Birmingham Airport - General Thread

[JENNYJET]

No mention of Dubai numbers then?

 

[Ray Finkle]

The proposed hotel adjacent to Diamond House is due to be given the green light next week. Still no word on an operator or indeed the new Radisson Blu?

http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/new-airport-hotel-set-for-take-off

 

[Brum X]

Why no buidling work on the new Radisson Blu hotel ???

I would of expected this to be underway by now ???

 

[jfy1999]

Why no buidling work on the new Radisson Blu hotel ???

I would of expected this to be underway by now ???

Where was it supposed to be built? Did it even have a projected start/finish date?

 

[Ray Finkle]

If you click the link below it's due to be built in the bottom section of car park by Jetstream Road. I don't recall an exact start date but I think the app said operational by mid 2017 so you'd expect movement soon. Maybe they'll start after the peak summer months?

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.4458787,-1.7297172,468m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

[Ray Finkle]

Flew in last night and big chunks of he apron at the end of the main pier had been dug up.

Does anyone know what this is?

The NOTAMS says due to work in progress. It's only for 9 days so I expect nothing major.

C2852/16 NOTAMR C2690/16 Q) EGTT/QMXLC/IV/M /A /000/999/5227N00145W005 A) EGBB B) 1606100830 C) 1606192100 E) TAXIWAY DELTA BETWEEN HOLDS D4 AND D5 CLOSED DUE WIP

Other NOTAMS suggest that A380 movements no longer need a 'follow me' vehicle, I don't think Emirates have used one since the first week of ops. We have also been downgraded to only being able to handle 3 A380's at a time rather than the original 5

There is another one prohibiting training flights for prop aircraft from April until September, hopefully a sign that we're too busy.

C1106/16 NOTAMN Q) EGTT/QFALT/IV/NBO/A /000/999/5227N00145W005 A) EGBB B) 1604010000 C) 1606202359 E) NON BIRMINGHAM BASED PROPELLER DRIVEN AIRCRAFT OF 5700KG OR LESS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR RADAR TRAINING BETWEEN 01ST APRIL AND 30TH SEPTEMBER

 

[Ray Finkle]

Three new routes starting this week, all on Friday.

Lisbon finally returns 4x weekly with Monarch. They also start 3x weekly Madrid, becoming the fourth airline on the route.

Vueling also start their 3x weekly Alicante flights. Friday will see three Vueling arrivals with Alicante, Barcelona and Tenerife all operating.

Norwegian still don't have Barcelona and Madrid on sale for winter, last year they were available from May so as time goes on it's looking less and less likely they will operate. It's probably a sensible decision as last winter they had Madrid all to themselves, whereas this year we'll have Ryanair 4x weekly and Iberia 3x weekly which is alot for the winter months. Barcelona has also seen big increases from Monarch and Ryanair, with Vueling also on the route. That said Gran Canaria is still showing as weekly, with the Sunday flight only operating during October so there are still changes to come.

Five new routes left to start this year with Ryanair to Warsaw Modlin from September and Sofia from November. Flybe have Rotterdam and Luxembourg from October and Thomson to Dubai from December.

 

[Brum X]

Maybe if Norweigan do drop the 2 spanish cities, they will give us x 2 scandinavian cities. Come on Norweigan, its a no brainer.

I am trying to tempt them on there facebook page, i keep mentioning it.

 

[jfy1999]

Hopefully NAX could move MAD to seasonal first to see if they can get sufficient bookings for next season, rather than drop it altogether…

 

[nwoody2001]

indeed, if Norwegian drop 2x routes in the winter (which I personally don't think they will) and don't replace them with something, that would be pretty bad news from Norwegian....

Its also worth noting that BCN is not bookable from either BHX, MAN or EDI yet from October onwards, all operate this summer so im not too concerned!!!

 

[Ray Finkle]

Its also worth noting that BCN is not bookable from either BHX, MAN or EDI yet from October onwards, all operate this summer so im not too concerned!!!

Silly me I didn't check other airports. With comments from both William Pearson and Paul Kehoe about more exciting destinations to come from Norwegian hopefully we'll have something for winter.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Birmingham Airport are sponsoring the Birmingham Post Business Awards.

Mr Kehoe also explained how he believes Birmingham helps business to thrive. He said: “It’s at the heart of manufacturing, has the biggest legal system and business support outside of the capital.

