million Passengers Since Opening

18 June 2014

http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/~/media/Images/content/news/Official%20Opening%201939%20web1.ashx?h=188&w=275HRH The Duchess of Kent officially opening Birmingham Airport on the 8th July 1939.

As Birmingham Airport approaches its 75th birthday, it has revealed that more than two hundred million passengers have travelled through its doors since records began.

The Midlands airport was officially opened on a rainy Saturday on the 8th July 1939 by HRH The Duchess of Kent, but just two months later the Second World War broke out and the Air Ministry requisitioned the airport so all civil flying was stopped.

On Monday 8th July 1946, exactly seven years after the airport’s official opening, the facility was reopened for civil flying and over the next seven and a half decades more than 200 million people have used the airport.

Originally operating from the ‘Elmdon’ terminal, which still stands proud on the western side of the airfield, the rapid growth in air travel in the 70s meant that a new terminal building was needed, and on the 30th May 1984 a new terminal was opened by HRH The Queen.

Although now twice the size, this remains the site for Birmingham Airport’s operation, which today sees more than nine million passengers use the facility each year.

Commenting on the milestone and the launch of a commemorative logo to use throughout the year, Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of the Airport, said:

“Birmingham Airport has played an important role in the success of the region for 75 years. It was built with the aim of creating jobs and stimulating industry; and that it has certainly done.

“Back in the early years, only the privileged could enjoy the luxury of flying but as it became more accessible to the masses, more and more people took to the skies from Birmingham to experience the wonder of air travel and seek new adventures overseas.

“Today, Birmingham Airport continues to bring people together, delivers goods to global destinations and connects industry with opportunities around the world - reliably, safely and speedily.”

This spring, the airport opened its extended runway which allows airlines to fly further than ever before from Birmingham, including the Far East, The Americas and South Africa. The last time the runway was extended was back in 1966 by 300ft, which attracted new tour operators using jet flights allowing Birmingham Airport to thrive.

Other key milestones over the last 75 years have included:

1949 The first post war scheduled service took off from Birmingham to Paris, operated by a BEA Dakota.

1955 A record 110,000 passengers used the airport during this year.

1959 800ft runway extension opened and name changed from Elmdon to Birmingham Airport.

1960 New ‘International Building’ opened at Elmdon to cope with increased passenger numbers.

1966 A further 300ft extension to the runway was built.

1978 The magic one million passenger mark was reached.

1980 Concorde flew from Birmingham for the first time, to Paris.

1984 New airport opened by HRH The Queen and operations moved to the new site.

1989 3.5 million passengers travelled through the new airport.

1991 British Airways’ Eurohub opened.

1998 President Clinton and other world leaders land at Birmingham Airport for the G8 Summit.

2000 HRH The Queen opens the new Millennium Link terminal extension.

2002 Passenger numbers reach 8m.

2003 The new Air Rail link people mover system opens, connecting the airport with Birmingham International station.

2009 New £45m International Pier opened.

2014 400m runway extension operational.

The commemorative logo is in-keeping with the airport’s corporate brand and symbolises the 75 years, from 1939 to 2014, using aircraft icons to signify global flight. It will be used throughout the year by the airport.

Monty Gordo

19th Jun 2014, 11:39

Given that Emirates currently have a revised schedule ie an early morning arrival, and bearing in mind the high load factor of their service over the past few months, would now be the opportune time for them to add a third daily? Maintain the current arrangement, which will continue until late July, and add the third service around lunchtime.

bhx bod

19th Jun 2014, 15:28

Is it me or are Emirates using different B773s on the EK39 since it started arriving earlier? If so are they the 3 class aircraft that so many people are keen for them to start using from BHX? Also could they be testing the water for demand in first class in readiness for that 3rd daily service?

RealFish

19th Jun 2014, 16:20

'...and on the 30th May 1984 a new terminal was opened by HRH The Queen.'

:=

Tut, tut, tut. It's HM The Queen. Off to the tower with you...and not the new one near the A45.

OltonPete

19th Jun 2014, 17:01

[B]bhx bod/B]

Correct -three class versions due low loads as they are every year in May and June due to the low season and there is Ramadan, which also affects loads every year.

The May figures were up but still well below the usual monthly figure (July-April).

Air India also affected.

However the pre May figures were exceptional as they were at Manchester but neither have been ear-marked for expansion well not publicly.

Pete

insuindi

21st Jun 2014, 15:25

4U will end TXL-BHX 31AUG.

crewmeal

21st Jun 2014, 16:11

If that's the case lets hope Monarch will take up the slack. The Berlin market is there for the taking in my view.

OltonPete

21st Jun 2014, 17:54

crewmeal.

I would say one for Flybe.

