Doncaster Sheffield - General Thread

[dmrodgers]

Not bad, I've never been to DSA but from the pictures it looks a very smart little airport :s_yes

I'm guessing Southend was top again??

Yes Southend was top with a rating of 86% compared to DSA 84%. Aberdeen came out bottom in the UK small airport category with a rating of 51%.

 

[lysander]

In a major boost for DSA, Flybe has just announced they will be operating up to 44 extra flights a week from March 2016.

 

[Ray Finkle]

What a monster. I'm going to have to make a trip to see it one day.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7PhWzBc8Q0[/video]

 

[stars&sids]

I got there for the departure - it was very impressive! Don't know the payload, and it was only fuelled to Leipzig , but she was up off the runway in about half the available distance.
There was a good few hundred spotters round the perimeter roads, so plenty of good video available on the net, however, rumour is that she's back later on this year, if you can make the trip. If I hear anything concrete, I'll post it in the cargo section on here.

 

[Aviador]

Very impressive indeed. She looks a little unsteady on that narrow wheelbase though.

 

[jfy1999]

Very impressive indeed. She looks a little unsteady on that narrow wheelbase though.

My thoughts exactly...but you should see the old B-52 long range bombers, they're so unstable they need a little wheel at the end of each wing.

 

[lysander]

I always understood that the wing tip wheels on the B52 were rather less to do with stability and rather more to do with protecting the wing tips as a result of its wing span and anhedral!

 

[stars&sids]

An article from the Business Doncaster website about Peels latest ambition to increase opportunities on the airport site, to be known as 'Aero Centre Yorkshire'

http://www.businessdoncaster.com/

"Peel Group launch Aero Centre Yorkshire at Doncaster Sheffield Airport
Posted on December 18, 2015
The Peel Group has today, (December 18), launched Aero Centre Yorkshire to the UK property marketplace.
The new brand represents the wide range of development opportunities now available surrounding Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield Airport, attracting inward investment and job creation to the Sheffield City Region.
The 1600-acre site, which is home to the UK’s fastest growing airport outside London, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, is already home to an array of office, warehousing and distribution unit opportunities, encompassing a 62-acre business park and 10 hectares of Enterprise Zone.
Robert Hough, chairman of Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, said: “Today’s announcement reflects The Peel Group’s strategy set out in the master plan to maximise the potential of the whole airport site in order to provide for the future growth of air services and to make Doncaster Sheffield Airport a major hub for passenger, business cargo and general aviation activities.”
Peel Logistics, a joint venture between Peel Land and Property and Macquarie Capital, is now a major delivery partner on the site. In October, The Peel Group set out 150 major projects in its Northern Powerhouse strategy and Aero Centre Yorkshire now sits within this portfolio.
Steve Gill, managing director of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, commented: “This positive announcement comes just weeks before the opening of the FARRRS Airport Link Road and only a few weeks since our major new carrier announcement with Flybe delivering connectivity to three European centres of trade and two major European hubs.
“The FARRRS scheme will deliver greatly enhanced connectivity to the Sheffield City region’s airport, placing Doncaster Sheffield Airport within minutes of the UK’s major motorway network and bringing global business closer to Sheffield’s £28 billion economy.
“Aero Centre Yorkshire will be an enviable central location with motorways, sea ports and airside access to one of the longest runways in the country. It offers a wide range of land and property opportunities for businesses of all types and sizes from across the globe.”
The approved development site already has planning consent for over 2 million square feet of office, warehousing and distribution units and designated Enterprise Zone status, making Aero Centre Yorkshire a viable prospect for a considerable range of businesses from logistics to full commercial Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations.
There are already many businesses operating on the site, with the hangars at Aero Centre Yorkshire housing a Cessna service centre offering a comprehensive service for citation jets including upgrades, repairs, maintenance, overhaul and parts support.
Martin McKervey from the Sheffield City Region LEP, added: “The Peel Group is investing heavily in our region and this further announcement for the Sheffield City Region’s Airport is most welcome. Now is the time for business to come together and back its airport. A successful airport needs a successful region and a successful region needs a successful airport of its own.
“It is no longer sufficient or acceptable to rely upon air services from outside our regional economy. We must support and develop our region to ensure it has the strongest possible position within the Northern powerhouse.”

 

[jason1-11]

Drove up from London yesterday and noticed a large billboard at junction 39 of the M1 (Wakefield ) declaring how close DSA was especially with the new link road. Also, when I now log onto the YEP website, there are always plenty of ads for the Flybe routes from Doncaster, but not a word about Leeds.

As an outsider , it appears if they are targeting the West and North Yorkshire area's and with some vigour.

 

[Aviador]

Drove up from London yesterday and noticed a large billboard at junction 39 of the M1 (Wakefield ) declaring how close DSA was especially with the new link road. Also, when I now log onto the YEP website, there are always plenty of ads for the Flybe routes from Doncaster, but not a word about Leeds.

