Cardiff Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

Lots of cups of coffee on offer too apparently. No good for me though as I'm a tea drinker and never touch coffee.

Let's hope that it's something positive in terms of airlines (Flybe MAN seems certain) and not something else no matter how worthy for the airport.

It looks as though all the 'pre-event' hype turned out to be in connection with a Flybe promotion to turn what is apparently 'Blue Monday' into Purple Monday by handing out free coffee at various locations within the CWL catchment allied to chances to win free Flybe flights.

No new destinations or airlines revealed yet, not even MAN.

 

[Em0866]

It is amazing how the build up to today was completely wrong as predicted by some. I am not disappointed but it just shows that rumours are just that

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I noted yesterday that the Wiki entry setting out new Flybe routes that were being discussed in one or two message boards had already been removed. This is by no means the first time that CWL has been the victim of spurious entries on its Wiki page routes section.

 

[Em0866]

Wiki is not a reliable source on so many things. With stuff like this, especially routes that have yet to be announced, I take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]'Devolve air tax' call from Cardiff airport head

Cardiff airport's chairman has called on the UK government to devolve passenger air taxes to Wales, in a bid to boost its business.

Roger Lewis was speaking as he marked 100 days in the job, after leaving the Welsh Rugby Union to take up the role.

Air passenger duty is being devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland but remains a sticking point in discussions over new powers for Wales.

Rival airports such as Bristol say it would hand Cardiff an unfair advantage.

"Devolving that responsibility to Wales as it's been devolved to Northern Ireland, to Scotland, is only right and fair," said Mr Lewis.[/textarea]
Full article including link to video interview with the airport chairman at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-35415175

Can't criticise him for pushing something that would undoubtedly boost his airport (I'd do the same in his position) but the counter argument is that what is fair for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales would not be fair to England if the biggest constituent of the UK by far was left to the mercy of Westminster with Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs having a say on a purely English matter. Indeed, the chancellor of the exchequer might represent a Welsh or Scottish constituency in the future - it's happened in the recent past.

Northern Ireland was allowed to vary APD to compete with Dublin (in a foreign country) on long haul, especially the Newark link which Continental would undoubtedly have axed shortly after they terminated their Bristol route to Newark. Continental gave out broad hints about their likely action and this quickly brought about the APD variation following much pressure from Northern Ireland interests.

Scotland was given the devolved APD powers, along with many other tax-raising powers, in a panic-stricken move to bribe Scottish voters not to go down the independence road.

There is no overriding imperative that would impel the UK government to devolve APD powers to Wales and it will undoubtedly come down to a political decision with lots of lobbying (to which the CWL chairman alludes) behind the scenes.

The Westminster government (and I'm not having a go at the Conservatives because Labour and Liberal Democrats are equally complicit) has made a dreadful mess of the way that UK governance has developed. It's a budding, ersatz federal system that satisfies few people and creates many, many more problems than it can solve with APD being one of them.

 

[Em0866]

It was good to read the report by Roger Lewis and the start of the plans they have at CWL. I know it's all words but we have to start somewhere and the next year or so will be interesting to see how things develop at CWL. Good to see that the report didn't just focus on pax services only.

As for APD, they should get rid of it for ALL of the UK. Seeing what they have done in Northern Ireland there is only one route to the US (EWR) but I think Virgin Atlantic will be starting services to MCO this summer. Does that compare fairly with the flights they have to the US from DUB? I think not. As for APD being devolved to Wales on, for example, routes to the US, I fail to see how BRSs argument stands...not only that, how many Welsh pax who currently fly from BRS who used to fly from CWL? Isn't it roughly the same figure as the one that BRS are quoted as saying would be the number they would lose? (or thereabouts). Also how many direct trans-Atlantic flights currently fly from BRS or CWL come to that? Airports are businesses at the end of the day and they all try to sell their product to get as many people through the gates as possible in order to increase their profit margin.

