CAA Provisional Statistics Update

[TheLocalYokel]

In a news item on its website (see link below) Cardiff Airport confirms Debra Barber as managing director and chief operating officer. She has been interim managing director for the past year.

The same news item mentions this November's passenger figures which are still to be released by the CAA.

Passenger numbers are currently +10% for the rolling year to the end of November 2015 at 1,139,567. November figures are +33% compared to November 2014 which follows a record breaking October with passenger numbers being +62% year on year. Growth is due to the success of the new Flybe base plus strong load factors for airlines including KLM, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Thomson.

November 2014 saw just short of 49,000 passengers (this was a 18.5% decrease on November 2013) so a 33% increase will take this November's numbers to around 65,000.

I read elsewhere that the airport is predicting 1.2 million passengers in 2016. I suggested this number a month or two ago but with the proviso that any further announcement(s) would see it exceeded.

Incidentally, October this year was nowhere near a record breaker. Just over 148,000 passengers were handled which is well down on the best ever October in 2007 which saw 209,000. 2008 was also well up on October 2015 as were most of the Octobers in the early part of this century. October 2015 actually took us back to October 2009 when 148,000 passengers were handled then.

CAA stats for November now published showing 65,020 passengers handled, an increase of 33.1% on November 2014. Atms were up 27%.

Rolling 12-month total was 1,135,172, up 10.2% on a year ago. So this confirms the earlier airport press release above, although the rolling CAA total is slightly lower than the airport's own.

 

[Em0866]

Hi Local

Again this is excellent news on the increase of pax from CWL. I would not have thought that by the end of December pax figs would not top 1.2m but it'll be close. I am more confident that things will improve even further for CWL in 2016. Hoping for new routes or airlines in the next few months

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Again this is excellent news on the increase of pax from CWL. I would not have thought that by the end of December pax figs would not top 1.2m but it'll be close. I am more confident that things will improve even further for CWL in 2016. Hoping for new routes or airlines in the next few months

1.2 mppa certainly won't be reached this year. November saw an additional 16,000 passengers over the previous November. If that sort of increase happens in December it would take the final year's total to just over 1.15 million.

2016 would then need an additional 50,000 passengers over 2015 to reach 1.2 mppa.The 12 months to the end of this November have seen around 100,000 extra passengers over the previous corresponding 12-month period. However, it must be remembered that over 30,000 of these were for the rugby world cup which obviously will not feature in 2016.

Despite this I believe that even with the current 2016 timetable 1.2 million ought now to be easily reached and almost certainly exceeded. Any further significant announcements would take 2016 to the vicinity of 1.25 million.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/201 ... r-numbers/ CWL press release

[textarea]13% increase in annual passenger numbers

There was a significant increase in the number of passengers flying through Wales’ national Airport last year. New routes were added and a number of destinations grew in popularity.

The top 5 fastest growing routes* in 2015 were:

Paris with Flybe
Faro with Flybe and Thomson
Düsseldorf with Flybe
Arrecife (Lanzarote) with Thomson
Dublin with Aer Lingus and Flybe
New routes added in 2015 included Antalya (with Thomas Cook); Milan, Munich and Cork (with Flybe); Montego Bay (charter cruise flights with Thomson) and Venice (charter flights on behalf of P&O cruises).

86% of passengers were international, taking advantage of the increased choice of routes plus the long-haul connections available with KLM via their hub in Amsterdam Schiphol.

The year ended on a real high note, with passenger numbers growing by 56% in December compared to the same month in 2014, and over 64,000 passengers flying over the festive period.

Debra Barber, Cardiff Airport’s Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, commented:

“2015 has been a real turning point for Cardiff Airport. We’ve had lots of exciting developments including a new base for Flybe with 14 routes on offer, as well as strong performances from our other airlines including Thomson, KLM, Vueling and Thomas Cook. Special events such as the RBS 6 Nations and Rugby World Cup also gave us the opportunity to demonstrate our ability to handle huge amounts of passengers, and we were really pleased to welcome more than 45,000 travelling sports fans into Cardiff over the course of the year.

