Birmingham: (BHX) - General Thread

[Ray Finkle]

I think the general opinion is that we'd all love to see the West Midlands name disappear into obscurity, it really is awful.

Most people I have spoken to about EMA say that the name is way too vague for many outside of the UK and doesn't identify with any particular city. A few years ago they renamed it Nottingham East Midlands but for some reason it never stuck.

If flights were offered to North Rhine-Westphalia International I'd bet a large chunk of people would have no idea where that is, yet most would likely know about Dusseldorf.

Birmingham has to be in the name.

I hope that Brum X counts slowly to 10 before replying

 

[Brummiegem]

Nice idea Andrew.
Problem is,outside of the U.K. not many people are aware of the British counties system.
In fact outside of Europe,only London,Edinburgh and probably Manchester(with all due respect to the city but mainly football related)are actually well known.
The majority of U.K. cities have been heard of,but not that many are really well known.
Apart from the obvious links,Oxford and Cambridge for example,ask the average visitor where Leeds is,and most would not have heard of it let alone place it on a map or tell you what they are famous for.Having said that how many British people could place Leeds on a map?

I personally think renaming the Airport, Shakespeares’ Airport, is probably the lesser of a number of evils.
Shakespeare is a well known brand worldwide.
Whether that will encourage more visitors to the region alone,well that is another argument.

 

[Brummiegem]

Just noticed Ray’s reply.
Nottingham is an interesting one.Many people associate Nottingham with Robin Hood.However that name has been given to Doncaster.Those not into myth and history will be confused by that.
Allegedly Shakespeare spoke with a Brummie accent.Not relevant maybe,but Stratford is not in Birmingham.Warwickshire is Shakespeare’s county,always has been.
My point is,it gets confusing for visitors,and should just be kept simple.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there Ray and all, if the idea to rename it West Midlands Airport is not catching enough, then what about Birmingham " The Midlands Airport ", does that sound any better at all...AndyC

 

[Brum X]

I'm sorry but Birmingham our great city is attracting more visitors than ever before and the cities name will be even more popular in the run up to the commonwealth games so I have an idea for a name and that is Birmingham airport or BHX as I like to call it. No need for silly names to try and make Birmingham look bigger or better.. If people are that interested in Shakespeare I would expect them to know a little about this part of the country and where it is, if they don't well shame on them

 

[Ray Finkle]

I suppose it's personal choice but I really dislike the 'Midlands' tag. To me it conjures up memories of the horrendous state that Central Birmingham was in throughout the 80's and the reputation that we're still struggling to shake off despite the city being unrecognisable.

Maybe the younger generation see it differently but for me it's Greater Birmingham all the way and I'd prefer the name of the airport to stay the same.

I do think that Shakespeare should be used for marketing purposes though

 

[Brum X]

Just took my 11th deep breath ray, whenever I hear that name W-st Midlands it starts my blood pumping and not in a good way I'm calm now though, lol

 

[IanFarquharson]

I have always though Birmingham Airport should use the BHX tag in their advertising, it has a ring to it.
If you asked most people what LAX was - a lot would know.
How about large BHX letters on the way into the airport just like at LAX ?

 

[rollo]

I have always though Birmingham Airport should use the BHX tag in their advertising, it has a ring to it.
If you asked most people what LAX was - a lot would know.
How about large BHX letters on the way into the airport just like at LAX ?

With a model of an aircraft above it to give the uninitiated a clue an Emirates A380 should do, but not full size.

 

[58terminus]

Just to put a bit of perspective on it.The article has probably prompted more posts on the forum than the number of people who read it in the Independent.

