Route Development & Rumours

[IanFarquharson]

Orlando

 

[Brum X]

Thanks Dave
I have sent the Saudia article to BHX who I am sure will already be all over it.
Ian

Great work Ian

 

[jfy1999]

I thought I had the 'O' word banned from the BHX forum, I must get on it

In all seriousness those numbers are disgraceful, even going 2x weekly doesn't seems like anywhere near enough

Doubling the frequency should put us in the region of 33,200 passengers...but I'll stop there before I get my account deleted for continuing to post on a banned topic

 

[route66]

I seem to remember in the '90's flights to Orlando were numerous from BHX: double figures? What caused a reduction? Reducing loads, rationalisation or both?

 

[rollo]

Never got anywhere like ten maybe four or five a week in summer variously a combination of Britannia, U.k. Leisure, Monarch, Airtours, Air Europe and First Choice. All either amalgamated or bust with services becoming concentrated oop north or down south.

There used to be decent programmes from other regional airports also.

See I didn't mention Orlando once oh b****r

 

[Ray Finkle]

See I didn't mention Orlando once oh b****r

My fingers are hovering over the ban button

It really is bitterly disappointing when you think that even the doubling of the route will still only offer us roughly a quarter of the passengers that Glasgow sees in a year. Anecdotal evidence I know but I speak to so many people travelling to Florida who are not using BHX (three families just in my office), the reasons given are usually 'no flights' or 'too expensive'.

Sadly New York seems to be following suit now with all those potential passengers now heading down the M40

 

[Silvercity]

You've touched a bit of a nerve there so here are a few figures for 2017 to Sanford and Orlando (MCO) combined.

Gatwick. 826,000
Manchester 528,000
Glasgow. 120,000
Birmingham 16,600. Of which seven were me and my family

Its beyond ridiculous for the biggest long haul family holiday destination.

You can probably tell it niggles me a touch.

Over the years starting in 1982 we have flown to Florida many times and always try to use BHX but three times had to use MAN useing Monarch A300, Air Uk Leisure 767 and Cal Air if anyone remembers the last one, really good flight actually on a DC10

I remember Cal Air....charter side of Bcal.

 

[tompo]

Moving away from the tedious references to Orlando I refer to the excitement (sic) generated by the appointment of Nick Barton the new CEO. His immediate background ( Luton Airport) an airport which has never had a flight to Florida (apologies) will not give grounds for plenty of optimism.
This appointment has taken 18 months from the time the new chairman (Tim Clarke) made the following statement"My first objective will be to lead the recruitment of a new CEO .If that was the boards' first objective and only achieved very recently I fear for the whole organisation.

 

[Deleted member 8862]

Nick Barton? Didn't he used to be a radio programme?

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there tompo, I fully with what you say, it's has taken bhx management board 18 months to appoint Mr Nick Barston as the new Chief Executive of Birmingham airport, so what has the board been mucking around at. So since Paul Kehoe announced his resignation in late 2016,but didn't leave till July 2017. So for 17months, birmingham airport bosses have had no one in charge as such till Mr Simon Richards who became acting MD, who never really put himself over as a leader, also never had any really positive forward ideas or any major accouncements, but then suddenly it goes quite up at the airport, and then an announcement is made the other day about new chief executive, who comes from an airport, with a runway smaller than birminghams, carrying three to four million passengers a year more, yes doesn't have any transatlantic flights at all, so what hope do we have with this new one. What experience, knowledge does Mr Nick Barston have that's going to moving birmingham airport forward if he's come from Luton airport with a runway length of 2,150 metres long, whereas birminghams airports runway is now 3,052, some 950 metres longer than Luton, yet is carrying far more passengers with a shorter runway, whereas birminghams is a lot longer, yet only carry 12,500,000, passengers. Can't see how this new boss is too make any difference at all.. AndyC

 

[Creguk]

I suppose let's wait and see. BHX could do with some fresh blood, regardless of who it is. I hope things settle and he gets stuck in!

 

[mullion]

Good god I can`t believe this, shooting the new guy down before he arrives. Nobody knows what his remit
will be, let him settle in to his chair first before anyone makes a decision on wether he`s any good or not, he must be
fairly good as Luton was dead airprt for many years and not going anywhere now look at it miles ahead of BHX pax wise,
it is a very different kettle of fish to BHX and he will have a team around him to help.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Firstly, for those that find our forum tedious I can only apologise. Orlando is one of the top holiday destinations from the UK and MCO is one of Birmingham's biggest unserved destinations. For many years we've heard the airport bang on about 'clawing back passengers' and there are more than a few of us on here who think that a decent schedule to Orlando could go a long way towards achieving that.

