Route Development & Rumours

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

BHX still chasing a link to China.

Party Secretary Tan Wan’geng Meets Senior Advisor of Birmingham Airport Holdings Limited

SENIOR SESSIONS - Mr. Tan Wan’geng, Party Secretary of China Southern Air Holding Company and President of China Southern Airlines Company Limited held meetings with a visiting delegation headed by Mr. Peter Pannu, senior advisor of Birmingham Airport Holdings Limited.
The two parties exchanged their views on the possibilities of joint development of the UK aviation marketplace.

http://www.csair.cn/_layouts/GroupPorta ... tName=News

 

[Aviador]

Re: Route Development

Do you think they will have any success obtaining flights to China? Clearly business related traffic is the main aim for new flights to China but I would think any new route would also need a certain amount of two way tourist traffic to enable it to succeed. It seems all the big airports are chasing new China flights. I wonder what sort of demand exists for such flights.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

A very good point.

Business links between Birmingham and China are very strong at the moment. Chinese businessmen own Birmingham City FC, Shanghai Automotive own MG Motors and the interest from China in Midlands manufacturing looks to be growing. The demand seems to be there (see below) through various connections, there was also an article a few years ago about China overtaking Australia as the most popular Emirates connection from BHX but I can't find it now. Whether this can equate to an actual successful flight remains to be seen. AS for tourists/VFR traffic, Birmingham has a significant Chinese population but I think Manchester's may be slightly higher so that could work in their favour. Especially with MAN being cheaper to operate to/from

THE Chinese revolution is rapidly gathering pace in Birmingham – with Beijing becoming the most popular destination for travellers with global air giants Lufthansa.

The Chinese capital has overtaken Delhi as No.1 destination for West Midland passengers from Birmingham Airport, as the Far East colossus continues its development as a huge worldwide power.

The continuing influence and growth of China comes as Lufthansa unveiled two additional destinations later this summer to the superpower, with new services to Shenyang in the north-east of the state and Qingdao on the eastern seaboard.

Lufthansa said 2011 had been a record-breaking year out of Birmingham Airport, with a 19 per cent increase in numbers to a total 484,503.

Travellers to China from Birmingham, via the Frankfurt link, were up 63.5 per cent year on year.

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birm ... z1pyRiin13

Birmingham Airport and MG Motor UK have entered into a formal corporate partnership which demonstrates their long term commitment to the development of trade between the West Midlands region and China.

At the launch event held at Birmingham Airport, both parties highlighted the need for a direct air link to China, and showcased several new MG6 cars on the airfield as well as unveiling an MG Motor UK branded airbridge.

Speaking at the launch event, Paul Kehoe, CEO of Birmingham Airport, said, “As we embark on our runway extension project next year, we’re keen to hear from, and work with, businesses that would benefit from a direct air link. This is particularly vital for MG Motor UK, whose parent company is Shanghai based, SAIC Motor; the eighth largest automotive manufacturer in the world.

“Birmingham Airport is a strategic national asset, which is playing an ever increasing role in supporting the Government’s air transport policy. With spare capacity to take another nine million passengers tomorrow and the potential for HS2 linking London with the Airport in just 38 minutes, we, like MG Motor UK, have a very exciting future ahead of us. We’re therefore delighted to enter into this corporate partnership and look forward to being able to work with this iconic brand going forward.”

Since 2003, after London, Birmingham has attracted more Chinese investment projects than any other UK city, receiving £76.59m in capital investment and creating 596 jobs during this period. In 2010, Birmingham received £8.68m in capital investment from China.

William Wang, MD of MG Motor UK, said, “Like Birmingham Airport, SAIC motor’s business is in an exciting period of international growth. As the proud owners of the world famous MG brand, SAIC Motor has made significant investment to make Birmingham the global home of the brand, SAIC group’s European engineering centre of excellence and most recently a manufacturing and sales centre for our new MG6 vehicles.

“MG Motor UK would therefore welcome Chinese airlines to take advantage of the growing demand for air services between Birmingham and China. A Birmingham to Shanghai route alone would enable hundreds of business flights a year to operate reducing the need for passengers to transit via other airport hubs or take long car journeys to other UK airports to catch flights. This service would play an important part in the continued investment from China in Birmingham and the West Midlands region. Demand for this route exists from MG Motor UK, the Chinese community living here in the West Midlands region and the thousands of students that come to Birmingham each year from China to study.”

