Future Infrastructure Developments

[Aviador]

I'm not privy to any information as to how they could improve the arrivals situation but when the new terminal extension is eventually built it should be possible to extend the arrivals area outwards over what is presently the walkway between check-in hall B and check-in hall A. This would allow the baggage belts to be extended in length outwards. I did once hear somebody say the arrivals hall will eventually move to a new location but it's difficult to envisage how they could do this.

 

[tleeds]

I think that's what the airport are trying to avoid at this stage in the development, if you think about it.

The fact that so much work would need to be done to re-organise the whole arrivals operation, means that the airport obviously find it more viable to complete this part of development along with the other major extension work, whenever that will be completed.

They've already sorted out the departing passengers to a certain extent, and if you think about it, they spend more time (and money *cough*) in the airport compared to the arriving passengers at the end of the day. It's all commercially minded in what the airport are doing, but the concerns we have about the increase in arriving passengers especially from; Monarch, Jet2, Thomson, BA and possibly Ryanair will be in the minds of the management as well...

It is a shame because I bet during peak times, that arrivals hall will be jammed full of people, just wanting to get their cases and go... but it's all part of the development process and we'll have to live with it for now!

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

I ate in the saltire on my outbound. Very very very nice!

As for the arrivals can't we dig under ground so like we have a bigger arrivals area underneath the current one, so two if you like. We can't extend it anymore until we move re jig all check in desks for serviceair.

 

[wawkrk]

The arrivals hall could do with being in the area where the two storey food village extension is next to the car park and before the steps and the long walk.Pax could enter at apron level then decend to a lower floor which I think already partly exists under the food village.
Now all arriving pax have to travel the full length of the building then double back.
Arriving pax are of no use to the revenue of the airport and only create chaos.They need to clear as soon as possible.

 

[wawkrk]

I passed through the airport early Saturday morning. It was very busy but quite difficult to gauge as to whether it is already close to maximum capacity at peak times.
If you could see all the passengers in one area, then maybe you could but they seem to be hidden in nooks and crannies all over the place. Only a handful sitting on the floor.

 

[White Heather]

It was confirmed at todays Consultative Meeting that the security zone and passenger walkway along the apron will be completed by the end of September. The security zone will then have updated scanning equipment and an increase from 5 to 6 lanes by summer 2013.

It was also confirmed that the airport expects formal Council sign off of the Forecourt Management Plan within a couple of weeks. That is the 18th of 20 Section 106 requirements. It was confirmed that the airport would then be in a position to start looking at a timetable for the future terminal extension (ie planning only, not building it).

As part of the sign off, the following will happen:

The council will re-commence enforcement patrols on Whitehouse Lane;

The Traffic Regulation Order for Whitehouse Lane will be reviewed jointly as it is considered to be outdated;

Within 6 months of formal sign off by the Council, LBA must:
Provide a dedicated 1 hour free drop off zone within the area of the old long stay car park entrance area, with space for 50 cars;

Provide a marked direct walkway route from the drop off zone to the terminal;(approx 250 metres)

Provide additional signage for and around the existing drop off zone for blue badge holders, clarifying that they have 1 hours parking for the price of 30 minutes;

In addition, the Council is to look at the signage on Whitehouse Lane, which is the Council's responsibility, with a view to getting rid of unnecessary signs and improving the rest. At the moment there are so many signsn its difficult for drivers to see the wood for the trees.

LBA also provided details of the drop off/pick up charges at other regional airports, which showed that LBA is in good company as far as charges are concerned. I won't give all the details here, but LBA is by no means the most expensive and its charges are identical to EMA.

Work is hotting up on the next Masterplan and the airport will be doing the usual thing by consulting with the public, visiting libraries etc. We will get a presentation at the December meeting. The airport are already in discussion with Leeds and Bradford over how to best go about realising the passenger potential of LBA.

 

[leedslad]

Thanks Heather - any idea what the remaining 2/20 conditions are?

 

[Aviador]

I don't think it sounds like you have a bee in your bonnet. It's a reasonable question to ask and I suspect you're not the only person asking that question.

Going back to a previous post of mine, I was told it would be two years to wait. I'm not sure whether this is a 'build complete' or 'build start' time scale. Hopefully we will get some clarification over the winter period.

From what I gather, the airport retail business partners have had a hugely successful summer since the opening of the new facilities. With a bit of luck this might encourage Bridgepoint to provide the cash for the terminal extension sooner rather than later.