“Looking ahead to the coming year we aim to build on this success. We continue to work with new and incumbent airlines to offer more travel choices for our customers and we will continue our work to enhance the passenger journey with a brand new departures area opening in 2016.”

The top 5 most popular destinations in 2015 were:

Amsterdam and onward connections with KLM
Dublin with Aer Lingus and Flybe
Alicante with Vueling and Thomson
Palma Majorca with Thomas Cook, Thomson and Vueling
Edinburgh with Flybe
More than 25,000 aircraft movements were recorded at Cardiff Airport in 2015.[/textarea]

56% increase for December would take the total for the month to around 64,000 (in the press release it's said that over 64,000 passengers flew in the Festive Period but they must mean the month as a whole) with the annual total in the region of 1.157 million. However, an increase of 13% on the year would give a final figure around 1.152 million. Either way it's an excellent figure after the trials and tribulations of the past seven years and means an additional passenger total between 132,000 and 137,000 for the calendar year.

As things stand 2016 looks to be coming in at well over 1.2 million.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

CAA Stats December 2015

Further to my previous post that set out the airport's own figures for December and the calendar year 2015, the CAA has now published its figures for December and they, unsurprisingly, are almost the same as the CWL figures.

64,060 passengers used the airport in December, an increase of 56.8% on December 2014. Atms were up 29.6%. Rolling 12-month total, which is also the annual total for 2015, was 1,158,383, an increase of 13.6% on the calendar year 2014.

Obviously the Flybe base and increased Vueling rotations to ALC and AGP were the main drivers of this huge increase.

As I stated previously 2016 looks to be on course for well over 1.2 million passengers. An increase of 10% for the whole of 2016 would take the total to around 1.275 million but over 30,000 would have to come out of this total as the rugby world cup will not feature in 2016. So at present 1.25 million may be the approximate total for 2016. News of further airlines, routes and increased frequencies would obviously then take the total towards 1.3 million.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

CAA Stats January 2016

Another spectacular month of gains percentage-wise, mainly thanks to the Flybe base performing for the first time in winter.

59,343 passengers used the airport, an increase of 41.2% on January 2015. Atms were up 18.4%. Rolling 12-month total was 1,175,703, up 15.7% on a year ago.

 

[Em0866]

This is very good news indeed. Definitely things are improving. I wonder what the stats are on flights? That will come out soon on the other Forum and will make interesting reading. With increased rotations with Vueling and Flybe on some of their routes then it should be an even better summer too.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I've done a breakdown of the Flybe route numbers in the CWL Flybe thread.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]1.2 million passengers recorded at Cardiff Airport plus 68% growth for February 2016

Following a consecutive nine months of growth, the total number of passengers travelling through Wales’ national Airport over the rolling year has passed the 1.2 million mark. This tremendous milestone follows a record breaking February which saw passenger numbers increase by 68% (totalling 75,055) on the previous year.

1.2 million passengers haven’t been recorded in a rolling 12 month period since 2011.

Travellers are taking advantage of an increased choice of destinations, more availability and better timings on key routes plus airlines offering greater value for money to fly from Cardiff.

This impressive figure comes following a series of boosts for the Airport that have directly resulted in more passengers choosing Cardiff, including:

The opening of Flybe’s two aircraft base at Cardiff Airport and a 14 route network, including new routes to Cork, Munich, Milan and Faro. The frequency of existing routes also increased to popular destinations including Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris and Jersey.

Over 828,000 passengers flew through Cardiff during last year’s peak summer season (May-Oct), taking advantage of Thomas Cook and Thomson Holidays packages to popular holiday destinations. Air Malta and Balkan Holidays flew passengers to Malta and Bulgaria respectively, while tour operator Newmarket offered specialist guided excursions around Italy.

Spanish airline Vueling enjoyed another successful year of flying passengers to and from Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma Majorca, resulting in the airline’s decision to release an extra 41% of seats to the market for the coming summer – an additional 123 departures across the four destinations in 2016.