The strength of commitment between the Birmingham region and China was most clearly demonstrated by the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Birmingham in summer 2011.

Premier Wen’s decision to begin his UK visit in Birmingham was as a result of the city’s strategic relationship with China following significant investments in the region’s industry-leading automotive sector and long-standing, collaborative culture and civic programmes.

The Chinese Premier landed at Birmingham Airport before visiting the MG Birmingham plant. The visit was an endorsement from the very top of the Chinese state of the importance of the relationship between Birmingham and China and a clear indication that MG Plant Birmingham will serve as a blueprint for Chinese investment around the world.


http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta ... rship.aspx

More from Business Desk:

Birmingham a favourite gateway for Chinese visitors claims chamber

BUSINESS leaders in Birmingham and Solihull have challenged claims in a new report suggesting additional runways at Heathrow are the only viable way to meet the UK’s aviation capacity shortfall.

The claim is made in a report compiled by the Conservative Free Enterprise Group.

Jerry Blackett, chief executive of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG), has asked in a letter to the report’s author why Heathrow claims it needs to expand to benefit UK businesses and yet uses 60% of its capacity to serve tourists flying to destinations such as Orlando and Malaga.

The chamber highlighted the fact a third runway at Heathrow would offer only 7% of the capacity needed by 2050 while the UK’s six largest regional airports could add 50%.

Mr Blackett has also refuted claims that people in China want to fly into London and not anywhere else.

“The West Midlands is one of the only regions that has been bucking national trends and consistently reducing unemployment and growing our economy. We have done this thanks to the vigour with which our manufacturers have been exporting,” he said.

“Since 2003 Birmingham has attracted more Chinese investment projects than any other UK city outside London. The Chinese are focused on investing in manufacturing and research and design – which the West Midlands has in abundance.

“China has recently overtaken Germany as the West Midlands’ second largest trading partner and we have done all of this without a direct flight to China.”

He singled out the area’s growing Chinese connections, represented most strongly by MG Motors UK, which is owned by Chinese firm SAIC.

“MG Motor’s managing director William Wang has publicly backed a Birmingham-Shanghai route and we are confident that once Birmingham Airport’s runway is extended we will see a huge boom in flights between the West Midlands and China,” added Mr Blackett.

He pointed to the fact that when the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the UK in 2011 he flew to Birmingham because of the SAIC connection.

“The West Midlands has a lot to offer China and is the largest recipient of Chinese investment outside London. In China our heritage and reputation for high quality manufacturing is well understood and greatly valued," said Mr Blackett.

From the Birmingham Post and I can't find the link.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

Another daily rotation added from KLM.

KLM Boosts Birmingham / Luxembourg Service from Sep 2012

KLM from 03SEP12 is introducing 6th and 4th daily service each on Amsterdam – Birmingham and Amsterdam – Luxembourg route. Planned operational schedule for these flights are listed below:

Amsterdam – Birmingham
KL1421 AMS0835 – 0845BHX E90 D
KL1423 AMS1015 – 1030BHX 73W x2
KL1423 AMS1015 – 1030BHX 73J 2
KL1425 AMS1240 – 1255BHX 73W D
KL1431 AMS1620 – 1635BHX 73H D
KL1433 AMS1755 – 1805BHX F70 D
KL1435 AMS2150 – 2200BHX 73W D

KL1420 BHX0600 – 0820AMS 73W D
KL1422 BHX0925 – 1140AMS E90 D
KL1424 BHX1120 – 1330AMS 73W x2
KL1424 BHX1120 – 1330AMS 73J 2
KL1426 BHX1340 – 1550AMS 73W D
KL1432 BHX1730 – 1945AMS 73H D
KL1434 BHX1845 – 2100AMS F70 D

73W – 737-700
73H – 737-800
73J – 737-900

http://airlineroute.net/2012/08/20/kl-bhxlux-sep12/

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

Looking at the '18th Routes Conference' 29 September-2 October 2012 at Abu Dhabi' (link shamelessly nicked from TheLocalYokel on the Cardiff thread ) the 'Airline opportunities' section from BHX is interesting.

http://www.routesonline.com/airports/23 ... irport-uk/

Featured Unserved Key Routes

To BKK (Suvarnabhumi International Airport)

