Leeds Bradford - General Thread

[lbia]

Indeed every airline has its bad days, but when you look at the size of Jet2's operation at LBA there are very few tech issues compared to other airlines i.e TCX/MON at MAN etc who base less aircraft there but seem to have regular big dealys.

And Scousefowler dont worry the 757s have been running smoothly for a few weeks now, out if interest are you on the 08.05 flight or the 16.00 flight? Both on 757's!

 

[scousefowler]

hi

i`m on the 1600. i hav`nt flown for a few years so looking forward to it actually.

never checked in on line though not sure how that works.

top seats would be great!

cheers

 

[lbia]

Okay, however if you have checked in online you will have to sit in the seats allocated unless you want to purchase new seats. I'l have a look though, depending upon how many extra legroom seats have been sold (There are 48 on 757's) you may be allocated them free of charge, buy one get one free or have to pay the full price (£15.99) it all just depends on how many have already been purchased online.

Anyway back on topic, the Airport Duty Manager mentioned the other day that more then likely Jet2 & PIA will be checking in in Hall A over winter to save power in Hall B and more importantly for the inital stages of the development.

 

[Aviador]

Why there is enough room for both Jet2 and Ryanair at LBA
(and for many others as well for that matter!)

Well after a couple of days of reading all the usual tripe on the Dried Plum forum about Ryanair forcing Jet2 out of business and all the other ridiculous stories. Apologies to those of you who post on that site. Here's why LBA can sustain both Ryanair and Jet2 in perfect harmony (well as much as can be expected with two rival airlines)

Underneath is a list of like for like routes which clearly shows how many passengers are leaking from the region to neighbouring Manchester airport. Many of these passengers originate from well within the Leeds catchment area.

May 2009 passenger stats

Leeds - Larnaca - 1,946
Manchester - Larnaca - 27,514
Leeds - Paphos - 2,491
Manchester - Paphos - 26,742
Leeds - Paris CdG - 8,802
Manchester - Paris CdG - 33,431
Leeds - Corfu - 1,668
Manchester - Corfu - 16,435
Leeds - Heraklion - 1,635
Manchester - Heraklion - 22,397
Leeds - Frankfurt - Nil
Manchester Frankfurt - 27,400
Leeds - Malta - 732
Manchester - Malta - 18,425

The same pattern can be seen across all like for like services that either already operate or should be able to operate from Leeds.

More people fly from Manchester to the Greek island of Kos than fly from Leeds to Paris. That can't be right can it? This has nothing to do with the airport been sat on top of a hill. This is simply because of the lack of choice and capacity from Leeds. This has always been the case. Jet2 has been fantastic for Leeds but the lack of choice from the airport has created a monopoly which has resulted in an artificially low number of flights and seats which results in high profits for Jet2 and high prices for the flying public. Not knocking Jet2 for being successful but this situation needs to change.

According to Department For Transport figures, both the LBA and MAN catchment areas cover a similar number of people within the two hour drive time. There are many reasons why Manchester airport has grown the way it has over the years but the advent of low cost flights is starting to reverse that trend. LPL is ahead in the game, it has already proven that it can claw back passengers from Manchester that should be flying from their local airport.

With the introduction of more flights, even if they are to the same destinations can only be good for Leeds as this will remove the monopoly that is in place at the moment. The introduction of more flights with more airlines will create competition that the airport needs to clawback passengers from Manchester.

 

[Aviador]

[textarea]Leeds Bradford International Airport showcases new fire appliance

Leeds Bradford International Airport today (Tuesday 18th August, 2009) unveiled a new state of the art airport fire appliance which will join the existing fleet of three major appliances.

The Rosenbauer Panther CA5 6 x 6 vehicle can accommodate up to four fire fighters with equipment and holds 12,500 litres of water and 1,500 litres of foam.

The Fire Appliance was manufactured in Austria by Rosenbauer but supplied by local firm Angloco from Batley, West Yorkshire. Angloco is Britain’s longest established builder of fire vehicles and is Rosenbauer’s partner in the UK.

The Appliance is equipped with 12,500 litres of water, 1,500 litres of Foam, 250KG of dry powder & 100KG BCF fire fighting agents. The Panther weighs in at 36 tonnes & can accelerate from 0-50 MPH in under 30 seconds.

The roof monitor has a jet throw of 85 meters of aspirated foam & a smaller bumper mounted monitor which can produce non aspirated foam with a distance of 45 meters.

The vehicle also has a “forward looking infra red camera” (FLIR) which locates hot spots on an aircraft and enables a driver to respond in low visibility conditions.

Ray Booth, LBIA Fire & Rescue Manager, said “This is a welcome addition to our existing fleet of fire fighting appliances and is amongst the most modern of its kind in the industry. We take the safety of our passengers very seriously and therefore chose this appliance due to its excellent track record for reliability.”

The appliance is now operational following crew familiarisation.

Source[/textarea]

 

[Bigman]

So does this mean we can now be boosted up to Cat8??

 

[Aviador]

No bigman, as I explained to you last night, it's additional man power at Leeds that takes the level up to CAT 8 and CAT 9 at the moment. The number of appliances required might alter as the airport gets bigger or if the everage size of aircraft using the airport becomes larger but I'm not sure exactly at what point any additional requirement for more fire tenders would be.