In October 2015, over 36,000 French and Irish rugby fans flocked to Wales via Cardiff Airport to watch their countries take part in World Rugby Cup matches at the Principality Stadium, while over 8,000 fans, also from France and Ireland, recently flew through the Airport to attend RBS 6 Nations rugby matches.

Routes seeing the largest passenger growth are:

1. Dublin – operated by Aer Lingus and Flybe
2. Edinburgh – operated by Flybe
3. Paris
4. Faro – operated by Flybe and Thomson
5. Lanzarote – operated by Thomas Cook and Thomson Holidays

The 9 months of growth from June 2015, averaging 35% per month are due to strong load factors on scheduled airlines including Flybe, KLM, Vueling and Aer Lingus plus strong charter performances with Thomson and Thomas Cook.

Nine months of consecutive passenger growth:

Month 2015-16

% growth from previous year

Passenger numbers

June 12% 133,137

July 8% 139,805

August 10% 149,230

September 21% 150,477

October 62% 149,823

November 32% 65,040

December 56% 64,220

January 42% 59,715

February 68% 75,055

Debra Barber, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Cardiff Airport, said:

"To continue with this level of growth in the demanding winter months is hugely positive. Our airlines not only offer Welsh holiday makers flights to the sun, but also to the snow with ski flights performing above expectations. Increasingly the choice of flights is encouraging business travellers to fly from Cardiff all year round, enjoying the convenience of flying locally.

“2015 has been a real turning point for Cardiff Airport. We’ve had lots of exciting developments including a new base for Flybe with 14 routes on offer, as well as consistently strong performances from airlines including Thomson, KLM, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Thomas Cook.

“Looking ahead to the coming year we are confident we will build on this success. We continue to work with new and incumbent airlines to offer more travel choices for our customers and we will continue to enhance the passenger journey with a new departures area opening in summer 2016.

“Cardiff Airport is proudly flying the flag for Wales every day of the year.”

Looking ahead in 2016, Flybe will begin its new flights to Verona once a week, while flights to Milan and Faro will increase to four times a week in peak season. Charter flights to Cancun and Orlando will depart during the summer with Thomas Cook. Winter 2016 will see new direct cruise flights to Dubai with Thomson and P&O Cruises will continue with another programme of cruise flights to the Caribbean. KLM will also be operating more flights to Amsterdam using its larger Embraer 190 jet aircraft.[/textarea]

CWL press release at http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/201 ... uary-2016/

An excellent percentage rise again last month, accounting for over 30,000 more passengers than in February 2015

2007 is the best February on record with over 110,000 passengers, so another thirty-odd thousand next February will equal that. If that happens the airport would likely be on course for 2 mppa which it handled in 2007 so next year might be a bit premature..

 

[superking]

sure is a nice growth.but we must remember when the second based started ops.that will be a true reflection on pax numbers. when the new routes and the increase on existing routes will be realistic.it beggers to think how much revenue flybe make ,which we shall never know.bums on seats are good,but they must earn revenue.
i must say that figures are impressive and long may it continue

 

[TheLocalYokel]

sure is a nice growth.but we must remember when the second based started ops.that will be a true reflection on pax numbers. when the new routes and the increase on existing routes will be realistic.it beggers to think how much revenue flybe make ,which we shall never know.bums on seats are good,but they must earn revenue.
i must say that figures are impressive and long may it continue

The overall numbers are excellent and the percentage rise quite staggering. However, it must be remembered that the base figures each month had dropped to a very low point hence the spectacular percentage rises.

For example, in January CWL saw a 42% increase in passenger numbers over January 2015 which amounted to more than 17,000 additional passengers. In the same month Bristol Airport had more than 47,000 extra passengers compared with January 2015 but because of the much higher base figure the percentage rise there was 'only' 13.3%.

I'm not in any way denigrating the performance of CWL over the past year. I admit that some of the routes have done much better than I anticipated and if smaller aircraft had been used the load factors would have been highly satisfactory.

