Cardiff: (CWL) - General Thread

[Jerry]

Dave Lees won't like that! Just arrived and he's losing passengers.

Yep! I think he's a good example of how the airport is gaining passengers back and attracting new ones not just on services like Doha but established routes like PMI.

 

[Jerry]

Is this the exciting news that they were on about?
Cardiff Airport becomes newest partner of Cardiff and Vale Credit Union
Cardiff Airport has become the latest organisation to become a payroll scheme partner of Cardiff and Vale Credit Union. The news was marked today with a visit by Jane Hutt, AM for Vale of Glamorgan, who champions the initiative and introduced the Airport to the scheme.

Cardiff and Vale Credit Union, which was founded over twenty years ago, now welcomes some 10,000 members and is open to anyone who works in Wales.

The initiative creates an opportunity for members of the Cardiff Airport team to join a local, friendly provider of savings and loans products in the community that offers its members access to savings schemes and affordable loans up to £15,000. Benefits include Junior Savings and Christmas saving plans; dividend payments for members; automatic life insurance cover and confidential and ethical information and guidance on finances..

Deb Barber, CEO of Cardiff Airport, said: “We are delighted that Cardiff Airport has become our 40th employer partner, helping staff to save through their salary and the ability to apply for affordable and ethical loans as a perk of their employment. I am really pleased that our local AM, Jane Hutt, recommended the Credit Union to us. Many notable Welsh companies are already partners and we are delighted to be in such good company. There is a wealth of benefits associated with being a member of a local Credit Union and I have no doubt that the Airport team will quickly enjoy reaping the rewards of supporting a local initiative such as this.”

Jane Hutt AM, who is also the Patron of Credit Unions in Wales, stated: “I congratulate Cardiff Airport in becoming the latest employer in Wales to demonstrate its commitment to the financial wellbeing of employees, and am happy to have been a part in launching what we hope to be a very successful partnership”.

Leanne Herberg, CEO of Cardiff and Vale Credit Union, added: “Payroll savings and loans partnerships offer employers a meaningful way to help the financial health of their staff. We are delighted that Cardiff Airport has become our 40th employer partner, helping staff to save through their salary and be able to apply for affordable and ethical loans as a perk of their employment”.

Cardiff and Vale Credit Union will be present across the Airport on a monthly basis until January 2018, giving the Airport community ample opportunity to learn more and sign up as a member.
https://www.cardiff-airport.com/new...est-partner-of-cardiff-and-vale-credit-union/

 

[mathers_wales_uk]

No it is not I believe

 

[Jerry]

No it is not I believe

Oh good!

 

[Foxlimayankee]

I doubt it. That's not really anything to shout about. Won't be long and it'll be announced.

 

[Jerry]

Winter 2018/19
As summer 2018 is approaching it's end now i decided to have a look at the capacity each airline will provide at CWL during the winter compared to last year.
Flybe
13,338 weekly seats onsale, 132 weekly flights (66 departures and 66 arrivals), 3 based aircraft 1 E195 and 2 E175s.
Eastern Airways
960 weekly seats onsale, 40 weekly flights (20 departures and 20 arrivals), 1 based aircraft 1 Jetstream 41.
TUI
3402 weekly seats onsale, 18 weekly flights (9 departures and 9 arrivals), 1 based aircraft 1 737 800
Ryanair
756 weekly seats onsale, 4 weekly fights (2 departures and 2 arrivals), non based 737 800
Vueling
1800 weekly seats onsale , 10 weekly flights (5 departures and 5 arrivals), non based A320
Qatar Airways
2540 weekly seats, 10 weekly flights (5 departures and 5 arrivals), non based 787 8
KLM
3520 weekly seats onsale, 40 weekly flights (20 departures and 20 arrivals), non based E175 that overnights 6 nights a week.
Total
26,316 weekly seats onsale, 254 weekly flights (127 departures and 127 arrivals), aircraft used 787 8, E195, E175, 737 800, A320 and Jetstream 41.
This was taken from the first week in December.