I could go on but I could ramble for hours on this one. But the bottom line is, just get rid of APD from the UK completely

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's not only the direct long haul flights that attract the higher APD rate. For example all the flights from the UK via Amsterdam and Dublin to destinations over 2,000 miles away have a £71 APD rate (£73 from April this year). Premium cabin fares are double that.

So the BRS owners and management would be concerned that KLM and EI could charge less from CWL than from BRS (or from BHX), assuming the WAG reduced APD to nil, still make more money per passenger and be likely to attract more passengers from England looking to benefit from lower fares into the bargain. When you consider that over 350,000 people flew between BRS and AMS in 2014 (more in 2015 but final figures are not yet in) with many flying onwards on long haul, even taking out easyJet's point to point contribution, that's a lot of potential passengers to lose if APD was devolved to Wales with a nil rate.

In the end it comes down to the old argument: is it right for a successful business that needs no public support to be compromised by a struggling neighbour that is given a tax break or some other support from the exchequer not available to the successful business? With a dispassionate hat on I could make strong arguments for both cases as I could for APD being devolved or not being devolved to Wales.

APD is not only a punitive tax but it's arguably counter productive in the long run as airlines and the travel industry never tire of pointing out. I can't see it disappearing so far as English airports are concerned though. It brings in too much money to the exchequer and is easy to collect from the government's standpoint as the aviation industry does it for them. The Scottish government says it can only afford to reduce APD by 50% initially with a long term aim of a nil rate. However, the WAG reckons it will abolish or reduce APD to nil straight away.

The million or so people from/to Wales who use BRS annually are spread across many routes, a lot of which don't operate from CWL because there aren't enough passengers to service some routes from both sides of the Severn and BRS invariably needs less topping up (because of its larger core catchment) than would be the case at CWL. Furthermore, BRS is able to attract a million passengers each year from Devon and Cornwall for the same reasons re EXT and NQY.

Addendum

I meant to mention this in the main body of my post.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/polit ... d-10796984

It suggests that the WAG's advisers for the purchase of Cardiff Airport, KPMG, suggested it was worth no more than £30 million. The WAG paid £52 million. I can't take this too seriously as public spending arguments can be twisted this way and that, especially when party politics intrude as is the case with this.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Following his first 100 days in office Roger Lewis, the new chairman of the Cardiff Airport company, has published a lengthy open letter on the CWL website outlining the future that he envisages for the airport.

He was previously the chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union (for those with a sketchy knowledge of sport this is the body responsible for the game in Wales including the national teams). Prior to that he had been managing director of ITV Wales. Earlier in his career he had been a radio producer than controller of various radio stations including Classic FM. He is on a number of advisory boards and also non executive director of a number of other companies.

Clearly he is someone with a lot of contacts in Wales and further afield and an excellent communicator. I expect him to be more high profile than his predecessor, Lord David Rowe-Beddoe.

This is the link to the letter on the CWL website. The letter is comprehensive and very detailed.

http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/201 ... -100-days/

I've set out below the part that outlines the priorities for the coming 5 plus years, although the list is not an exhaustive one.

Continuing our growth in passenger numbers

Enhancing the passenger experience

Supporting our existing partners

Investing in our people

Offering more destinations, at competitive prices with greater frequency

Improving the retail, food and beverage, and car parking facilities

Understanding our passengers better

Improving our external and internal communications and marketing

Using digital technology to transform our business

Exploring all the opportunities which the Airport can offer its partners, including Maintenance,

Repair and Overhaul (MRO), fuel, freight and aviation related training

Reviewing with Government, Air Passenger Duty and its impact on our growth

Working with new partners for certain aspects of the enterprise

Growing all of our revenues whilst maintaining tight control of our costs

Building value in the Airport.

It might be thought that much of this is plain common sense and obvious but it's the first time that I've seen a plan for future development set out in this way since the airport was acquired by the Wales Assembly Government.