The winter schedule is looking tight believe it or not but I am sure they could fit a daily flight in.

Germanwings can't fill 138 seats and with only one 320 usually at BHX in the winter I would be surprised if Monarch take it on especially as they have passed on Prague and Madrid or so it seems.

However they have been adding some Christmas extras with Sharm, Madeira, Arrecife, Alicante, Malaga, Tenerife and Gibraltar seeing increased frequencies for three weeks.

Pete

ATNotts

22nd Jun 2014, 08:52

I would say one for Flybe.

The winter schedule is looking tight believe it or not but I am sure they could fit a daily flight in.

With the apparent back peddling by Flybe regarding the withdrawal of the E195 from the fleet (extension of the bucket and spade flights from SOU into the winter) I would have though that even if capacity is tight at the moment, the retention of an additional 195, perhaps deploying it on BHX-CDG, freeing up a 175 for BHX/TXL - perhaps even twice daily at business friendly times (AM and PM) Monday to Friday would be a possible option.

Group Lufthansa have made a right royal mess of their European operation - certainly on business routes - I'm sure that it's not only BHX routes on which 4U are struggling - and ex UK, BE are well placed to fill the gap properly, as they will surely do on BHX-HAM.

CabinCrewe

22nd Jun 2014, 10:46

I thought the Emb 195s were all to be away by Spring ?

insuindi

22nd Jun 2014, 11:05

I know/met a number of people using the BHX-HAJ service and on by train/rental car to get to the Berlin area (and I have done that before as well, outbound via HAJ, return from TXL) - or that vast sparsly populated space between Hanover and Berlin. At double-daily to HAJ far more flexibility that way.

I think TXL is one for BE - if they can make work some of these other destinations they have chose to serve recently, TXL should work out well.

OltonPete

22nd Jun 2014, 11:33

CabinCrewe

The 195 position is quite fluid but in the last flybe financials it stated that at least three will be flying in the winter. The last time I checked only Southampton had one in the seating map for their Spanish routes.

The 195 was withdrawn from BHX - CDG on 11 June and I think two went in MAEL shortly afterwards.

However since then one has been used ad-hoc covering for tech Q400's. Yesterday one operated BHX-MXP but flybe still needed to use the Cello RJ85 on four sectors to cover for a Q400.

You would think BHX-CDG would be the first choice if the 195 gets reallocated to BHX but BHX-CDG-BHX-Berlin-BHX-CDG-BHX on the 195 could be an option.

Eventually you would hope for maybe a twice daily 175 at ATNotts suggests. Having flown in the "entertaining" Q400 from Amsterdam last weekend with the high speed one-engined taxi to Polderbaan (the flight home was almost as long :)) I am not sure the Q400 would be right aircraft business wise although I am sure the economics would be the over-riding factor.

I did get my hearing back the following afternoon but more a "enthusiasts" or "accountants" aircraft rather than a silky-smooth ride for the mobile business person and as for reliability, about six cancellations at BHX in the last two weeks plus some subs, which is not great but they are operating a lot of flights even compared to the now leisurely Ryanair base.

Pete

Phileas Fogg

22nd Jun 2014, 11:45

Having flown in the "entertaining" Q400 from Amsterdam last weekend with the high speed one-engined taxi to Polderbaan (the flight home was almost as long ) I am not sure the Q400 would be right aircraft

If you're talking about the AMS runway that is the other side of the motorway then, believe me, it doesn't get any less painless in a jet, all aircraft taxi at around the same speed and it takes forever and a day even in Fokkers and Boeings.

nigel osborne

22nd Jun 2014, 16:01

BHX5DME.

I certainly hope BHX have been able to persuade someone high up in China Southern to be on the 1st flight into BHX.

Otherwise with the thousands of flights they operate, might go pretty un noticed by the airline at a time when BHX want them at very least to expand the charters next year.

The flights are chinese travel agent driven at present.

Nigel

GayFriendly

22nd Jun 2014, 17:54

Gutted but not surprised, as soon as it went from LH to 4U that was the death knell as they kept chopping and changing times, ending up with a schedule very unattractive to the BHX outbound traveller. I never once saw any 4U advertising anywhere for either their TXL or HAM services from BHX.

Come on BE, please give Berlin a try!! Looks like I am back to BA from LHR again or BE to HAJ, what a pain.

Very strong rumours on the MAN thread about an announcement of Air China MAN-PEK, some saying it's almost imminent. I wonder where BHX are up to with their lobbying for a scheduled China flight given the China Southern charters next month

chinapattern

22nd Jun 2014, 19:50

Dissapointing news about TXL; the new BER airport fiasco can't have helped matters either. Lets indeed hope Flybe are looking at this one now.

