Airport Consultative Committee [Questions & Responses]

[White Heather]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

White Heather
A few questions maybe you could ask for next meeting
1. When does the airport expect to handle 5 million passengers a year
2.do the airport hope to have a Middle East link and is there a time frame on this

Thanks

Moo2009, sorry I was not able to ask these questions at todays meeting. Time was limited and the MD had to leave early, so there was very little time to ask questions that had not been put forward in advance of the agenda being issued. I think it is fair to say however that the airport cannot even begin to forecast when they will achieve 5 million passengers given the volatile aviation market. Even now,when LBA is looking forward to its busiest ever summer, we are losing routes such as Brussels, so forecasting into the longer term is impossible. What was confirmed is that for the coming summer LBA are expecting an increase of around 12% over last summer, so the conservative forecast for the year ahead is around 3.3 to 3.4 million assuming we don't lose any more services.

There was no opportunity to ask about a Middle East link, but I know from experience over the past 25 years that they will never say anything where route negotiation is concerned as it is viewed as confidential until the deal is done.

 

[a300boy]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Was PIA discussed ?

 

[a300boy]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Sorry !! just seen your post on PIA thread.

 

[User0001]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Minutes from the March meeting.

http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/a ... 202013.pdf

 

[Aviador]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Question/

Is Leeds Bradford Airport making any preparation for next years world famous event "The Grand Depart 2014" when it come to Yorkshire and is the airport seeking to accommodate the additional traffic or will capacity constraints at Leeds inevitably lead to other airports picking up the majority of the additional traffic?

It is a huge opportunity for the region and the airport and it will be a shame if we cannot meet the demand for such an important event.

"The world's greatest cycle race - the Tour de France - will start in the world's greatest county on 5th & 6th July 2014 bringing millions of fans to the Yorkshire roadside to cheer on the champions of the sport."

http://letour.yorkshire.com/the-grand-depart-2014

 

[White Heather]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Hi Aviador

I am happy to raise that question at the next meeting - I will copy your question directly and submit it as a formal question, which then ensures a formal response. The next meeting is not until the 13th June

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Whilst on the subject of extra aircraft movements at LBA which could include the Tour de France "The Grand Depart 2014" I see that Leeds United's Elland Road ground has today officially been confirmed that it will host 2x games of the "2015 Rugby Union World Cup" on the following dates.

Saturday, September 26th - Italy v Americas 1 (in Pool D)
Sunday, September 27th - Scotland v Americas 2 (in Pool B)

 

[User0001]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Question/

Is Leeds Bradford Airport making any preparation for next years world famous event "The Grand Depart 2014" when it come to Yorkshire and is the airport seeking to accommodate the additional traffic or will capacity constraints at Leeds inevitably lead to other airports picking up the majority of the additional traffic?

It is a huge opportunity for the region and the airport and it will be a shame if we cannot meet the demand for such an important event.

"The world's greatest cycle race - the Tour de France - will start in the world's greatest county on 5th & 6th July 2014 bringing millions of fans to the Yorkshire roadside to cheer on the champions of the sport."

http://letour.yorkshire.com/the-grand-depart-2014

The problem is that the way the question is worded just opens up the easy response of "there are no capacity constraints" You will be more likely to get a better response if you can be more specific about the issues you are concerned about. e.g

I'm concerned that the airport may not be able to fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by Le Grand Depart because there doesn't appear to be enough (terminal space / parking space / xxxxxxx)

a more positive way of expressing it (and you are much more likely to get a positive response from a positively worded question) could be

I'm sure the airport is looking forward to supporting Le Grand Depart in 2014. What contingency arrangements would need to be put in place to ensure that these opportunities are taken whilst protecting normal passenger arrangements

Personally I would think that most visitors are likely to book on existing scheduled services and if the services already exist they will be well supported. Airlines might even throw in a few extra services if they have the available aircraft. There will probably be some bizjet traffic and maybe some limited charter for support teams and equipment but I guess the whole point of the tour is that it's mobile and is used to moving stuff around on the road network.

 

[Bigman]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

I tend to agree that we will most likely see additional flights (eg Jet2 Paris), or maybe increased capacity (BA A321's or maybe KLM 737's). I think that days of the likes of Euro 96 are long gone.

 

[Moo2009]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

What are the airport management targeted passenger numbers over the next 3 years this is something which they should have figures in mind

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

LBA Consultative Committee constitution

I've been looking at airport consultative committees in my area and the main two (BRS and CWL) seem to have subtle yet marked differences in their respective approaches.

Section 35 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 as amended provides a statutory requirement for airports to consult interested parties (basically airport users, local authorities and organisations representing local people) regarding the exchange of information and ideas affecting the airport and any concerns that might be engendered by the airport's presence. The usual way of achieving this is through a consultative committee.

