Route Development & Rumours

[752]

A Dreamliner would be nice though!

 

[Britannia94]

A Dreamliner would be nice though!

Or an A330 or A350. It would be amazing to see one of these On stand at LBA.

 

[ethanegcc]

Based on Manchester currently having ~ : Emirates at 21, Qatar 16 and Eithad at 14 weekly flights and not even considering Oman Air and Turkish, it’s an absolute a “no brainer” that Leeds could and should have a link into one of the Middle East Hubs. The 787 would be perfect especially with a lunchtime arrival when most of the spring / autumn fog has lifted.

How many passengers originate from Yorkshire on these flights (10% - 20 %) bearing in mind the huge potential into Pakistan alone ???

The issue here is potential vs. reality which often leaves us disappointed when it comes to LBA unfortunately . Prove me wrong Qatar !

you make some great points about LBA and it definitely has a strong candidacy for ME3 service. When you mention MAN, though, don't forget Saudia as well!

 

[ex_crew]

"Based on Manchester currently having ~ : Emirates at 21, Qatar 16 and Eithad at 14 weekly flights and not even considering Oman Air and Turkish, it’s an absolute a “no brainer” that Leeds could and should have a link into one of the Middle East Hubs. The 787 would be perfect especially with a lunchtime arrival when most of the spring / autumn fog has lifted. "




Sadly , this is exactly the reason why Qatari officials would not consider LBA as a new airfield for operations to Doha and the Gulf , as well as unpredictable weather conditions which could proove a common occurance , landing an aircraft of this size , full will result in numerous diversions.

The current Mid Eastern market is almost fully saturated from MAN , the catchment area includes Leeds and the M62 corridor.

Middle Eastertn passengers have a wealth of exuberent airports to choose from and the standards are very high , there expectations are very high too.

Manchester meets and exceeds their expectations , providing luxurious surroundings and lounges.

LBA has quite away to go before this is an option to this type of passenger

A lot behind the scenes work is needed to get this type of route is catered for.

Based on this , I think Bristol will struggle too , although it has had an American carrier in this , the fact that it failed will not win them points.

I too would love to see a Gulf carrier come to LBA.

 

[Jerry]

Based on this , I think Bristol will struggle too , although it has had an American carrier in this , the fact that it failed will not win them points

I think a American carrier is completely different to a ME3 as it is a lot more limited. The ME3 offer a lot more connections.

 

[ex_crew]

Airport infrastructure also plays a big part.

Any international carrier looking at an airport , particuarly a regional airfield , will be looking for the appropiate amenities .

An international carrier serving an international route will have a "wish list " and Bristol can accomodate this , or could .

Your right , these are two completely different routes , targeting seperate markets.

On the ground , generally International carriers sing from the same hymn sheet , they expect any

new airport bids to present them with a high criteria of facilities , both airside and landside.

 

[Jerry]

new airport bids to present them with a high criteria of facilities , both airside and landside.

Do they look at whether an airport has usable air bridges airside? Guessing free access to the executive lounges for business passengers as well will come into it? Do they also look at landside transport options to the airport for their passengers?

 

[Bigman]

lbaspotter... I was curious when you mentioned the A321NEO so I thought I would do some digging. The Airbus website makes interesting reading. It would appear that Doha would be well within the operating range for an A321NEO when you look at the interactive map...and so would Tornoto for that matter. Maybe Jet2 should be looking at them as a long term replacement for the 757's.

 

[ex_crew]

That would be a much better alternative , especially for smaller airports , like Bristol and Leeds and a perfect alternative to the 737 Max.

I think Royal Jordanian operate the A321 into Birmingham.

 

[Finger66]

Perhaps everyone has been 2 or 3 days early with these recents posts. Its only April 1st today. Fantastic as it would be to see an ME carrier at LBA I fear this is nothing more than a distant dream, not a distant dreamliner! I also cant see Jet2 replacing their 757s with 321neos and having a mixed manufacturer fleet, but you can never say never. The Dreamliner is a more likely candidate in my eyes. I think our focus needs to be attracting further domestic routes such as Edinburgh and also the South West as well as some more major hubs in Continental Europe. Trade deals with countries far far away for the UK could just increase long gaul business travel so connections via these hubs are in my eyes a far more practical wish as these would also be operated by aircraft capable of coping with our runway limitations. Whilst it crossed my mind to post something silly for April 1st I thought no, what better day to put a sensible perspective on things

 

[ex_crew]

Totally agree.
Tidy up our own backyard then hook the golden duck.

 

[ethanegcc]

That would be a much better alternative , especially for smaller airports , like Bristol and Leeds and a perfect alternative to the 737 Max.

I think Royal Jordanian operate the A321 into Birmingham.

RJ don't operate to BHX, except for maintenance by MAEL?

 

[Finger66]

Totally agree.
Tidy up our own backyard then hook the golden duck.

This has to be one of the most sensible comments on here. Why are we all aiming so big. LBA is what it is but there is still so much untapped potential for links to Europe. The airport can handle that. As was posted previously how many times would we lose a Dreamliner flight because the wind is a couple of knots too strong or the rvr is 50m too low. Much better chance of an ERJ, CRJ or similar being able to land. Not sure what these airlines are scared of they would be in for a pleasant surprise if only they would try.

 

[ex_crew]

Thank you Ethanegcc
My mistake regarding RJA , they dont operate pax services to Birmingham.

 

[armadillomaster]

I would also imagine Turkish airlines should be high on the list?

 

[ex_crew]

No doubt it is.

I would imagine a 737 with a couple of rotations per week would produce good loads.

But logistically , would it work ?

Manchester , is more or less mid-way point between Istanbul and the U.S and can cater for transiting passengers .

Although Turkish do serve a lot of main US gateways from their hubs , they are quite expensive , sometimes unreliable and not very popular for long haul flights.

Turkish would also need to free up an aircraft to serve Leeds , they will ask themselves whether

it is worth their while freeing up an aircraft , using a valuable slot to serve Leeds , based on this

information.

Sadly , I dont think so .

 

[Bigman]

Surely Turkish would cater for passengers travelling east rather than West? Turkish operate over the pond, so do they have any code-sharing hub arrangements at Manny? Istanbul would be an ideal hub to use for the Far East, and a 737 or A319 would be ideal from LBA with no need to bring the big boys in.

 

[ex_crew]

Hi Bigman

Turkish do have the Eastern market to offer but do you envisage tempting customers to fly from an airport that has poor transport links , very little to offer a customer about to go on a longhaul journey , changing planes after a 4 hour flight and then transferring to another aircraft ?

Why do all this when all they need to do is turn up at Manchester and do the journey , properly in one go ?

 

[Bigman]

It hasn't stopped people hubbing via Heathrow or Amsterdam, so why would Istanbul be any different? I am sure people quite happily still interline via Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurtand Zurich going East from Manchester, despite there being god knows how many operators now to the Far East.

 

[ex_crew]

Think we are getting a bit lost here.

Im not questioning any transiting airports.

I am questioning the airport of origin , Leeds.