Cardiff: Route Development & Rumours

[Nuffsaid]

LBA is a route that should be linked to CWL. It is an awkward and long train ride between the two cities. With the economies of both regions growing an air link is the best way to increase trade and cooperation due to the lack of reasonable surface transport.

 

[ex_crew]

I think it was once served by Capital from LBA back in the early nineties

 

[Seasider]

Taken from my limited TT's I have been able to glean the following:
Dan Air operated from 1979 to 1982 with 748.
Metropolitan A/W operated 1984 with 330.
Capital operated mid 80's to the collapse with 330 then 360.

They may have been other operators at other times but I can't remember Knight Air flying there.

 

[Jerry]

LBA would definitely be a route I'd like to see return! And thank you for all the feedback on the lost routes as well!

 

[Jerry]

I wonder if the Welsh government would represent their list of PSO routes they wanted!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1218162525084246016

 

[aviatorconcorde]

LBA is a route that should be linked to CWL. It is an awkward and long train ride between the two cities. With the economies of both regions growing an air link is the best way to increase trade and cooperation due to the lack of reasonable surface transport.

i’m not sure there would be enough demand, is there anything really in leeds?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Interesting message from the Chancellor of the Exchequer this morning. He says the UK will not be bound by EU rules after we leave (which in practical terms means after 31 December this year when the transition period ends).

If that includes state aid rules it could leave the door open for all sorts of possibilities.

For starters EU rules prevent APD being varied within a state or autonomous regional authority from airport to airport - the devolved UK governments are regarded as regional authorities for this purpose. If that prohibition was no longer in place a government could be very imaginative.

The attempt by the Northern Ireland Government to give United Airlines £9 million to continue the Belfat-Newark link was declared illegal by the European Commission. It might not be in a UK no longer bound by EU state aid rules.

The Welsh Government, for instance, might if it so desired be able to give its airport company money instead of loaning it. It might also be able to openly offer airlines funding to set up routes from CWL.

We don't know what rules the Westminster Government would put in place of those EU rules it chose to discard. There might still be competition restrictions but with a right-leaning Conservative government it's likely that any controls would be looser.

One to keep an eye on and it might be more beneficial to CWL than having APD devolved, although that is a symbolic issue as much as anything.

 

[Nuffsaid]

i’m not sure there would be enough demand, is there anything really in leeds?

Leeds is a major business centre in the north and is second to London for the insurance market. It’s night time economy is as large in its output as Wales as a whole. If Cardiff and the South Wales region is to prosper it needs links to such centres of commerce.

 

[Jerry]

The Welsh Governemnt, for instance, might if it so desired be able to give its airport company money instead of loaning it. It might also be able to openly offer airlines funding to set up routes from CWL.

Possibly then they could directly offer airlines money to say launch a NYC route or open a base? And maybe directly provide the money for a new terminal rather than look for an investor.
I know a few Brexiteers who would not be happy if that happened!🤣

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Possibly then they could directly offer airlines money to say launch a NYC route or open a base? And maybe directly provide the money for a new terminal rather than look for an investor.

Depending on what new rules, if any, were put in place I'd imagine that sort of thing would be possible. It would depend of course on the political will of the WG with no doubt calls from electors (and political opponents if it suited them) to spend such money on things like the NHS, rural bus route subsidies, vulnerable people, policing and so on, not to mention the clamour from the ever increasing climate change movement.

If the shackles were removed from the state aid issue, it would certainly be intriguing to see what the WG did.

 

[Jerry]

It was mentioned elsewhere that CWL for a small airport has pretty good hub connections with access to 3 European hub airports and 1 Middle East hub. Realistically what other hub airport routes could CWL actually attract in the long run? I've listed the major european hub airports with their hub carriers. Whether Cardiff has any chance of attracting any of those routes/airlines in the future is highly doubtful of course but still would be amazing if the airport did.
London Heathrow/British Airways
Brussels/Brussels Airlines (operated to Bristol)
Copenhagen/SAS
Oslo/SAS or Norwegian
Stockholm/SAS
Helsinki/Finnair
Keflavik/Icelandiar
Warsaw Chopin/LOT Polish Airlines
Frankfurt/Lufthansa (operated to Bristol)
Munich/Lufthnasa
Zurich/Swiss
Milan Linante/Alitalia
Rome FCO/Alitalia
Madrid/Iberia or Air Europa
Lisbon/TAP Portugal
Athens/Aegean Airlines
Istanbul/Turkish Airlines