 

[White Heather]

Sorry, but I don't know what the 2 outstanding Section 106 conditions are, but I imagine they are relatively minor as it sounds as though the airport will be happy to start the planning for a terminal extension as soon as the Council formally signs off the Car Park plan.

Its difficult to say whether the original terminal plan that went for planning is being completely revised or not, as we were never privy to the internal plans. However, LBA have made it clear that what has been done forms the first phase of the development and the next phase is the terminal expansion.

 

[Aviador]

I understand work will shortly commence on removing the landside WHSmith's store. I believe the landside flooring is to be relaid soon after.

 

[Aviador]

There may well still be a WHSmith's. Earlier in the summer I was told the management were undecided what to do so they were going to leave it for the summer to see how well it does and then decide. They were looking at using some of the space previously occupied by Superdrug for a smaller shop but this might have changed.

 

[Seasider]

Had my first trip yesterday since the "new terminal" was opened. I was impressed with the new layout and didn't find it a "chore" walking though the shops (or should I say between them).
I arrived 5.25am for the 6.45am flight to BGY. I was through security in 20 mins, found out that you can still see across the apron from the side of Gate 1. No problem finding a seat, in fact there looked to be ample seating all around. It probably didn't look as crowded because the departure lounge covers a much larger area. Then came a big shock - my Ryanair flight was parked on stand 7 and they were using the airbridge!!! Does MOL allow this?
On arrival at 5.35pm we had to wait for an aircraft to clear stand 6 but on disembarkation, we walked to Passport control, no bags and I was on my way by 5.50pm. Great!

 

[EX9]

On longer turns/first flights the air bridge can be used as more time is available. FR are not fussed so long as it does not cost them and the aircraft departs on time.

 

[User0001]

Re: Jet2.com

A few updates for Summer 2013 if anyone is interested.

LBA will now become a mixed base, with 3x 757's, 1x 737-800 & 7 x 737-300's. It is still unclear wether the standby aircraft will also be based at Leeds. I do doubt it due to parking issues. The 757's will operate the below schedule:

Monday:
(PMI/DLM) (ALC/LPA) (FAO/BJV)
Tuesday:
(PMI) (TFS) (AGP)
Wednesday:
(PMI/RHO) (PFO) (LCA)
Thursday:
(PMI/ACE) (ALC/BJV) (TFS)
Friday:
(PMI/TFS) (ALC/DLM) (FAO/PMI)
Saturday:
(PMI/DLM) (ALC/ALC) (AGP/TFS)
Sunday:
(PMI/PFO) (AGP/ACE) (FAO/PMI)

There will only be one 737-800 based at Leeds for 2013. It will operate a fairly intense schedule:

Monday: (FNC/CFU)
Tuesday: (HER)
Wednesday: (ALC/DLM)
Thursday: (AGP/LPA)
FridayMAH/HER)
Saturday: (FAO/HER)
Sunday: (ALC/AGP)

Berlin will (Surprisingly in my opinion) return next summer operating on the same 3x weekly frequency. The bad news is that Budapest will not return next year along with Milan Bergamo. Venice will also drop from 4x to 2x weekly. Unfortunately the Ryanair effect has made these routes unprofitable. I hope Ryanair increase frequency on these routes are overall next year we will see huge passenger drops on these routes, which should be well up towards the top of the list.

Once Berlin is on sale, there is no more room to add in further departures from the 11 based LBA aircraft, utilisation is increased next summer compared to this summer with a few more 6 sector days. Weekly capacity is up by around 6,000 seats thanks to the extra 737-800 and better utilisation of the 300 fleet. The new routes and major frequency increases on the core Spanish routes will no doubt boost passenger numbers as these routes will attract considerably higher load factors compared to the struggling routes that have been dropped.

There is no room left for aircraft!! The masterplan is late and extra aircraft stands should have been built years ago. Absoluteley no medium or long term thinking is happening and even short term, required actions are not happening. The terminal rearrangement will be full as soon as it is built and so why not build the proper terminal extension Bridgepoint promised? No wonder BA cannot base an aircraft here - there is no space!

please move to infrastructure thread although if bridgepoint are involved the infrastructure thread will still be at the planning stage.

 

[tleeds]

On page 24 of the "Final Masterplan" mode1, we can see where the airport expected to have constructed extra parking stands.