Airport Categories

Airports are categorised on a scale of 1-10, based on the largest size of aircraft they regularly cater for. The largest airports in the world at the moment are Cat 9, but the new double-decker aircraft soon to be produced shall require Cat 10 facilities.

Certain standards are laid out for the emergency services for each Category, including the number of fire appliances, minimum performance levels for appliances, crewing numbers, training for firefighters, amount of water, foam, and other extinguishing agents, Rescue equipment to be carried, emergency access routes, and extra water supplies.

It is up to the Airport Fire Service to ensure that the standard is met at all times, and if the standard cannot be reached or maintained for some reason, then it may be necessary to divert the larger aircraft to airports that can provide the required facilities. In the case of an emergency, an aircraft may be forced to land at an airport not matching its category size.

 

[scousefowler]

what category is lba at the moment?

 

[Bigman]

Leeds is Category 7, with 8 and 9 available on request (refer LBA website).

Aviador - I just got the impression that the super dooper new Thunderbird 1 carried more people, hence my question.

 

[scousefowler]

hi

I noticed today that a de-icer type vehicle was being transported on the back of a lorry coming away from LBA.

Any info?

Also a Jet 2 757 was undergoing engine ground running on the apron, i`m sure they had it up to full thrust a couple of times. Why do they do this? Is there a set period of time for engine checks at certain intervals? Will Jet2 have there own engineers that do this or do they have to get someone in to do it? At what intervals do they do a complete strip down or overhaul?


thanks

 

[backtrack]

Was the de icing unit Aviance or Servisair? If it was Aviance, it will be one of the last pieces to be moved off site, as they have left operations at LBA. If it was Servisair, it may have been going to MT at Manchester.

Yes, jet2.com do a lot of test runs with their aircraft, using the new apron (stands 19 - 24). Usually the aircraft have technical problems so the engines need to be tested, otherwise it may be a routine check they do. Jet2.com have a set of their own engineers who carry out all the work at LBA for the airline.

There are certain times when A/B or C checks need to be carried out on comemrcial aircraft. Maybe someone else is able to expand on these checks?

 

[WYIA]

The aircraft have gone for major checks to Israel in years gone by, must be cheap lol.

 

[Bigman]

I think you will find the 757 was at full thrust to try and burn the tacky make-up from Vals face from Emmerdale. Did anyone see that last night by the way?? I was looking out for anyone I knew, but no such luck. The Flybe DH8's look quite smart inside. Nice to see Yorkshires Airport being showcased like that.

 

[stewief1]

HI. First post. I am a regular passenger from LBA and was very impressed to see the airport getting national coverage, even though it was in a fictional soap! There was a big push to advertise the Gatwick route via Flybe's involvement, and i did muse about the characters comments regarding the legroom and the snarly check-in assistant! A situation many of us have been in i am sure. Having flown the route myself, and seeing how busy it actually was, i have no concerns regarding its future service.

 

[Aviador]

Welcome to Forums4airports 'stewief1' thanks for joining the forum and making your first post. As a passenger or 'customer' as we tend to refer to you as, I welcome your feedback about the airport and it's services on both the Forums4airports - Passengers & Frequent Flyer Forum in the main forum section and also here in the Leeds Bradford International airport - Passenger & Frequent Flyer - Thread. Forums4airports is for anyone not just for professionals or employees of airports so your contributions are most welcome. As for Emmerdale, I don't normally watch it but I thought I'd keep an eye out for the scene but unfortunately I ended up working and missing the episode.

 

[scousefowler]

hi

the de-icing unit was a white american type vehicle? Does that give you any clues?

Also the engine tests. Can anyone expand on the frequency and depth of tests at the various intervals?

I suppose this will vary on engine type ect.

What about the airframe when is this and how often is this tested/inspected?

thanks

 

[Aviador]

Blimey a lot of questions. :smile:

I don't know if we have any engineers on the forum that could answer your questions fully. 'Xerox' is usually pretty good with the techno side of things but he only visits the forum on occasions these days because of commitments else where.

I'm pretty sure that Jet2 use a hand-held x-ray devise to x-ray the airframe for possible cracks. It's a state of the art piece of equipment and relatively new on the market I understand.

 

[wawkrk]

Wizzair seem to be on a roller at the moment expanding everywhere and with brand new aircraft. They will also pick up some of SkyEurope's routes.They are quite a nice airline and a lot more user friendly than RYR.They have 4 destinations from DSA and I would have thought they could make these and many others work from LBA. Does anyone know, did they ever look at LBA?

 

[White Heather]

I think that the nearest they have got to looking at LBA is when they diverted a flight into LBA from LPL during the winter - which was rather odd as I would have expected them to go to DSA. Perhaps the extra travelling was an issue, although if that was the case why didn't they divert to MAN?

Anyway, I agree that they would do well to look at LBA, but I think the problem is that they have a deal with Peel Holdings and coming to LBA would undermine their operations at DSA, which they may well be committed to under the deal.

However, deals come to an end............and they may look in the direction of LBA in the future. Poland expansion is high on the agenda for LBA bosses. The big question is will Ryanair expand into Poland before Wizz Air? If Wizz Air do have any intentions towards LBA, the arrival of Ryanair might just push them to make a move sooner rather than later.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I suspect that Tony Hallwood will have made contact with Wizzair as he probably has with many airlines that he thinks would be an asset at LBA.

He can be a very persuasive man.