To JFK (New York John F. Kennedy International Airport)

To MCO (Orlando International Airport)

To HKG (Hong Kong Airport)

To PRG (Prague Airport)

To ORD (Chicago O'Hare)

To LAS (Las Vegas McCarran International Airport)

To ATQ (Amritsar (Raja Sansi International Airport))

To MAD (Madrid - Barajas Airport)

To DEL (Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DEL))

BKK- Don't see it anytime soon.
JFK- AA have all but pulled out of Europe and would United risk diluting EWR?
MCO- Florida woefully under served from BHX, hopefully when the runway is done.
HKG- See BKK
PRG- Baby finish in just over a week and, along with LIS, still no takers!
ORD- See JFK
LAS- Can't see it anytime soon.
ATQ- Plenty of demand from BHX but seemingly a very low yielding route which is probably why Turkmenistan have lasted so long and now Armavia are on the scene. Given the state of Airlines in India at the moment I can't see one of those offering a direct link anytime soon. No chance of any British airline.
MAD- Has come and gone over the years, needs someone to commit and grow the route.
DEL- See ATQ

The big ommision for me is DOH! Either it's a done deal or BHX are happy with Emirates and are looking elsewhere. I pray it's the former. Also would Singapore not have been a more realistic destination than Bangkok, with SQ's links to Aus?

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

Following on from above this time with key under served routes.

To GVA (Geneva International Airport)

To BUD (Budapest Airport)

To MLA (Malta International Airport plc)

To BGI (Barbados)

To YYZ (Toronto Pearson International Airport)

To NAP (Naples Airport)

To KGS (Kos)

To CUN (Cancún International Airport)

To SFB (Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB)

To KRK (Krakow Airport)

GVA- Currently winter only with Easyjet.
BUD- Currently served by Ryanair twice weekly only.
MLA- Served well by Air Malta until Ryanair started on the route. Ryanair then reduced frequencies, still not bookable for this winter.
BGI- Once weekly flight at the moment. May be one for after the runway is finished.
YYZ- 98% load factors this year the same as last but still only one A333 per week. Would like to see a second service added maybe with the A310. Also when the runway is done a seasonal Vancouver may be worth a try.
NAP- Currently 2x weekly with TOM.
KGS- Currently served by TOM and TCX.
CUN- See BGI.
SFB- Woefully under served with one measly flight per week, the amount of people I come across who travel up to MAN to fly to Florida is unreal. One for Mr Branson when the runway is completed
KRK- Coming soon with Ryanair but only twice weekly.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Route Development

Looking at the '18th Routes Conference' 29 September-2 October 2012 at Abu Dhabi' (link shamelessly nicked from TheLocalYokel on the Cardiff thread ) the 'Airline opportunities' section from BHX is interesting.

http://www.routesonline.com/airports/23 ... irport-uk/

BKK- Don't see it anytime soon.
JFK- AA have all but pulled out of Europe and would United risk diluting EWR?
MCO- Florida woefully under served from BHX, hopefully when the runway is done.
HKG- See BKK
PRG- Baby finish in just over a week and, along with LIS, still no takers!
ORD- See JFK
LAS- Can't see it anytime soon.
ATQ- Plenty of demand from BHX but seemingly a very low yielding route which is probably why Turkmenistan have lasted so long and now Armavia are on the scene. Given the state of Airlines in India at the moment I can't see one of those offering a direct link anytime soon. No chance of any British airline.
MAD- Has come and gone over the years, needs someone to commit and grow the route.
DEL- See ATQ

The big ommision for me is DOH! Either it's a done deal or BHX are happy with Emirates and are looking elsewhere. I pray it's the former. Also would Singapore not have been a more realistic destination than Bangkok, with SQ's links to Aus?

BKK - I agree it's a long shot.
JFK - The American routes seem to really struggle from Europe, I can only think this is down to yield. It's not long since BRS had it's New York Newark service scrapped despite achieving some good loads.

MCO - Similar to what I've already said about JFK. For whatever reason Orlando is grossly undeserved, not just from BHX (Birmingham airport) but many regional airports in the UK that are capable of handling such routes. I don't think this has anything to do with the runway length at BHX as it's well within reach with the airports current runway capabilities.