 

[geoff]

The airport had 202600 passengers in August, a rise of 11% over August last year, progress is continuing to be made.

 

[Jerry]

Excellent news!

 

[Jerry]

This is a summary of departures each day for Summer 2019 so far by each airline.
Monday
Flybe 12 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 4 departures on J41s
Ryanair 1 departure on 737 800
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 2 departures A320s
Vueling 2 departures A320s
TUI 7 departures 737 800
Qatar Airways 1 departure 787 8
Total 30 departures
Tuesday
Flybe 10 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 4 departures on J41s
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 2 departures on A320s
Vueling 4 departures on A320s
TUI 6 departures on 737 800s
Qatar Airways 1 departure on 787 8
Total 30 departures
Wednesday
Flybe 11 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 4 departures on J41s
Ryanair 1 departure on 737 800
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 2 departures on A320s
Vueling 3 departures on A320s
TUI 6 departures on 737 800s
Qatar Airways 1 departure 787 8
Total 31 departures
Thursday
Flybe 12 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 4 departures on J41s
Ryanair 1 departure on 737 800
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 2 departures on A320s
Vueling 4 departures on A320s
Balkan Holidays 1 departure on A320
TUI 6 departures on 737 800
Qatar Airways 1 departure 787 8
Total 34 departures
Friday
Flybe 12 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 3 departures on J41s
Ryanair 1 departure on 737 800
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 2 departures A320
TUI 6 departures 737 800
Qatar Airways 1 departure 787 8
Total 28 departures
Saturday
Flybe 9 departures on E175s and Q400s
KLM 3 departures on E175s
Thomas Cook 3 departures on A320s
Vueling 3 departures on A320s and A319
TUI 7 departures on 737 800
Qatar Airways 1 departure on 787 8
Total 26 departures
Sunday
Flybe 9 departures on E175s
Eastern Airways 1 departures on J41
Ryanair 1 departure on 737 800
KLM 2 departutes on E190 and E175
Thomas Cook 2 departures on A320s
Vueling 1 departure on A320
Balkan Holidays 1 departure A320
TUI 6 departures on 737 800
Qatar Airways 1 departure on 787 8
Total 24 departures.

Total in a week so far is 203 departures a week.

 

[Jerry]

The former leader of the Welsh conservatives has written an article for the Western Mail calling for APD to be devloved to the Welsh government. This is it in full.
The 17th of September was a notable milestone for Cardiff Airport as it marked 2,000 days since the Welsh Government purchased the site in Rhoose for more than £50m.

I vehemently opposed this decision through a belief that there were more attractive propositions in the private sector.

As Welsh Conservatives, we set out an alternative blueprint for the airport. To some degree this was vindicated some years later with the Wales Audit Office report, which found the Welsh Government paid vastly over the odds for the airport, nearly double its initial valuation.

Nevertheless, it would be churlish not to recognise some of the progress which has been made at the airport since this tumultuous period.

Living in the Vale of Glamorgan, I’ve the pleasure of waking up to a fantastic view of the countryside and one which also takes in the tarmac at Rhoose and given its importance to my constituency and the local economy, I’m pleased to see its recent renaissance.

Credit must be given to the team at Cardiff Airport, ably led by Debra Barber and Roger Lewis, who have overseen a considerable turnaround in its fortunes.

This year the airport is set to achieve double digit passenger growth, but it does remain some way off the dizzy heights of 2007 where numbers peaked around the two million mark.

Financially, it has also incurred some significant losses over the past few years but the organisation is optimistic that a profit-making business is just around the corner.

As a business owner and neighbour who wants to see my local airport thrive, thoughts naturally turn to what we can do next to ensure this progress is maintained.

There has undoubtedly been mixed success when it comes to route development, from the unveiling of Cardiff-Qatar to the disappointing failure of the Cardiff-London route.

However, the key to unlocking the Airport’s true potential actually does now rest with politicians and revolves around the devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD).

APD is an excise duty charged on the carriage of passengers flying from a UK airport on aircraft which has a take-off weight of more than 5.7 tonnes or more than twenty passengers.

