New Birmingham Airport Viewing Facility

[Hassaan]

I think the back of the TriStar hotel may still be available for a fully-fledged viewing facility. The reason they haven't done one yet, I'd presume, is because they haven't got a good enough business case yet. And the view from the long stay car park of the airfield is better as you move further away due to the fence.

It's a bit of a shame though as I'd like to see one and the Long Stay Car Park could actually provide some of the best views. There is the option of calling it 'Long Stay Car Park & Viewing Area' but is there enough space for anything on the same scale as Manchester? I'm not talking about the car park but the viewing area/grass area in general.

Based on the last aerial image we received of the site, some suggestions of another location:

The one by the perimeter road is probably more unlikely than the first suggestion by the fire station. But it'll be interesting to gather your thoughts.

This was the previous 'mock-up' of the TriStar hotel location:

If anyone could come up with a better design for that feel free.

 

[Hassaan]

I've emailed Paul Kehoe the ideas so it'll be interesting to see what he thinks.

 

[Ray Finkle]

The picture below is the site of the new viewing area ready for tarmac and then some benches. In my opinion it is in the perfect spot with great views of aircraft turning onto the new taxiway and those departing from echo. If you walk away from where I'm standing then there are views across the airfield from by the 20's stands and if you walk behind where I'm standing there is a gravel path skirting the perimeter fence up to the end if the runway. I found I could manage with my lens through the fence without too many problems but several others had steps giving views pretty much everywhere. The small downside is the fuel farm but for the casual viewer there is still plenty to see and for the photographer moving a short distance along the fence either way solves the issue.

 

[Brum X]

Looking great Ray, got a week off soon so gonna head down there.

 

[Ray Finkle]

It's well worth it especially on a day like today. You can let us know if the benches have been installed.

 

[Hassaan]

I've still contacted Paul Kehoe with my ideas and he's passed them on. But looking at that view from the Long Stay it looks unlikely that they'll go as far to have an official facility elsewhere. You never know though.

 

[Ray Finkle]

There's a couple of photo's below which better illustrate the distance to the new taxiway from long stay one showing the proximity of the fence, there is less zoom than on my pictures so you can get a better idea. They're not available to share so you'll have to click the links.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bhx01_glo ... otostream/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/bhx01_glo ... otostream/

 

[Hassaan]

I did go down to the Long Stay last week but it's not a great view if you're looking at a proper viewing facility. For taking pictures, it's perfect though. Not so much for videos. I still stick with the idea that a proper facility will be very popular. The noise bund/earth surrounding the airfield may have blocked potential views of the extension from the TriStar hotel though.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Three table benches installed today with another three to be done in due course along with, so I'm told.......a shelter :dunno:

 

[Brum X]

Three table benches installed today with another three to be done in due course along with, so I'm told.......a shelter :dunno:

And a portocabin toilet would be useful too, saves having to trek back to the terminal.

But at least it is something. :good:

 

[Hassaan]

Well it's better than nothing. I've heard back from Paul - he says, quite simply, "We are going to put back the facilities near the car park.".

Well, that does say there's no plan for a proper facility. Doesn't quite clear up what they thought of my plans though but it suggests that they've brushed them off.

Anyone got any other ideas? I think the best way for this to be in with a shot of happening is if I have a ready-made business plan. Problem is I have no idea how to put one together. I'm not sure who else we can get on board too.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I spent a couple of hours in the new viewing area this morning and had an interesting chat with a gentleman who is usually pretty well informed. He said the previous 'airport director' was very pro spotters and there was a viewing area under consideration for the land behind the Tristar hotel, apparently some raised mounds and an undercover area. He then said the 'new director' doesn't want to know, he is, in this chaps words, "interested in making big money and nothing else" and they had to fight for the token gesture that is there now. Apparently there was to be six benches and a small shelter but as yet there are still only three benches, they also apparently pushed for the area to be tarmacked rather than the soft surface they have put down but BHX weren't interested, judging by the channels eroded away by the recent rain it isn't going to last very long.

 

[Aviador]

That's sad if that is indeed true because as we've discussed before, there is money to be made from spotters not to forget all the free publicity spotters give promoting their home 'team'.