OltonPete

22nd Jun 2014, 22:34

Monthly passenger figures from the CAA and the average pax and load factors estimated with aid of a local SBS log and seat maps.

Some gaps due to IT figures mixed in with schedule figures I believe on Malta, Alicante, Arrecife, Fuerteventura, Tenerife and Hanover is just missing.

I have left out some of the weekly flybe French routes out as they operated twice at the end of May.

Air India as expected dropped like a stone with the low season but at least they were smart enough to start when 9 consecutive months of decent figures (as expected).

Turkish was down but fewer if any 321's used compared to previous years and a reasonable load factor considering it was May.

Considering May was a record there are some routes that could improve if given the time (Berlin seems not to be one of these) although some of the FR ones can't really do much more (well above their network figure).

Brussels........10072 (9727)..... 44 per flight..55% load factor
Dubrovnik.......4162 (2573)......149 pax.......66%
Split..............1575 (922).......,98 pax........57%
Larnaca..........6551 (7388).....164 pax.......78%
Paphos.......... 3042 (3869).....179 pax.......84%
Copenhagen...9299 (6936).......88 pax........75%
Bordeaux........1346 (550)........56 pax.........67%
Lyons............3611 (nil)..........69 pax.........79%
Montepellier.......nil (1936)......................
Nice...............4992 4985)......131 pax........64%
Paris CDG......31697 (30145)...101 pax.........74%
Toulouse.........1553 (541)......52 pax..........65%
Berlin TXL.......3056 (4524)......90 pax.........65%
Cologne..........2313 (nil).........37 pax.........46%
Dusseldorf.....16049 (15511)....52 pax.........60%
Frankfurt.......23696 (21663)..106 pax.........70%
Hamburg.........2921 (2907).....56 pax..........59%
Hanover........figures not provided
Munich..........14013 (13696)...89 pax.........73%
Stuttgart........5844 (3557).....55 pax..........63%
Gibraltar..........3667 (2781)....141pax.........81%
Cork...............5898 (6198).....49 pax.........68%
Knock.............2765 (2479).....46 pax.........59%
Dublin............57911 (44336)..118 pax.........76%
Shannon..........3784 (2814).....31 pax.........58%
Waterford........1951 (1522).....57 pax.........74%
Bergamo............nil (3416)
Florence..........3419 (nil)........63 pax.........72%
Milan MXP........7156 (4632).....61 pax.........69%
Rome FCO........9549 (9214)...165 pax.........81%
Trieste...............nil (2011)
Venice.............5334 (5235)...148 pax.......77%
Malta..............3344 (2939..)..??? pax........??% (some IT pax included?)
Amsterdam.....42690 (41161)..91 pax.........77%
Faro.............19815 (16113)..191 pax.........92%
Oporto...........2082 (nil).........55 pax.........66%
Funchel..........2384 (1993)...132 pax.........69%
Alicante........30214 (26210).,.??? pax.........??%
Almeria...........3158 (3105)...175 pax.........82%
Barcelona......16030 (13588)..151 pax.........77%
Girona...............nil (1968)
Ibiza..............6039 (6600)...134 pax........70%
Malaga.........23708 (25635)..180 pax........85%
Murcia...........5913 (5045)...164 pax.........87%
Palma...........21114 (20015)..158 pax........86%
Reus.............2384 (3470)....132 pax....... 71%
Arrecife........13784 (10591) incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Fuerteventura 7494 incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Las Palmas.....6821 (4576)...159 pax.........78%
Tenerife.......17504 (14184) incorrect split shown between schedule & IT
Gothenburg....1211 (752)......24 pax.........49%
Arlanda.........2147 (2733).....72 pax.........62%
Zurich..........8421 (8278)......68 pax.........69%
Bodrum.........3958 (3467)...180 pax.........84%
Dalaman........8690 (9652)..143 pax.........69%
Istanbul......10887 (11081)..124 pax.........82%
Kaunas.........2707 (2815)...169 pax.........90%
Bydgoscz......5006 (4340)...179 pax.........95%
Gdansk.......3196 (2556).....178 pax.........94%
Katowice.....3269 (4524)....182 pax.........96%
Krakow........2892 (2856)...181 pax..........96%
Bratislava....4891 (4356).....175 pax.........92%
Hurghada.....1447 (0).........161 pax.........75%
Sharm........5109 (4790).....189 pax.........88%
Ashkhabad....4036 (3745)...126 pax..........68%
Dubai.........37063 (34925)..299 pax.........72%
Delhi...........2134 (nil)
Amritsar.......3680 (nil).......162 pax..........63%
Islamabad....8066 (7970).....224 pax.........66%
Newark........8860 (8921).....148 pax.........87%

Pete