Leeds Bradford International Airport - Thread 2

[world_rep]

I looked into it. The cheapest option is £150ish, either on flights from Manchester or Leeds via Amsterdam

The new norwegian route is about £170 for a return. Sometimes less. Not bad for a direct route.

[Leeds rules]

Originally Posted by Ashmataz

I go to Copenhagen roughly twice a year from Manchester. The cheapest is always EasyJet even when factoring in return trains from Leeds to the airport. Good departure and arrival times too. As in, you can arrive in CPH, get public transport to the other side of town and have lunch with family I would rather just get on the bus up to LBA though

Well if the rumours are true you may not have to wait long to get direct flights from Leeds to Copenhagen hopefully. As it has been mentioned elsewhere that the service maybe be re-started by the new owners of bmi regional.

[Ashmataz]

Nice one. I hope it is reinstated

[mode1]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

Why should the parking/drop off issue affect the work at the terminal front?

That area has been remodelled and awaits redevelopment, with the new area further infront. Any free drop-off area would be provided somewhere else, most likely somewhere off Whitehouse Lane, not on the old bus stop area.

It has something to do with the forecourt management plan.
The council are not convinced with what the airport have offered in the way of free parking drop off spaces and something on the lines of has enough been done to encourage people from dropping off passengers on Whitehouse Lane.
It's on those sorts of lines but very picky.
Also the airport have been during this period and while the current works have been taking place on the design and layout to the terminal extention and its relationship with the new internal layout and changes to how it will join to the existing building. Though nothing has been released publicly on paper how this will look and what difference it will look to the 2008 plans.

[Leeds No.1]

£170 is still a lot for a short flight when Ryanair could give me it for £40 return.

Why are the council putting a hurdle in front of the airport's development over that? It's a pathetic attitude from the council who should be doing everything they can to encourage the development to go ahead as soon as possible. An issue as small as this can be worked out later.

[mode1]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

Why are the council putting a hurdle in front of the airport's development over that? It's a pathetic attitude from the council who should be doing everything they can to encourage the development to go ahead as soon as possible. An issue as small as this can be worked out later.

Your not the only person to share this view. The council must feel their reasons are vindicated but think supporters and the airport themselves are at a loss now as what else needs to be done when they feel they put together the forecourt management plan.
Not sure but get the feeling the council want closer access as security issues will allow for short stay drop off near to the terminal.
So the plot thickens and we can only wait and see. Things are looking promising next year with Heathrow back and Monarch expansion so there is going to be more passengers than this year I would think. Surely the airport with thus in mind will be hell bent in starting work.

[Leeds No.1]

Well I would hope so, but equally the airport haven't been keen to get on with expansion in the last few years despite the arrival of Ryanair.

I've not flown from Leeds for a while, but last time I did the departure lounge was packed. That was before Ryanair, let alone Monarch and Heathrow, so God knows what the terminal must be like now! Must be war for seats in there!?

[mode1]

The lounges have been made bigger. The Yorkshire Premier lounge has and along side is the new family lounge. They are now glassed walled with a opaque finish to the glass to make it more private. The family lounge I'm led to believe is where the old gate 10 used to be. Also in the departures area after security contractors are converting what was the food village into another seating area pre gates. You travel back down an esculator or lift to access that. And of course the landside food village upstairs in the 1968 part of the terminal is now all after security and has a re vamped Burger king and also new to the airport Camden Food Co. Only place now I think to get anything to eat pre security is Rittaza and Mumtaz of which the Mumtaz isn't open every day. So yes think it will be a case of see how it pans out. If course there us I forgot to mention the Saltaire Bar and Restaurant to open after security but that's not open till August so there will also be seating in there of course if you buy something. When there was delays last week during the bad weather it got to be a squeeze and people were sat on the floor. This is before the summer holidays have fully got going so let's hope the areas yet to open can handle the pressure if flights are delayed again later in the summer.
Think the airport were being prudent when it came to spending vast amounts of cash when the economy fell and has been I think a,suck it and see situation.

[Leeds No.1]

I was thinking of this, that I assume hasn't been completed yet and won't be until the terminal is physically extended?

[mode1]

That's the 2008 planned extention or part of it. Well from reading up the airport want to now see how those original plans work in with what has just been done. Back in 2008 there was to be some re modeling of the other areas but back then it didn't involve filling in an creating floor area above check in hall A which what has been done this year. They are on my reconing keeping the work they have done and in part tweaking the 2008 plans a bit. No detailed drawings or artist impressions have been released yet. Not even sure if that large sky light is still in with the plans or has been dropped to save money. Who knows until the fullness of time.

