Glasgow vs Edinburgh

[Firstaid]

I created this thread to discuss this rivalry as in the last few years Edinburgh has really extended its lead but with Glasgow now one of the fastest growing airports in Europe it is Beginning to close the gap

[A350Saltire]

I don't think the gap is closing personally - EDI should be achieving 12 million pax this year, and GLA will probably be around 9 million ish which is a fair difference.

Having said that, a strong GLA and EDI is great news for Scotland and it's good to see them performing so well.

Gordon Dewar talks of the many hubs model and I believe this is the way forward for both airports rather than relying on the likes of BA or EK as the dominant carriers.

[Firstaid]

If the growth rates shown for January (13.4%) continue for the whole of 2016 then Glasgow will be closer to 10 million pax especially with big carriers like Air France and Air Canada starting services this year. Also Ryanair has a large presence at Edinburgh and if they were to expand at Glasgow to the same level then there could be around 1 million extra pax from Ryanair alone.

[farci]

Competition for routes between EDI and GLA has been beneficial to the point where it is no longer either-or for people living in the central belt of Scotland. From my experience it also seems that way for visitors.

With good road connections most people can choose the best available route irrespective of departure or arrival point in central Scotland. Skyscanner will also search both if you tick the 'nearby airport' box.

Now if we could only sort out rail access...

[A350Saltire]

If the growth rates shown for January (13.4%) continue for the whole of 2016 then Glasgow will be closer to 10 million pax especially with big carriers like Air France and Air Canada starting services this year. Also Ryanair has a large presence at Edinburgh and if they were to expand at Glasgow to the same level then there could be around 1 million extra pax from Ryanair alone.

That's true but I can see double digit growth at EDI to continue this year with the substantial increase in flights from Jet2 and the addition of the likes of Delta (which is a year round service), Finnair and Transavia and more routes from Vueling, more from Easyjet and Eurowings and additional capacity from Ryanair including some new routes like Bratislava etc. Don't forget that Ryanair have already stated that they want to become the biggest airline at EDI.

It wasn't my intention to understate the growth at GLA but merely point out that both airports are experiencing impressive route expansion which is great news for us in Central Scotland. As Farci says, there is now a huge amount of choice between both airports which will be to the benefit of those within easy reach of both.

[Exasperated]

I created this thread to discuss this rivalry as in the last few years Edinburgh has really extended its lead but with Glasgow now one of the fastest growing airports in Europe it is Beginning to close the gap

The gap actually widened in January by 6,365 pax

Ex

[mwm991]

Edinburgh will continue to stay in front. When you factor in that Dundee + Tayside has a non existent air presence and the decline of ABZ plus its minimal leisure offering, likewise INV being limited to domestic and short Euro routes, EDI is essentially the main airport for all of Scotland outwith GLA.

In addition, EDI has significantly higher inbound tourism numbers. It has more backing from the East Coast based central govt - trams for instance and no rail link to GLA.

The location of each airport within both cities is also a factor. EDI is attractive to lots of folk in North Lanarkshire and even as far as GLA because you can get there without navigating through the traffic in the centre of Glasgow. Funnily enough, every time I'm in Glasgow or near Buchanan Street I can't help but notice how many busses are coming out and going to Ingliston. Albeit many are empty and probably run at quite a loss, it just shows aggressively Dewar and the team at EDI are willing to go to attract punters. They know their business model can't rely solely on an Edinburgh catchment area of three quarters of a million.

GLA will have the upper hand on outbound leisure to the likes of the Caribbean and the Med, but otherwise EDI is going to lead. GLA is a long long way behind for instance on the Euro city routes.

It's a good time for both airports and they both have their place in my opinion because their main target is a different demographic.

[LandingConfig]

This thread is a bad idea.

[sdh2903]

This thread is a bad idea.

And completely pointless.

[A350Saltire]

This thread is a bad idea.

It could be but all the posts so far have been sensible and measured and none of the usual EDI v GLA nonsense has appeared. I hope it continues.

[Firstaid]

GLA will have the upper hand on outbound leisure to the likes of the Caribbean and the med, but otherwise EDI is going to lead. GLA is a long way behind for instance on Euro city routes.
Mwm991

I agree with you that connections to big cities is something Glasgow really needs to work on as it gives Edinburgh a massive advantage having routes like the double daily to Frankfurt. Glasgow although has that advantage on long haul like you said and it will only get stronger with the massive Seoul route and the increase to 8 flights a week to Orlando by Thomas cook in some weeks of July this year.

[mwm991]

TBH I think GLA would be best served attempting to have the LH MUC service increased. Oktoberfest and Bayern games are always going to be a good sell for leisure punters and its a decent hub as it is.

A lot of people get bogged down in the colloqiual EDI v GLA stuff, but I think a decent discussion can be had when you compare the two considering the relatively small distance they are apart.

[Firstaid]

I personally would like to see Glasgow become a busy international airport as I live nearby but I do accept the areas where Glasgow (at this time) struggles so as if they aren't adressed they will have no chance against Edinburgh.

I think for now Glasgow should be focusing on getting key connections to cities like Madrid or Oslo and others in Scandinavia but also looking to grow more leisure routes via Thomson, Thomas cook and jet2.

[XSBaggage]

Another route that EDI has a big advantage with but is often not mentioned in such discussions is the Turkish Airlines one to IST. Connectivity via IST is amazing, and very convenient for thinner routes that don't attract the likes of EK and QR. As mentioned previously on this thread, a good time for both airports.

XSB

[MichaelOLearyGenius]

A new hourly (03:00-22:00) bus service from Ayrshire to GLA just started. First direct link to the airport.

Airporter Scotland (http://airporterscotland.co.uk)