Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

I see the CWL chairman is doing the round of Welsh news media in his attempts to garner support for APD devolution, or at least keep the issue in the public conscience. He recently spoke on BBC Wales about it.

Give him his due - he is doing far more than any previous CWL airport chairman. At times though I wonder whether he is not treading on the feet of the airport CEO who at many airports would be the person taking the lead in such matters. He is a good communicator though so it might be horses for courses in CWL's case.

 

[Jerry]

I see the CWL chairman is doing the round of Welsh news media in his attempts to garner support for APD devolution, or at least keep the issue in the public conscience. He recently spoke on BBC Wales about it.

Give him his due - he is doing far more than any previous CWL airport chairman. At times though I wonder whether he is not treading on the feet of the airport CEO who at many airports would be the person taking the lead in such matters. He is a good communicator though so it might be horses for courses in CWL's case.

Does he claim in the interview that APD not being devolved is stopping Ryanair from expanding at the airport? Seen a post elsewhere saying that.
He's very media savvy and well known plus he probably takes away a lot of the political stuff away from Debra Barber allowing her to get on with her job of running the airport and talking to and trying to attract new airlines.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I think he's alluding to the fact that Ryanair love to boast the cheapest headline fares and they are also almost pathologically against such taxes as APD (I'm on their side there). Consequently when countries lower or abolish APD-type taxes Ryanair always make a big public thing of it and 'reward' airports in those countries with additional flights, routes etc.

They did so in Ireland a few years ago when the Irish government slashed their air taxes.

 

[Tinkerman]

Not strictly CWL related, but once again MON appear to be in a pretty dire financial situation as widely reported.

WizzAir UK has been setup with the CEO of WizzAir named as the Director. Something is happening there.

Some CWL related news, was in a meeting with a particular airline already based at Cardiff, and there are some ‘encouraging signs’ for more for Summer 2018.

 

[Jerry]

Wizz Air UK could be just a precaution for them with Brexit coming up but it will be interesting to see if they follow Blue Air example and base in the regional airports and do non Eastern European routes.

Hopefully Monarch will be ok and it's just paper scaremongering especially as the airline itself doesn't need an ATOL.

Would be good to see TOM add more for CWL even if it's like a charter with Flybe or another airline. Maybe we'll get more from TCX though.

 

[Foxlimayankee]

Although it's not too late in the grand scheme of things, but TOM and TCX have their S18 holidays already released. It would be rare for them to add new destinations or anything significant at this stage, unless it was increased frequencies with W pattern flights.
I would suspect this is more to do with Flybe.

 

[Jerry]

Yes it is kind of late in the day but TCX only just released Antalya recently so there could be more to come from them and there is always the possibility it's in cooperation with Flybe. TOM i would be surprised if it was anything to do with them but they have recently launched MAH from Southampton in conjunction with Flybe some maybe they have something lined up for CWL.

 

[Jerry]

Now that the summer is over Cardiff Airport is focusing on attracting business traffic to use the routes offered over the winter period and how easy it is to access Europe from Wales.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/special-features/how-easy-business-europe-through-13648835

 

[Bcn_boy]

The airport departure and executive lounge are to be expanded along with a new coffee shop offering. No mention of upgrading the pier or air bridge.

 

[Jerry]

I believe there have been complaints about queues so another coffee shop outlet possibly like Costa coffee will help with though personally I'd prefer a McDonald's outlet. I'd imagine a hot food service would be added to the lounge as well.
Short of demolishing the thing their isn't much they can do to the pier.
A new fully adjustable airbridge would be nice but it is not a necessity as the one on stand 7 can be used by a 787 and Qatar may well be happy with the economy passengers going through business class.
I know online there have been complaints about CWL not using or having many airbridges, out of the airlines we have I'd say KLM and Qatar would use one Vueling already does and i think TCX does from time to time but would TOM and Ryanair and Flybe want to especially the latter 2.

 

[Jerry]

News

11 OCTOBER
Terminal and car park investment unveiled
The works will transform the experience for customers both arriving to and departing from Wales’s national airport, continuing developments since the change of ownership in 2013.

The next phase of investment plans for the terminal include:

• A Costa Coffee in the Arrivals Hall for those arriving to Wales or friends and family waiting to collect others
• Opening additional seating areas in the Departure Lounge, providing further space to relax before the flight and enjoy views of the airfield
• A Costa Coffee in the Departure Lounge, expanding the choice for customers alongside the existing Caffé Ritazza and The Beer House
• Increased retail space, allowing for a larger WH Smith store, with additional product ranges including ‘Well’ pharmacy
• Expanding the Executive Lounge, allowing for additional seating meaning more customers can take advantage of the exclusive facilities before they fly
• Upgrading the hold baggage screening system to meet enhanced security requirements.