[Leeds No.1]

A minor detail I know, but I hope the skylight remains! Asking people to sit two hours in a departure lounge with no natural light is bound to lead to claustrophobia and a stressful experience!

[mode1]

Well to be honest it was going to be quite a high ceiling anyway. Lighting technology is clever now at matching near to day light wavelengths. The new look checkin hall A I think has had that type of lighting put in long strips running from the land side end towards the checkin desks at intervals. This along with bright wall surfaces and yet to be laid New light reflective flooring are going some way ahead to compensate for the lower ceiling height. Don't quote me on the 2008 terminal extention plans regards the ceiling in the planned departure lounge its just a feeling. It all just feels to me that things may be pared back a bit. The rate of growth even with the new based flights and re introduction of the Heathrow route I think will still not be the numbers forecast when the plans were drawn up in 2007/8 when the global crisis had only just started to poke its head. I really think the owners have reined in what money they were going to spend. Revenue doesn't come in like it used to do from aircraft landing and airlines now more so really are the tail wagging the dog. So there is all the nasties that people appear not to like the drop off fee even though if they are prepared to walk or hang on for the free shuttle bus there is free limited stay parking in the long stay car park. It hasn't gone as far yet as the development tax like some UK airports charge just before you go through security but I think some people feel they are steady paying that but under the guise of a drop off fee. We will as I mentioned in an earlier post not going to know the out come till the airport feel fit.
Maybe it will get announced later this month or into August what the council desition is regarding the forecourt action plan and if they are happy with what the airport have re gigged. Also if the council are happy enough traffic that was pulling over and dropping people off on Whitehouse lane will be encourage away from doing that and doing it within the airport boundary.
There was also the thorny issue of private hire taxis not part of the ongoing airport contract space for them to park up and the council were expecting the airport to fund that. Think as a ballpark figure it was coming in at nearly a million pounds as there would have been ground engineering issues to deal with due to the slope off Whitehouse lane towards the beck which is where the council were wanting the area to be placed.

[Leeds No.1]

Free parking plan paves way for Leeds Bradford Airport expansion
By David Marsh
Published on Saturday 14 July 2012 09:00

A free parking area is to be laid out at Leeds-Bradford Airport to help tackle the traffic congestion caused by motorists picking up and dropping off passengers.

But the controversial £2 charge to park for up to 30 minutes on the forecourt immediately outside the terminal is to stay.

Airport bosses sparked a row when they introduced the charge in May last year.

To avoid the £2 fee, many motorists have opted to drop off and pick up on Whitehouse Lane – the main approach to the airport – causing congestion and safety concerns.

In a bid to tackle the problem, the airport has allowed people to park anywhere in the long-stay car park for up to one hour for pick-ups and drop-offs.

Now it is going a step further and is to create a dedicated one-hour free parking zone that will have 51 spaces and be a five minute walk from the terminal.

Members of the council’s west plans panel voted to accept the airport’s proposal as part of a new forecourt management plan, a decision that paves the way for work to start on a new two-storey terminal extension, which would allow the airport to handle up to five million passengers a year.

Councillors had pressed for motorists to be allowed to park on the forecourt free for up to 10 minutes, an idea rejected by airport chiefs because the current system brings in money.

A report to the panel said: “Forecourt charging is now regrettably common place across the UK’s airports.

“Leeds Bradford International Airport have stated that it is a key element of the revenue generation for all airports and in the case of LBIA, it will ensure that they can continue to invest in improvements to infrastructure and facilities.”

Coun Neil Taggart, who chaired the panel, said the airport had made some movement from its original position and added: “We should give a green light to the proposal as a thriving airport is in everyone’s interest.”

Coun Paul Wadsworth (Con, Guiseley and Rawdon) argued the airport had not gone far enough in tackling the issue of traffic circulation.

[Skychaser 2005]

.....more great news for Leeds with this dispute being solved for the terminal extension to go ahead......lets just keep the good times coming.....EQ next please!!

[mode1]

Yes great news but we haven't heard as yet the airports desition regarding if the work will go ahead. It would be hoped it does and put the long sorry saga to an end.

[Leeds No.1]

Leeds - Heathrow flights have managed to gain attention in the FT as part of an article on the growth of regional airports.

UK hopes to boost regional airports
Chris Tighe and Andrew Bounds

Britain’s underused regional airports could help alleviate the capacity crunch in the south-east, a government minister has said, as the coalition vacillates over which London airport to expand in the face of popular resistance.

