Leeds Bradford - General Thread

[Tarn Spotter]

I think you will find that most blue badge holders would prefer not to have to pay the full £3 to use the drop off zone. Lets face it - those people without any disabilities have a choice whether or not to use the free drop off zone. Those with disabilities might not have that choice, so a reduction in charges seems reasonable.

The need of a covered walkway and a covered area to exit the vehicle are essential , if paying the £3 gets these items in the near future, its worth paying every penny of this fee. Its no fun being exposed to the elements, especially in high winds and driving rain, when even the best golf umbrellas are useless in protecting the wheelchair user. In high wind the short walk to the terminal takes me at least 20 minutes as I need a two minute rest every 15 yards, no seats and no protection from the weather. In bad weather, both myself and my OH wonder if its worth the stress of this small part of our holiday as we reach the terminal, soaked, cold, exhausted, heart meters in the red etc.
We have often used up our first 30 minutes in the car park waiting hopefully for a break in the weather, once this year we sat over an hour in the hope of a gap in the weather as the parking charges clock increased.
I hope soon we will get a covered walkway and a covered area to alight the car, we now have a disabled passenger collection area air side in the terminal , we need one arrival side as well, the position of the counter in Hall A is useless if using Hall B.
I bet if LBA management employed a secret shopper type disabled customer to go through the airport at peak times they would be shocked at the treatment. Certainly when the alterations on in spring, I wondered if any one of management had a grasp of the needs of disabled passengers, we arrived on the first days use of the new gate 10 to be advised the access route wheel chair friendly, within a 50 yard walk two steps, yet one minute before the special assistance guy told the route acceptable for a wheel chair, in the end we had to be taken outside in the rain and walked down to gate 10.
I have to say the special assistance staff at LBA are wonderful and both sides can smile about the situations we have found ourselves in, however, these situations should not happen

 

[twevsmiff]

Tower evacuation due fire alarm in terminal at 0855

 

[twevsmiff]

Tower manned once more from 0910

 

[Finger66]

Was just checking something on the LBA website and thought whilst I was there I would look to see when the last article appeared in the press section. That was on 29Nov and was about a pop up shop. So without meaning to sound too negative - that seems very indicative of the lack of good news that is around currently. So let's hope 2018 proves to be a turning point.

 

[Aviador]

Was just checking something on the LBA website and thought whilst I was there I would look to see when the last article appeared in the press section. That was on 29Nov and was about a pop up shop. So without meaning to sound too negative - that seems very indicative of the lack of good news that is around currently. So let's hope 2018 proves to be a turning point.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding Brexit and the economic output. Yesterday the press were reporting on a dip in new and second hand car sales.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

There is a lot of negativity surrounding Brexit and the economic output. Yesterday the press were reporting on a dip in new and second hand car sales.

Your sounding like Tony Blair on The Today programme. John Humphreys rightly pointed the negativity on economic proformance has nothing to do with Brexit but due to our levels of productivity.
He then destroyed every other reason Blair brought up, it was a joy to listen to all the lies being shredded especially his claim that NHS staff shortages due to falling e.u. numbers, whereas figures show 3k more Europeans working in the NHS since June 2016, great that someone from the BBC not allowing the lies not to be challenged, although I think Humphreys more interested in exposing Blair for the liar he is.
Even today the leading remainer paper The Times with a headline that house prices falling due to Brexit, the fact that the average house price is now eight times average earnings at 2008 levels, does not seem to cross the papers mind, or the fact that young people cant afford at todays levels, never mind, we may get away blaming it on Brexit..
The fact that u.k. manufacturing business, last year, took back from their European rivals chunks of business and that exports continue to rise and that companies like Nissan announce they have moved from 65% U.K. component sourcing in June 2016 to late 70's and hope to be in the early 90's by 2019, all good news for british business and workers.
Donald Tusk already admiting he cant allow trade talks to commence as for the first time the 27 are not singing from the same hymm sheet, Barnier says we cant cherry pick and financial services not in the talks, forgetting if he does not tie us into Brussels Mifid 11, he hands billions to our financial sectors, yet half the u.k. press announces the talks going badly for us.
I will finish on an aviation note, brent crude finished at $67.64 a barrel last night, against $45 in June last year, nearly a 50% increase, appreciate airlines have at least two years forward contracts and the pound/dollar has increased in value from a low of 1.20 in January 2017 to 1.36 today and economic forecasters are predicting the bank rate will double this year (personal loans/car loans/dampen the house market, reasons), but I still feel airlines will increase seat prices, Jet2 reduced average seat prices by 17% last year, this cannot be sustained.

