Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[MrFenner]

Just such a shame nobody seems to want to commit to a low-cost service to AGP for the whole winter season…

All this good news coming through though holds more hope than ever before!

 

[Tinkerman]

Just such a shame nobody seems to want to commit to a low-cost service to AGP for the whole winter season…

All this good news coming through though holds more hope than ever before!

Success breeds success. We’ve seen a run like this before. The more good news, the more parties perk their ears up and want in.

 

[Samdorob]

Just such a shame nobody seems to want to commit to a low-cost service to AGP for the whole winter season…

All this good news coming through though holds more hope than ever before!

Both Vueling and Ryanair have added capacity across the board for the summer and there’s still plenty of time yet.

 

[Jerry]

Owners of Exeter, Bournemouth and Norwich airports aren't happy.
What do they expect the Welsh government to do though? Let it shut down? It's Wales only airport and for the Welsh government that's not an option and I think maybe these airport owners are failing to see that and maybe understand it.

Regional Airports' chief latest to slam £205m subsidy plans for rival Cardiff Airport - South West

Investment 'raises fundamental questions about fairness, transparency, and the strategic direction of regional aviation policy in the UK'

www.thebusinessdesk.com

 

[Red Flyer]

The letter shows that the regions largest airport wasn’t acting like a bully. The analogy that it was like Tesco moaning about a corner shop getting financial help from a local authority doesn’t hold water when another corner shop also moans it’s uncompetitive and unfair. Very interesting that in a previous post someone thought RCA might be the company to improve CWL fortunes but judging by some of the damning comments in his letter I’m not sure the CEO would accept CWL as a gift.

 

[Jerry]

The letter shows that the regions largest airport wasn’t acting like a bully. The analogy that it was like Tesco moaning about a corner shop getting financial help from a local authority doesn’t hold water when another corner shop also moans it’s uncompetitive and unfair. Very interesting that in a previous post someone thought RCA might be the company to improve CWL fortunes but judging by some of the damning comments in his letter I’m not sure the CEO would accept CWL as a gift.

What do you think the Welsh government should do? Because people criticise them from the English point of view about putting investment into Cardiff to keep it open but it is Wales only airport, it's Wales national airport and the government believe it must stay open and the latest package is designed to help the airport become sustainable in the long run. It's pretty well documented that without the investment it would be closed and I get that from a Bristol and Exeter point of view that may well be a good thing but it's not from a Welsh government point of view.
As for corner shop analogy this is more like a corner shop in a different town complaining.

 

[Nigel B]

The letter shows that the regions largest airport wasn’t acting like a bully. The analogy that it was like Tesco moaning about a corner shop getting financial help from a local authority doesn’t hold water when another corner shop also moans it’s uncompetitive and unfair. Very interesting that in a previous post someone thought RCA might be the company to improve CWL fortunes but judging by some of the damning comments in his letter I’m not sure the CEO would accept CWL as a gift.

Why are you even on this site?

 

[geoff]

What a lot of these people who run these airports forget is that the working population of Wales have an income tax code with a C in front of it, which means it is collected by the Welsh Government. So the Welsh population is not asking for the money from the people of the regions of these airports in England, and if they are so disapproving of what's taking place perhaps they could offer to buy shares in CWL.

 

[Jerry]

Why are you even on this site?

Tbf people are allowed to voice their opinion even if we don't agree with them.
But my question to people does stand. What do people expect the Welsh government to do?

 

[geoff]

I wonder if the bosses of these airports which are owned by massive investment companies, complain about the other publicly owned airports in the UK. e.g. Teeside, Prestwick, and the new Doncaster Sheffield airport.

 

[Jerry]

Teeside, Prestwick, and the new Doncaster Sheffield airport.

Not just them but also airports like Manchester, Birmingham is partly publicly owned, Luton is publicly owned but privately operated, airports like Inverness and Newquay and the former has no APD. Public ownership is common but still seems to be frowned upon and airports especially seem to be only seen in a commercial sense whereas they are part of the transport infrastructure and a way for a country like Wales to promote itself and connect with the world.

