The emphasis in the article appears to be talking around Hubs, MUC fits the bill for that and from looking at his LinkedIn, seems to have quite a following from a group in Lufthansa.
Didn't someone say that his previous position at BHX was in charge of long haul development? Hub airlines do provide those connections and BHX does have a good Lufthansa group presence. He'll definitely find CWL a challenge that's for sure!
 
A conversation elsewhere makes me wonder how should success be measured for Cardiff Airport? Connectivity? Amount of flights compared to other airports bigger and smaller? Pure passenger numbers? How many Welsh people fly from the airport? Profits?
It just seems to me that even during a pandemic that has practically shut down air travel some people seem to expect Cardiff to be excelling with lots of different measure of success. Hopefully the WG will release travel restrictions and the airport can start to recover.
 
A conversation elsewhere makes me wonder how should success be measured for Cardiff Airport? Connectivity? Amount of flights compared to other airports bigger and smaller? Pure passenger numbers? How many Welsh people fly from the airport? Profits?
It just seems to me that even during a pandemic that has practically shut down air travel some people seem to expect Cardiff to be excelling with lots of different measure of success. Hopefully the WG will release travel restrictions and the airport can start to recover.
I guess it depends on to whom you speak.

The government as airport owner would no doubt ideally like a profitable airport, but as the government it would want a facility that adds significant value to the country's economy and as a conduit for bringing in visitors, business and leisure, as well as providing a means for its residents to visit the world at large.

Local business groups would be looking for routes that help them.

The trades unions would have jobs for their members at the heart of their airport development aspirations.

Probably some aviation enthusiasts would be keen on a variety of airlines with different aircraft types.

The Public At Large would almost certainly want as many mainly leisure routes as possible at affordable prices.
 
A conversation elsewhere makes me wonder how should success be measured for Cardiff Airport? Connectivity? Amount of flights compared to other airports bigger and smaller? Pure passenger numbers? How many Welsh people fly from the airport? Profits?
It just seems to me that even during a pandemic that has practically shut down air travel some people seem to expect Cardiff to be excelling with lots of different measure of success. Hopefully the WG will release travel restrictions and the airport can start to recover.
My personal opinion on where CWL needs to be progressing:
- Firstly get current routes back to sustainable levels. Get people flying again and filling the available seats.
- Get routes back that were previously operated, EG Milan, Munich(with connections), Doha, Rome.
- Offer a regular and consistent domestic route network. EDI at least 2x daily with loganair, at least daily FR DUB, and 2x daily BHD either with Eastern or preferably Aer Lingus regional. With regular flights to JER, NCL and GLA.

Once confidence is restored in the Airport and numbers increase....
- A second or even third based Wizz aircraft with a mixture of City and more leisure destinations, as well as increased frequency on current destinations. When EZY are offering up to 3x daily on some spanish routes, I've no doubt a lot of those using them are Welsh.
- More non-based routes from FR that don't overlap with Wizz or Vueling.
- Improved executive lounge with better food offerings. Even after the refurb it's still a bit drab when compared with other lounge companies.
- Better road and rail connections.
- And eventually a new terminal.
 
It definitely is going to be a big challenge for the airport to recover and regain it's lost passengers and take time.
Naturally whatever it does there'll be people who are never happy but I do hope the WG especially gives the airport management the backing they need to get the airport back on track again.
Wizz finally getting up and running will be a good boost for the airport.
 
Cardiff Airports route network for peak summer 2022 and the airlines that operate on those routes. Subject to change.
Aircraft types that we could see are J41 from Eastern Airways, 737 800 from Ryanair and TUI, Embraer E145 from Loganair, E175 and E190 from KLM, A320 and A321 from Vueling and BH Air and A321neo from Wizz.
Britain and Ireland
Anglesey 10 weekly (no weekend flights) Eastern Airways
Belfast 6 weekly (no flight Saturdays) Eastern Airways
Dublin 4 weekly (flights Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday) Ryanair
Edinburgh 6 weekly (no flight Saturdays) Loganair
The Netherlands
Amsterdam 20 weekly KLM
France
Paris Orly 3 weekly (flights Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday) Vueling
Portugal
Faro 4 weekly flights (flights on Tuesday and Saturday) Ryanair and Wizz
Spain
Alicante 10 weekly Vueling, TUI and Wizz
Ibiza 3 weekly (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) TUI
Malaga 7 weekly (no flights Monday and Friday) Vueling, Ryanair and TUI
Menorca 2 weekly (Monday and Friday) TUI
Palma de Mallorca 10 weekly (no flights Monday) TUI, Vueling and Wizz
Reus 1 weekly (Tuesday) TUI
Canary Islands
Lanzarote 2 weekly (Sunday and Thursday) TUI
Gran Canaria 1 weekly (Saturday) TUI
Tenerife 6 weekly (no flights Sunday, Thursday and Saturday) TUI and Wizz
Bulgaria
Bourgas 3 weekly (Monday, Thursday and Saturday) TUI and BH Air
Cyprus
Larnaca 3 weekly (Sunday and Thursday) TUI and Wizz
Paphos 2 weekly (Sunday and Wednesday) TUI
Croatia
Dubrovnik 1 weekly (Thursday) TUI
Greece
Corfu 4 weekly (Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday) TUI and Wizz
Crete Heraklion 4 weekly (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday) TUI and Wizz
Kefalonia 1 weekly (Tuesday) TUI
Kos 2 weekly (Wednesday and Saturday) TUI
Rhodes 2 weekly (Wednesday and Saturday) TUI
Zante 2 weekly (Tuesday and Friday) TUI
Tunisia
Enfidha Hammamet 1 weekly (Friday) TUI
Turkey
Antalya 2 weekly (Monday and Thursday) TUI
Dalaman 3 weekly (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) TUI
 
