Perhaps it's just the airports covered by airporttransfers.co.uk ?

It's a little bit like those election opinion polls where nobody ever seems to actually get asked.
 
You can't take it seriously as the sample surveyed was less than 2500 out of 10 million plus pax per year. Too small a sample. Don't forget what Winston Churchill was reported as saying "There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics".
 
[textarea]Birmingham Airport no longer ‘international’

Birmingham Airport is to drop the word ‘International’ from its name as part of a rebrand next year. The 'International' is being dropped from its title as it is seen as old-fashioned, and because the growth at the airport means it is now taken for granted that it has routes to many countries.

The new brand will aim to persuade more customers living within Birmingham’s catchment to use the airport, and to make people in London consider it as an alternative to Heathrow. It will be formally unveiled by the airport at an event in May.

Jo Lloyd, Birmingham airport’s head of brand, said: ‘There are eight million people living within one hour’s drive of the airport, but less than 40% use Birmingham. We believe that we are being overlooked or forgotten despite offering an excellent central location, a wide range and mix of airlines and destinations, first-class facilities and transport links.’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Birmingham Airport changes name

Birmingham Airport is changing its name – by officially jettisoning its “International” tag.

Airport bosses have agreed an extensive rebranding exercise which will see the complex revert to Birmingham Airport instead of BIA, it has been revealed.

Logos and signage will be changed ahead of next spring’s merger of the complex’s two terminals into one facility as part of a new £13 million redevelopment. The change of identity will see new shops and restaurants created and the security area increased for passengers.

Airport spokeswoman Justine Hunt said: “We are officially dropping the BIA tag and will be Birmingham Airport in future. Given that we are an international airport, and have international flights, I do not think that we need to say that we are international.

“We are not just European, we fly internationally to the likes of Dubai, New York and Asia.”

Airport bosses have appointed Wolverhampton-based PR agency Connect to manage the rebranding. Jo Lloyd, the airport’s Head of Brand, said: “We have plenty of spare capacity, enough to take another nine million passengers.

“Of the eight million people living within one hour’s drive, less than 40 per cent currently use Birmingham so we need to make ourselves more visible to this market.

“We’re the only UK airport with planning consent for a runway extension and the plans for a High Speed Link will reduce the rail journey time from London to just 38 minutes. We therefore see ourselves in a vital position as a strategic national asset, which can easily form part of the solution to the ‘Heathrow Problem.’

“As such we need to create positive awareness about Birmingham’s potential, to foster a sense of pride and grow loyalty from passengers living in the one and two-hour catchment.”

The airport’s new identity will be featured throughout the redeveloped terminal, which will be unveiled in the spring.

Birmingham is the UK’s sixth largest airport.[/textarea]

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top- ... -27315496/

I've always thought that the use of 'International' in an airport's title is pretentious and airports as big as Birmingham have no need to do so.

There are still some small regional airports that do such as Exeter.

The then shadow Conservative transport spokeswoman said last year that BHX is in a good position to take some future LHR traffic which will be displaced because of the lack of an extra runway at LHR.

Clearly BHX is putting itself into a position where it can take advantage of such an opportunity.

If BHX does become a sort of mini Heathrow in the future it will be easily accessible to people of the West Country many of whom currently use LHR. BHX is about the same distance along the M5 as LHR is along the M4.

I live in the Bristol area and I'm due to fly out of BHX for the first time next month. I'm looking forward to assessing its facilities as it could become a realistic alternative to LHR for some long-haul routes.
 
I never understood why people don't like airports using the word 'international' in their branding. Even train stations are re-branding to use the word 'international' in their new name. Many US airports use the word 'international' despite not even having any flights whatsoever outside of the US.
 
There are very few airports of any size in the UK that don't have international flights, if it's only to Dublin so, in my view, it's unnecessary.
 
[textarea]Birmingham Airport staff to vote on pension deal

Staff at Birmingham Airport are to be balloted on a pay deal that would see their final salary scheme retained despite a deficit of £26 million. Union negotiators trying to preserve the scheme in the face of the large shortfall have called the proposals as the ‘best deal that can be achieved through negotiation.’

The deal, which would see benefits reduced by up to 30 percent for final salary scheme members, has been struck following six months of negotiations. Unite regional officer John Partridge said: ‘It looks as though we are to retain the final salary scheme. I am very pleased. Workers had a letter back in April saying this scheme was going to close, no ifs or buts, and now it is not.'

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Air passengers face higher tax to fly from London

Passengers flying from Heathrow and other airports in south-east England face extra taxes under Government proposals to deter people from using London's crowded terminals.

Many users of London airports feel they already face high prices and poor service when they fly a grievance only sharpened by recent disruptions at Heathrow following snow

The Coalition is studying plans to charge higher taxes on flights from the south-east and lower duty on journeys from airports in other regions like northern England.

