Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[mathers_wales_uk]

Hearing that there will be some more good news for Summer 2019. Things are looking positive.

How much good news Tinkerman?

 

[Jerry]

'Disappointing' foreign tourist visits despite £5m campaign

According to Mr Calder Wales is standing still as a holiday destination compared to London and Scotland despite a £5 million campaign with visitor spending dropping by 17%.
Mr Calder said the lack of flights from major countries meant Wales was regarded as "an add on" to a trip to England rather than a destination in its own right.
To be fair to him he's probably right as Wales doesn't have the geographical position or the same sort of profile that Scotland has nor does it have the major airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet flying into it and thus promoting it as a destination.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45060541

This is probably the more Welsh nationalist view of why tourism in Wales has been 'disappointing'.
http://theconversation.com/waless-tourism-problem-is-down-to-a-disconnect-with-its-own-people-101272

 

[TheLocalYokel]

This is probably the more Welsh nationalist view of why tourism in Wales has been 'disappointing'.
http://theconversation.com/waless-tourism-problem-is-down-to-a-disconnect-with-its-own-people-101272

The author is strong on criticism of past initiatives but presents no ideas of his own other than to say that Wales needs to come up with a solution.

 

[Jerry]

The author is strong on criticism of past initiatives but presents no ideas of his own other than to say that Wales needs to come up with a solution.

True. I found the article on a facebook page and one poster said that Wales does lack something iconic in it's culture unlike say the Scots who have Whiskey and Kilts and bagpipes while England has Big Ben and the red coated guards at places like Big Ben. It is harder for Wales to market itself especially when it's own people can't agree i think on what it's main selling point to the world of it's culture is.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

True. I found the article on a facebook page and one poster said that Wales does lack something iconic in it's culture unlike say the Scots who have Whiskey and Kilts and bagpipes while England has Big Ben and the red coated guards at places like Big Ben. It is harder for Wales to market itself especially when it's own people can't agree i think on what it's main selling point to the world of it's culture is.

The Qatar service ought to help raise the country's profile a bit.

One problem that I see is the interchangeability between Britain and England in the minds of many from overseas. Many foreigners, including Americans unless they have British ancestry, aren't really alive to the niceties of the UK's make-up and often refer to England when they really mean Britain.

Many are doubtless aware that Wales and Scotland are part of Britain (the UK really) so if they believe, as many seem to, that England is simply another word for Britain it follows that they are likely to assume that Wales (in particular because of its lower profile compared with Scotland) is part of England.

I can't see how this can be overcome to any meaningful degree because it's been going on for so long. Read anything about WW2 for example, and contemporary reports, letters, newspaper articles from the American side frequently mention England when from the context they mean Britain (the UK to be absolutely correct).

 

[rollo]

Many Americans think of Wales and Scotland as the equivalent of states such as say Michigan being a state in the USA which from their point of view is understandable.
Of course many never really think past London when they "do" Europe.

 

[Jerry]

Many are doubtless aware that Wales and Scotland are part of Britain (the UK really) so if they believe, as many seem to, that England is simply another word for Britain it follows that they are likely to assume that Wales (in particular because of its lower profile compared with Scotland) is part of England.

Yep I've experienced that myself at Portland when checking in and had looks of confusion when I've corrected the person and said UK.
I am curious to know if Qatar are advertising Wales on their flights to the US.

 

[Jerry]

Of course many never really think past London when they "do" Europe.

I think for many of them trips to Europe are once in a lifetime experiences so they may well tend to gravitate to the big tourist attractions in Europe ie Buckingham palace, Eiffel tower and the Colliseum.

 

[aviatorconcorde]

When I was in NZ and Aussie, it’s the complete opposite, they all know what Wales is. Obviously the deep cultural ties and rugby is probably the cause of this. I almost offended a chap in New Zealand when asking if he had awareness of Wales being from this part of the world only to be met by “Course I know where bloody Wales is!”.

 

[rollo]

They do tend to get straight to the point in that part of the world which is fine by me.