“It’s at the centre of a £110 billion regional economy and has the largest concentrate of businesses outside of London, with 2000 international firms and world famous brands such as HSBC, Deutsche Bank, JLR, Mondelez and KPMG.

“This success will only grow as the airport grows, HS2 arrives and more businesses realise the enormous benefits of relocating – as did HSBC and Deutsche Bank - and investing in Birmingham rather than the overheated, overpriced capital.”

With this success in tow, Mr Kehoe concluded by explaining what the future holds for Birmingham Airport.

“Providing even greater connectivity to the destinations that our region’s business and leisure travellers want is a priority,” he said.

“Global connectivity supports trade and attracts inward investment, so we have a vital role in the Midlands to further improve this by growing access to long haul markets and helping to re-balance the UK’s economy.

“The debate continues on where additional runway capacity in the south east should go, but whatever the Airports Commission decides later this year, it will take 10 to 15 years before it is operational, and, in the meantime, Heathrow is full and more and more people want to travel from their local airport – so we have to take advantage of this enormous opportunity, as well as the benefits that HS2 will deliver for the city.”

Full article: http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/incoming/birmingham-great-export-according-birmingham-11477313

 

[Ray Finkle]

Some nice words from the Turkish Airlines regional manager.


How doing business in Birmingham can be better than London - according to Turkish Airlines' regional boss

 

[Brum X]

Great to see Turkish Airlines supporting the Greater Birmingham Area.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Vistara are to get wide body planes and are considering flights to the UK.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...t-wide-bodied-planes/articleshow/52787419.cms

 

[Brum X]

Vistara are to get wide body planes and are considering flights to the UK.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...t-wide-bodied-planes/articleshow/52787419.cms

A nice BHX-Mumbai x4 weekly will do nicely thanks.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think there could well be a chance. There are obvious interests in our region from TATA, who are 51% owners, and BHX seem to have been in regular contact with them, confirmed by the representative on Twitter. They are also part owned by Singapore Airlines, who are one of the airlines that BHX are currently speaking to.

They have an interline agreement with Air India but there are rumours of them looking to join an alliance, whichever one they choose could have a bearing on future routes.

Whilst on the subject of India it seems that the new start up aiming for Stansted are targeting Midland passengers heading to Amritsar and Ahmedabad, aiming to cut out the change in Delhi/Dubai/Doha. This was a quote from their chairman:

Stansted, the low-cost carrier focussed airport 65 miles (105 km) from Central London, was a natural choice for POP’s base. Beside the availability of slots, the two ethnic Indian communities can directly transfer to Birmingham where a sizable portion resides, explains Judge, noting that Heathrow is “too expensive to fly to and Gatwick is too South”.

So you save the time spent connecting but add on three hours travel time in the UK?

It seems that they have an agreement with 'a large budget carrier operating from Stansted' for a future codeshare so you can understand it. They also have a campaign on a Birmingham Sikh channel.

https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2...-startup-airline-pop-aims-uk-indian-diaspora/

 

[rutamkrd]

Vistara are a Delhi based carrier with fairly limited operations from Mumbai and smaller Indian carriers haven't really been too successful in the UK market to-date (queue Kingfisher and even Jet !)

That said Vistara are just about the only carrier that's shown any interest in having a go at long haul and qualifying under the latest edicts.

Spice jet and especially IndoGo if they want to enter the market are more likely on the UK-Mumbai sector imo.

 

[Ray Finkle]

GoAir have applied for international routes but anything to Europe is to be on a charter basis and using A320's, so a stop en route would be needed. They do have 20 aircraft though.

Air Asia India are also reported to be interested but with only 6 aircraft it may take a while.

 

[JENNYJET]

Whom so ever decides upon opening services to UK and BHX in particular need to observe the new aviation rules I.e the 5 year/20 aircraft rules.

I expect that to be challenged in the Indian courts or worked around by using the other partner airlines to divert services away from direct services to other routing options e.g. Mumbai to Birmingham via Colombo!

Furthermore, New aircraft are needed that can do a B747-4/777 or Dreamliner or if rich enough A350 on that kind of route as Air India has demonstrated very capably. Would a B737-9ER cover UK-India?

Numerous A340 and B747 are available from storage for leasing to test these potential routes before investment into newer aircraft.

Could Air India consider using B777 to cover Mumbai-Birmingham-Vancouver? It gives them a double long haul service.

I am just testing the thoughts of the forum membership to see if some gentle nudges can be directed towards the men that matter!