As for Mr Barton, the guy hasn't even started yet!

Paul Kehoe came from Bristol where, as far as I am aware, they have never welcomed Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways or double daily A380 flights yet he got them all to Birmingham. The brief Nick Barton had at Luton will most likely be hugely different to what he will now have at Birmingham, he will be working toward a very different vision for the future.

Nothing will happen overnight but this guy comes with bags of experience and needs to be given a fair chance.

 

[rollo]

You mentioned O****** twice that's at least a yellow card you are a very naughty, naughty boy.

Seriously were off new routes so should probably leave it .
Mr Barton will have a brief to carry out so we will have to see what transpires, seems to me he has the right background so be optomistic.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there mullion, I'm not knocking any one Down at all, just laying any caution until we start to see any good results come through... AndyC

 

[smithy108]

As others have said, we need to give the guy some time to make his mark. For quite a while , on this forum, its been a general feeling that the BHX business model is broken and certainly unclear on its direction and strategy. A CEO should start to have an impact quite quickly in some of these areas. Don't be surprised to see Management changes at senior level as he will want a strong team around him and I am not sure that some of the individuals are in place. If discussions have been going on for a while then he may have had some input into the development plan but maybe not.
Luton isn't BHX for sure, in so many ways but he does bring experience from within the industry from larger airports (PAX) and significant lowco airlines. I cant believe that he has been employed to deliver more of the same. There are areas where he wont have had direct experience but he needs to provide the vision, leadership and focus which has been missing since PK left. The whole organisation may need a real shake up and he should have the credentials to deliver.
There are lots of views on what we think BHX should be or aim to be and he needs to be clear (and loud) with all the stakeholders on what BHX can offer

 

[richard winterbourn]

Yes, Nick Barton needs time before any of us on this forum make comment, critical or otherwise. It might be that decisions on flight developments might be very close to an announcement and, if so, it would be wise to acknowledge that this would have been the result of work carried out prior to his appointment.

But as to his appointment i take the view that after nearly 18 months, BHX management, or those who may have been charged with identifying a replacement for PK, had received one or two knock-backs: approaches made to individuals who for whatever reason did not want to take up the appointment. That would easily explain the delay...

But for Nick Barton i do believe that he did not apply but was identified as having the credentials that BHX were looking for. And as to whether he has been able to express any views on the recently announced master plan none of us will Know.

But he comes to BHX as an employee and he will work to a brief that has been set out for him by the airport's owners and management. We can all conjecture what that brief is: attracting more loco; more legacy airlines, more direct links to Asia and the US or even creating more revenue streams within the airport operations itself. Time will tell.

He has a big task ahead of him.

Ray, on PK's departure and on behalf of us on F4A you sent a letter offering him our thanks for the work he did during his time at at BHX. Would it be possible for you, on our behalf, to write to Nick Barton offering our congratulations on his appointment and to tell him there is a vibrant, well information and lively interest group that has the well-being of BHX at its heart and we wish him well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Paul Kehoe came from Bristol where, as far as I am aware, they have never welcomed Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways or double daily A380 flights yet he got them all to Birmingham.

Paul Kehoe was only at BRS for a few months before a bigger club came calling.

A380 at BRS - now that would be a surprise, or shock is probably a better word. Certainly would be to some of the sniffy residents of the Chew Valley who are under the 27 approach path. When the 380s were at Filton carrying out test flights they were often seen in the skies around Bristol. One afternoon one of them did a very low pass over the BRS runway at about 100 feet. Some the Valley residents must have been apoplectic with rage.

Incidentally, BRS gained itself a new CEO last August having been without a fulltime one for nearly a year. Apart from telling the local news media about himself when he arrived - he is a keen sailor apparently - I've not read or heard one comment from him in the news media about the airport since.

I shall be watching BHX with interest to see the sort of approach Mr Barton takes.

 

[JENNYJET]

Perhaps the delays with finding then appointing an airport CEO should not surprise us as anyone any good will already be in post with very nice package securely lock away. Perhaps also, running an airport is not the exciting prospect some of us think it is.

Any how, if Dick Barton......ooops!...Nick, apologies to the Gentleman, can be allowed to spread his wings without the obvious restrictions that Luton had, then I have a warm glow inside me tonight.

 

[Scottie Dog]

I hope that warm glow is just from the alcohol