geoff
Well-Known Member
His farm is quite near the airport. I wonder if he looked over the south side, at Global Trek AND DRAGONFLY.
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On thread someone replied that it was January and he replied what's that got to do with it.His farm is quite near the airport. I wonder if he looked over the south side, at Global Trek AND DRAGONFLY.
I don’t want to be disingenuous to Cardiff at all, but I see the point he is making. Bristol has access to a much larger population within a 50 mile radius, itself being fairly close to the sea doesn’t really matter as it has the M5 pulling people in from the South West and then the various outlying areas to the North and East. It is also i believe a far more prosperous area than Cardiff. Cardiff and Newport urban area has a population of around 1 million. I could be wrong but I believe there is a fairly high number of employed people in the area and a great deal of relative poverty. To put it into context, the core catchment area is around the same size as Humbersides! Yet it still manages to handle over 1mppa and has done for many years, so things aren’t that bad.He mentions Bristol but that's not exactly in an easy place to get too either! But having airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair there attracts the passengers. And if Cardiff is so bad why does seem to work for TUI? KLM? And Ryanair seem to be expanding. Surely none of those airlines should be operating from Cardiff? So why does it work for them but not other airlines?
Bristol's catchment has a lot more disposable cash than that of Cardiff's, this is fact.I don’t want to be disingenuous to Cardiff at all, but I see the point he is making. Bristol has access to a much larger population within a 50 mile radius, itself being fairly close to the sea doesn’t really matter as it has the M5 pulling people in from the South West and then the various outlying areas to the North and East. It is also i believe a far more prosperous area than Cardiff. Cardiff and Newport urban area has a population of around 1 million. I could be wrong but I believe there is a fairly high number of employed people in the area and a great deal of relative poverty. To put it into context, the core catchment area is around the same size as Humbersides! Yet it still manages to handle over 1mppa and has done for many years, so things aren’t that bad.
Problems start when you talk of high volume carriers which is a requirement for airlines like easyJet and Jet2 when they look at opening bases. If you can’t keep 3 aircraft busy then it’s not really a financially viable investment. Ryanair are different and they may hold the key to sustainable growth. They do have a TUI base, and the Vueling routes which could be increased. The airport is already well served with connections to AMS, DUB and BFS.
Sadly BRS will always hold the cards in the South West and Southern Wales market, purely due to location. Facilities and runway limitations/weather don’t factor particularly high when it comes to airline growth strategies, and I think with the M4 being close by, long-haul from the South West is a bit of a pipe dream.
I do remember not too long ago there were calls from some quarters for one airport between Bristol and Cardiff. Obviously there is very little appetite to build new airports in the U.K. now. I’m surprised Filton was never developed given its location. Suppose it’s worth more as a housing estate/business park. But I agree with you. Cardiff is doing ok though in terms of passenger numbers, people need to manage their expectations a bit.Bristol's catchment has a lot more disposable cash than that of Cardiff's, this is fact.
Also Cardiff airport is simply in the wrong location if the airport was to the East of Cardiff close the M4 then people from Bristol would potentially see it as an alternative.
In the case of Cardiff Airport it's greater catchment area could be considered as South Wales and Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. That's 2,214,098 people. I know some will use Cardiff from Ceredigion and Powys especially southern Powys as well but probably to a less extent potentially than the other areas. Looking at the catchment immediately around CWL then there's 875,303 people living in Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Bridgend. If you count Merthyr and Caerphilly as immediate then it's 1,110,174.Cardiff and Newport urban area has a population of around 1 million
With Wizz leaving this is what summer 2023 will look like from Cardiff. One thing is that with Wizz departure Cardiff doesn't lose any destinations as they are already covered by other airlines.Updated
Summer 2023 summary so far
TUI
44 weekly departures, 22 destinations, 3 based aircraft.
KLM
20 weekly departures, 1 destination, 1 overnighting aircraft.
Wizz Air
16 weekly departures, 7 destinations, 1 based aircraft.
Ryanair
13 weekly departures, 4 destinations.
Aer Lingus Regional (Emerald Airlines)
7 weekly departures, 1 destination
Vueling
5 weekly departures, 2 destinations.
Loganair
6 weekly departures, 1 destination.
Balkan Holidays
1 weekly departure, 1 destination
Total so far 113 weekly departures, 28 destinations, 4 based aircraft, 1 overnighting aircraft.
Yes it is, hopefully the airport can over time regain many of the lost flights from Vueling.Such a shame that Vueling have gone from their heyday of ~13 flights a week to just 5!