I am confident that the rising passenger numbers trend will continue throughout the year although, unless something unexpected is announced, the percentage rises will lessen from June, because the first Flybe aircraft arrived 12 months before, and even more from September when the second Flybe aircraft arrived. Furthermore, the base figures will be higher from June onwards but with an increased Vueling presence throughout the year as well as other increases elsewhere there will still be respectable monthly percentage passenger number rises.

Only Flybe will know how much money they are making. There seems little doubt that the route development money allocated by the Wales Assembly Government is playing a part and the airline is presumably satisfied that they have a deal that works for them.

There certainly seems to be an air of confidence and expectation about the airport these days which is in stark contrast to those years when the previous owner was effectively running it down and putting in the minimum amount of finance it could get away with to keep the airport legal (vide the evidence of the current airport MD and current airport company chairman to a WAG committee a few weeks ago).

There can be no doubt at all that CWL was allowed to wilt far beyond the effects of the recession. As a previous CWL CEO once said, currently the low growing apples are being picked. The test will come when they have to reach the fruit further up the tree. I believe it is entirely feasible for the airport to get back to 2 mppa (which it saw in 2007 and 2008) within the next 2-4 years. It will depend of course on what airlines and routes can be attracted but if, say, Ryanair came in with a substantial programme then 2 mppa could be seen in 2017 or 2018. If APD is devolved that should make the task that much more achievable.

After that it will be new territory and a challenge that the management team and owners will relish I'm sure.

The next few years will be full of interest for CWL watchers.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

February 2016

CAA stats now published which confirm CWL's own figures posted on 7 March above.

CAA shows 74,704 passengers handled during the month, up 68% on February 2015. Atms were up 35.5%. Rolling 12-month total was 1,205,929, up 20.4% on a year ago.

 

[Em0866]

It is good that the CAA have confirmed this and that the airport's figures tally with theirs. Looking forward to March they should also be up on March 2015 too.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It is good that the CAA have confirmed this and that the airport's figures tally with theirs. Looking forward to March they should also be up on March 2015 too.

No doubt about that and with the earlier Easter there should be another spectacular percentage rise.

 

[Em0866]

It is all looking good and with VYs flights to PMI starting earlier too, as well as an increased presence this summer this will be another positive year for CWL and an increase in pax overall

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Cardiff Airport sees ten months of consecutive growth

March passenger figures are up 29%

Passenger figures continue to grow at Cardiff Airport, with March ending +29% versus the same month last year. This tenth consecutive month of growth brings the rolling twelve year passenger figure up to 1.228 million (+22%).

Customers are taking advantage of an increased choice of destinations, more availability and better timings on key routes, plus airlines are offering greater value for money to fly from Cardiff.

This impressive figure also comes following a series of exciting announcements made by airlines in recent weeks:

Flybe has stepped in to offer ‘rescue flights’ to London City starting on 12th September, ensuring Welsh passengers still have vital access to the city whilst works are underway on the Severn Tunnel. The flight is just 40 minutes by air with fares available from just £34.99 one way, making the journey from Cardiff quick and cost-effective.

Additionally Flybe has also released its first wave of flights for winter 2016/17 and announced a brand new route to Berlin starting on 2nd November.

Low-cost Spanish airline Vueling has responded to the demand from Welsh customers and increased its summer programme of flights from Cardiff by some 40%, meaning greater capacity on flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma Majorca.

Ryanair has doubled its capacity at Cardiff Airport on winter flights to Tenerife, with a second weekly flight departing on Thursday to complement the existing Monday route, on sale now at ryanair.com

The 10 months of growth from June 2015, averaging 34% per month, are due to strong load factors on scheduled airlines including Flybe, KLM and Vueling plus strong charter performances with Thomson and Thomas Cook.

Ten months of consecutive passenger growth:

Month 2015-16: % growth from previous year: Passenger numbers

June 12% 133,137

July 8% 139,805

August 10% 149,230

September 21% 150,477

October 62% 149,823

November 32% 65,040

December 56% 64,220

January 42% 59,715

February 68% 75,055

March 29% 78,413


Debra Barber, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Cardiff Airport, said:

"It’s very encouraging to see yet another month of passenger growth following a successful winter and a busy ski season in particular. The summer season is just around the corner, with even more capacity available to popular holiday destinations like Spain and the Canaries, regular flights to the Algarve and a wealth of package options also available to destinations including Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece.