 

[Red Flyer]

Why are you even on this site?

I was under the impression that it is a public forum where anyone is allowed to have their opinion especially if might affect their own personal life. In my 7 decades on this planet I’ve learned that things don’t always proceed according to plan and you have to be prepared to take the rough with the smooth. Unfortunately this means that sometimes the truth hurts. You need to stop ignoring the facts that CWL is using taxpayers cash to fund their business and many other companies are not happy and according to the comments in the Walesonline article many Welsh people are not happy with them using it especially with the state of the NHS & the education system. As it upsets some members I won’t be posting on the subject again.

 

[Jerry]

You need to stop ignoring the facts that CWL is using taxpayers cash to fund their business and many other companies are not happy and according to the comments in the Walesonline article many Welsh people are not happy with them using it especially with the state of the NHS & the education system. As it upsets some members I won’t be posting on the subject again.

I don't think anyone is ignoring that but as i asked earlier what do people expect the Welsh government to do? They had the opportunity to close the airport but believe Wales must have it's own airport so that requires funds and will always require funds even if the airport broke even. And there are plenty of people who'll complain about it on social media but they'd also complain if the government shut it down and they also complain about catching flights from Bristol and not Cardiff. And the reality is that the money invested is a drop in the ocean for the NHS and the government has stated that the new package is part of an economic investment. Are governments not allowed to invest economically?

 

[Foxlimayankee]

The letter shows that the regions largest airport wasn’t acting like a bully. The analogy that it was like Tesco moaning about a corner shop getting financial help from a local authority doesn’t hold water when another corner shop also moans it’s uncompetitive and unfair. Very interesting that in a previous post someone thought RCA might be the company to improve CWL fortunes but judging by some of the damning comments in his letter I’m not sure the CEO would accept CWL as a gift.

Not sure you can count Exeter and Bournemouth as serious competition from CWL. Both offer a limited route network, mostly of holiday flights or flights that are already operated from CWL on their own standing.
There may be a small amount of people that use them from Wales but nothing significant. So I'm not entirely sure how CWL being funded by its owners/tax payer directly affects their business.

This is just PR spin to get some airtime on the discussion, and who knows.... maybe bring the price down if RCA do invest.

 

[Jerry]

Not sure you can count Exeter and Bournemouth as serious competition from CWL

They could be said to be in competition for flights/routes from airlines like Ryanair and maybe European Cargo flights and I'd expect Bournemouth would try to attract BAMC if Cardiff closed.
But it could also be argued that they've attracted flights from airlines that could've gone to Cardiff.

maybe bring the price down if RCA do invest.

Which I'd expect they'd be very happy about having Welsh government finance then!

 

[Jerry]

Looks like the Champions Cup final ended up with the worst line-up for Cardiff Airport. It'll be Northampton v Bordeaux. Although I'd expect some flights from Bordeaux obviously Northampton fans will travel overland.
It'll be the same with the Challenge Cup as the final will be Bath v Lyon.

 

[Nigel B]

Nice to see the three Ryanair flights today are all using the B737 max.

 

[Jerry]

I follow the airport on all the social media channels and tbf I've noticed they do tend to post a lot more now.
Latest is pushing Ryanair sale and it's routes. I do wonder if now the airport has someone more dedicated to it now than before.

 

[Samdorob]

I follow the airport on all the social media channels and tbf I've noticed they do tend to post a lot more now.
Latest is pushing Ryanair sale and its routes. I do wonder if now the airport has someone more dedicated to it now than before.

I think they do. I noticed on LinkedIn a while back that they’ve employed a communication officer, Brad Williams (ex ITV Journalist) for the last year and a half. There’s definitely more of a buzz around their socials.

 

[Jerry]

I think they do. I noticed on LinkedIn a while back that they’ve employed a communication officer, Brad Williams (ex ITV Journalist) for the last year and a half. There’s definitely more of a buzz around their socials.

The name rings a bell but it is good to see.