That would be financial suicide for CWL. I very much doubt that CWL could afford to subsidise Ryanair operations (and, believe me, if they tried Ryanair would milk it as much as possible). CWL needs growth and new airlines, but only if those bring prosperity to CWL.I truly hope CWL is chasing Ryanair with a blank cheque at this stage.
I don't think CWL has the money to pay airlines but the problem they have is how do they attract them? How do they get airlines like Ryanair to operate the flights to the destinations that CWL needs to be viable as an airport especially when those airlines know that the passengers from Cardiffs catchment area will travel to their bases at other airports.That would be financial suicide for CWL.
What the departure board will look like at peak summer in 2023.
Monday 13 departures
06.00 Dalaman TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.25 Corfu TUI
06.55 Menorca TUI
08.50 Alicante Vueling
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.45 Tenerife TUI
15.20 Antalya TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
16.55 Bourgas TUI
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
23.00 Dublin Ryanair
Tuesday 14 departures
06.00 Palma de Mallorca TUI
06.00 Alicante TUI
06.00 Reus TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
09.55 Dublin Ryanair
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.05 Kefalonia TUI
13.25 Tenerife TUI
14.30 Zante TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
16.55 Malaga Ryanair
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
22.40 Palma de Mallorca TUI
Wednesday 15 departures
06.00 Malaga TUI
06.00 Kos TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.35 Ibiza TUI
08.50 Alicante Vueling
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
11.15 Belfast International Ryanair
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
14.00 Rhodes TUI
14.15 Paphos TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
16.25 Dalaman TUI
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
19.50 Malaga Vueling
22.50 Dublin Ryanair
Thursday 12 departures
06.00 Lanzarote TUI
06.00 Palma de Mallorca TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.30 Dubrovnik TUI
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.10 Bourgas TUI
14.45 Antalya TUI
16.00 Dalaman TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
23.05 Dublin Ryanair
Friday 15 departures
06.00 Menorca TUI
06.00 Enfidha TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.10 Palma de Mallorca TUI
08.50 Alicante Vueling
09.20 Faro Ryanair
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.20 Corfu TUI
13.30 Zante TUI
14.10 Tenerife TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
17.55 Dublin Ryanair
22.20 Ibiza TUI
Saturday 15 departures
06.00 Alicante TUI
06.05 Ibiza TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.30 Palma de Mallorca TUI
09.00 Bourgas BH Air
09.45 Amsterdam KLM
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.15 Kos TUI
13.20 Malaga Vueling
13.45 Gran Canaria TUI
14.35 Rhodes TUI
16.50 Malaga Ryanair
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
21.55 Belfast Int Ryanair
22.05 Dublin Ryanair
Sunday 13 departures
06.00 Lanzarote TUI
06.05 Amsterdam KLM
06.25 Malaga TUI
07.05 Palma de Mallorca TUI
09.55 Amsterdam KLM
11.50 Faro Ryanair
12.00 Belfast City Aer Lingus
13.25 Dublin Ryanair
13.50 Larnaca TUI
14.15 Heraklion TUI
15.55 Paphos TUI
16.15 Edinburgh Loganair
17.15 Amsterdam KLM
Not really much they can do now, maybe they might be able to get a few extra flights from Ryanair but doubtful. I expect that the airport may well concentrate on summer 2024 and getting Vueling and Ryanair to increase what they offer from the airport and maybe get TUI to offer a bit more as well and try and get Air France on Paris CDG.What do we think Plan A is for next summer ?
That is the irony in a way of small airports, them being small especially in passenger numbers, often means they are less crowded and a more pleasant experience.It’s a horrible overcrowded airport. Always happy to fly from Cardiff, easy parking easy check-in, nice lounge, hassle free boarding.
Well one thing’s for sure, I’d rather not go on holiday than fly from Bristol. It’s a horrible overcrowded airport. Always happy to fly from Cardiff, easy parking easy check-in, nice lounge, hassle free boarding.
In contrast last time I flew from Bristol I used the sat-nav and it took me down a dead end, luckily some road workmen guided us back on track near Temple Gueting and that one way bridge.
The airport car-park was a bus ride away from the terminal and the queues for the bus were alarming.
When we got to the airport and upstairs, there were huge snake queues and we almost lost the flight, eventually got through by jumping the queues courtesy of one of the staff, the departure gate was the furthest away and they were just closing.
Hopefully some low cost airline can see the opportunities available at Cardiff this summer. I think Vueling were too hasty in cutting their flights.
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