 

[Brummiegem]

I agree with BrumX in as much as if you are travelling to a particular place,then you should know something about it.
A bit like,if you holiday in Spain you learn some Spanish.At least if you try,more often than not you will get some help from the locals.Ignorance doesn’t really get you anywhere.
As I have said before,Birmingham has an ideal opportunity to really show itself off to the World.The commonwealth games could really be the making of our city.
If everything goes well,then millions of people worldwide will know where Birmingham is and hopefully want to visit.
I also agree with using ‘Shakespeare’ In the advertising of the region.Surely that can’t be a bad thing.
Being old fashioned I still call BHX by it’s original name of ‘Elmdon’ from time to time.
Using that name now however would complicate things even further.
It is plain old Birmingham Airport for me.No shame in carrying the name of a city that will be in the minds of millions of sports fans in few years time.
Unfortunately for BrumX the West Midlands is a recognised county of England/UK.Birmingham being the county town/city.Much of the region actually came under the Warwickshire tag until the boundary changes I think either in the late sixties or early seventies.
The East Midlands is actually less so.Derbyshire,Leicestershire,Nottinghamshire and Rutland are recognised counties.Hence the difficulty in naming EMA.It is actually generalising the area to a degree.But that is a topic for others to discuss.

 

[Brum X]

I have always though Birmingham Airport should use the BHX tag in their advertising, it has a ring to it.
If you asked most people what LAX was - a lot would know.
How about large BHX letters on the way into the airport just like at LAX ?

Remember the old Thomas cook adverts. Don't just book it, Thomas cook it.

How about Don't just book it, BHX it

 

[Ray Finkle]

Remember the old Thomas cook adverts. Don't just book it, Thomas cook it.

Get away.

 

[Brum X]

Get away.

That was Lunn poly. I know very well as I used to work for them on the good old days when we all went to the travel agents on a cold january day to book our lovely holidays. Oooooooooh

 

[EGCC_MAN]

and probably Manchester(with all due respect to the city but mainly football related)are actually well known.

Sorry, but this ignorant remark betrays your personal bias rather than the truth. Manchester's football teams do enjoy global recognition for self-evident reasons, but to suggest that the city wouldn't enjoy international awareness without them is crazy. The ten towns comprising Greater Manchester produced more cotton goods than the rest of the world put together at their peak. Exports went all over the world. The city's global profile based on this alone goes back around 200 years. In Australia, if you wish to purchase bedding you visit a store's Manchester Department. Engineering exports from Manchester were exported worldwide too. The city opened the first passenger railway station in the world. It's universities are world renowned. The Ship Canal was seen as a world-class engineering achievement and enabled the creation of one of the largest inland ports. The city played a leading role in developing computing, atomic theory and pioneering medical breakthroughs. There's lots more, including reams of social history. But the point is made.

Now I'm not falling into the Manchester v Birmingham trap. Birmingham is a great city in its own right with much to commend it. But if you claim that Manchester only enjoys recognition because of football, then you're either wilfully deluding yourself or you didn't pay attention in class!

 

[58terminus]

t's universities are world renowned. The Ship Canal was seen as a world-class engineering achievement and enabled the creation of one of the largest inland ports. The city played a leading role in developing computing, atomic theory and pioneering medical breakthroughs. There's lots more, including reams of social history. But the point is made.

Now I'm not falling into the Manchester v Birmingham trap. Birmingham is a great city in its own right with much to commend it. But if you claim that Manchester only enjoys recognition because of football, then you're either wilfully deluding yourself or you didn't pay attention in class! [/QUOTE]

 

[Brum X]

Manchester is a great city EGCC_MAN and you should be proud of it.

NOW BACK ON TOPIC

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there Ray and all, I may be from the West Midlands by birth and now live in Warwickshire just thirty minutes down the road from where I'm from, but that doesn't change my stance from where I'm from to where I now live. The same goes for any other city in the UK, I'm not biased about another city that is awarded of wins anything, I just annoys me when the west midlands isn't able to emulate and achieve the same success as other cities. So can we cut out this nasty ness brummiegem, we are not here to score political points against one another, just to put our point in non negative manner which is going to upset and infuriate someone like you have just done. So come on brummiegem, apologise and get on with an honest clean debate...Andyc

 

[flymetothemoon]

He posted that on 14/01,it's took a long time to upset anyone!!!

 

[58terminus]

He posted that on 14/01,it's took a long time to upset anyone!!!

And what did he say that was so upsetting?