 

[Ray Finkle]

not to forget all the free publicity spotters give promoting their home 'team'.

I totally agree, photo's taken at airports get uploaded to sites such as this as well as specialist picture sharing sites like Flickr and advertise what is on offer to the world. There is also people who pop along with the kids and learn from speaking to the regulars. Today there was a family there from Dudley who'd bought the kids to see Emirates, I overheard them asking one of the local spotters about movements and the regular mentioned the Thomson Dreamliner was about to depart, 'where's that going to he asked' and when he was told it's heading to Orlando he was amazed that you could fly to Florida direct from BHX, saying him and his family had travelled all the way to Gatwick. That could be more future business for BHX not to mention any friends or colleagues they may tell.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I overheard them asking one of the local spotters about movements and the regular mentioned the Thomson Dreamliner was about to depart, 'where's that going to he asked' and when he was told it's heading to Orlando he was amazed that you could fly to Florida direct from BHX, saying him and his family had travelled all the way to Gatwick. That could be more future business for BHX not to mention any friends or colleagues they may tell.

This sort of thing occurs all around the country. Whether or not I had any interest in aviation or airports I'd still ask my travel agent or interrogate the booking website to discover whether there were local flights to my holiday destination.

It's not a difficult task but I suppose it's a bit like car or house insurance where some people stick to the same company year in and year out and make no attempt to see if there's better value elsewhere; and banks and building societies rely on some savers' inertia when it comes to switching accounts and will pay a pittance to these unwary customers.

Yes, you're right: local aviation aficionados can certainly put the word around about the offerings from their airport.

 

[Ray Finkle]

This sort of thing occurs all around the country. Whether or not I had any interest in aviation or airports I'd still ask my travel agent or interrogate the booking website to discover whether there were local flights to my holiday destination.

There are of course many instances (not specifically BHX related) where the travel agents themselves are totally unaware that flights exist. One of the first things Mr Kehoe did when he arrived at BHX was mount a campaign towards local travel agents trying to get them to make potential customers aware of both the direct and connecting flights available from their local airport, rather than just using the default 'you can only get there from LHR'. I think this is still an on-going process with a team both out on the road and also hosting events to promote local services.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The comment about travel agents is true and I've found that I often know a lot more about flights from my local airport than the travel agents' staff but I suppose I am a bit of an anorak when it comes to timetables and the like. I also read suggestions in some quarters that some travel agents (the independent ones I suppose) are sometimes incentivised by the major tour companies to favour one local airport over another.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I remember the very first time I booked myself a package holiday, pre t'internet, we went into Going Places (remember them?) who I think were owned by Airtours/My Travel to book two weeks in Tenerife. The young lady was very helpful in offering us choices of flights from MAN and LGW and seemed quite shocked when I said I wanted to fly from Birmingham, after much debating we finally got the flights we wanted. She later said that because their airlines add so many seats from MAN and LGW their retail staff were told to push them to get them sold. Even as recently as 2006, the last time we went to Australia, we used a well known 'long haul specialist' travel agent and again she was very helpful in listing all the available airlines out of LHR. She too seemed quite shocked when I said I'd like flights EK38 and EK39 and we both heard her mutter "all the way to Australia from Birmingham, who'd have thought".

 

[thunderchild]

Going Places- now that's a blast from the past! My family and I have always used Co-operative when booking package holidays as there is one very local and they would always give us all the available departure points and ask us a preference. I suppose sunshine holidays are different but even when booking SFO I was offered BHX as a departure point. I think a lot depends on the how knowledgeable the staff are.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

She later said that because their airlines add so many seats from MAN and LGW their retail staff were told to push them to get them sold.

Slightly going off topic I know, but I think that's probably true although one would think that BHX has a big enough catchment with a large enough network to be the recipient rather than the donor of travel industry-encouraged peripatetic passengers.

On a Welsh aviation forum a respected, retired South Wales travel agent makes the same point about local holidaymakers there being directed by the big tour company travel agents to Bristol Airport when there are similar flights/holidays at Cardiff Airport.