Beijing Capital Airlines

[Brum X]

From Paul Kehoe

...if pax are there then more will follow.



I'm going to have to try and find an angle to get a shot of both sides of the pier. Saturday mornings will see American and United 757's, Emirates 77W, Thomson 787, Qatar 787 and Capital Airlines A330

All of that really does sound exciting, i cant wait

And to think on the same day a bit later on, more stuff to see incl the A380, another Qatar 787, PIA 777 and Air India 787.

Are we really talking about BHX ?????

 

[Butty]

All of that really does sound exciting, i cant wait

And to think on the same day a bit later on, more stuff to see incl the A380, another Qatar 787, PIA 777 and Air India 787.

Are we really talking about BHX ?????

Build it and they will come. The runway extension. A proper pier, landslide infrastructure, booming city which is hot property and a very effective team at BHX. Yes we are talking about BHX. Success breeds success and this is just the start. As PK has said if the passengers are there will be more from China. This is definitely a confident airport.

 

[David_itl]

Actually he is quoted as 150,000 passengers from BHX area to China last year in that article and all he can show for his bluster is a 2 weekly seasonal service geared for Chinese tourists. Given those passengers numbers he should be looking at 4 to 6 weekly year-round services. Oh, and on airlines that carry more gravitas than Beijing Capital.

 

[Brum X]

Actually he is quoted as 150,000 passengers from BHX area to China last year in that article and all he can show for his bluster is a 2 weekly seasonal service geared for Chinese tourists. Given those passengers numbers he should be looking at 4 to 6 weekly year-round services. Oh, and on airlines that carry more gravitas than Beijing Capital.

Actually he is quoted as 150,000 passengers from BHX area to China last year in that article and all he can show for his bluster is a 2 weekly seasonal service geared for Chinese tourists. Given those passengers numbers he should be looking at 4 to 6 weekly year-round services. Oh, and on airlines that carry more gravitas than Beijing Capital.

Oh shut up. Im normally quite reserved on this forum but you are really getting on my t-ts.

 

[User001]

Come on David,

For all my misgivings about Paul Kehoe, this is a big achievement for BHX.

In a country where it seems so hard to get China services set up due to the govt barriers and the gravitas of London, the fact that even 2 services have been set up should be celebrated.

As a fellow MAN fan, you should know more than anyone how hard it is to get services set up despite great potential loads.

If you deem 2 weekly flights unworthy, then one would also say that 4 weekly Hong Kong flight is unsuitable due to the demand.

Like I say, grievances about PK aside, I think BHX is a great airport and we should be celebrating these flights, to have 10 weekly flights to 4 destinations in China outside London is an incredible side forward, there is enough room for all of us to support these flights and I do believe this is just the beginning for both our airports.

 

[Brum X]

Yeah credit where credit is due.

BHX- 11 million pax 2 flights per week to china
MAN-23 million pax 4 flights per week to china

Mainland china that is before anybody says anything.

 

[hammerb32]

Pretty much any service to the UK from a Chinese carrier is geared to the leisure traveller, it's naive to think otherwise. The ME3 and the Euro carriers have the business market sewn up, especially outside of London.

 

[Dobbo]

Good start for BHX.

Hopefully more to come from both BHX and MAN - particularly as the capacity constraints at LHR and LGW bite.

 

[Carl W]

Yeah credit where credit is due.

BHX- 11 million pax 2 flights per week to china
MAN-23 million pax 4 flights per week to china

Mainland china that is before anybody says anything.

That is a distortion of the figures. MAN has yearly service, not a summertime service. I think you will find that MAN has208 flights per annum as opposed to BHX having 30.

 

[Brum X]

That is a distortion of the figures. MAN has yearly service, not a summertime service. I think you will find that MAN has208 flights per annum as opposed to BHX having a mere30.

However not too bad for an airport of 11 million passengers.. And the picture may be different next year as they dont start until the 19th July so had the deal been confirmed earlier they may of started earlier but we wont know that and if the routes are successful until next year hopefully

 

[User001]

Or another way to look at it is the bigger picture of non-London airports standing on their own 2 feet and going from 0 to 10 weekly China flights (yes I do include HKG as its a Special admin region of China, thus, the clue is in the name) in a relatively short space of time.

Look at it this way, it doesn't have to be 'MAN has this, BHX has that', it's about the bigger picture.

That's now 4 airports in the UK that have regular scheduled flights to China, after lagging behind for a long time compared to some countries.

Spain only has 2 (MAD/BCN)
Germany has 3 (FRA/MUC/DUS)
France has 1 (CDG)
Italy has 2 (FCO/MXP)
Switzerland has 1 I think (ZRH)

I've not listed countries like Czech Republic and Belgium, as realistically they only have one main airport likely to get flights anyway.

Plenty of countries still long for one fligh, let alone 4 airports being served. Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Norway for 4.

So, shall we not just celebrate the flights and just appreciate that not only is the UK doing so well aviation wise, but, the non-London airports are now really starting to show their muster. Who would have thought that in 2016/2017 we would have the choice of destinations we do, and no longer shackled to London if we want non-stop flights to the far flung destinations!?