The devolution, and importantly, subsequent reduction in APD would bring significant benefits to the airport. Estimates are wide ranging, but the most conservative suggest an increase in traffic at the airport of at least 15%. The most generous puts it closer to 50%.

Lowering APD is a game-changer and would make the airport more competitive – attracting more passengers and route options – whilst delivering a shot in the arm to the Welsh economy.

The Scottish Government already enjoys the power, and Northern Ireland has the ability to flex its muscles when it comes to determining long-haul APD, with the likelihood of short-haul making its way across the Irish Sea in the not-too-distant-future.

It has been the long-standing position of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly that this power should be transferred to Wales, and it also featured as a prominent recommendation of the Silk Commission.

So what’s stopping it? Many cite the intransigence of the UK Government, which some speculate is down to a strong South-West political lobby citing the negative impacts such a decision might have on Bristol airport.

Whilst I recognise some of these concerns, I do not believe they are insurmountable. One report found that many of these concerns were unjustified and focused simply on the worst-case scenario.

And not one study or report has found a detrimental impact to UK PLC as a whole. In fact, quite the opposite, with a slight rebalancing between markets and passenger traffic. As the party of the Union, what’s not to like?

Even the partial devolution of APD (long-haul) could allow for the development of two successful airports with distinct catchments, one which both governments and economies could benefit from.

And as an Assembly Member who represents south Wales central and has been elected to champion the interests of my constituents in the Vale and beyond, our national airport shouldn’t be ignored at the expense of others.

As a party, we have a proud tradition of being one that stands up for the Union, for fairness and for prosperity.

And as a Conservative, I instinctively believe in lower taxes to drive prosperity, economic investment and growth. This can and should be done at Cardiff Airport.

The devolution of APD would satisfy these traditions and ambitions whilst providing a huge thumbs up for UK plc, and importantly, the Conservative Government’s record of delivery for Wales.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/new-cardiff-manchester-air-route-15164040

https://twitter.com/x/status/1042337513698979840

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The most vocal West Country political opponent of APD being devolved to Wales is not the local Conservative lobby but Karen Smyth, Labour MP for Bristol South, whose constituency is the nearest Bristol one to the airport. She is also the local MP most publicly outraged by the decision to axe rail electrification to Bristol which the Corbyn-led Labour Party say they will restore if they become the UK government - well, we all know about politicians' promises.

Liam Fox, thought to be the main barrier by many who support the APD devolution, actually opposed the expansion of Bristol Airport some years ago until surface connectivity was sorted out. That's still yet to be done to any any significant degree.

As I and others have said before, it is unfair if Scotland and N Ireland have the power but Wales does not, but it's also unfair that England would be left to the mercy of the UK government with MPs from all around the UK having a say in a purely 'English' matter, whereas 'English' Westminster MPs have no say in the decisions of the devolved governments.

 

[Jerry]

I think with APD devolution for Wales something extraordinary would have to happen for it to happen. Whether a Conservative or Labour government i don't see Wales getting it in the short term at least and probably in the medium but the debate will continue and no doubt more articles will be written about it.
With the MPs having a say in English only matters i believe Scottish and Irish and on some subjects Welsh MPs have less of a say now with English votes for English laws now in effect.

Overall since 2013 and the Welsh Government takeover the airport has grown from 1,057,000 to 1,464,000 yearly passengers and has grown by 38%.
Bristol between 2013 and 2017 has grown from 6,125,000 to 8,223,000 a growth of 34%. Cardiff Airports growth hasn't stopped BRS growing and if APD devolution were to increase the passenger numbers at Cardiff by between 15% and 50% based on the current numbers that would add between 219,600 and 732,000 passengers to the airports yearly passenger numbers.
I suppose in the end it would come down to how attractive CWL would be to airlines if the Welsh government abolished or reduced APD and if it would be attractive enough to the detriment of Bristol airport or if it would just help CWL to grow more quickly than it would've.

