Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[Jerry]

Tailor Made Travel are offering a 10 night fully escorted tour to China on the 9th September from Cardiff Airport. Airline unknown but i'd guess either KLM or Qatar.
Tailor Made Travel
Yesterday at 10:45


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Touring with guides and entrance fees
Visa fees for UK & EU passport holders

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To book this Holiday pop in and see or give us a call.

 

[mathers_wales_uk]

Work to remove airbridge 7 will commence next week I have been advised.

 

[Jerry]

Will that bridge be scrapped? Apart from 7 9 and 10 are there any other stands that can take airbridges?

 

[mathers_wales_uk]

I would imagine airbridge will be scrapped.

If the stands were 90 degrees to the terminal rather than approximately 45 degrees like they are currently, then it could be possible to not only fit more stands from 9-11 but may also place an additional airbridge.

As mentioned previously the gate areas are limited to how many passengers can fit at them which therefore limits how many airbridges can be fit.

In my opinion therefore I would say 3 is the maximum under the current Stand layout.

 

[Jerry]

Cardiff Airport has posted pre tax losses of £5 million for the financial year that ended in 31st March 2017 which was up by £4 million on the year before. Revenue was £16.6 million down from £17 million (Rugby World Cup brought in an estimated extra £500,000 for the year 2015-16). Ebitda losses were £890,000.
The airport also negotiated a new lending facility of £38 million from the Welsh Government which at the year end £25.6 million of the funding which is repayable over a 20 year period.
The airport is aiming to reach 2 million passengers by 2020 and 3 million by 2025.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/cardiff-airport-sees-pre-tax-14172712

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Cardiff Airport has posted pre tax losses of £5 million for the financial year that ended in 31st March 2017 which was up by £4 million on the year before. Revenue was £16.6 million down from £17 million (Rugby World Cup brought in an estimated extra £500,000 for the year 2015-16). Ebitda losses were £890,000.
The airport also negotiated a new lending facility of £38 million from the Welsh Government which at the year end £25.6 million of the funding which is repayable over a 20 year period.
The airport is aiming to reach 2 million passengers by 2020 and 3 million by 2025.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/cardiff-airport-sees-pre-tax-14172712

The article does not make clear whether the new £38 million loan facility includes the £23 million loaned by the WG earlier (see linked BBC report of September 2015 below), partly for terminal improvement (£10 million) and partly for route development (£13 million) with the BBC saying they had seen a letter setting out an agreement to spend £12 million on Flybe marketing support over the next three years from that time. That loan with interest was due to be repaid over the next decade, according to the BBC report. It now seems that the period for repayment, assuming the £38 million facility is not on top of the £23 million and that seems a safe assumption, has been extended by another ten years.

The linked BBC report which is primarily concerned with the possibility of the government loans breaching EU state aid rules quotes Flybe saying their new and expanded route network was expected to generate half a million extra passengers in the next 12-18 months. It didn't.

Flybe opened its CWL base in June 2015 and by December 2016 the airport had reached 1.34 million passengers for that year which was 327,000 more than the 12-month rolling total in June 2015. The assertion by York Aviation that Flybe had overestimated its predictions turned out to be true. Even now, two and half year later, the extra half million passengers have not materialised and the total is around 50,000 short of Flybe's 12-18 month prediction, with the likelihood that it will take about three years for the airport to add that extra half million, not 12-18 months, and even then they may not all be attributable to Flybe.

The obvious question to ponder is whether this shortfall in predicted passenger traffic has affected Flybe's financial calculations and, if it has, whether some of the new loan facility will have to be earmarked at some point to further smooth the airline's path at the airport.

Recent history would seem to confirm that Flybe growth alone will not take the airport to that 2 mppa, but most of us have known that for a while.

The ebitda rule of thumb calculation of airport value seems to regard CWL as a larger airport, hence the 20x ebitda projection when the airport reaches 2 mppa giving a value of £120 million plus development potential for the surrounding land.

