Leeds Bradford: General Airport Discussion & Updates

[Jerry]

I saw a report yesterday about possible Emirates exapnsion in the UK, Leeds, Bristol and Liverpool were mentioned as possible destinations. Probably not this i know but thought i would add to the rumours!

With what aircraft? Smallest aircraft they'll have eventually will be the A330 900neo but I'm sure that will take a long time coming through and may well be used to replace the A380s at a lot of airport's.

 

[lbaspotter]

The Airport Closing during the winter 2020/2021 season as they want to knock down the old terminal building and build a totally brand new one with new separate ATC Tower and fire station, runway extension down the Horsforth end so that aircraft land earlier on 32 making full use of the ILS CAT3 landing system they are also going to resurface along with building more apron aircraft parking spaces available. .

Jet2 moving all ops to Manchester for 6 months whilst Ryanair pulling are out for good unless they get a new agreement for no landing fees.
KLM, Eastern, FlyBe, Aer Lingus are all operating out of either Humberside or Teeside due to them needing the business. No one to at Donny so they can't accept diverts during the quite season now that Flybe have left..

Multiflight & heailds aviation moving to Leeds East Airport.

 

[quik123]

A new control tower and radar system. And a brand new terminal on the site of the long stay car park. Please.

Why would we need a new radar system or control tower? Rumours abound that it will be a new terminal at the Cookridge end of the apron.

 

[oldendays]

The tower is 52 years old. I confess I haven't been inside for a few years but a building of that age whose top floor is largely made of glass is likely to be showing its age. The eaves at least could use a lick of paint ! Then there's all the fancy towers at the likes of Newcastle, Edinburgh and Manchester. Even Bristol's looks quite smart. LBA is being left out (likewise Glasgow and Bournemouth and one or two others !

The Watchman radar is quite long in the tooth - approaching thirty years operational service. It is 4G-proof and a proven machine but obtaining spares won't be getting any easier as it gets older. I don't know which company, if any, supports the Watchman now - it was Selex not so long ago. I gather the Watchman is, by and large, preferred by ATCOs over the newer radars from Thales and Raytheon but that hasn't stopped NATS from replacing them. Similarly the Marconi S511 is all but gone from civil ATC.

The foregoing is wishful thinking from a layman. I'd be interested to read any professional opinions on what I've said. I'm not saying I'm right necessarily, just what I feel.

 

[White Heather]

Airport closing during the winter 2020/2021 as it want to knock down tee terminal and build a totally brand new one, runway extension down the Horsforth end do aircraft land earlier making full use of the ILS CAT3, they are also resurfacing it and making more apron parking spaces available. .

Jet2 moving all ops to Manchester and Ryanair pulling out for 6 months. KLM, Eastern, FlyBe, Aer Lingus operating out off either Humberside or Teeside due to them needing the business.

Multiflight & heailds aviation moving to Leeds East Airport.

Well that would all keep Radio Leeds and the Leeds NW MP happy at least. Just listening now to the MP on Radio Leeds and stating, in response a prompt by the 'presenter' that he doesn't want to see any expansion at LBA and ideally a reduction in flying. The only positive was that he wants a national airport plan with limits in CO2 emissions for each airport, so all airports would be limited. Of course, the implications are that LBA would never get the chance to catch up or recover the passengers already lost to other airports.

As for the massive news at LBA, it would be great if it was good news, but I am old enough now to always expect the worst, not the best.

 

[White Heather]

Suspect it's either infrastructure related or they've managed to snag a non loco route. By all accounts Whitby quick to get on the phone to tell people that he's not a clueless waste of space.......

I assume you are referring to Simon Whitby? He doesn't deal with securing new airline operators does he, so unlikely to be a new airline operator if that is the case. There is a separate director that deals with securing new routes and airlines, who is ex Easyjet.

 

[quik123]

The tower is 52 years old. I confess I haven't been inside for a few years but a building of that age whose top floor is largely made of glass is likely to be showing its age. The eaves at least could use a lick of paint ! Then there's all the fancy towers at the likes of Newcastle, Edinburgh and Manchester. Even Bristol's looks quite smart. LBA is being left out (likewise Glasgow and Bournemouth and one or two others !

The Watchman radar is quite long in the tooth - approaching thirty years operational service. It is 4G-proof and a proven machine but obtaining spares won't be getting any easier as it gets older. I don't know which company, if any, supports the Watchman now - it was Selex not so long ago. I gather the Watchman is, by and large, preferred by ATCOs over the newer radars from Thales and Raytheon but that hasn't stopped NATS from replacing them. Similarly the Marconi S511 is all but gone from civil ATC.

The foregoing is wishful thinking from a layman. I'd be interested to read any professional opinions on what I've said. I'm not saying I'm right necessarily, just what I feel.

Your right the tower is old and could do with a lick of paint. But it's still serviceable and there's no need to replace just because others have got new ones. It would be a huge cost not least because a lot of the equipment is housed in it and that would all have to be duplicated somewhere else. The Watchman is over 20 years but is only part of the radar system. The processing and displays were replaced only a few years ago. Watchman is still supported and there are still spares available. I can't imagine we'd buy a new one (circa £3M) until that changes.