“We are also excited to launch the new service to Verona later this month (April 23rd) - there’s much more choice available for our customers this year and I look forward to seeing continuing growth in the coming months.

“We continue to work with new and incumbent airlines to offer more travel choices for our customers and we will continue to enhance the passenger journey with a new departures area opening officially in May.

“Cardiff Airport is proudly flying the flag for Wales every day of the year.”

Additionally, frequency to Milan and Faro increases to four times a week in peak season with Flybe and charter flights to Cancun and Orlando will depart during the summer with Thomas Cook.

Winter 2016/17 is already shaping up to be busy with Flybe and Vueling having released their winter schedule early to facilitate demand from Welsh customers to be able to book well in advance.

Winter will also see new direct cruise flights to Dubai with Thomson and P&O Cruises will continue with another programme of cruise flights to the Caribbean. KLM will also be operating more flights to Amsterdam using its larger Embraer 190 jet aircraft.

CWL press release at http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news...irport-sees-ten-months-of-consecutive-growth/

Another eye catching month percentage-wise as the airport continues its recovery.

 

[Aviador]

And long may Cardiff airport's recovery continue. The aviation industry in general desperately needs some long term stability. Can't see that happening though with a history plagued with periodic termoil.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

And long may Cardiff airport's recovery continue. The aviation industry in general desperately needs some long term stability. Can't see that happening though with a history plagued with periodic termoil.

I'm sure it will continue. CWL is unique in the UK as England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have more than one airport in their countries. Wales only has CWL, disregarding the likes of Anglesey and Hawarden which really don't count when it comes to passenger traffic.

That being the case the Wales Assembly Government (WAG) has put its huge financial muscle into turning the airport around. In that sense CWL is fortunate because the likes of Plymouth and Blackpool airports have no national government to bail them out.

The test will come when the WAG's £13 million route development money is spent although by then it's hoped that enough routes will have matured to make them self sufficient commercially. From a Welsh perspective I can understand why they want APD devolved. The WAG has already said it will reduce APD to nil, or abolish it (same effect).

 

[Aviador]

Well if WAG play their cards right their investment will pay off and the reward will come when the airport re-enters the private sector, assuming that is the long term aim of this venture. All said, MAG (Manchester Airport Group) is still in public ownership so there is no reason WAG can't also continue to play a part in it's future of Cardiff airport.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

When CWL was first bought by the WAG the Wales First Minister said they would find a private sector partner that would remove any risk from the Welsh Government's standpoint. The day after the announcement of state ownership was made I listened to the First Minister live on Radio Wales. He told an incredulous interviewer (overheard by an equally incredulous listener at home - me) that the WAG and private sector partner would share in profits but any losses would be borne entirely by the private sector partner.

Needless to say no private sector partner could be found willing to operate under those rules. The intention then changed to one of finding a private sector operator to take over the airport. Again no-one could be found so the WAG decided that they would operate the airport themselves through an arm's length wholly state owned company and the latest pronouncement was that they were in no hurry to transfer the airport into private hands and were likely to hang onto it for the foreseeable future.

I think an Australian investment fund owns about a third of MAG which presumably is why the Wales First Minister's first idea was some sort of private sector partnership, and of course MAG also owns EMA, BOH and STN.

CWL had undoubtedly dropped much too far in performance, including passenger numbers, even taking into account the severe recession. Its previous owner, the Spanish group Abertis, seemed to lose all interest in the airport and according to the current MD and the chairman spent only the minimum necessary to keep the airport a legal operating entity.

Many passengers had given up because flights and destinations disappeared and part of the task is to entice them back. Many went to other airports and a lot still do. CWL's inherent problem though is the size and make-up of its core catchment which, the Cardiff city region apart, is not large nor wealthy or economically vibrant. It therefore doesn't possess the critical mass that enables an economy of scale that permits many routes. The summer sun is fine but it's the prime business routes that have always been a problem to operate successfully.