 

[Aviador]

Yeap its a fact that MAN is sweeping up all the business pax from Yorkshire. You just got to look at what we've lost over the years, LBA has sadly become a bucket and spade parade airport

Its okay for those seeking a weekend/city break as we have 2-3x weekly flights to Berlin, Pargue, Rome, Barcelona & Budapest operated by Jet2 but even these routes don't operate year round. That's without mentioning the pathetic 4x weekly offering to Paris Cdg.

When Bridgepoint took on the airport back in 2006/7 they had a bit of a conundrum. They had purchased an airport for the going rate when the airport was performing well. The honeymoon was quickly over very soon after as the global recession set in. The airlines were struggling and probably more so than at any other time since the 1st Gulf war.

Looking back, rightly or wrongly and with Bridgepoint at the realm, they made the decision to move away from the previous council ownership split business, leisure model to create a terminal layout and experience that was more suited to low-cost operations. Although this might have suited the needs of the majority at the time, it left no scope to build on the business traffic to get it back to where it was pre-recession.

In case anybody isn't familiar with what I mean by a low-cost business model. The entire passenger experience is changed. Pick-up and drop-off charges, the parking charges are altered. Passengers were made to pay to use a faster security process. Meandering walkways designed to get people to spend and browse rather than them going straight to the gate. A move away from expanding airbridge facilities to walk to aircraft stands. The entire passenger experience is no-longer suited to high-paying business passengers.

When I was at the airport during the changes, business passengers were telling us the airport was adding expense and time onto a journey they wanted to be as seamless as possible. They tolerated increased queues at security but that followed by sitting in a departure area with no seating unless you paid for it broke the camels back.

If the new owners were to look at an entirely new way of making the whole process quicker and easier for business passengers we might just stand a chance of increasing those flights. Small airports do have their advantages!

 

[Finger66]

And I know only too well, day in day out how time is money for the business traveller so whole heartedly agree with the comments about a more business traveller friendly experience. There is room to accommodate both!

 

[Tarn Spotter]

If the new owners were to look at an entirely new way of making the whole process quicker and easier for business passengers we might just stand a chance of increasing those flights. Small airports do have their advantages!

I not sure this is correct.
Certainly putting my business hat on, we as a company 20 years ago decided hiring a private jet was the only way forward as flight times alone made using schedule airlines a waste of employee time. This is without calculating the benefits of arriving at the airport and being airborne in 30 minutes.
When you look that even junior executives have a charge out time of £1000 per hour, private jet costs are not an issue, add to the fact that apps today monitor the position of every private jet available for hire, its easy to schedule trips, knowing the equipment to move you available..
Finally and more importantly, every passenger is important, my wish is that there should be no such thing as a VIP service, we should all be treated the same, everything has a consequence, I am fairly sure queues for passport checking and the promotion of the "Fast Track" service at LBA has increased the volume of people using the special assistance service, we now see 50% of the people who used the SP service at LBA not using it at the arrival airport. We use AGP often, the walks here are massive on arrival, yet on our last trip 75% of the people did not use the booked service, yet did at LBA.

 

[Britannia94]

Finally and more importantly, every passenger is important, my wish is that there should be no such thing as a VIP service, we should all be treated the same, everything has a consequence, I am fairly sure queues for passport checking and the promotion of the "Fast Track" service at LBA has increased the volume of people using the special assistance service, we now see 50% of the people who used the SP service at LBA not using it at the arrival airport. We use AGP often, the walks here are massive on arrival, yet on our last trip 75% of the people did not use the booked service, yet did at LBA.

This is very true indeed a lot of people who use LBA book the assistance just incase its a long walk to the aircraft, which if it is they will use the service, if it’s only a short distance they will tend to manage by themselves. Unforntately they don’t always tell the assistance they don’t need their help and the assistance team try to search for them if they known they are at the airport.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

This is very true indeed a lot of people who use LBA book the assistance just incase its a long walk to the aircraft, which if it is they will use the service, if it’s only a short distance they will tend to manage by themselves. Unforntately they don’t always tell the assistance they don’t need their help and the assistance team try to search for them if they known they are at the airport.