The current Welsh Government administration appears adamant that they will retain a controlling interest although they are looking to see some private sector involvement in the future. When the time comes for the new terminal the current owners might have to seek a substantial amount of private sector investment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-34188588

 

[Jerry]

The article does not make clear whether the new £38 million loan facility includes the £23 million loaned by the WG earlier (see linked BBC report of September 2015 below), partly for terminal improvement (£10 million) and partly for route development (£13 million) with the BBC saying they had seen a letter setting out an agreement to spend £12 million on Flybe marketing support over the next three years from that time. That loan with interest was due to be repaid over the next decade, according to the BBC report. It now seems that the period for repayment, assuming the £38 million facility is not on top of the £23 million and that seems a safe assumption, has been extended by another ten years.

Well i'd say that the £23 million was included in the £25.6 million of the loan that has been used up with the other £2 million i think was spent on a terminal upgrade. With the extra £4 million being spent on this years upgrade it should go up to £29 million minus any repayments.

Flybe opened its CWL base in June 2015 and by December 2016 the airport had reached 1.34 million passengers for that year which was 327,000 more than the 12-month rolling total in June 2015. The assertion by York Aviation that Flybe had overestimated its predictions turned out to be true. Even now, two and half year later, the extra half million passengers have not materialised and the total is around 50,000 short of Flybe's 12-18 month prediction, with the likelihood that it will take about three years for the airport to add that extra half million, not 12-18 months, and even then they may not all be attributable to Flybe.

The passenger numbers have probably not been what they predicted. Some routes like Germany and Geneva and Chambery and London City the continuation haven't been as successful as they probably thought they might have thought but Italy does seem to be doing well, Belfast going 12 weekly does seem to have got off to a good start. Edinburgh, Dublin and Paris all seem to be doing well as is Faro with the base now 3 aircraft.
Passenger numbers are going in the right direction but probably not as fast as was originally predicted.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The over optimistic passenger projections might also be a reflection on the previous Flybe senior management whose record was not a glorious one. They didn't seem certain in which direction they wanted to take the airline, thus their judgement in a number of things was not as good as it might have been, not least in the unfortunate situation with the E195 leases. The current management seems more focused and is in the process of streamlining with a clearer vision of where they want to take their airline.

I made the point about the possibility of more airport money having to be pushed Flybe's way because it would be a shame if this came at the expense of less to go towards attracting further airlines.

Looking at the airport ownership in the wider context, although I'm not a fan of public ownership of such facilities I recognise that in CWL's case there was probably little realistic choice at the time the WG bought the airport, mainly because of the way in which the previous owners had allowed it to stagnate; the recession didn't help its cause either.

Nevertheless, I hope it will be possible in the future for the private sector to be come involved in a major way and at the same time repay the tax payers for their investment.

Look at BRS. It was owned by the city council for many years and was a loss-making drain on the city's rate payers. By the early 90s it was realised that considerable investment was needed, particularly for a new terminal, if the airport was to maintain and accelerate the modest progress it had commenced from the early to mid 1980s. The city council had neither the means nor the will to consider borrowing such a large sum. After much soul searching the dyed-in-the-wool socialist councillors agreed to allow private sector involvement (perhaps surprisingly for such a prosperous city Bristol has been largely under Labour or no overall majority control for decades). This came in the form of First Group attaining a 51% controlling interest in 1997 with the city council holding 49%. It allowed funds to be obtained for a new terminal, a new control tower and diversion of the A38. In 2001 the city council gave up its 49% and BRS became fully owned by the private sector and its successful growth continued unabated as did its profitability.

I believe that the WG should, in the fullness of time, use this as a template, although it might mean giving up a controlling interest in CWL. I write this as someone who has no political party leanings and certainly no political party dogma (of any colour) in my my body.