Under plans to reduce congestion at south-east airports, hundreds of domestic and European flights will also be stripped out of Heathrow with Birmingham used as a London overspill airport.

Around 80 per cent of all UK flights take off from airports in the south-east, and Heathrow is the world’s busiest airport.

Theresa Villiers, the aviation minister, said that a reform of Air Passenger Duty next year could introduce different tax rates to help “relieve overcrowding” at London airports.

But the prospect of ministers trying to tax people off flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted is likely to prove controversial with travellers.

Many users of London airports feel they already face high prices and poor service when they fly, a grievance only sharpened by recent disruptions at Heathrow following snow.

The Treasury is drawing up plans to overhaul air taxes, and is expected to launch a consultation at the Budget in March.

Some regional airport operators have claimed that uniform higher taxes will lead big airlines to pull out of their airports and further concentrate their operations on the south-east.

Ms Villiers raised the prospect of regional variations in tax at a meeting with industry leaders in London before Christmas.

She said: “It is not inconceivable that our tax reform might look at a higher tax to fly from congested South East airports.”

She added: “A key part of our approach is to create conditions for regional airports to flourish, and this also has the potential to help relieve overcrowding at south east airports.”

APD has risen more than four-fold since 2006, with the latest increases taking effect from November 2010. The tax now raises around £3.8 billion a year for the Treasury.

BAA, which owns Heathrow, said any new differential tax penalising the south-east would make it harder to compete with airports like Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris for flights to emerging economies like India and China.

A BAA spokesman said: “We already have the highest aviation tax in the world in the UK and if we are looking at increasing taxes on Heathrow -- the UK's only hub airport -- we will simply make the country less competitive.”

The Conservatives fought the election on a pledge to introduce a “per plane” tax to replace APD, arguing that the change would encourage operators to fly fuller planes, ultimately reducing fuel use and carbon emissions.

The Treasury said last night that no decision had been taken on flight taxes, adding that any changes will be subject to consultation following the 2011 Budget.

As well as the tax consultation, the Coalition is planning a wider overhaul of air policy. In the spring, the Department for Transport will issue a “scoping document” setting out ministers’ overall strategy for aviation

The document will supersede the 2003 Aviation White Paper, which recommended a third runway at Heathrow and a second at Stansted.

Both have been ditched by the Coalition, which has also ruled out expanding Gatwick. That leaves the Government with the problem of how it will tackle aviation congestion in the South East.

Sources said part of the solution will be to divert travellers to Birmingham International, which will effectively become a London “overspill” airport.

Ministers say the building of the high speed rail link will dramatically alter the airport map of Britain, putting Birmingham airport 32 minutes from Heathrow.[/textarea]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/trave ... ondon.html

The Conservatives expressed their interest in BHX as an alternative to the London airports when they were in opposition. Looks now as though they may try to put the idea into operation.

The suggestion of higher air passenger duty for the south east airports is controversial. I hate the state trying to manipulate markets - the results are often not what was intended and invariably unhelpful.
 
I was reading a similar press article about Manchester benefiting from such governmental interference. I would imagine many regional airports would benefit. I seem to recall the previous governments White Paper on aviation suggesting that if LHR didn't expand there would be a strong likelihood that regional airports would see significant growth. The new government's stance would seem to back up that theory.
 
What new international routes apart from Monarch are we getting?

I'd be interested to learn that too - afraid I cannot help with your question at the present time.
 
Also I forgot about some new routes.

Air India are keen to re-introduce their route to Birmingham in 2011, according to a news article. Also, Qatar Airways will most definitely be here this year, they are very close to announcing BHX as a new destination as I heard on another forum. I don't know about the expansion of other long haul routes, AA possibly if my petition works.
 
Qatar would be an exciting acquisition. They are a well-regarded airline.

I should be interested in checking them out for long-haul flying from BHX.
 
I'm not sure if BHX needs a third terminal, they could just expand their existing terminal by building more pier's or expanding the building.

It's a shame these new long haul routes are taking ages to launch.
 
[textarea]Pension vote for Birmingham Airport staff

Around 370 Birmingham Airport staff are to be balloted this week on a pension reform that would see their final salary scheme retained. The vote comes after a hard-fought, ten-month battle by the Unite union, the Birmingham Mail reports.

Union negotiators are recommending the deal following a string of negotiations dating back to April last year, when the airport announced it was proposing closure of a scheme that had run up a £26 million deficit. Unite regional officer John Partridge said: ‘I am very pleased that we have been able to retain a form of the final salary pension scheme. The ballot will take place between February 4 and 25.’