HKG - Again, I agree with you, it's a long shot. I understand that Manchester airport has struggled to maintain this route over the years with some years going without been served.

PRG - I'm shocked at this one. I can't believe nobody has taken the route on. Does Jet2 operate to Prague from neighbouring EMA, if so could that be why?

ORD - Agree with the comments you've already made.
LAS - Agree with the comments you've already made.
ATQ - Agree with the comments you've already made.

MAD - Madrid is a funny old one. It seems to be hard for airline operators to make Madrid work from UK regional airports. Could this be because less tourists want to visit Madrid making the route heavily dependent on business traffic? Business travellers can be somewhat unreliable and unpredictable particularly at the moment with the current economic climate.

DEL - Agree with the comments you've already made.

DOH - Well spotted. You could be onto something there. Is there any evidence Qatar Airways follows where Emirates leads?

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

Good point about the American carriers. When US operated Philadelphia for the summer they got excellent loads, well over 90% most days in the summer holidays, but it was the all important yields that got the route the chop. Back when BHX were doing the consultation for the runway extension (roughly 2005ish) I remember the guy doing the tour telling me Delta had looked into operating from BHX, after crunching the numbers they said they'd need a 764 to do the route so the cargo carried would improve the yield and obviously it wouldn't be possible off the current runway length.

Just looked on the Jet2 website and there is no PRG service from EMA. I'm not sure who'd be in line to start it from BHX. I think Prague may have been one of the airports Ryanair has had a spat with so that probably rules them out. There's an outside chance of Flybe but it doesn't really seem to fit in with them. As for Monarch, see Flybe.

Also, considering they've been on about it constantly in the local press, I'm surprised a direct route to China is not on the wish list. I'd have thought it slightly more probable than Bangkok, Hong Kong and Vegas :dunno:

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

Air Blue to start BHX, LTN and increase MAN.

Scroll down.

http://twitter.com/AirBluePakistan

We can confirm that Airblue will be serving two new destinations to UK. First is Birmingham and second will be London Luton. The London Luton route will be served via Istanbul.

Looks as though they're trying to get LHR slots too.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Route Development

That's excellent news for BHX! Air Blue already have a very successful operation at Manchester but they are giving PIA some fierce competition. Pakistan International Airlines seem to react very slowly to competition so it will be interesting to see if they do anything this time around.

 

[CL44]

Re: Route Development

Good point about the American carriers. When US operated Philadelphia for the summer they got excellent loads, well over 90% most days in the summer holidays, but it was the all important yields that got the route the chop. Also, considering they've been on about it constantly in the local press, I'm surprised a direct route to China is not on the wish list. I'd have thought it slightly more probable than Bangkok, Hong Kong and Vegas :dunno:

The main issue with US Airways is that their flights only carried passengers. I can count on one hand the amount of cargo carried on this flight when it was operating (and still have enough fingers for at least one rude gesture!). They did not put cargo on board the flight due to the charges for processing the shipments (handling etc). This is a killer for most carriers (Ryanair / EasyJet being the obvious exceptions). Cargo is one aspect of a flight that puts revenue on the bottom line.

Believe it or not but at one stage in their life Ryanair did carry cargo (and had a department dedicated to both bookings and the accounting process) but decided after MOL started to drop the product and concentrate on passenger operations only. People seem to forget that aircraft flying today are quite capable at carrying upto 2000 kgs (for narrow bodied aircraft 737 / A320 types) which is very useful when looking at the bottom line of an operation. The problem is they then need a handling agent to load / unload the flight, reservations dept to book the shipments, accounting side to charge out the relevant fees and a whole host of other bits and pieces which I admit will cost money to run. The question is will the profit made on accepting cargo balance out the charges incurred. This can be a fine line dependant on the product / route served.

It is interesting to see the opinions on which carriers and which destinations will come to BHX in the next few years. I can only hope that when carriers do start up operations they do consider us Cargo Agents and let us use a local flight to help keep local folks in jobs.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Route Development

That's interesting about US Airways I had no idea they carried little or no freight, it's no wonder the yields were so low even with such good loads. Back during the consultation for the runway extension when BHX had that bus touring the area I went along to one event. The rep there said Delta had looked to start ops from BHX to ATL but when they ran the numbers they needed a 764 to operate the route to make it pay but it wasn't possible of the current runway. At the time I took it that they meant they'd need a full cargo hold to supplement the pax, or possible lack of? Maybe it was just spin at the time to gain more support for the longer runway, who knows, but I can't help feel this extension is arriving 20 years too late.