 

[Aviador]

Cardiff Airport has posted pre tax losses of £5 million for the financial year that ended in 31st March 2017 which was up by £4 million on the year before. Revenue was £16.6 million down from £17 million (Rugby World Cup brought in an estimated extra £500,000 for the year 2015-16). Ebitda losses were £890,000.
The airport also negotiated a new lending facility of £38 million from the Welsh Government which at the year end £25.6 million of the funding which is repayable over a 20 year period.
The airport is aiming to reach 2 million passengers by 2020 and 3 million by 2025.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/cardiff-airport-sees-pre-tax-14172712

Also to put this into perspective and for comparison purposes this was a report posted in the Sheffield Doncaster Airport forum which is handling in the region of 1.2m passengers annually.

Turnover at Doncaster Airport rose in 2016/2017 from £8.5 million to £10 million but pre tax losses practically doubled from £11.7 million to £22.2 million, this was due to a number of factors including a £6.6 million impairment of fixed assets.
https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/airport-turnover-tops-10m-but-losses-widen​

 

[Jerry]

It puts it into perspective. If you look at turnover Cardiff is double that of Doncaster yet it's passenger numbers are only 150,000 more. So i wonder what gives CWL the extra boost in turnover?

 

[Jerry]

The Severn growth summit is today at the Celtic manor hotel. CWL is in attendance with a stand that features Flybe, KLM and Qatar Airways should be some good promo for the airport!
Needless to say that Plaid Cymru aren't happy about it!
https://twitter.com/Cris_CWL/status...y|twsrc^android|twgr^copy|twcon^7090|twterm^2
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/cardiff-bristol-powerhouse-cairns-14185705

 

[Silvercity]

The over optimistic passenger projections might also be a reflection on the previous Flybe senior management whose record was not a glorious one. They didn't seem certain in which direction they wanted to take the airline, thus their judgement in a number of things was not as good as it might have been, not least in the unfortunate situation with the E195 leases. The current management seems more focused and is in the process of streamlining with a clearer vision of where they want to take their airline.

I made the point about the possibility of more airport money having to be pushed Flybe's way because it would be a shame if this came at the expense of less to go towards attracting further airlines.

Looking at the airport ownership in the wider context, although I'm not a fan of public ownership of such facilities I recognise that in CWL's case there was probably little realistic choice at the time the WG bought the airport, mainly because of the way in which the previous owners had allowed it to stagnate; the recession didn't help its cause either.

Nevertheless, I hope it will be possible in the future for the private sector to be come involved in a major way and at the same time repay the tax payers for their investment.

Look at BRS. It was owned by the city council for many years and was a loss-making drain on the city's rate payers. By the early 90s it was realised that considerable investment was needed, particularly for a new terminal, if the airport was to maintain and accelerate the modest progress it had commenced from the early to mid 1980s. The city council had neither the means nor the will to consider borrowing such a large sum. After much soul searching the dyed-in-the-wool socialist councillors agreed to allow private sector involvement (perhaps surprisingly for such a prosperous city Bristol has been largely under Labour or no overall majority control for decades). This came in the form of First Group attaining a 51% controlling interest in 1997 with the city council holding 49%. It allowed funds to be obtained for a new terminal, a new control tower and diversion of the A38. In 2001 the city council gave up its 49% and BRS became fully owned by the private sector and its successful growth continued unabated as did its profitability.

I believe that the WG should, in the fullness of time, use this as a template, although it might mean giving up a controlling interest in CWL. I write this as someone who has no political party leanings and certainly no political party dogma (of any colour) in my my body.

I think Liverpool City Council have 'e bought into the airport, so I image they feel it's a prudent thing to do for the future.

 

[CWL94]

I was reading an article on Wales Online where CWL published their passenger numbers of 1.46 million, up 9% on 2016. Roger Lewis is predicting double digit growth of 10% for 2018, which would be an uptake of another 146,000 pax. Im not sure whether I am alone but I am unsure of where the extra 146,000 pax are coming from.

I know QR will generate a lot of pax, but even if every seat from May until end of Dec is sold that will generate 113,000 and we all know that isn't going to happen.