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Pay row at Birmingham Airport

A pay row is festering at Birmingham Airport as unions vowed to fight for the first rise for around 600 workers for two and a half years, the Birmingham Mail reports. Wages have been frozen for workers at the airport since February 2009, but unions have been rebuffed in their latest attempt to end the pay freeze.

Unite officials have already tabled a 4.6 percent wage claim amid mounting anger from members faced with falling living standards since the winter of 2009. But airport bosses say passenger levels are falling, and have failed to come up with any figure for a possible wage increase ahead of a further round of talks next month, the newspaper reports.

The airport's chief executive, Paul Kehoe, said: ‘Effectively the staff had a pay freeze from last year and once we get to a position where we can afford a pay rise that is what we will do. While there have been good [financial] results for this year that is because of efficiency savings. Staff have just received a bonus of five percent because they have helped alongside management to improve performance.'

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Birmingham Airport revenue down; profits up

Cost-cutting helped Birmingham Airport to post an eight-fold increase in profits last year. Birmingham Airport Holdings saw after-tax profit rise from £592,000 in 2010 to £5.28m in the 12 months to March 31 2011, despite revenue falling by 0.8 percent to £103.3 million. However, its chief executive warned its long-term health is reliant on the region’s economy, the Birmingham Mail reports.

The rise in profitability in a year hit by the continuing recession and an Icelandic volcano that saw planes grounded for days came after employee costs were reduced by more than 11 percent, from £23.4 million to £20.8 million. The number of people working at the airport was reduced by 75 in part as a result of a voluntary redundancy scheme.

Chief executive Paul Kehoe said that while short-term measures had been taken to combat a fall the passengers and revenues, the airport was at the mercy of the wider economy – particularly in the region. He said: ‘We need the economy of the West Midlands to start to recover. If the West Midlands starts to perform we will start to perform.'

Passengers fell from 9 million to 8.5 million – the third consecutive year of decline - despite a 4 percent rise in long-haul traffic. Mr Kehoe said: 'It would have been 8.7 million last year but we lost 200,000 because of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. We are budgeting for this year 8.7 million, so we are saying it is going to be flat. Is that the bottom of the curve? I hope so.’

The fall in revenue at the airport came as a 2.3 percent fall in aeronautical income more than cancelled out a 0.8 percent rise in commercial income.

Source[/textarea]
 
[textarea]Birmingham Airport chief warns of Coventry rival's impact

Bosses at Birmingham Airport have warned that plans to fly to growth economies like India and China could be hindered by proposals to resume passenger flights at Coventry Airport.

Paul Kehoe, the chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said a new competitor in the Midland marketplace stands to “destroy” rather than help the sector.

With progress being made on the £65 million runway extension at Birmingham, the possibility of flights to China, India and the west coast of America will become reality in 2014 – but Mr Kehoe said competing with Coventry at the short-haul end of the market could put that under threat by hitting profitability.
Sir Peter Rigby at Coventry Airport

Birmingham Airport made an after-tax profit of £5.28 million last year, representing an eight-fold rise, but only after cost-cutting that saw its workforce reduce by 75 as the marketplace remains challenged.

Though unavailable for comment when approached by the Birmingham Post, new Coventry Airport owner Sir Peter Rigby told sister newspaper the Coventry Telegraph in 2010 that he hoped to begin passenger flights this year.

Mr Kehoe said: “To have another airport competing with us eight miles away doesn’t help the market. It destroys it.

“In Northern Ireland, where they have got airports 10 miles apart, the beneficiary is not either of those airports. It is in another city – Dublin. They have the same air links that they always had.

“We are competing against Heathrow. It would be great if there was lots of traffic coming in and Coventry could take that but there isn’t and if we lost 500,000 passengers it would take a significant part of our profit and we need profit to invest back into the airport.

“We need long haul routes to growth markets like China and India but in order to do that we have got to do our bread and butter stuff – the flybes and Monarchs – to create economic benefits for the region.”

The 400-metre runway extension project is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, after £15.7 million of Regional Growth Fund money was found to put towards diverting the A45, which would be a prerequisite.

The schemes promise to directly create 6,193 jobs in the region, with a further 34,669 more posts in associated supply chains.

Meanwhile, Coventry Airport has suffered a turbulent two years, after previous owner West Midlands Airport collapsed in December 2009 and was later wound up in the High Court amid spiralling debt.

Patriot Aerospace – headed by millionaire Sir Peter Rigby – took over as the new owner in April 2010.[/textarea]
http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingha ... -29303852/

On the face of it you would think the West Midlands is big enough and robust enough to support a major regional airport like BHX without its management worrying too much about a small rival setting up in competition.
 
I do not think that he needs to worry, I can't see any airline being attracted to Coventry, even Ryanair.
 

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