Glasgow | Glasgow Metro Area Airports | News & Developments

[AshAshAsh]

The top 15 airports by passenger numbers for April 2012. Figures from the CAA.

1. HEATHROW 5,848,509 0.00%
2. GATWICK 2,723,840 -1.30%
3. STANSTED 1,512,670 -2.80%
4. MANCHESTER 1,470,942 3.20%
5. LUTON 832,552 4.00%
6. EDINBURGH 767,732 -1.10%
7. BIRMINGHAM 701,541 2.40%
8. GLASGOW 547,245 6.90%
9. BRISTOL 490,998 0.30%
10. LIVERPOOL 389,256 -19.90%
11. BELFAST INT 347,081 9.90%
12. EAST MIDS 345,808 3.70%
13. NEWCASTLE 314,609 1.10%
14. ABERDEEN 272,058 10.70%
15. LONDON CITY 242,995 5.50%

Most domestic routes are up the exceptions being Isle of Man, Kirkwall, Leeds, Manchester & Tiree, none of which carry a significant number of passengers anyway. The route to Plymouth stopped altogether as that airport has closed since last year.

London is by far the most popular destination from Glasgow. The London airports together accounted for 179,559 passengers or 33% of the total.

Internationally, Amsterdam was the most poplular destination with 32,267 passengers.

The rolling totals for the last 12 months are...

1. HEATHROW 70,049,488 3.80%
2. GATWICK 33,778,129 4.40%
3. MANCHESTER 19,166,494 6.10%
4. STANSTED 17,808,495 -4.40%
5. LUTON 9,561,613 6.00%
6. EDINBURGH 9,329,810 3.90%
7. BIRMINGHAM 8,608,598 -0.60%
8. GLASGOW 6,928,073 3.60%
9. BRISTOL 5,783,767 -0.10%
10. LIVERPOOL 5,061,648 -0.10%
11. NEWCASTLE 4,337,497 -1.20%
12. EAST MIDS 4,233,160 2.90%
13. BELFAST INT 4,204,024 4.30%
14. ABERDEEN 3,196,954 11.40%
15. LONDON CITY 3,028,013 6.90%

[Boards]

Originally Posted by AshAshAsh

10. LIVERPOOL 389,256 -19.90%

Is that typo, mate? Down by a fifth? It's amazing how far ahead EDI has got despite the recent drops in passenger numbers there. 40% busier than GLA now. Seems inconceivable a decade ago.

[AshAshAsh]

Originally Posted by Boards

Is that typo, mate? Down by a fifth?

Nope, that's the actual figure (I just re-checked it on the CAA website).

[Boards]

Cheers, bro

[AshAshAsh]

Originally Posted by Boards

It's amazing how far ahead EDI has got despite the recent drops in passenger numbers there. 40% busier than GLA now. Seems inconceivable a decade ago.

Yeah it's actually ahead of Birmingham now, which is pretty amazing when you consider the difference in the size of the cities. Must be all the tourists coming to see the castle.

[Boards]

I was just thinking that myself about Birmingham. I think they're cooking the figures

[AshAshAsh]

Originally Posted by Boards

I was just thinking that myself about Birmingham. I think they're cooking the figures

Maybe they've got Fred Goodwin counting the passengers, it's just up the road from his old office.

[david_gla]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...7afde58aba.1e1

AFP – 19 hours ago

SEOUL — South Korea's main airport operator is interested in buying London's Stansted from the British Airports Authority in a bid to expand overseas business, an official said Monday.

State-owned Incheon International Airport Corp is "watching with interest" Stansted as well as Glasgow airport, the Incheon official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"We also have an interest in other British airports to be put up for sale in the near future," he said, adding no specific plans had been made yet including how to finance a potential bid.

Britain's Competition Commission in 2009 ordered BAA, owned by Spanish conglomerate Ferrovial, to offload London's Gatwick and Stansted airports as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow to meet anti-competition requirements.

BAA has subsequently sold Gatwick and Edinburgh airports to US investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners. In February it lost an appeal against the order to sell Stansted.

The Korea Economic Daily reported Monday that Incheon was in talks with companies such as JP Morgan Asset Management for a potential joint bid for Stansted or Glasgow.

Incheon airport has been seeking to expand its overseas businesses which accounted for less than one percent of its total revenue of 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) last year.

"Our overseas business since 2009 is only in its infancy. We're mulling various plans to develop it including buying stakes in foreign airports or construction of (new airports)," the airport official told AFP.

Incheon, South Korea's biggest aviation hub, handled about 35 million passengers last year and has several times been rated the world's best airport by the Airports Council International.

Stansted is Britain's fourth busiest airport, handling 18.3 million passengers a year.