Also
- BE will replace a E195 with a E175 from June resulting in less seats
- IB season starts later this year compared to last
- BE GCI reduced from 3 to 2x weekly, also shorter season
- VY BCN reduced from 4 to 3x weekly, one of those on a A319
- No massive champions league uptake like 2017

Plus points
- BE summer schedule looks to focus on key routes which has preformed well so should see higher load factors
- VY ALC, AGP on sale as 5x weekly throughout the summer season, same with PMI albeit at 4x weekly
- 3 extra weekly charter flights, one with TCX to AYT, two with TUI to AYT and DLM
- 9 extra flights with Balkan holidays to BOJ
- Super break one of charter flights

With everything listed above, does CWL need something extra this year to reach this 10% increase in pax or do people think this can be achieved already without the need for anything else?

 

[Jerry]

The 3 TUI and Thomas Cook charters and the Superbreak and French rugby charters should add an extra 32,000 seats. Flybe is offering more flights to Belfast, Paris CDG and Dublin. Plus with Flybe the seats reduction are on many routes are dead seats that don't get used.
Extra seats should be 145,000, obviously not all of them will sell but with growth on the other established routes then 1.6 million should be a reachable figure. 2 million by 2020 on the other hand then that is questionable without an extra based 2 aircraft or the equivalent to those flights.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

A few weeks ago some of us were looking at CWL in 2018 and, based on what had already been announced, I think the consensus was that 1.6 million would be a likely figure in 2018 - an extra 146,000 would not take the total much above that and it is only the chairman's prediction. Short of something catastrophic occurring I think that 1.6 million is a reasonable figure to suggest.

The number of passengers that Qatar carries will obviously be a very important element.

To reach 2 million by 2020 will need that significant low-cost presence because even a fourth based Flybe aircraft would be nowhere near enough to reach it, even with Qatar performing creditably.

 

[Jerry]

They must have some belief that they will have a significant LCC presence or base to predict 2 million considering they know if they don't reach the number by then that the airports detractors will use the failure aa ammo against it.

 

[Jerry]

News

24 JANUARY
Annual Update marks another successful year at Wales’ national airport


Cardiff Airport has ended another watershed year in 2017 with an increase of 9% in passenger numbers for the calendar year with over 1,468 million customers having travelled through the Airport over the last 12 months.

This figure signifies almost 50% passenger growth since Cardiff Airport came under public ownership in 2013.

2017’s growth has been achieved by announcing new or increased flights to popular destinations including Madrid with Iberia Express, Guernsey with Blue Islands – both new airlines - plus Rome with Flybe and Faro with Ryanair among others. The frequency of flights also increased on core business and leisure services like Belfast City with Flybe, which now offers twice daily return flights every weekday and increased summer flights to Spain with Vueling.

A significant achievement last year was the announcement of a new daily service to the Middle East from 1st May 2018. The Qatar Airways service, which will operate on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will connect Wales and the South West of England to key global markets across Australia, Africa and Asia via the hub at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar. A multiple award-winning five star airline, Qatar Airways was recently named Airline of the Year at the 2017 World Airline Awards.

2017 - The Highlights

• Secured a 5* Middle Eastern carrier, Qatar Airways, starting in May 2018
• We have achieved 9% year on year passenger growth, on top of 16% growth in 2016
• Over 1.468 million passengers chose to fly from Cardiff in 2017
• 30% of our passengers are visitors to Wales
• Named Best Airport (under 3 million passengers) by Airport Operators’ Association
• Cardiff Airport now sustains over 2675 direct and indirect jobs
• The overall GVA impact of Cardiff Airport to the local economy is £102 million
• Our airlines fly direct to over 50 destinations including 9 capital cities
• Our airlines fly to over 900 destinations via 11 hub airports
• Two new airlines: Iberia Express and Blue Islands
• New destinations: Rome, Madrid, Guernsey
• Launched £4million investment into improving the terminal
• Successfully welcomed 21,000 fans, Juventus and Real Madrid and managed 380 additional aircraft movements over the UEFA Champions League final.