 

[Jerry]

I do think awareness in certain markets about Wales needs to be raised and that can only be achieved by advertising and sport will help as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

When I was in NZ and Aussie, it’s the complete opposite, they all know what Wales is. Obviously the deep cultural ties and rugby is probably the cause of this. I almost offended a chap in New Zealand when asking if he had awareness of Wales being from this part of the world only to be met by “Course I know where bloody Wales is!”.

New Zealand might well be an exception because of the shared affinity with rugby - probably the only two countries in the world where rugby union towers over all other sports.

I'm not so sure about Australia. In Victoria, a state I visit regularly, Aussie Rules is by far the most popular code of football, with rugby union enjoying a greater focus in New South Wales and Queensland. Rugby union doesn't dominate Australian sport in the way it does in New Zealand though.

With ever increasing worldwide tv and internet coverage the peoples of the world might gradually come to realise that Wales is Wales and nothing to do with England, other than being an equal partner along with Scotland and N Ireland in the United Kingdom.

 

[Matthew Davies]

Thanks for the kind words guys. I do tend to travel to ABZ a few times during the year, most recent from BHX as per my profile pic which was taken from gate 4. CWL would be a much better option but the prices are eye watering to say the least. They are however maintaining their loads to within a margin and Newcastle has stabilised and risen since going over to Flybe booking engine.

I believe 1200-1300 pax per month is where it would be at for NCL and 700-800 for ABZ. I do believe that a S2000 will support the route better and eventually a Q400 if BE can find the aircraft. The Q400 from BHX was full both ways.

And I'm sure ABZ senior management team will welcome a direct route to CWL

 

[aviatorconcorde]

For the first time In work I actually heard someone say something good about cardiff airport...

Something along the lines of “Cardif Airport is brilliant now, there’s so many flights!”

Small comments, but it shows how perceptions are changing.

 

[Jerry]

That is positive but the general perception of the airport is still that it's poor has no flights and that the landing fees are to expensive which always makes me laugh because if they were then no airlines would be flying from Cardiff!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

For the first time In work I actually heard someone say something good about cardiff airport...

Something along the lines of “Cardif Airport is brilliant now, there’s so many flights!”

Small comments, but it shows how perceptions are changing.

That is positive but the general perception of the airport is still that it's poor has no flights and that the landing fees are to expensive which always makes me laugh because if they were then no airlines would be flying from Cardiff!

People get pre-conceived ideas about all sorts of things and it's next to imposssible to shake them loose.

It's not uncommon that when Bristol Airport is mentioned in the local rag people will post comments such as "it's a small airstrip on top of a hill with no flights to anywhere unless you want to go to Spain". BBC Radio Bristol did a phone-in about Bristol Airport a few years ago with the majority of callers moaning about the place. One said that he always uses Cardiff Airport to which the presenter (just a general hack, not a transport specialist) replied that they have wonderful air services in Wales. Perceptions, perceptions! Often completely at odds with the facts.

 

[Jerry]

People get pre-conceived ideas about all sorts of things and it's next to imposssible to shake them loose.

It's not uncommon that when Bristol Airport is mentioned in the local rag people will post comments such as "it's a small airstrip on top of a hill with no flights to anywhere unless you want to go to Spain". BBC Radio Bristol did a phone-in about Bristol Airport a few years ago with the majority of callers moaning about the place. One said that he always uses Cardiff Airport to which the presenter (just a general hack, not a transport specialist) replied that they have wonderful air services in Wales. Perceptions, perceptions! Often completely at odds with the facts.

I saw a social media conversation the other day and the original poster was basically calling Cardiff a dump and when challenged (not by me) said he hadn't used Cardiff in 5 years!

 

[aviatorconcorde]

I saw a social media conversation the other day and the original poster was basically calling Cardiff a dump and when challenged (not by me) said he hadn't used Cardiff in 5 years!

There’s always some amusing social media conversations going on about CWL!

 

[superking]

I think which airport or where ever it is in the world,you always get negative reports. People must get off on one if they talk negative rather that positive things.Seem to be the way of life these days.

 

[Jerry]

The comments people make on social media about Cardiff Airport sometimes infuriate me and other times make me laugh!