Outside of the terminal building customers will also see a number of changes to the car park and car hire facilities, including:

• New ‘meet & greet’ car parking for customers with a dedicated area for drop off and pick up close to the terminal building
• New car hire centre close to the terminal building.

Passenger numbers are currently 1.44 million, which is +7% for the rolling year to the end of September 2017. Cardiff Airport is expecting continued passenger growth for 2018 and beyond, aided by the recent announcement of Qatar Airways to launch a daily service connecting Wales to the World via Doha, commencing on May 1st 2018.

Deb Barber, CEO at Cardiff Airport said; “We are delighted to share our plans for the airport development as it shows our commitment to achieve our vision of being an outstanding capital city airport delivering an exceptional customer experience.

“We have achieved a huge amount over the last few years and improved the experience for our customers but know there is still much more we can do to ensure we exceed expectations.

“The latest investment will significantly transform the experience for customers, offering more choice and quality in modern, welcoming surroundings. This is especially important at a time when we are experiencing passenger growth and working with our airline partners to introduce more choice in services for our customers.

“We look forward to the projects being completed over the coming months and our customers enjoying the new facilities next summer.”

Works will start in October 2017.

https://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/2017/10/11/terminal-and-car-park-investment-unveiled/

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Is this likely to be a tiding over until the brand new terminal comes along, perhaps in the not too distant future? It might be considered imprudent to spend too much on the existing terminal if it is to be replaced.

 

[Bcn_boy]

They need to serious build up passenger numbers before being able to justify a new terminal.

 

[Jerry]

It does look like it will be a revamp to tie things over until a new terminal can be built. The departures area will be expanded into space that is already there i'm told but it's not used and I think it is to the right as you come out of the duty free area. The artists impression looks nice so lets hope it ends up like that!
The new car hire centre sounds like it's being built to make way for the Costa coffee in the arrivals hall as i believe that is where it the car hire is now. My dad will be very happy as he always complains he can't get a coffee when he picks me up! Lol.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

They need to serious build up passenger numbers before being able to justify a new terminal.

Yes, thanks for that. By the 'not too distant future' I was thinking of the next three to five years when CWL might well be around 3 mppa which I understood would be a figure at which a new terminal might come into the mix.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It does look like it will be a revamp to tie things over until a new terminal can be built. The departures area will be expanded into space that is already there i'm told but it's not used and I think it is to the right as you come out of the duty free area. The artists impression looks nice so lets hope it ends up like that!
The new car hire centre sounds like it's being built to make way for the Costa coffee in the arrivals hall as i believe that is where it the car hire is now. My dad will be very happy as he always complains he can't get a coffee when he picks me up! Lol.

That will be one person very pleased then. A coffee is the least he ought to expect for picking you up.

 

[Jerry]

They need to serious build up passenger numbers before being able to justify a new terminal.

Yes, thanks for that. By the 'not too distant future' I was thinking of the next three to five years when CWL might well be around 3 mppa which I understood would be a figure at which a new terminal might come into the mix.

The terminal building itself isn't exactly young and does look outdated. The building itself doesn't have to be a work of art and it could be possible they could build it in 2 parts to minimise the disruption. But you have to ask what is the bar for justification? Me i'd say a new terminal was justified now and that in the end you might as well get on with it. In reality it is highly unlikely Cardiff Airport is ever going to get over 5 million passengers so a suitably sized building built in stages over the current site would probably suffice with 4 jet bridge gates and 2 of them able to take 787/A330s and the rest just normal stands. At the moment CWL has 16 stands so a building that can keep that amount of stands will suffice.
Though part of me does fear that it being the Welsh government they will try to turn it into a grand art project!

 

[Jerry]

That will be one person very pleased then. A coffee is the least he ought to expect for picking you up.

He sometimes gets a breakfast off me if i'm in a good mood!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The terminal building itself isn't exactly young and does look outdated. The building itself doesn't have to be a work of art and it could be possible they could build it in 2 parts to minimise the disruption. But you have to ask what is the bar for justification? Me i'd say a new terminal was justified now and that in the end you might as well get on with it. In reality it is highly unlikely Cardiff Airport is ever going to get over 5 million passengers so a suitably sized building built in stages over the current site would probably suffice with 4 jet bridge gates and 2 of them able to take 787/A330s and the rest just normal stands. At the moment CWL has 16 stands so a building that can keep that amount of stands will suffice.
Though part of me does fear that it being the Welsh government they will try to turn it into a grand art project!

I suspect the WG will be looking for a private sector partner to help with a new terminal whenever it comes along. They still seem to be looking that way although say they want to retain a majority share in the airport ownership.

 

[Jerry]

I suspect the WG will be looking for a private sector partner to help with a new terminal whenever it comes along. They still seem to be looking that way although say they want to retain a majority share in the airport ownership.

Yes i wonder if the Qatari's will be tempted by it! I'm sure they will have an investment firm lined up though it would be very ironic if it was Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan!