Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[aviatorconcorde]

From the article.
He said only 14% of airports with scheduled flights in the world are privately owned.
"Our model in Wales is absolutely mainstream, it puts us in the same position as JFK in New York or Charles de Gaulle in Paris.
"Around the world governments recognise that a successful airport is an investment on behalf of the economy and the population of that area."

it’s quite amusing to listen to politicians talk about something they know nothing about.

He also said something like Cardiff would of been only two capitals of the world without an airport. I find that hard to believe too considering I can name 3 off the cuff.

 

[Jerry]

CWL certainly needs more scheduled services and to business-orientated destinations if the airport really is to play its part in further growth the country's economy.

I suppose that is one of the airports targets but how realistic a target is it? Especially with European routes.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I suppose that is one of the airports targets but how realistic a target is it? Especially with European routes.

Who knows? As several of us have pointed out in recent times, aviation can be a very dynamic industry and things can change very quickly.

 

[Jerry]

He also said something like Cardiff would of been only two capitals of the world without an airport. I find that hard to believe too considering I can name 3 off the cuff.

I'm curious. What are they?

He probably should've phrased it better. I do think that as a country it be a negative not to have an airport providing international connections like Cardiff does.

 

[CraigW92]

Its interesting reading catching up with all that has gone on lately especially with regards to airlines, ownership etc.

Personally I believe that a return to private ownership some time in the future will be of benefit, I agree at the time it was the right move for the Welsh Government to buy the airport due to Abertis running in into the ground, I thought in around 3-5 years then airport would then be sold back into the private sector, of course its not worth selling back just for the sake of it and the same happens again which happened with Abertis, It has to be the right partner thats willing to invest and continue to take the airport forward.

Some of the quotes are interesting in this statement https://gov.wales/written-statement-cardiff-airport-1

"As the airport continues to progress towards achieving 2 million passengers per annum, the increased revenues generated from passengers will begin to even out the significant fixed costs of operating the airport "

I currently do not see how this is possible, It seems from what ive seen from this winter/next summer we have reduced schedules with Vueling and Ryanair, Thomas cook have sadly ceased trading, Flybe ( Virgin) are yet to publish next years summer but it seems the likes of FCO, VRN, VCE have all gone, does anyone have a current idea of the amount of passengers we are likely to lose here currently ? 200k and potentially more?, If youhave that amount of passengers being lost then revenue is going to take a bit of a hit

Something lined up to offset the reductions and loss of Thomas Cook ?

 

[Jerry]

of course its not worth selling back just for the sake of it and the same happens again which happened with Abertis, It has to be the right partner thats willing to invest and continue to take the airport forward.

I think the Welsh government would need the £52 million back that it paid for it or the equivalent % wise of how much they sell of the airport because anything less would be criticised. I also think that they would want to either keep 51% of the shares or have some sort of golden share and a say in the day to day running of the airport to prevent an Albertis happening again. Whether investor's would agree to that is another thing. Someone did tell me that investor's have expressed interest and approached the government but refused to say who they were and divulge anymore information on how that person knows that or if any negotiations are ongoing.

200k and potentially more?, If youhave that amount of passengers being lost then revenue is going to take a bit of a hit

Something lined up to offset the reductions and loss of Thomas Cook ?

Probably looking at a loss in 200,000 to 250,000 passengers a year.
As for reaching 2 million passengers it would need TUI to base a 4th aircraft and an airline like Ryanair to open a 2 t 3 aircraft base which would be a coup but I do feel that to do that the airport would have to write out a big cheque otherwise I don't see how the airport would reach 2 million passengers.

 

[Jerry]

I also think that the Welsh government maybe wary of potentially having an investor onboard that might just hold them hostage and keep returning to them for money rather than invest theirs.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

He also said something like Cardiff would of been only two capitals of the world without an airport. I find that hard to believe too considering I can name 3 off the cuff.

I'm curious. What are they?

There are five countries without an airport at all: Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein and Vatican City.

I don't know whether that was what was meant or whether there are countries that have airport but none in their capital city.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I also think that the Welsh government maybe wary of potentially having an investor onboard that might just hold them hostage and keep returning to them for money rather than invest theirs.

There is also the party political aspect. A Labour-run Wales would be less likely to give up the airport or a controlling interest in it to the private sector than a Conservative-run Wales, although the latter might not be a very likely occurrence.

If the airport was sold entirely into the private sector the buyer would almost certainly be taking on a substantial amount of debt that would be factored into the purchase price.

 

[Jerry]

Winter 2019/20 update.
The routes and frequencies that will operate out of Cardiff Airport this winter.
UK and Ireland
Anglesey 10 weekly Eastern Airways
Belfast City 7 weekly Flybe
Cork 2 weekly Flybe
Dublin 19 weekly Flybe
Edinburgh 18 weekly Flybe
Glasgow 6 weekly Loganair (starts 26th February)
Jersey 3 weekly Flybe
Newcastle 5 weekly Eastern Airways
Europe
Amsterdam 20 weekly KLM
Paris CDG 8 weekly Flybe
Geneva 1 weekly Flybe (resumes 14/12/19)
Chambery 1 weekly Flybe (resumes 14/12/19)
Alicante 5 weekly Vueling and TUI
Malaga 3 weekly Vueling and TUI (Vueling don't operate between 23/11 to 21/12/19 and 7/1to 10/3/20)
Gran Canaria 1 weekly TUI
Lanzarote 2 weekly TUI
Tenerife South 5 weekly TUI and Ryanair (Ryanair will end the route on 6th January dropping it down to 3 weekly)
Paphos 1 weekly TUI (will not operate between 26/12/19 and 25/2/20)
Malta 2 weekly Ryanair (operated by Malta Air)
International
Doha 5 weekly Qatar Airways
Jamaica TUI (selected dates through winter)
Barbados TUI and P&O (selected dates through winter)