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It was mentioned elsewhere that CWL for a small airport has pretty good hub connections with access to 3 European hub airports and 1 Middle East hub. Realistically what other hub airport routes could CWL actually attract in the long run? I've listed the major european hub airports with their hub carriers. Whether Cardiff has any chance of attracting any of those routes/airlines in the future is highly doubtful of course but still would be amazing if the airport did.
London Heathrow/British Airways
Brussels/Brussels Airlines (operated to Bristol)
Copenhagen/SAS
Oslo/SAS or Norwegian
Stockholm/SAS
Helsinki/Finnair
Keflavik/Icelandiar
Warsaw Chopin/LOT Polish Airlines
Frankfurt/Lufthansa (operated to Bristol)
Munich/Lufthnasa
Zurich/Swiss
Milan Linante/Alitalia
Rome FCO/Alitalia
Madrid/Iberia or Air Europa
Lisbon/TAP Portugal
Athens/Aegean Airlines
Istanbul/Turkish Airlines

No takers yet then Jerry. Your own answer might reflect everyone else's hence the silence.

On the face of things most on the list do look unlikely at the present time, but three or four years ago Qatar's presence on such a list would probably have evoked the same response.

With aviation being an ever-dynamic sector, sometimes quickly up and at other times suddenly down, often through external reasons, it's impossible even to hazard a guestimate, but I will anyway - more of a guess than an estimate.

I think that Germany would suit CWL, and Wales, well - a link to the dominant European economy and the major country of the EU - and that really means Germany's financial capital Frankfurt with the Lufthansa Group. The city's airport also provides a huge range of onward connecting flights. There is no reason that the new LH BRS-FRA route should be a bar to a similar CWL route in the future. It doesn't stop KLM having well-used routes to Amsterdam from both airports.

 

[Jerry]

I think that Germany would suit CWL, and Wales, well - a link to the dominant European economy and the major country of the EU - and that really means Germany's financial capital Frankfurt with the Lufthansa Group. The city's airport also provides a huge range of onward connecting flights. There is no reason that the new LH BRS-FRA route should be a bar to a similar CWL route in the future. It doesn't stop KLM having well-used routes to Amsterdam from both airports.

I've always thought that Munich would be more likely not becuase it's un-served but the numbers were actually decent when it was 4 weekly and hopefully Rome will return one day. Looking at potential carriers it probably is Lufhthansa who is the most likeliest candidate to launch a route to CWL as they seem to have lately invested more in the regional scene with i think 2 to 3 new routes for this year. But even without them CWL does have really decent hub links.

 

[Nuffsaid]

Lufthansa’s hub in Munich is becoming as large as Frankfurt. There could be a possibility to link to that hub thus not interfering with the Bristol to Frankfurt route. Newcastle has recently had a link to MUC established.

 

[Selig]

With Jet2 and EasyJet buying up Thomas Cook’s landing slots in the UK what has happened to their landing slots in Cardiff?
Could Frankfurt based Condor Airlines, which was part of the Thomas Cook Group, but is still operating independently, be persuaded to come in and claim them and start a Frankfurt route, or even some holiday routes?

 

[Jerry]

Cardiff isn't a slot restricted airport so there wouldn't have been any slots to buy.
As for Condor they are a German holiday company so I doubt they see Cardiff as a destination for Germans to sun themselves!

 

[Jerry]

With all the doom and gloom surrounding Flybe, its nice to see TUI resuming the Paphos flights on Wednesday and Loganair commencing on Thursday. Barry man mentioned a week or so ago, that the airport was in negotiations with an airline, is there any he can add at present?

I doubt he could add anymore without actually naming the airline. All we can hope for is that the negotiations are concluded soon or that they have been concluded and that eventually there will be an announcement and we'll get to know what will be added to CWL.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

You may not have 2 long to2 Waite !

Can’t say 2 much negotiations still on going

That's what Barry Man said in his posts in the CWL General thread.

Might not need Sherlock Holmes's powers of deduction to see a clue or 2.

 

[Tinkerman]

That's what Barry Man said in his posts in the CWL General thread.

Might not need Sherlock Holmes's powers of deduction to see a clue or 2.

I like your humour there TLY !

 

[Jerry]

Did we miss a new route announcement?
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