The aviation industry and business groups have renewed a push for a third runway at Heathrow following recent signs government opposition to it may be weakening. But Theresa Villiers, the transport minister, has said she wants overseas airlines to make greater use of the country’s regional airfields.

On a recent visit to Newcastle International, where she opened a £3.2m terminal extension, Ms Villiers said the government was keen to liberalise access to British airspace and had held talks with Russia. Air service agreements with other countries regulate routes and frequency but are usually handled on a European Union-wide basis.

“We’re looking at whether we can take steps to liberalise access to regional airports,” Ms Villiers said. She held up Newcastle’s expanding links with Emirates, which in September will increase capacity on its scheduled daily services to Dubai, as an example of what could be achieved.

Traffic to the United Arab Emirates was liberalised in 2007. Manchester, the UK’s fourth largest airport, now handles half as many passengers as Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, and its share is growing.

“We need to encourage regional airports to look at how they can share the load,” she said. “Airports within the south east will be more or less full by 2030. We do need to think about how we meet this long-term capacity challenge.”

The issue was meant to be tackled this summer in a long delayed consultation on how the UK can remain an international hub. But while the Department for Transport published a policy document examining emissions, noise and night flights, the capacity paper was pushed back until autumn at the earliest on orders from Downing Street.

Regional airports, many of which have suffered declining traffic, especially from charter flights, and sharp cost rises during the downturn, had hoped the consultations would provide some answers as to how they can win more airlines and routes. Indeed, the first document has raised liberalisation, improved surface transport to the airports and siting enterprise zones around them as possible solutions.

But uncertainty around capacity lingers. Most regional airports’ management and owners support the third runway for Heathrow since it remains, despite increasing links to hubs such as Amsterdam and Paris, the most important stepping stone to worldwide routes.

“You don’t stimulate growth in regional airports by crippling south east capacity; that will push airlines overseas,” says Graeme Mason, Newcastle International’s head of planning.

Nevertheless, Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham airport, said: “We can’t put all of our eggs into one basket.”

In June, British Airways announced it would increase flights to Heathrow from regional airports this winter, restoring them at Leeds Bradford, as it exploits the increased landing slots it gained when its parent IAG bought Bmi. As well as four daily flights from Leeds, it added one at Manchester and Belfast and increased capacity to Scotland by 32 per cent.

Andy Lord, operations director of BA, told the FT that lobbying by the Yorkshire business community and the area’s large population had made a difference. He said there was “support across the regions” for links to Heathrow but would not say whether others were under consideration.

He added that it was aware of competition at Leeds, where KLM, the Dutch airline, recently put on an extra flight to Amsterdam, to feed customers into Schiphol’s long-haul capacity.

“Bmi has enabled us to create a larger short haul as well as long-haul network,” said Mr Lord.

Another serious issue for regional airports is the impact of rising air passenger duty. Some have been lobbying for the tax to be congestion-related, meaning higher charges at Heathrow and Gatwick than elsewhere.

Passengers flying out of Newcastle this year are expected to pay a total of £48.8m in air passenger duty (APD), almost as much as the airport’s turnover last year of £52m.

Scottish independence could help the congestion-tax lobby: the Treasury has been modelling what would happen if Scotland chose to undercut UK APD rates, luring passengers away from northern English airports. Campaigners hope the Treasury might have to respond with a cut itself to preserve tax revenue.

[Leeds1972]

Originally Posted by Leeds No.1

I've not flown from Leeds for a while, but last time I did the departure lounge was packed. That was before Ryanair, let alone Monarch and Heathrow, so God knows what the terminal must be like now! Must be war for seats in there!?

We flew out a week ago, and several of the seats in the departure lounge were taken up by people sleeping across 3 or 4 seats, forcing others to stand. If they can't get right a little detail like putting fixed armrests on the seats , what hope is there for a decently run airport?

Coming back yesterday (admittedly a bit of a contrast with Schipol) I felt as if I was entering a 1960's bus station. Unsurprisingly, the baggage carousel broke down twice.

[mode1]

Why did you feel it was unsurprising?
And really in the grand scheme of things does that make it a badly run airport if the public seating doesn't have individual arm rests?

[oyster]

I'd have just asked the inconsiderate oiks to move.

[SmartCity]

Originally Posted by Leeds1972

We flew out a week ago, and several of the seats in the departure lounge were taken up by people sleeping across 3 or 4 seats, forcing others to stand. If they can't get right a little detail like putting fixed armrests on the seats , what hope is there for a decently run airport?

Coming back yesterday (admittedly a bit of a contrast with Schipol) I felt as if I was entering a 1960's bus station. Unsurprisingly, the baggage carousel broke down twice.

You mean all of the seven seats.