The DfT provides guidelines for such committees but recognises that requirements in individual cases may vary.

In my area the BRS committee seems to have a more formal approach than that at CWL.

Both committees are made up of members from a number of organisations such as the airport itself, local authorities, trade unions, airlines, parish councils, the travel trade and similar bodies.

The BRS committee constitution states that meetings may be open to the public and press at the discretion of the committee though they may still be excluded from parts of meetings if 'matters of a confidential or sensitive nature are being discussed'.

CWL, on the other hand, is open to the public to attend and ask questions at the end of the meeting, though occasionally the minutes show that questions are not answered, sometimes understandably because of commercial sensitivity or confidentiality.

Even the respective minutes of the two committees are different in tone with BRS's being rather formal with a number of topics disposed of by reference to reports being deposited in the Minute Book for members' perusal, whilst the minutes at CWL are more 'chatty' and informative to the general reader.

I presume that the make-up of LBA's committee is similar to those at BRS and CWL.

Are there any members of the general public seconded to the LBA committee as formal members?

Are members of the public welcome as an audience at the meetings at LBA and, if so, are they allowed to put questions to the committee, especially to airport senior officer members?

Do any members of the press attend the LBA meetings and are the meetings ever reported in the local news media?

I will be grateful for any information anyone can provide.

 

[User0001]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/a ... -committee

 

[White Heather]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Hi Local Yokel

Yes I can confirm that the LBA committee runs very much along the lines that you have described. I can also confirm that members of the public are members - there are representatives from the communities living at both ends of the runway, plus members representing the village of Menston, which has long been a thorn in the side of the airport - although to be fair, the current representative is actually very positive towards the airport. I am also a member and I am also a member of the public - although I represent the Airport Support Group, that is an organisation I co- founded to support the airport and its development, back in the late 1980's. The only other co-founder who is still involved is also a member, so there are at least 5 members who are really just members of the public. The press is allowed in, although their attendance tends to be sporadic to say the least. They were in attendance at the last meeting - but it tends to the the press from the local free papers rather than the Evening Post/Yorkshire Post, who seem to rely on Press Releases for their articles.

Hope that helps

Heather

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Many thanks, Heather and LS16.

From your comments and a perusal of the minutes it seems that LBA's approach is nearer to CWL's than BRS's which, as I said earlier, seems rather formal. The only local representatives in the sense of nearby villages on the BRS forum are the parish council people.

Once again, thanks to both of you.

One final question: can members of the public not affiliated to any local group, ie people who just turn up, ask questions of the LBA committee?

 

[White Heather]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Hi Local Yokel, the answer to that is no. Local members of the public cannot just turn up - if they do they will not be admitted. They wouldn't get past security either. Questions have to be submitted in advance generally, although once the meeting is underway there are always opportunities to raise comments and ask any simple questions relative to the agenda issues.

Heather

 

[Moo2009]

Re: Airport Consultative Committee [Questions]

Any other news from today's meeting

 

[White Heather]

Re: Leeds Bradford - General Thread

Yesterday was the last Consultative Committee meeting of 2013, so here are a few highlights from it:

Monarch have carried 244,000 pax from LBA in their first year. This was described as a 'remarkable' performance from a zero start at a new airport. The MON Executive Chairman was at LBA to celebrate the 1st year.

An extra-ordinary year for LBA in terms of pax numbers. The busiest summer in the airport's history has guaranteed 2013/14 passenger numbers exceeding 3.2 million by the end of March 2014. Jet2 had a 'fantastic' year with LBA load factors averaging in excess of 90%. Jet2 were described as 'pivotal' in the success of LBA. LBA is officially the fastest growing regional airport in the UK.

The aviation industry was described as still 'fragile' as demonstrated by the problems faced by Flybe. LBA are very disappointed to lose the Flybe LBA - SOU route which carried 60,000 pax in the past year. They are delighted at Eastern's decision to replace Flybe and described it as an ideal route for Eastern to operate.

SAS are expected to develop the Copenhagen route, and it is hoped this will lead to
additional flights. LBA/SAS will concentrate on developing Copenhagen before considering any further routes to the likes of Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockholm or Helsinki, but it is hoped these may be secured further into the future.
LBA have secured several awards during the year and are in the running for another. The AOA award was particularly important as it was for all regional airports with less than 6m pax. Votes were by airlines, most of which do NOT operate from LBA.

LBA punctuality averages in excess of 90%. It should be noted that LBA operates on a Key Performance Indicator basis (KPI's) and each airline has different tolerances within which flights are classified as 'on time'.