The staff and junior management will now know how the senior management and board intend to proceed in building the airport to enable it to serve the needs of the people of Wales and visitors, both leisure and business.

 

[Em0866]

Hi Local

I read the report, not all of it I admit, but at long last we have it in writing a plan and way ahead. This has been sadly lacking in the past, at least publicly. Let's see how the 12-24 months progress with growth and what else they have in store with route expansion and increased frequencies to current destinations

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It looks as though the commitment of the Welsh Government in purchasing CWL and then supporting it with route development money is beginning to pay off and the signs are that this upturn in fortunes will continue and gain momentum. I know that the government's decision to buy the airport wasn't everyone's cup of tea but one has to wonder what might have happened had they not done so.

The previous owner had obviously lost interest in the airport and there is an argument that suggests that it was running it down, although quite why is hard to fathom as this would be reducing the value of an important asset. It seems that the private sector was not interested at that point in buying CWL.

Life is full of ifs and whats and maybes but I do wonder what might have happened had there been no Wales Government to step in. The National Assembly was voted in by the narrowest of margins when the vote took place in 1997, with just 50.3% of voters saying yes, a majority of 6,721 across the entire country.

 

[Em0866]

I am sure that, given the nature of politicians, had the Welsh Government not stepped in then those same politicians who are moaning about the purchase now, may have been saying "the Welsh Government should have bought it"...or words to that effect. Of course we don't know what would have happened if they had not stepped in but I would guess that no other private sector would have bought it as an airport, but maybe as a development for houses or something. Who knows!

Although the increase in pax numbers is slow, it is on the up which what we all want. Getting more and more people to think about considering CWL in the first instance is what's needed and not automatically look at neighbouring airports.

My partner and I are off to Alicante in March for a few days and it worked out cheaper to fly with VY rather than EZY from BRS....and that was based only on the cost of the flight. This will be my first time to fly out of CWL to an overseas destination since June 2008!

Yes I remember the referendum and it was by a very narrow margin. I wonder though if they were to have another referendum what the result would be this time? Interesting question, don't you think? I think that more people would go out and vote and it would be a fairer result.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes I remember the referendum and it was by a very narrow margin. I wonder though if they were to have another referendum what the result would be this time? Interesting question, don't you think? I think that more people would go out and vote and it would be a fairer result.

I believe that in the late 70s when the devolution issue began to be taken seriously there was estimated to be 2 to 1 in favour. By the late 90s the issue had become much closer and the Blair government had to work very hard to obtain the result it wanted.

Of course not all people who consider themselves Welsh had the chance to vote. As with the Scottish referendum only those on the Welsh electoral roll (or Scottish electoral roll in the case of Scotland) were eligible to participate meaning that Welsh and Scottish people living outside those countries had no vote whereas people of other nationalities living in Wales or Scotland and on the electoral roll there could vote.

I've wandered slightly off topic but devolution is clearly closely related to CWL's fortunes and remains so with the APD question at present.

I will be interested to learn what you think of CWL when you pass through after all these years. I understand it's been spruced up considerably in the past year or two. I haven't used it for many a year. Living on the English side of the estuary Bristol Airport is very convenient for short haul and I use London for long haul (the European hubs out of BRS never seem to provide for what I want these days although I used KLM via AMS for North America regularly in the 1990s). I used BHX for long haul a few years ago and would like to use it again.

 

[Em0866]

As for going over to North America, the last time I went I flew from Manchester as I was flying to MCO. Better than driving to LGW and no M25 either. Despite the number of trans-continental flights from there it didn't feel as crowded as LGW and the staff were much more friendly too.

I have used KLM via AMS from CWL in the past to JFK which was excellent, and even though I always check prices via AMS or DUB to fly over the Atlantic, the price difference is staggering and much cheaper from LHR than going from CWL or BRS. For closer to home trips I do look at CWL or BRS and usually BRS wins hands down as in the past the destination is not available from CWL. At least this year I am glad I can say I can fly from my local airport.