 

[Jerry]

Cardiff Airport have done a little promotional video about the airport i'd imagine it may have been for World routes 2018 but they've posted it up on YouTube now.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Cardiff Airport have done a little promotional video about the airport i'd imagine it may have been for World routes 2018 but they've posted it up on YouTube now.

I see they've taken up the Qatar Airways CEO's call that CWL has a catchment of 6.4 million people. If they include the whole of Wales in their catchment they still need over another 3 million to get to 6.4 million.

I wonder which part of England makes up the shortfall. The former Avon area aka Greater Bristol aka CUBA (the County that Used to Be Avon) is about 1.2 million so they need to go well beyond that, with another couple of million to be found. Including Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset would still leave them a bit short, and anyway is somewhere like Salisbury really in the CWL catchment? So they would have to look around the edges of Devon and the South Midlands to get to 6.4 million. I might sound pedantic but they are so precise: 6.4 million so they must have added up specific areas.

If they had said that x million people live within, say, a one or two hour drive (or whatever they chose) that might have been a more useful statistic.

The video itself is neatly made and tells us in brief messaging what the airport is about, which I think is a good thing if it is now intended to reach out to a general audience via You Tube. Many are unlikely to be aviation aficionados so something short and snappy will grab their attention.

 

[Jerry]

If they had said that x million people live within, say, a one or two hour drive (or whatever they chose) that might have been a more useful statistic.

I'd have thought it would be a 2 hour driving range that they are using which would inlclude Herefordshire and Worcestershire as well as Gloucestershire.

 

[geoff]

It's a pity that BACF are pulling out of BRS and BHX, perhaps they could try CWL where they would have far less competition/

 

[Jerry]

It's a pity that BACF are pulling out of BRS and BHX, perhaps they could try CWL where they would have far less competition/

Would be nice to have BA flying from CWL but would they be interested in flying from CWL? and if they operated PMI and AGP they would be in competition with Vueling unless they flew on days that VY don't operate and act as a complimentary service to them.

 

[Cardiffbay]

Would be nice to have BA flying from CWL but would they be interested in flying from CWL? and if they operated PMI and AGP they would be in competition with Vueling unless they flew on days that VY don't operate and act as a complimentary service to them.

Don’t think we will se BA at Cardiff any time soon. As for stopping BRS and BHX for me this goes to show that they have taken on the low cost carriers which are huge at these two airports with BA’s now low cost service with premium prices and lost.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BACF have not pulled out of MAN where the low cost competition is even greater than even at BHX or BRS.

We can't know about the loads at BHX or BRS on the BACF routes except Florence, as the other routes at these airports are covered by other airlines as well. Florence carried excellent loads at BRS and BHX, despite several flights being cancelled on the the Bristol-Florence sector this summer because of crewing hours and easyJet operating daily to nearby Pisa from BRS.

It's doubtful that CWL would do much better on load factors to Florence as there weren't many empty seats from BHX and BRS anyway - it was only an E175 from BRS to Florence so not many seats to fill hence the high loads. IBZ was cancelled from BHX at the start of this summer and from BRS half way through. AGP was doubled at BRS to 2 x daily this summer but really the result of aircraft positioning, with Palma the other route. All other BRS routes were E190.

CWL might do better (than BRS or BHX) on the sun routes but easyJet and Ryanair frequently sell out on the BRS sun routes despite the many weekly rotations so it has to be wondered why BACF weren't capturing some of these passengers if loads on their sun routes were disappointing - if they were, we don't know.

Obviously the yield is what counts and if the Welsh Government decided they wanted BACF on the CWL sun routes they might make an offer that BA couldn't refuse but these are routes that take holidaymakers FROM Wales and do nothing for the Welsh economy at home.

I note that on another forum Southampton Airport watchers are wondering if BACF will go there.

 

[Jerry]

Don’t think we will se BA at Cardiff any time soon. As for stopping BRS and BHX for me this goes to show that they have taken on the low cost carriers which are huge at these two airports with BA’s now low cost service with premium prices and lost.

Yes it would be a surprise but i'd have thought with BA there would be a certain type of passenger they were after and Cityflyer is still full service at the moment.