With regard to a potential future runway extension at LBA - forget it. Bridgepoint have absolutely no intention of extending the runway. The costs are considered to be unsustainable when compared to the benefits and each year makes such a scheme less likely as aviation technology improves. The MD stated that he would be 'amazed' if the eventual successors to Bridgepoint ever considered such an extension.

With regard to the letter I wrote regarding the relocation of the runway 32 touch down and the upgrading of runway 14 ILS, the response was very much as I predicted. The runway 32 changes would be feasible but extremely messy and very expensive. Such work was not ruled out but is by no means a priority. Runway 14 ILS upgrades are also a low priority. LBA are fully aware of the problems caused by only having Cat1, but state that the problems caused by the Chevin and resultant 3.5 degree glide slope make the work 'non-do-able'. Certainly for the foreseeable future, it isn't going to happen. These problems are very much as previously reported by the LA owners and previous chairman Ed Anderson, so this is not Bridgepoint avoiding spending money.

With regard to the Masterplan. An update was given and the current position is as follows:

Work on developing the Masterplan is gathering pace. LBA have consultants on board and are now in discussions with the Local Authority with regard to developments at LBA, both airside and landside, including strategic improvements to surface access.

LBA have prepared feasibility reports (for presentation to the LA) regarding surface access improvements, including road, rail, and bus. This will lead to discussions with the LA to agree transport strategy.

Next will be the development of airside strategies to enforce LBA's success. I questioned them about this , specifically with regard to the need for more aircraft stands (the current Masterplan shows 4 more stands that have yet to be built). LBA acknowledged that there are times overnight when LBA is effectively full and that this will prevent more based a/c. They described the provision of more stands as a 'priority' but stressed also that it was important to use the facilities they have more evenly, so they are in discussions with based airlines about schedules and other airlines based elsewhere. It is also a priority to eliminate the quiet periods between departing waves of based a/c. This is as I reported previously.

All plans must be discussed publicly via the consultation process.

In response to a specific question by my colleague, LBA stated they intend developing LBA to ensure it's development continues up to and beyond 5m pax. Also as I have previously stated, it was emphasized that development must be timed to co-incide with demand. There is no intention to throw huge amounts at developments in the hope it will attract more business. Developments will take place when the new business is secured. So if an airline commits to base more a/c at LBA, we can expect the stands to be built pretty quickly, but NOT before the Masterplan has been through the Local Authority discussions and Publicity process, which are compulsory.

No dates were given - a further update will be provided next time. It is clear that LBA know what they intend to do but are not prepared to give details until the whole package has been agreed by the Local Authority.

LBA confirmed their commitment to a rail link for LBA, via a tram train. They are determined that any link needs to cover Leeds AND Bradford, which a tram train would. However, they are not opposed to any development of the Harrogate line, but state that the owner of the land where an parkway station would need to be built does not wish to sell, and that the Bramhope Tunnel and the areas leading into it are of historical interest, so cannot be just re-developed.

LBA confirmed that passenger numbers on the 967 bus were very poor and having given the route some time to pick up they have no option but to end the subsidy and spend the money on routes that are (or likely to be) successful.

I raised the need for a link to York, particularly in view of SAS arriving at LBA in March. This was acknowledged by the MD, but he said the problem was (for bus companies) that there are significant distances between Leeds and York where few, if any , pax would be picked up (ie along the A64). However, it was confirmed that LBA are in discussions with York Council regarding a bus link, and it was confirmed that the number of pax originating from the City of York itself has now risen to 4% of all LBA pax. The SAS route is likely to increase this further. I also raised the issue of through ticketing from LBA to York via Leeds until such time as a direct bus or train link was established. LBA said they would take this away.

I raised the fact that National Express run coach services linking airports and routes that pass within 5 miles of LBA but do not call at the airport. The MD seemed very interested in this and said LBA would also take that away to look into.

Finally - with regard to the problem 'non working escalator' up to the immigration area, LBA are developing plans to deal with this issue and are to provide the committee with a copy of these plans. Significant works are required in order to resolve the H&S problems that prevent the escalator being used when the airport is busy.

That's all folks.

Happy Christmas to all of you :drinks:

 

[a300boy]

Re: Leeds Bradford - General Thread

Thanks for the comprehensive report White Heather.
A realistic appraisal of the situation and they do seem to be confident and upbeat about the future.
I hope these lighter long haul aircraft types open up some new destinations for us without more concrete being provided and that improved technology allows us a fix for our bad weather operational limitations.

 

[lbaspotter]

Re: Leeds Bradford - General Thread

Thanks for the update White Heather. It's always an interesting read.

Wonder what our Bridgepoint, masterplan LUFC resident fan will have to say about all this! :-D

 

[lbia]

Re: Leeds Bradford - General Thread

An excellent update.