[Gommsta]

I pray that someone will buy Glasgow airport from BAA. Although I can't see them selling it anytime soon with Edinburgh out of their hands.

What other airports do Incheon operate outside of S Korea?
.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by Gommsta

I pray that someone will buy Glasgow airport from BAA. Although I can't see them selling it anytime soon with Edinburgh out of their hands.

What other airports do Incheon operate outside of S Korea?
.

They are probably referring to Prestwick as its for sale.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by Boards

Is that typo, mate? Down by a fifth? It's amazing how far ahead EDI has got despite the recent drops in passenger numbers there. 40% busier than GLA now. Seems inconceivable a decade ago.

GLA nearly back to 7 million, pretty going in a recession. Good to see the numbers heading back in the right direction. I'd suspect EDI might falter a bit now, they relied on their growth for 5 years from Ryanair alone almost. It sounds like that ship has sailed and with the decline of RBS and the sluggish finance industry, I can't see major growth at EDI. I'm sure GlasgowMan could fill us in on the detail

[لا إله إلا الله]

French trio air links will lift city economy

THOUSANDS of French tourists will jet to Glasgow over the summer for short stays in the local economy will be boosted by £300,000.

The news came on a day when more than 200 holidaymakers were due to board a maiden flight to the Spanish party island of Ibiza.

Charter flights linking Glasgow Airport with the French cities of Nantes, Lyon and Paris were launched this week by the Ayrshire-based France Travel Services.

Parent firm Stewart Travel Group had an inaugural flight from Lyon touch down in Glasgow two days ago, amid predictions more than 5000 extra French tourists will holiday in Glasgow over the next eight weeks spending the equivalent of £60 per head. This, marketing chiefs predict, will be spent on just one night's stay in the city before visitors head around the country.

Of course, some of the French visitors are expected to stay longer in the city.

Millions of French tourists come to the city and spend an estimated £18.4million every year.

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau chief executive Scott Taylor, said: "These new services are a boost for Glasgow and present us with a significant opportunity to increase short-break tourism from France."

A spokesman for French Travel Services said: "We are delighted to have begun our new services which provide French and Scottish passengers with the opportunity to enjoy the cultural and gastronomical delights of these great cities."

The new service was launched 48 hours before budget airline Jet2.com and sister firm Jet2holidays launched twice-weekly flights from Glasgow to Ibiza.

More than 200 holidaymakers were today due to jet out to the Spanish island.

The airport's commercial director Francois Bourienne said: "The addition of the new French routes is fantastic news for Glasgow Airport.

"All three have huge potential to generate significant in-bound tourism for Glasgow and the west of Scotland."

He added: "Jet2.com has brought the number of destinations it serves from Glasgow to 17 and Ibiza has much to offer."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/f...onomy.17626029

[scott125]

Originally Posted by لا إله إلا الله

French trio air links will lift city economy

THOUSANDS of French tourists will jet to Glasgow over the summer for short stays in the local economy will be boosted by £300,000.

The news came on a day when more than 200 holidaymakers were due to board a maiden flight to the Spanish party island of Ibiza.

Charter flights linking Glasgow Airport with the French cities of Nantes, Lyon and Paris were launched this week by the Ayrshire-based France Travel Services.

Parent firm Stewart Travel Group had an inaugural flight from Lyon touch down in Glasgow two days ago, amid predictions more than 5000 extra French tourists will holiday in Glasgow over the next eight weeks spending the equivalent of £60 per head. This, marketing chiefs predict, will be spent on just one night's stay in the city before visitors head around the country.

Of course, some of the French visitors are expected to stay longer in the city.

Millions of French tourists come to the city and spend an estimated £18.4million every year.

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau chief executive Scott Taylor, said: "These new services are a boost for Glasgow and present us with a significant opportunity to increase short-break tourism from France."

A spokesman for French Travel Services said: "We are delighted to have begun our new services which provide French and Scottish passengers with the opportunity to enjoy the cultural and gastronomical delights of these great cities."

The new service was launched 48 hours before budget airline Jet2.com and sister firm Jet2holidays launched twice-weekly flights from Glasgow to Ibiza.

More than 200 holidaymakers were today due to jet out to the Spanish island.

The airport's commercial director Francois Bourienne said: "The addition of the new French routes is fantastic news for Glasgow Airport.

"All three have huge potential to generate significant in-bound tourism for Glasgow and the west of Scotland."