This argument does not work for AGP, the shortest walk here is double anything at LBA, so I can accept not useing at LBA and then failing to use at AGP.
In addition at LBA since the changes, all SP service users are taken to the area by gate 6 for onward handling through the airport. On our last two trips through the airport we have had our tickets and passports checked at this point, saving having to be taken to the gate, your clearly told now that if your not within this area you wont received assistance.
In addition staff advice you the gate and all other details, I don't do stairs but can cope with an airbridge walk, so will pass on SP services at LBA if this is the situation, there is no real excuse not to keep SP staff updated, their run off their feet all the time.
There has to be some way of allowing family members to assist who are not travelling, our worst time is in baggage, were we need help to get our cases off the conveyor on too a trolley and then no one to push this trolley, yet family members are stood yards away, its no further to be pushed from the lift to your family member, surely they then could take over from SP, rather then needing more staff at this point, I accept security issues.

 

[lbaspotter]

Nice article in today's Evening post regards the terminal changes and route development. Also looks ike the airport is to undergo a rebranding exerise to become "Yorkshire's Airport"

Source: https://trib.al/VmVl4Ps

Ps: Don't read the comments section, the usual knockers of the airport are doing there thing..

 

[Jerry]

I read the comments and they sounded familiar! Lol A lot of airports would love to have half the destinations Leeds have and the commitment Jet2 and Ryanair have made to the airport!

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Certainly good to know David Laws has put his figure on the issues of the airport.
Not sure wise to have a BA tail in the photo shot, maybe KLM would have been a more helpful picture with the future in mind.
Hope were not going to drop "International" from the airport name, I know when I was able to add International to my business name 40 years ago what a bonus it was.
Have reservations "Yorkshire" in the title may be off putting to Scots etc who may be potential passengers, guy from Glasgow sat next too use recently ex LBA, it makes us very parochial in my view, could be damaging rather then positive, and this coming from a very proud Yorkshire man, who has just spent 5 days in the south, with folk no idea what the north is like.
Getting the airport fit for purpose will bring in the customers, not a name change.

 

[B737]

International was dropped from the name a couple of years ago, when they last rebranded. International used to be a desirable name but it is no longer required.View attachment 7335 View attachment 7336

 

[Aviador]

Have reservations "Yorkshire" in the title may be off putting to Scots etc who may be potential passengers, guy from Glasgow sat next too use recently ex LBA, it makes us very parochial in my view, could be damaging rather then positive

I seriously doubt using "Yorkshire's Airport" as a strap-line will offend the Scottish. In a similar fashion Glasgow airport uses the strap-line "proud to serve Scotland". A few miles to the East, Edinburgh airport uses "where Scotland meets the world". As a Yorkshireman I'm not offended by either. I can just imagine a similar strap-line for LBA, "proud to serve Yorkshire", or "where Yorkshire meets the world".

Former airport manager Bill Savage once said many New Yorkers had heard of Yorkshire but less so of Leeds or Bradford. Similar could be said for the Japanese and many other country's around the world so I can see why the airport's new management have taken this decision.

Admittedly I was strongly against removing the word "international" from the airport branding and still am. The airport needs to stop listening to the nimby's and name the airport in accordance with where they want to lead the business into the future.

 

[White Heather]

I feel sure that using the phrase Yorkshire's Airport' is aimed squarely at the competition with Doncaster Sheffield and intended to re-inforce LBA as being the main airport for the county - as indeed it should be, being centrally located, unlike DSA which is very nearly not in Yorkshire at all, being located close to the Nottinghamshire border, and about as far from 'central' as it's possible to get. What David Laws is saying matches exactly the messages he has given to both the last two Consultative Committees and it is great to hear - particularly given that his predecessor had long since given up even attending them.

 

[radar]

Hardly any airports have ‘international’ in their names these days. It reeks of a small airport that is trying too hard. Personally, I’d see the ‘Bradford’ dropped as well.

 

[lbaspotter]

I don't think the logo will be changed this time around. I just think the new slogan "Yorkshire's Airport" *will be added to all the exsisting branding.
They did same up Newcastle Airport not so long ago when they added "Your Airport" to the exsisting branding.

 

[LBA787]

Bradford should indeed be dropped... It adds very little if not only to confuse overseas visitors. On recent return flights home I’ve noticed the departure boards listing the destination as Leeds not Leeds/Bradford. It seems unless the airline specifies the destination the airport operator just puts Leeds as default.