As an outsider , it appears if they are targeting the West and North Yorkshire area's and with some vigour.

Which is a shame as so many people are lost to Manchester airport from the South Yorkshire region or pehaps I should say the Manchester Airport Group airports. They would be better targeting passengers from their own region before trying to poach passengers from other regions.

 

[pug]

I think it's less aboutneglecting SY passengers and more about trying to build on that by attracting WY pax. The May figures for CDG were at 39% load factor, and AMS was 59%. Overall load factor with Flybe in May was 52%.. Can fully understand why they'd advertise further afield, as those loads are unsustainable of they continue.

 

[Aviador]

Those two destinations are perfect examples of why Doncaster airport needs to concentrate on clawing back passengers from it's own region before worrying about attracting passengers from other regions. It isn't rocket science as to why Manchester airport can offer and sustain so many daily flight to CDG and AMS. A sizable proportion of passengers using those services will originate from the South Yorkshire region.

 

[pug]

It's that catch 22 though, MAN simply has a larger pull due to much better choice and flexibility, itself due to catchment area. Therefore it may prove to be more attractive to the SY passenger. Afterall, it's not too far on the train, and the road connections leave a lot to be desired, but they're bearable most of the time. Will be interesting to see if things improve over the coming months, Flybe will likely be a bit more patient given this froth is on the back of Operation Blackbird. As good an opportunity as DSA is going to get.

 

[Aviador]

DSA suffers from the same problem as LBA in that passengers are so used to flying from Manchester many of them won't even consider using their local airport. Some will live just minutes away from Doncaster airport yet will always use Manchester airport. Many will assume the flights won't be available locally so they won't even bother looking. Only now is LBA beginning to claw back some of it's lost passengers but it's an uphill struggle. Doncaster will find it even harder as it's starting the climb from a lower baseline.

 

[pug]

I agree in part, though LBA can prove it will fill the seats when they're offered. DSA will need to do that too, and it is early days for the BE operation, but their flights are not proving as popular so far. FWIW there is a lot of advertising in the Humber region too, and South Yorkshire, so they're not singling out West Yorkshire.

 

[Aviador]

Doncaster Sheffield Airport named the best small airport in the country

YORKSHIRE’S Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is flying high after being named the best small airport in UK, rated as those airports with fewer than 10 million passengers.

Influential consumer group Which? magazine’s members have awarded the airport the accolade. The airport scored 87 percent overall beating all airports in the North and Midlands by as much as 20 percent.

DSA scores highly in areas such as queues at security, passport control, baggage drop, seating and toilets. But most significantly its staff have been recognised with an amazing five stars, with only one other airport in the UK receiving this honour. The airport’s close by terminal parking was also given a special mention by Which?

The ‘Best and Worst UK Airports’ carried out by Which? assessed airports on areas that matter the most to consumers, including pick-up and drop-off, seating provision, queues at security, passport control and baggage reclaim.

The final standings were revealed after Which? members shared their experiences of the UK’s airports with the group’s magazine.

DSA was the highest placed in the UK, for small airport, in the rankings of 18 other airports.

Steve Gill, chief executive of DSA said: “We are simply thrilled to have topped this annual survey. Feedback like this is fantastic for the airport.

“Getting five stars for our staff is a great recognition of our team, their dedication and the investment we have made in customer service training. Delivering a top customer experience is one of our main values and to have it confirmed in this way is very heartening

“DSA has continued to develop, we’ve added new low cost seats, more city breaks, popular leisure routes alongside investing in our facilities, and this is down to listening to our customers and taking their feedback seriously.”

Ian Smith, head of commercial and passenger experience, added: “We are proud to have won a number of awards for our customer service at DSA. Our staff receive dedicated and regular training, such as our recently adopted World Host training programme. We have also invested in ease of travel through the airport which has been recognised by these survey results showing that our customers feel that checking in and getting to departures is a smooth process.

“Our modern terminal and parking facilities are able to be easily expanded, as we hopefully see more returning and new customers flying from DSA. We are well placed to maintain these high standards going forward.”

Doncaster Airport Press Release

 

[Rob c DSA]

Great to see the airport win this award but time to bring more flights to the airport especially with Wizz cutting capacity

 

[Aviador]

Great to see the airport win this award but time to bring more flights to the airport especially with Wizz cutting capacity

The number of Eastern Europeans coming to the UK has dropped significantly since the Brexit vote according to official statistics so it's likely the airport will need to seek new markets. #Brexit #Wizzcuts

 

[Jerry]

Just passed by DSA and seen a Ryanair on approach. Diversion? Training? Big wig visit? Anyone have an idea?

 

[Aviador]

Just passed by DSA and seen a Ryanair on approach. Diversion? Training? Big wig visit? Anyone have an idea?

EI-SEV is doing circuits. Looks like training.