He added: "Jet2.com has brought the number of destinations it serves from Glasgow to 17 and Ibiza has much to offer."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/f...onomy.17626029

Millions of French Tourists ? You gotta love the ET

[The Boy David]

Originally Posted by scott125

Millions of French Tourists ? You gotta love the ET

[لا إله إلا الله]

Glasgow International Airport launches customer service charter




Glasgow International Airport has launched its customer charter, the first of its kind in the UK, and has trained staff to put themselves in the place of those using the airport, in a bid to become a destination of choice for travel from Scotland.
The organisation is working with Rainbow HR was brought in to support the International airport’s desire become the mode of transport of choice in west and central Scotland and the best airport in Europe in terms of customer service.
In 2010, Glasgow Airport undertook a customer survey asking passengers what was important to them when travelling through the airport with results providing the management team with the fundamentals to develop a customer charter.
Working with Glasgow Airport’s management team, Rainbow HR held a series of staff focus groups from a cross section of employees to understand what great service looked like to them and this formed part of the training programme.
Following the customer survey and the development of the charter, the Airport implemented customer service training. The objective was to ensure staff displayed behaviour in line with the charter’s key commitments which were to be efficient, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable in a clean litter free environment.
To enhance the training experience Glasgow Airport and Rainbow HR went onto to design a DVD, which focused on staff attitudes. The film, which is based on real life customer experiences, showed a good and bad scenario. The DVD followed two passengers from the moment they were dropped off until they boarded the aircraft. While the scripts were identical, the attitudes employed by staff were incredibly different.
The DVD encouraged staff to put themselves in the customer’s shoes and understand the impact of poor service on the customers experience within the airport and that this is all down to individual staff attitude in delivering that good or bad service.
The impact of the training showed a positive shift in the ratio of compliments to complaints with customers reporting 7:1 in favour of their visit.
Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Our customer charter clearly outlines our commitment to our customers and in making such a public commitment, we fully recognise we will be held to account at all times. We believe this approach will enable us to build upon current standards and ultimately lift Glasgow Airport to a new level in the eyes of our customers.”
As part of the customer charter’s commitment to improve service at the airport, an interactive feedback station has been installed in the security hall, which captures instant feedback from every person travelling through security. The station is the first of its kind for any UK airport.
Following on from the success of the initial customer training programmes, the airport is rolling out its training plan by working with the remaining 4,000 third party employees based at Glasgow International Airport to ensure that every customer at the airport has a great experience no matter who they come into contact with during their visit

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news...ervice-charter

[لا إله إلا الله]

Glasgow Airport launches first ever catwalk

Glasgow Airport Fashion Show
On Tuesday 29 May, Glasgow Airport will launch its first ever fashion catwalk.
To showcase the latest in summer fashion, models will soon be strutting down the catwalk at Glasgow Airport. For one day only the airport, with support from the prestigious Scottish Fashion Awards, will be launching some off the latest looks available at the airport.
To present the catwalk shows, Glasgow Airport has enlisted the help of fashion guru and The Hour regular guest presenter, Tessa Hartmann, Founder of the prestigious Scottish Fashion Awards.
The fashion show, which will showcase this season’s hottest designer and high street trends, including items from Hugo Boss, Diesel, Ted Baker, Dorothy Perkins, Rituals, Tie Rack and Accessorize, is organised by Glasgow Airport with the looks created by the fashion show’s compere Tess Hartmann and her team at the Scottish Fashion Awards.
To promote the best looks available at the airport, the team at the Scottish Fashion Awards created a number of looks for the summer season. The looks, which cater for all shapes and sizes, include a beach chic, flirty floral, surfs up, pretty petal and modern prep range.
Date and time of event
Tuesday 29 May. There will be three catwalk shows at the following times:
• 12.30pm
• 1.30pm
• 3.00pm
Please note: each show will last for 20 minutes.
If you are travelling through the airport, why not make your way along to the main departures area and enjoy the show?

[لا إله إلا الله]

Dubai jet-set ready for first-class Scotland



A BOOM in high-spending tourists flocking to Scotland is expected after the country’s first first-class flights touch down this week.

Luxury hotels are hoping for a new influx of well-heeled visitors when Emirates introduces first-class cabins on its Dubai-Glasgow service, which leaves twice a day from this Friday.

Paying about £2,700 one way, first-class passengers will travel in the lap of luxury in private suites which feature everything from seats with electronic massage functions to pop-up minibars.

They will be offered seven-course meals on Royal Doulton china, with drinks including 21-year-old Glenfiddich whisky that costs £100 a bottle.

Such travellers will also be whisked to destinations up to 150 miles from Glasgow in Mercedes limos – as far as Aberdeen and Inverness.

Tourist chiefs hope to attract rich visitors from the growing markets of China and India, from where Scotland is a one-hop trip via Emirates’ Dubai hub.