Here's the link: http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/a ... masterplan

Don't forget two important factors, which have made this masterplan look a little extreme. The worldwide recession put a lot of strain on finances, and also the fact that this was when the combination of councils were in control of the airport. As a result any redevelopment would've come from tax-payers money, money/capital that the new investment owners don't have anywhere near, the same amount!

The airport still view this masterplan as "Active" as is why it is still on the website, but the airport now, alongside the different owners, are in the process of creating a new one, which should look a little more achievable..!

 

[lbaspotter]

According to the apron charts LBA has up to between 22 and 24 stands.
http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadb...s/AD/AIRAC/EG_AD_2_EGNM_2-2_en_2012-08-23.pdf
By the looks of things we will have the following 19x based aircraft next summer which will leave around 3 spare stands for night stopping aircraft. So LBA hasn't run out of stands just yet, But it's going to be close to been full if British Airways do decide to night stop an aircraft and if Jet2 park there spare aircraft at LBA.

1. Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
2, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
3, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
4, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
5, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
6, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
7, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-300
8, Jet2.com = Boeing 737-800
9, Jet2.com = Boeing 757-200
10, Jet2.com = Boeing 757-200
11, Jet2.com = Boeing 757-200
12, bmi regional = Embrear 135
13, KLM City Hopper - Fokker 70
14, Thomson - Boeing TBC (Could end up been Sunwing or Monarch aircraft*)
15, Monarch Airlines - Airbus A320
16, Monarch Airlines - Airbus A320
17, Ryanair.com - Boeing 737-800WL
18, Ryanair.com - Boeing 737-800WL
19, Ryanair.com - Boeing 737-800WL

 

[Aviador]

Re: Jet2.com

There is no room left for aircraft!! The masterplan is late and extra aircraft stands should have been built years ago. Absoluteley no medium or long term thinking is happening and even short term, required actions are not happening. The terminal rearrangement will be full as soon as it is built and so why not build the proper terminal extension Bridgepoint promised? No wonder BA cannot base an aircraft here - there is no space!

please move to infrastructure thread although if bridgepoint are involved the infrastructure thread will still be at the planning stage.

Disregarding the point about the Masterplan for a moment, you have raised some good points LUFC PETE.

Commercial in confidence perhaps and there could be an imminent announcement on a various catalogue of improvements? Maybe, maybe not, but nothing has been publicly mentioned regarding any further expansion to the terminal, apron or any other part of the airport. So that's no extending the terminal, no mention of extending the already overcrowded apron which as you say is nearing capacity and there's been no mention of enlarging the public car parks which have been close to bursting point through the summer.

Could this the point where Bridgepoint ditch LBA and sell up? After all they can say, we've filled the terminal, we've filled the car parks and we've filled the apron. We've managed to get major airlines players to come to Leeds, it's over to you...??

 

[wawkrk]

Very interesting and a good point Aviador.
Now would be a good time to sell. The next opportunity would be after a big spend which may not make sense. You sell at the peaks.
Just to add one further point, maybe any potential buyer would get government support as they claim regional airports should be expanded instead of Heathrow.

 

[tleeds]

Re: Jet2.com

Could this the point where Bridgepoint ditch LBA and sell up? After all they can say, we've filled the terminal, we've filled the car parks and we've filled the apron. We've managed to get major airlines players to come to Leeds, it's over to you...??

Surely though, if this was their attitude they would be more inclined to look at the other way and say; We've done all the hard work and we will reap the massive rewards that are almost definitely going to be arriving later on in the future..?

As an investment company, they will want their return (quite rightly) and the fact that; Monarch, BA and Thomson are all new next year will only mean one thing to them... More Money!!

-

Lbaspotter, using the chart you gave, I can't quite see how 24 stands are available, or even 22 stands? Is stand 1 ever used? Anyhow we then have stand 3, stand 5, then stands 6 to 22 as only 4 of the 6 "newer stands" will be used at once, I only get 19 stands for the 19 aircraft you have listed..?

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: Jet2.com

Lbaspotter, using the chart you gave, I can't quite see how 24 stands are available, or even 22 stands? Is stand 1 ever used? Anyhow we then have stand 3, stand 5, then stands 6 to 22 as only 4 of the 6 "newer stands" will be used at once, I only get 19 stands for the 19 aircraft you have listed..?

Yep I totally missed the fact that stands 2 & 4 are no longer used. Like you say we can have a maxium of 20 stands for night stopping aircraft.

Yep stand 1 is still used by Flybe Dash 8's and & Eastern Saab 2000's whilst stand 3 is normally utilized by the bmi Embrear's