Jerry,

I know the aircraft types might vary slightly from what might be expected but have you any idea how many seats (approximately) this would provide each week?
 
Jerry,

I know the aircraft types might vary slightly from what might be expected but have you any idea how many seats (approximately) this would provide each week?
38,368 seats in total. Will probably be less as i would be surprised if Anglesey operates and i'd be surprised if Amsterdam will be 20 weekly. The most important thing for the airport though is that TUI, Wizz, Ryanair and Vueling get to operate their full schedules giving people a chance to use the airport and travel and bring in vital revenue that the airport needs.
 
38,368 seats in total. Will probably be less as i would be surprised if Anglesey operates and i'd be surprised if Amsterdam will be 20 weekly. The most important thing for the airport though is that TUI, Wizz, Ryanair and Vueling get to operate their full schedules giving people a chance to use the airport and travel and bring in vital revenue that the airport needs.
Thanks Jerry.

That's roughly 170,000 seats a month. The last pre-pandemic August in 2019 saw 216,500 passengers handled.

Given the optimism of some airlines for the coming summer there could already be opportunities for increases on summer-sun type routes especially as Vueling, perhaps surprisingly, seems to be cutting back a bit on this type of route at CWL

Incidentally, CWL's best ever month was August 2007 when 264,500 passengers were handled. That full year saw 2.094 million, the airport's best ever year.

CWL's August 2019 total was 81.8% of its best ever August in 2007, whilst the 2019 full year passenger total of 1.655 million was 79.0% of the 2007 full year total of 2.094 million.

If we look at the main summer months (June-September) we find that in 2007 they represented 47.4% of the airport's annual total whereas in 2019 it was 48.7%.

So immediately before the pandemic the summer period, where CWL has been a good performer down the years, was growing at a faster rate in percentage terms (and thus in actual passenger numbers because the summer base figures are higher than those in winter) than the year as a whole.

All this reinforces the view that there could be more opportunities this summer.

Ack to the CAA for the raw statistics.
 
That's roughly 170,000 seats a month. The last pre-pandemic August in 2019 saw 216,500 passengers handled.
Looking at the schedules i'd say that the leisure side of CWL business is probably not that much different flight frequency/seat wise than pre pandemic. TUI has 3 based aircraft, Wizz essentially replaces Thomas Cook though Ryanair and Vueling have changed what they offer routes wise roughly between them they should have a similar amount of flights as before. Maybe Wizz may well add more and what would also be a good boost is if Loganair could restore Edinburgh to double daily like it was before.
 
Legal and General have resubmitted their planning application for a business park near Cardiff Airport
 
I’m quite surprised nobody has mentioned anything on here yet regarding the rather large news item for the airport over the bridge earlier today.

It’s one of those where you can see both perspectives … The UK Government is yet to curb airport expansion, so it would set a precedent by saying no, but at the same time distributing those extra passengers around other regional airports where there’s existing services (CWL, EXT etc) would probably be better for the Environment given we’re a host nation of the COP26 only a few months ago.
 
Well it is an ongoing situation, it is highly likely that the council will appeal decision so it's not finalised whether the expansion will actually happen. With relation to CWL yes BRS being capped could be helpful in that it could see some airlines expand at Cardiff probably Ryanair be the most obvious candidate but it's not guaranteed of course. If Bristol does eventually get permission to go to 12 million all Cardiff can do is keep working with the airlines to provide an alternative for people to Bristol and other English airports for people flying to and from Wales.

What'll be more concerning at the moment for an airport like Cardiff is the cost of living going up meaning people having less money to go on holidays.
 
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I’m quite surprised nobody has mentioned anything on here yet regarding the rather large news item for the airport over the bridge earlier today.