 

[Butty]

User

You are spot on. What is interesting and exciting about today's announcement is that it is a two route announcement. Birmingham receives more Chinese investment than any other UK city save for London, of course. Therefore the economic link is too Hangzhou, leaving the tourist link to Bejing. Just shows the strength of the City as an attractor for airlines. Then again as the 6 best place to invest in Europe at the moment, this does not surprise me.

 

[David_itl]

Oh shut up. Im normally quite reserved on this forum but you are really getting on my t-ts.

How dare I say BHX should be getting more frequent flights based on that number. I consider myself told off. People put up their own wish lists for services that haven't got a reasonable chance of working but here we have a, for a regional airport, a large number of passengers that are inconvenienced by going through other airports including MAN to get to where they are going. It's time to be bold and aim big. Is it wrong to want more flights at regional airports where there is undoubted demand?

 

[thunderchild]

David,

I notice on another forum you claim BHX isn't even a "proper" airport - please enlighten us. I'm sure the regular posters on the BRS and LBA forums would be equally as interested?

 

[Brum X]

How dare I say BHX should be getting more frequent flights based on that number. I consider myself told off. People put up their own wish lists for services that haven't got a reasonable chance of working but here we have a, for a regional airport, a large number of passengers that are inconvenienced by going through other airports including MAN to get to where they are going. It's time to be bold and aim big. Is it wrong to want more flights at regional airports where there is undoubted demand?

I suggest you read the tone of your post again as to the reason for my rant and it sure wasnt for your concern over BHX and its passengers having to trek to other airports.

Goodnight to you

 

[nwoody2001]

Haha you can tell a derogatory troll is about when even User001 come along, puts his personal views of Paul Kehoe aside and sticks up for him and BHX

The reality is, regardless of what a minority feel, this really is something to be celebrated, both locally for the west midlands and wider with regard to the health and of regional airports across the UK.

This time last year, no airport outside London had direct links to China (not to belittle CZ at MAN, but as has previously said, that didn't need to go through the horrific red-tape and politics) and what a difference a year makes!

Personally, I think its down to a new growing company in the form of HNA. Through Caissa, Hainan Airlines and Capital Airlines and want to challenge the established airlines in China, they appear to have seen the market for regional Britain. With their vision to grow, they have had the confidence to explore new markets, and thanks to them, our regions are now connected direct to china.

The challenge now is to prove the market exists. I suspect for MAN, the result may be an increase in capacity and maybe grabbing the attention of other Chinese airlines. For BHX, I hope its a case of a year-round service and again, an increase in capacity.

A great day for BHX, there is life in britiain outside London after all. will be interesting to see when tickets will go on sale!

 

[richard winterbourn]

I hold my hand up in support of Brum X and his comments in regard to the posting of David_itl, I wondered how long it would be before we started to hear that sort of comment. Would i be thinking that he is from 'upt north'?

I don't live in Brum, however, i was born there and have immense pride in seeing how this great city is emerging as, and i hope i can use this expression in the strictest sense of the word, a powerhouse within Europe: inward investment, city-centre development, manufacturing with a worldwide demand and reputation, and now an airport capable of offering to the Midlands' millions the transport links they both need and deserve.

It has taken Brum a long time to get to this position, but the impetus that it has achieved will not stop anytime soon.

China, Emirates, Qatar, Turkish and PIA are all maybe a catch-up on services previously available from other airports. But Air India changed all that and who is to say that markets that emerge in the next few years might not now look at BHX as their first choice outside of the capital city.

I hope they do.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there nwoody2001 and all, I totally agree with what you are saying, yes it's another great announcement for bhx, yes we all know that seasonal service, between July and September, is better than anything that Birmingham could wish for at present, like you say, heathrow, Gatwick are the main two big airports in the Uk, which is where all your main traffic will go to, but if you have regional airports to support the main big two, and they can provide any extra capacity, support or even an alternative to the main two, and they show that they can also handle any heavy traffic as well, plus also the airline might even then decide, well we were wrong, we have now seen for ourselves first hand that there is also another alternative to the big two, then once that word starts to spread through the media and grapevine, this is where your free publicity comes from, and also all the other regional airports will then start to be banded around as a suitable alternatives to heathrow and Gatwick. Then hopefully which ever regional airport starts to become more popular with these new carriers, that's when the word starts to spread further, then its up to that particular airport to start establishing 1st contact, then hopefully, the rest is history if they do a good deal with those airlines... Let's just wait and see for any more announcements... Andyc

 

[Carl W]

It seems to me that the people of Birmingham are so parochial, they can't see past junction 10 of the M6. Yet somehow, they want global connections, you already have them in the form of EK and QR. Until they slowdown their expansion within Britain it is highly unlikely that other major airlines from the east would want to serve airports with pax numbers that BHX has.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Please, gentlemen can we stop this silly debate.

When looking at different airport forums, I chose 'Forums 4 Airports', specifically because of the lack of ugly rhetoric seen elsewhere. This now seems to be rearing it's ugly head here.
Let's get back to informative discussion, regarding aviation, airports and routes.

Kevin