As I don;t fly out until March it is still a few weeks away but I willl post on here what my impressions of CWL are now compared to how it was when I last flew from there in 2008.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Funnily enough friends of ours who live in Bristol have just returned from a Thomas Cook holiday in Antigua. They went from Manchester, preferring the train journey there from Bristol than having to travel to Gatwick, so you are not alone with those thoughts.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Maximising the Economic Benefits of the Welsh Government’s Investment in Cardiff and St. Athan Airports

The Public Policy Institute for Wales has produced a lengthy paper dealing with the above.

The paper can be accessed at this link

http://ppiw.org.uk/files/2016/01/PPIW-R ... rports.pdf

There is a lot to digest and I confess to having scan read parts of it - there are large sections for example comparing South Wales and the CWL catchment with similar areas in other parts of the world.

The paper looks back on CWL's under performance of the past decade and suggests reasons (in all honesty the reasons are pretty obvious to anyone with a passing interest in the subject).

Inevitably it discusses BRS and ponders why this airport has done so well relative to CWL's performance. The paper is puzzled about the scale of the two airports' relative performance differences and puts forward some suggestions as to why this has come about.

I found some of the paper heavier on the academic and lighter on the reality. Like the York report on a CWL NYC service produced some years ago for the Wales Government I had the feeling that the paper was more about what it thought Wales wanted to hear rather than examining some of the practicalities in greater detail with a forensic eye.

I've argued for a number of years that those running CWL believed (incorrectly) for too long that the cachet of the airport's status serving a capital city required little work to bring the airlines flocking in. That lesson has hopefully been learned by the current airport owners and management but the paper discussed in this post still smacks of that attitude in parts.

Despite my comments, the paper is a valuable document, for discussion if nothing else, and I hope that others will have the time and patience to read the paper. I would value other opinions on it.

Finally, and this might seem picky, but when a supposedly learned paper describes part of the Bristol catchment as being in Avon I begin to wonder about some of the other matters introduced as facts. Avon ceased to exist in 1996 and had only lasted 22 years.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://senedd.assembly.wales/documents/ ... 202016.pdf

This link is to the draft minutes of a National Assembly of Wales Public Accounts Committee meeting earlier this week in which Roger Lewis and Debra Barber, the chairman and managing director respectively of CWL, gave evidence.

The MD did not pull her punches about the state she found the airport in when she arrived in 2012 as operations director. She said that the then owners, Abertis, seemed reluctant to spend money on the place. She gave an example that she put together a capital programme of critical infrastructure that needed to be replaced but only received a fifth of the money needed which just enabled them to perform work required by regulation.

She and the chairman said that the airport really had been in serious danger of closure as an airport and, although it might have remained as a GA centre, it would have been extremely difficult to reinstate it as an airport had it closed.

Closure had been mentioned as a possibility by the chief executive at board meetings.

The chairman and MD told the committee that they have a five year and a 15 year plan but the chairman was reluctant to disclose details as he felt it could compromise commercial confidentiality.

What was said though is that only this week a low cost airline (unnamed) had approached the airport.

From his evidence to the committee my suggestion in a previous post that the chairman will be far more hands-on than his predecessor seems unarguable.

 

[Em0866]

Hi Local.

I read some of this report which, on the whole, I found very interesting. Some of the questions that were being asked were just silly though and it showed that some AMs have no business brains attached. However, both Debra Barber and Roger Lewis held their own and the enthusiasm from both of them was very apparent. From that alone the positivity from them was obvious and a big turn around from 2012 is a complete U turn!

It will be interesting to see what will come of this low cost carrier who had approached them. I have a couple in mind who I think it would be, but I'll say nothing for now as I don't want to jinx it.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

E m

I won't jinx it but I think it's Ryanair.

 

[Em0866]

That was one of them, but I did have another one in mind...also an overseas LCC

 

[Aviador]

There is always a chance we'll see more from Vueling.