Roger Lewis, Chairman of Cardiff Airport, commented: “2017 was a watershed year for Cardiff Airport, defined by a 9% increase in passenger numbers on top of 16% growth in 2016.

“2018 will be a transformational year for Cardiff Airport. We will achieve double digit growth this coming year and significantly enhance the passenger experience.

“Looking back on 2017, we have seen a continuation in fundamental and positive change in attitude and perception about Cardiff Airport and what it can deliver for the people and businesses of Wales and within our catchment area. This change has been achieved by a remarkable team of great people working closely with great airlines alongside a range of great partners.

“We promised that we would grow our business and we have delivered on that promise. In fact, passenger numbers have increased by almost 50% since our change of ownership. Our year peaked with the securing of a global flagship carrier in Qatar Airways which launches a daily service to the Gulf. This is a pivotal move which transforms Cardiff Airport into a vital gateway for both Wales and the United Kingdom and which significantly enhances our relationship with the world.

“I am totally confident that the dedicated and hardworking team at Cardiff Airport will deliver a world class service with Qatar Airways for passengers and businesses visiting Wales and travelling around the world.”

Deb Barber, CEO of Cardiff Airport, added: “2017 has been a significant year of progress for Cardiff Airport. We’ve welcomed new airlines, added to the choice of destinations for our customers, increased capacity on KLM flights and invested even more into the terminal in order to enhance their experience.

“This growth is forecast to continue in 2018 with a number of new routes already planned for launch this year including Venice with Flybe, Hurghada with TUI, the return of flights to Antalya with TUI and Thomas Cook, a wealth of short breaks with Super Break, Bergen with Hurtigruten and, of course, a new service to Qatar in May.

“Delivering high standards of safety and regulatory compliance continues to be one of our key focuses, whist continuing to improve our passengers’ experience and on business critical infrastructure. In particular, we have invested in the latest security screening equipment for hold baggage, invested in Voice Switch Air Traffic Control technology and renewed our Instrument Runway Visual Range to improve our operation during low visibility.

“A new Costa Coffee house, a WH Smith store offering ‘Well’ pharmacy products and additional seating will be unveiled in Departures before the summer in addition to a new ‘meet and greet’ car parking facility and a new car hire centre.

“We have continued our work this year to strengthen our regulatory performance. Working with the HSE, we have strengthened further our safety processes and procedures and have also maintained our focus on environmental sustainability.

“The business is growing stronger and we are well positioned to deliver on our vision and mission generating significant economic benefit to Wales.”

What’s next for 2018?

• We are forecasting double digit growth in 2018
• Improved Departures area and improvements to car parking infrastructure will be unveiled in March 2018
• New airline Qatar Airways will launch a daily direct flight to Doha in May 2018, offering connections to key destinations via a Middle Eastern hub to Australia, China, South Africa, India, New Zealand and beyond
• Flybe will begin operating a new service to Venice from 27th March
• Thomas Cook introduces a weekly flight to Antalya and a second weekly flight to Dalaman, starting 4 May 2018 and 25 May 2018 respectively
• A new TUI flights to Antalya will operate every Monday from 7th May 2018
• Iberia Express flights to Madrid will return for the summer season, starting from 14th June

Super Break will operate a number of short break packages to destinations that include Seville, Malta, Madeira, Montenegro and Iceland. The first of which took off in January.

https://www.cardiff-airport.com/new...er-successful-year-at-wales-national-airport/

 

[CWL94]

A few more bits that have been added since, on a BBC article

- She ( Deb Barber) said the Qatar service is set to transport 10 tonnes of freight a day which will be carried on to China, India, Asia and Africa.

- Chairman Roger Lewis said the UK government is going to launch a review into air passenger duty (APD). The Welsh Government want the UK government to go further and devolve the tax for long-haul flights. The UK Treasury said it is committed to reviewing any new evidence from stakeholders on APD. It said it had received the Welsh Government's report and would respond in due course along with the Wales Office.

 

[Jerry]

Good news on both fronts!

 

[Jerry]

I think this is the article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-42802059#