It’s one of those where you can see both perspectives … The UK Government is yet to curb airport expansion, so it would set a precedent by saying no, but at the same time distributing those extra passengers around other regional airports where there’s existing services (CWL, EXT etc) would probably be better for the Environment given we’re a host nation of the COP26 only a few months ago.
The Welsh Government in its opposition to the BRS expansion plans made the point that any extra services that would go to BRS as a result of expansion could be accommodated at CWL where there is spare capacity. That's undoubtedly true but the extra services would still cause the same amount of emissions so that in that sense there would not be a climate change win.

Early in the planning enquiry a morning was devoted to displacement and Bristol Airport's expert witness argued that the same service operating from Cardiff rather than Bristol would not automatically generate the same level of patronage. Lots of figures and other data were presented which I quickly found tedious as I did frequently when the opposing expert witnesses were strutting their stuff in all manner of fields relating to the appeal.

In their appeal decision report the three planing inspectors who conducted the 36-day planning enquiry averred that 'there is no evidence to suggest that the development (ie BRS expansion - my italics) would have a significant adverse impact on Cardiff Airport or on Wales'. That's not the same thing as saying categorically that it would not.

The inspectors also accused the local council (North Somerset unitary authority) of advancing what is a 'nimby' argument by saying that economic development, including jobs for the residents of North Somerset, should be provided in other parts of the country 'most notably at Cardiff Airport'. The inspectors regard this as an unusual position to take because one of the primary objectives of that council's Core Strategy is to support and promote major employers such as Bristol Airport.

A running theme throughout was the planning inspectors' frustration with North Somerset Council at the lack of detail and evidence to support their stance on a range of matters. The airport seemed to be better prepared. Both sides were represented by eminent QC's in the planning field with other parties such as XR Elders, BAAN (an opposition group) and others all separately and individually legally represented.

North Somerset planning committee rejected the BRS planning application against the advice of their own planning officers who clearly felt that there were insufficient grounds to reject. At the planning hearing immediately before the councillors took their decision their senior planning officers warned them strongly of the possible financial implications to the local tax payer of a rejection. That might have been one of the reasons why the council had difficulty sustaining their rejection decision throughout the appeal.
Well it is an ongoing situation, it is highly likely that the council will appeal decision so it's not finalised whether the expansion will actually happen. With relation to CWL yes BRS being capped could be helpful in that it could see some airlines expand at Cardiff probably Ryanair be the most obvious candidate but it's not guaranteed of course. If Bristol does eventually get permission to go to 12 million all Cardiff can do is keep working with the airlines to provide an alternative for people to Bristol and other English airports for people flying to and from Wales.

What'll be more concerning at the moment for an airport like Cardiff is the cost of living going up meaning people having less money to go on holidays.
The council and others opposed to the appeal decision would have to apply to the High Court for permission to make a legal challenge in the form of a judicial review. A judicial review is not concerned with the actual decision but with the way it was arrived at to ensure there was no illegality or improper procedure. If there was the matter could be re-visited in order to deal with the court's concerns.

When a local authority grants planning permission for something there is no right of third party appeal so anyone aggrieved must try the judicial review route. That can be successful because councillors are amateurs and sometimes make decisions from the heart rather than from the evidence and the law, ignoring the advice of their own professional planning officers.

Planning inspectors are professional and expert in their field so would be far less likely to make an appeal decision that could be successfully challenged. That's not to say that it could not but the chances are much less.

Another possibility is for the Secretary of State (Michael Gove) to intervene. When planning applicants appeal a local authority rejection the matter goes to the Planning Inspectorate - there are separate inspectorates for Wales and England. The secretary of state could decide to make the appeal decision him/herself but most of the time he/she delegates a planning inspector or a panel of inspectors in protracted cases to conduct the appeal enquiry and then decide the appeal. In the BRS case the previous sec of state (Robert Jenrick) had delegated the planning inspectors and when Gove replaced him part way through the BRS enquiry he made no move to decide the appeal himself.

Had he done so the planning inspectors would still have conducted the planning enquiry in the same way but instead of making the decision themselves would have sent their recommendations to Gove although the minister is not bound by them in coming to his decision. An intervention at this late stage by Gove followed by a reversal of the planning inspector's decision would almost certainly be grounds for Bristol Airport seeking to make their own legal challenge.
 
What is interesting about a lot of the comments especially the negative one's is that the bulk of it is out of Cardiff Airport control.

 
Given that Reach Plc owns WalesOnline expect to see a similar 'survey' about BRS in Reach's Bristol Live/Bristol Post outlets at some point.

Expect also to see a plethora of negative comments about BRS as a result.

It's the nature of the beast. Local people, most of whom have no interest in civil aviation other than flying on holiday or visiting friends/relatives, assume that every other local airport in the UK has better services than their own.

Some comments can be amusing because it's obvious that the people concerned are absolutely convinced that he or she is correct. In a previous article in WalesOnline about CWL the reader comments inevitably brought in BRS. One loyal CWL aficionado said BRS has only got where it is because it has enjoyed 40 years of state aid.
 

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