 

[oldendays]

Thank you for the info quik. As I said, wishful thinking and without the benefit of inside knowledge. However, when it comes to improvements and enhancements, LBA does tend to lag several years behind similar sized airports. For now, I'd be happy with green lights all along Alpha taxiway. It would make my job so much easier, especially with the lousy weather we've got today.

FWIW, I love our old control tower. Apart from the addition of the glazed radar room and secondary glazing for the VCR in 1984, it's more or less the only part of the airport infrastructure that hasn't changed since I was a small bairn in the days of Northeast and BIA.

 

[LBA4EVER]

The Airport Closing during the winter 2020/2021 season as they want to knock down the old terminal building and build a totally brand new one with new separate ATC Tower and fire station, runway extension down the Horsforth end so that aircraft land earlier on 32 making full use of the ILS CAT3 landing system they are also going to resurface along with building more apron aircraft parking spaces available. .

Jet2 moving all ops to Manchester for 6 months whilst Ryanair pulling are out for good unless they get a new agreement for no landing fees.
KLM, Eastern, FlyBe, Aer Lingus are all operating out of either Humberside or Teeside due to them needing the business. No one to at Donny so they can't accept diverts during the quite season now that Flybe have left..

Multiflight & heailds aviation moving to Leeds East Airport.

that's what I would class as MASSIVE news!

 

[Bobby Ham]

I assume you are referring to Simon Whitby? He doesn't deal with securing new airline operators does he, so unlikely to be a new airline operator if that is the case. There is a separate director that deals with securing new routes and airlines, who is ex Easyjet.

Wait and see eh Heather, I'm amazed he's not tipped you off too.

 

[Heathrowflyer]

I was reading about the new ceo who interestingly stated that his expertise was in optimising the retail assets of an airport which I guess also explains why they appointed the former MD of Asda as Chair. Therefore I think the new terminal will no doubt attempt to enhance both retail outlets and online purchases ( car parking etc). What I'm struggling to understand though is why AMP bought LBA from Bridgepoint during such lean times in the aviation sector?in terms of business modelling for the larger airlines (Emirates, Virgin) we are just too near their bases at Manchester geographically for them to move here.

 

[Finger66]

My guess is twofold. Easyjet - there is a reason LBA has appeared in the drop down again. Terminal - everyone knows it needs doing and whether this is a new one in Manchester, sorry Cookridge, or perhaps even an expanded/updated version of the previous plans will be a much needed and timely announcement. The outside bet is Turkish Airlines...........

 

[lbaspotter]

I'll agree with you @Finger66.
I've got a feeling that it might be connected to the up coming launch of the all new "Easyjet Holidays" brand.

They might actually be up for a fight in Jet2/Jet2holidays own back yard and possibly seen a gap in the market, because in theory they could become LBA's 2nd biggest operator quite quickly what with the Ryanair reductions and vertually no TUi operation.
I read the the other day Easyjet Holidays are being targeted by hotels groups after the recent collapse of Thomas Cook to soak up some of that capacity plus the holiday arm is been set up by a group of ex TUi managers.

Also surely the airport owners have to also get on with the Terminal dvelopment. We've waited long enough and this might be the deal to make it happen.

 

[Finger66]

Interesting lbaspotter. Whether this is me being blinkered or just trying to be ever the eternal optimist, I will read into your reply what I will with certainly nothing to dispel the theory that any massive news is going to be anything other than positive

 

[LBAYORKIE]

I have a feeling it's going to be something for the business user, not leisure travellers. Hopefully new city destinations. This has to be the way to go

 

[louis_walton]

My bets are also on business routes. I’m going with Air France to Paris or Lufthansa to Munich.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Following Jet2 holidays may not be the wisest move. If TUI are correct in the way the industry is going, following Jet2 will be the swiftest way to join TC .
Not sure Easyjet do the bucket and spade routes to Spain to make this work and the late release of their seasonal schedules compared to Jet2 would make planning for us impossible, even if the routes available ex LBA.
More and more hotels are removing their listing from booking sites, checking Easyjet for Madrid two of our three favourite hotels not listed as available, as both only allow direct booking, our hotel in the costa del sol removed it self from booking sites in 2017, so Easyjet holidays really has a limited audience going forward.

 

[Finger66]

If the massive news is positive then I can't just see it being just say AF or LH, unless LH introduce both FRA and MUC. If the news is airline related then it has to be a big(ish) operation. So who does that leave:
LM - apparently not too interested in LBA
T3 - no aircraft
U2 - a possibility but as stated a late entry for S20
BA - night stopper and frequency increase - unlikely
BE/VS - retrenching currently so very unlikely
SN - unlikely
So could it be a Mid East airline?
So could it be multiple airlines?
So could it be a new terminal?
So could it be something else we are all missing?
One thing I know we all want is something positive, and if it is massive, then fantastic

 

[lbaspotter]

@TarnSpotter the is No point checking what holidays are on sale through the easyjet website at the moment.
The will be a complete make over of the website in December when it launches its brand new "Easyjet Holidays" product along side its existing low cost flights.
They haven't let much slip to the press so far no one knows how big a Atol licance they have applied to the CAA for yet. They are not going down line line of Tui Holidays but will be like Jet2hoildays but operating at a lower cost.

Read more about it here http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/artic...holidays-on-track-to-launch-in-time-for-peaks

 

[LsS27]

Going back a month or so ago, I read that Jet2 were going to make a big announcement in November. I thought it was on this thread, but I can't find it now.