I'm sure there is another airport in Yorkshire is LBA-NQY really affected by the DSA route in all honesty how much does one airport affect the other in general surely the MAN effect is a whole different story to the two competing against each other?
The German routes failed at DSA a while back so I don't see them coming back so LBA could fill it's boots there, it's pretty boring all this LBA/DSA stuff they are operating on totally different scales at the end of the day we all know that. Wizz are affecting LBA on a minimal scale Flybe to I would assume as for TUI they probably feel LBA is a Jet 2 stronghold and they are happy to let them have it how it is and DSA is a better option for them.
At present Flybe seem happy with what they have at DSA they have aircraft sat doing nothing at times so expansion seems unlikely or they would of acted by now and tried other routes I personally see only one area of growth CDG could be upped from a ridiculous 2 weekly at DSA so effectively LBA could potentially get more Flybe flights as it looks like Flybe are offering what they can down the road with little chance of expansion if it happens good luck to LBA but this DSA nonsense is ridiculous it's like anything DSA ever gets big brother (LBA) should take it off them with some people on here.
At a recent LBA consultative committee meeting, a member asked LBA management if they saw DSA as a threat to LBA growth and they said they didn't. They stated that DSA is more of a competitor to EMA and to a lesser extent, HUY, than to LBA, being located at the very southern extremity of Yorkshire and some distance from the key LBA catchment area.
I think that much of the annoyance re DSA in these parts (if I can use that term) revolves around the fact that our main charter operator at the time, Thomson, just abandoned LBA in favour of a lucrative deal down at DSA, and expected its (then loyal) customers to travel down there for their flights instead of using their own airport. Particularly annoying given that LBA was just getting going, having finally thrown off the shackles imposed by planning authorities in the form of a night time flying ban. The other annoyance is the way that Flybe, at the very last minute, appeared to base aircraft at DSA, instead of LBA, who had already gone so far as to mark out the apron markings for the based Flybe aircraft. I think it was the way it was done that left a sour taste. Flybe tend to have very good loads out of LBA on the routes they do operate, and there were real opportunities for them out of LBA despite the presence of Jet2 - in fact Jet2 are progressively giving up routes that Flybe could, with the right aircraft, have done well with. Dusseldorf is an example. Berlin could be another, Paris CDG yet another.
I agree that Wizz is not really impacting on LBA as most the key routes are covered here by Ryanair. Wizz has built up its presence at DSA to some extent because of the number of Eastern European workers coming over to Lincolnshire to work on the farms etc. How this will be impacted by the dreaded B word remains to be seen.
When DSA first opened, their management claimed that within 10 years they would be the main airport for Yorkshire & The Humber, which for those of us who have fought for LBA over the years, did not make good reading. The reality is somewhat different. Over that 10 years, LBA has increased its passenger numbers by more than DSA has developed its passenger numbers, although this is mainly due to Jet2 and Ryanair. Where DSA has the potential to excel is in cargo operations and it is already handling some very large visitors. It is just a shame for DSA that EMA is already a major player in the cargo market and is unlikely to be displaced any time soon. My personal view is that with LBA, MAN, EMA and HUY, DSA was never required in the first place, a view shared within the industry at the time, and expressed at the public enquiry. It was likely that it would either struggle, or if successful it would be at the expense of other established airports, impacting on established jobs too. To some extent that has been shown to the be the case - a bit of both really. DSA has struggled in that a number of airlines have tried, and failed from there, with growth mainly being based on TUi, Wizz, and more recently Flybe, but there is no doubt at all that the loss of Thomson/TUi to DSA negatively impacted LBA at the time. It is fortunate that the impact was negated by the arrival and rapid growth of Jet2.com, and that might not have happened the way it did had TUi maintained or increased their presence at LBA.
Flybe are no doubt currently contracted to DSA, so it will be interesting to see what happens when that contract comes up for renewal. Personally I wish DSA all the best, but that is provided it is not impacting on growth at LBA. I am nothing if not parochial!