 

[Jerry]

Just had a look at the Cardiff Airport winter timetable for 2019/20 and they've included all the 1 stop connections available from the airport to all part of the world via the various hubs with Flybe/Air France, Flybe/Aer Lingus, KLM and Qatar Airways.

https://www.cardiff-airport.com/uploads/Winter_2019%20Timetable%20-%20direct%20and%20connections%20V2%20lo.pdf

 

[aviatorconcorde]

Any news on the Lauda announcement?

 

[Jerry]

Any news on the Lauda announcement?

Not at the moment. On Twitter the person who posted it said it should be released in the coming weeks. Assuming that person is correct. So far out of what he posted Bournemouth has come true.
If it happens I suspect for Cardiff and Doncaster the route will start in June but it'll be a case of wait and see and keep fingers crossed! The airport could do with the good PR of a new airline even if it's just adding capacity to a current route.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It might be Lauda in its own right or it might be Lauda aircraft standing in for Ryanair on a Ryanair service with FR flight codes. If it's a Lauda service Ryanair aircraft might still be involved. Severn explained the complexities of Lauda in a recent BRS thread post - see below copy in italics.

One of Ryanair's BRS-PMI rotations next summer will be operated by Lauda aircraft, but on behalf of Ryanair with FR flight codes. A similar thing will happen at BOH next summer with five of the seven Ryanair PMI flights each week operated by Lauda aircraft on behalf of Ryanair with FR flight codes. Lauda hasn't added to BRS's Ryanair BRS-PMI programme compared with summer 19, having merely replaced one of the Ryanair aircraft rotations each week. The same seems to apply with BOH, albeit Lauda is standing in for Ryanair there on more flights each week.

On the Lauda days there will be a loss of nine available seats on each sector.

Conversely, Lauda's own BRS-VIE service that begins next summer will see one of the two weekly rotations operated by Ryanair aircraft on behalf of Lauda under an OE flight code.

Ryanair and it's subsidiary Lauda are both based at PMI and both operate their own branded flights:
- Lauda flights operated by Lauda aircraft
- Ryanair flights operated by Ryanair aircraft and some by Lauda aircraft.

Lauda will have a 10x aircraft based at PMI next summer:
- 4x aircraft will operate Lauda flights to Germany and Austria.
- 6x aircraft will operate flights on behalf of Ryanair (which show as Ryanair - operated by Lauda) to all over Europe and the UK.
Ryanair will also have 4x of their own based aircraft operating Ryanair flights all over Europe and the UK.

Therefore, Ryanair technically will have 10x aircraft based (6x operated by Lauda), operating to destinations all over Europe and the UK.

 

[Jerry]

Hopefully it's Lauda in it's own right but still a Ryanair service operated by them would still be welcome! CWL has lost a lot of capacity and anything that will help to replace it would be welcome!

 

[aviatorconcorde]

I’d prefer to see a ryanair service purely for brand awareness and marketing purposes!

 

[superking]

Lauda and Ryanair,,the same airline. Both owned by Ryanair holdings,they bought the remaining Lauda shares a few weeks ago.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I’d prefer to see a ryanair service purely for brand awareness and marketing purposes!

Ryanair also provides nine more seats per sector than Lauda. If it's a Ryanair service bookable on the Ryanair booking engine with Lauda operating some of the flights for them then the average person who is not interested in aviation per se will see it as a Ryanair flight anyway.

 

[Selig]

Just as a matter of interest with all this Lauda/Ryanair talk, I checked the details on Wiki:
In August 2018, Ryanair announced that it had completed the purchase of 75% of the shareholding of Laudamotion and that it planned to double the Airbus fleet from 9 to 18. Laudamotion is scheduled to receive 18 Airbus A320 aircraft by summer 2019, which will replace and expand its current fleet.
In January 2019, Ryanair revealed that it completed the purchase of 100% of Laudamotion from NL Holdings in late December 2018. It also revealed further fleet expansion plans, with 25 aircraft by summer 2019 and 30 by summer 2020.
Although Ryanair operates only Boeing aircraft, Laudamotion's fleet will remain exclusively Airbus. During a press-conference, Laudamotion announced plans to purchase at least 100 (50+50 options) Airbus A321neo for future expansions.
In March 2019, the airline changed its brand name from Laudamotion to just Lauda
As of Oct 2019 the Lauda fleet consisted of 22 Airbus A320-200 aircraft (180 passengers)
Ryanair 737-800 fleet has an 189 seat configuration

 

[Jerry]

Planespotters dream house! Also a very nice house!

What life is really like living next door to Cardiff Airport

Gun shots, private jets and aircraft fanatics are just some of things you will experience

www.walesonline.co.uk