Denise Hill, head of international marketing at VisitScotland, said: “Emirates’ first-class product is an endorsement of Scotland as a quality destination, and will help in our efforts to attract the type of high-spending travellers who seek luxury products and experiences whilst staying in Scotland.

“To capitalise on this opportunity, VisitScotland, together with some of Scotland’s best-known hotels, took part in a mission to meet with travel agents in Dubai to promote luxury travel options.”

Cameron House, beside Loch Lomond, is among the hotels hoping to reap the benefits.

General manager John Keating said: “It will undoubtedly increase visitors from Dubai to Cameron House and provide a luxurious way for international visitors to travel to Scotland and Loch Lomond.”

Gleneagles Hotel sales and marketing director Dorothy Welsh said: “The Middle East is a relatively small but growing market for us, and it also opens up a whole host of opportunities for discerning travellers from the Far East and Australasia.

“Following the introduction of twice-daily flights, this is a really positive move for Scottish tourism and can only help to attract long-stay and high-spend guests from this region into the country.”

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is due to help launch the service on Friday, said: “Emirates’ plans reflect Scotland’s strong reputation as a first-class destination for business and tourism.

“This announcement further strengthens our connections with key emerging markets in the Middle East and Far East.”

Laurie Price, analyst and director of aviation strategy at Mott MacDonald ITA, said: “It means high-wealth individuals looking for exclusive holidays in the Highlands and Islands, such as to Skibo Castle, can now travel in an exclusive way all the way without having to revert to business jets.”

Business leaders expect other economic benefits, too. Scottish Chambers of Commerce chief executive Liz Cameron said: “First-class seating on these flights… indicates a high-value market exists on this route.”

http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman...land-1-2322118

[Adieu8]

Any further news yet on the delegation team that were suppose to be coming over form China with relation to a direct air route. Browsing through the BHX thread I came across a large article about the future strategy of Birmingham Airport. One line in the article read

The upshot is that the management are hopeful of landing what would be the first non-London service by a Chinese carrier, though they are aware that both Edinburgh and Manchester airports are also in the frame for that accolade.

As far as I knew they hadn't decided on a Scottish airport if it were to get a direct link with China, I always thought that GLA would get it over EDI. Anyone know anything?

[david_gla]

Finally some competition in central Scotland! Wonder what the future will hold for GLA/PIK/EDI? Will GLA catch up with EDI's passenger numbers or will traffic move east?

The owner of Gatwick and London City airport has formally taken ownership of Edinburgh Airport in a £807m deal.

The airport was sold in April to Global Infrastructure Partners, after the Competition Commission ruled BAA had to sell either Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Former managing director of Edinburgh Airport, Gordon Dewar, has been appointed chief executive officer.

Mr Dewar is currently CEO of Bahrain International Airport and will rejoin the team at Edinburgh in the summer.

The airport's current managing director, Jim O'Sullivan, has agreed to continue in his role until then.

Edinburgh Airport refused to say what post Mr O'Sullivan was moving to.

Michael McGhee, Global Infrastructure Partners partner, said: "Gordon is an outstanding airport executive, with relevant experience of Edinburgh Airport.

"We are pleased to have secured his return and look forward to supporting him and his team as they begin the important job of establishing Edinburgh Airport as a more dynamic, competitive player in the global aviation industry.

He added: "It is important to acknowledge the important role played by current airport managing director, Jim O'Sullivan, who has steered his team through the sale process with the highest levels of professionalism and focus.
"He will leave Edinburgh Airport in good shape, and with our best wishes."

Gordon Dewar, who was managing director of Edinburgh Airport between 2008 and 2010, said: "Edinburgh is my home city, and I am excited to be returning to one of the most important jobs in the capital.

"The challenge of leading the airport and the team into a new era of competition and growth is an irresistible one, and very different to the role I once played in BAA.

"Edinburgh Airport's future, its plans and its identity, will all be shaped in Edinburgh, and our decisions will only be influenced by what is good for Edinburgh Airport, and the city and country we serve."

Mr Dewar's daughter, Olivia Dewar, 17, was killed when she was hit by a car in the village of Saar in Bahrain in December 2010.

She had moved to Bahrain in August 2010 when her father became Bahrain Airport's chief executive.

Sir John Elvidge, chairman of Edinburgh Airport, said: "Today represents the opening of a new, exciting chapter in the history of Scotland's capital city airport.

"We don't expect to change overnight, but we have an excellent, supportive owner and a world-class management team, each of us is determined to raise Scotland's profile around the world, connect Edinburgh with more destinations, and provide passengers with a great experience and more choice."

[M_Riaz]

Looking forward to the 787 Dreamliner flying in and out of Glasgow In the near future.