BHX are trying hard to get another Chicago link up and running. I can't help but think the only hope at the moment would be a solid corporate contract, with Kraft or someone similar, securing a minimum business demand, similar to what US Airways have up at MAN with a certain pharmaceuticals company.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

Latest BHX rumour (one of those I'll believe it when I see it) is Shaheen Air 3x weekly on the days PIA don't operate (Mon, Wed & Fri) using the new A330's. Didn't they serve LBA for a short time?

Nothing on the website, not checked Facebook or Twitter yet

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

There's a couple of rumblings doing the BHX rounds at the moment.

-Norwegian are sniffing for a potential 3xweekly BHX-OSL service.

-Two new large maintenance hangars are to be built at BHX, possibly to replace the ageing Flybe ones. BHX are currently evaluating a new engine test facility near the new bizjet hangar, there has been some bore drilling recently, so could be linked. Nothing as yet on the Solihul Council planning pages.

-A company called Dnata will be coming in soon to handle Emirates. Makes sense as they're part of the Emirates Group.

http://www.theemiratesgroup.com/english ... dnata.aspx

-There seems to be a very strong rumour Qatar have appointed a station manager at BHX. Their usual procedure is to appoint a station manager then bring in a team from elsewhere to operate the station whilst the new team is trained.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

Shaheen Air International

Personally I don't think Shaheen have a clue what they're doing. In a word, they ran a 'shambolic' operation when they were at Leeds and they made PIA look like a serious operation when in reality they're not a great organisation either. If the rumours about Shaheen coming to BHX comes to fruition and they do turn up you' will probably only get about a weeks notice of their arrival. I'll give them credit for one thing though which is they got bums on seats.

Here's a quote from somebody on the Leeds forum.

I hope Shaheen stay as far away from LBA as possible

You might want to read the LBA Shaheen thread to gain some more insight. topic308.html

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

The start date for Shaheen was rumoured to be Nov 16th, sounds like we're lucky it's just a bad rumour.

Further more to the new hangars rumour this was posted on another forum, I have no idea how much (if any) truth is in it.

There will be new hangars built to house a new maintenance facility for 787 types, it will be the only one outside the US so expect to get a fair bit of business

 

[User0001]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

Further more to the new hangars rumour this was posted on another forum, I have no idea how much (if any) truth is in it.

There will be new hangars built to house a new maintenance facility for 787 types, it will be the only one outside the US so expect to get a fair bit of business

Whilst I have no info on the hangars, it certainly would not be the only outside the USA.

MAN will house the Monarch Goldcare centre, which will also look after the LOT B787 fleet.

Also, Jetair Belgium will also build a hangar for the TUI fleet, whilst BA has modified a hangar to lend out to 3rd party B787 work as well as their own fleet.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

Newest rumour Air Algierie 3x weekly from next year. Don't see it myself :nea:

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

After their short lived BHX-Athens-Jeddah service there is a rumour that Hellenic Imperial are pondering a BHX return, routing through Athens to either ISB or a destination in India. Probably about as likely as Air Algerie

Credit to Derek Pedley from Air Team Images for the great picture.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Re: Birmingham Airport Rumours

Decided to mention this as it's now the second time I've heard it.

Emirates third daily is to start this year (as early as April has been mentioned) initially with a 772. The upgrade to a 773 will happen in due course with the lunchtime service becoming an A380 at the same time.

Although extra pax capacity isn't required just yet apparently cargo space is desperately needed, with both BHX flights totally full, so I guess this could make it feasible. I'm not so sure about the A380 as that would be a drop in freight capacity on three 773s. Also the A380 has 14 F class seats which is a large number to fill from scratch. I guess if they put a permanent three class 777 on the lunchtime flight with the 8 F class seats it would be a good indication it may happen.

Also, possibly tied into the above, it's rumoured that Qatar DOH-BHX now will not happen. One suggestion is they are put off by Emirates (possible) expansion another suggestion is that consolidation into Oneworld has shifted their priorities and BHX is off the radar for now (we all know Oneworld doesn't do BHX).

It will be interesting to see what (if anything) happens over the next 12-18 months.