Official Birmingham Airport (BHX) Thread 1

[hammerb24]

Originally Posted by morestoreysplease

Has Airforce 1 ever been to MAN, LGW, Stansted etc.?

Pretty sure it's been to Stansted on numerous occasions.

[faddypainter]

The one good suggestion I heard in that whole video was by one of the committee members who suggested the possibility of the UK unilaterally declaring open skies for regional airports, to which the CAA representative agreed it would be beneficial to consumers, but objections from certain UK airlines would be likely. *Naming no names here*

Bilateral restrictions was something quoted as being a barrier to airlines from developing nations, China etc.

Other than that it was just every airport CEO bashing APD and the government, claiming it distorts the market at regional airports by affecting them disproportionately.

[neon18]

Birmingham Airport Runway Extension


www.hellomoreworld.co.uk

[world_rep]

BHX has handled 2 LHR diversions.

KLM F70 from Amsterdam and a BA A320 from Warsaw.

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by world_rep

BHX has handled 2 LHR diversions.

KLM F70 from Amsterdam and a BA A320 from Warsaw.

Very surprised KLM still operate the F70 into Heathrow, you very rarely see them at BHX nowadays, let alone LHR.

Good to see a BA at BHX though

[Brum X]

Emirates departing for Dubai at lunchtime today.

[metrogogo]

Time runs out for The Clock, it's now a pile of rubble. sorry about the poor quality of photos, taken from the top deck of a speeding, bouncing bus into sunlight.

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

Excavating the route for the Centro bus road / tramway along side the ATC tower.

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

http://[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/64021067@N02/8264552469/]image hosted on flickr
[/url] BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

image hosted on flickr
BHX runway extension by metrogogo, on Flickr

[morestoreysplease]

That's a good idea that bus road. I will miss the Clock - plenty of times working late at the NEC to catch a quick pint before time there.

[Brum X]

BHX runway was closed for about 20 mins this morning and not due to FOG.

It was 2 bird strikes in the matter of 10 mins.

[sefton66]

Monarch launches three times weekly Birmingham-Grenoble route

Monarch has launched its inaugural flight from Birmingham to Grenoble.
[READ MORE]

http://www.routes-news.com/news/item...grenoble-route

[neon18]

30-seconds with: Paul Kehoe, CEO, Birmingham Airport
12th December 2012

Is it finished yet? Birmingham Airport’s runway extension is well underway and the work is clearly visible from CEO Paul Kehoe’s office. He tells anna.aero’s Ross Falconer that once the 404-metre extension is complete in 2014 its “Hello World” courtesy of an extra 2,000nm range from the longer strip.

Birmingham Airport wants a route to its US twin – Chicago; as well as Japan, China, Thailand and Singapore.

anna.aero: Aren’t you scared that your runway extension is going to be a white elephant?

Kehoe: The fundamental point is that not only are we doing it for long-haul traffic, we are also doing it for medium-haul. The 757 has been the workhorse of this airport; the current fleet of A321s is seen as one of the 75 replacements and we can’t afford to lose those – it’s a major part of our business and the runway extension will support that. We have to keep up with the capability of the new generation of medium-haul aircraft; without the runway extension, we would severely limit our capability.

anna.aero: Do you ever think you will be able to stop families driving to Heathrow for an economy fare to the US on a direct flight (rather than via a hub in Europe or US)?

Kehoe: People always prefer direct flights. Of course, British Airways and Virgin came out in the press recently and said Birmingham will never be an international airport of any note. But I expected them to say that and I’m almost delighted they said it, because it shows they’re taking us seriously. But the future cannot be British Airways and Virgin for all of the UK, if they’re just going to concentrate on Heathrow. Once the Chinese and Indians start travelling, I’m convinced that liberalisation will come along and someone else will set up competing traffic opportunities. The more direct services we get, the more families will come back. As people value their time more, we’re seeing more business passengers come to Birmingham. And what passengers are telling us, and what Lufthansa has told us, is that people prefer Birmingham to Heathrow because of the convenience. The UK is not just the South East – the UK is 40 million people outside the South East.

anna.aero: Is the airport concerned that once again it has put all its eggs in one basket with Monarch – just as it did with MyTravelite, duo and bmibaby in the past – all of which have gone bust and resulted in the airport losing hundreds of thousands of passengers overnight.

Kehoe: We’ve been very good in the past at backing the wrong airline – we never engaged with Ryanair and easyJet when we should have done. Along comes Monarch and it says it thinks it can replace bmibaby. Monarch represents about 1.2 million passengers, as do Ryanair and Flybe; Emirates and Lufthansa both have half a million. If anything went wrong with any of our airlines it would be painful, but we’re not beholden to one airline in particular. It would take two or three airlines to go under to cause us to have real problems; but if that were the case, every other airport in the country would be exposed, not just us.

anna.aero: When can the local Indian community expect a direct flight to Amritsar?

Kehoe: When Air India gets out of its financial mess. We signed an agreement with the Chairman of Air India to start operations and he got fired, so we’ve had to go back to square one and start again. But it’s like being a dentist in a treacle factory – it’s bloody, it’s painful and you can’t move around, you’re just stuck to the floor!

anna.aero: What are your most desired new routes?

Kehoe: One of the games we can’t play at the moment is ultra long-haul, but the runway extension gives us the opportunity of adding about 2,000 nautical miles. From Birmingham, that takes you just about everywhere you need to go – Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore. We’d also ideally like a Chicago service: firstly, there is significant trade and Chicago has phenomenal connections; secondly, the two cities are twinned and are roughly the same size, with a metro area of around 2.73 million.

http://www.anna.aero/2012/12/12/30-s...ngham-airport/

[world_rep]

We signed an agreement with the Chairman of Air India to start operations and he got fired, so we’ve had to go back to square one and start again

Shows how backwards that airline is. You sign the contracts to get a route, and it appears you sign with a man and not the airline. Face and palm come to mind. And Air India wonders why Star Alliance wanted nothing to do with it?!?

Best hope for BHX would be Jet Airways, least its run in a half decent manner.

[Hassaan13]

So it seems that they are pushing for the Chicago route. They've been doing so for at least a year now. They stopped it ten years ago because not enough passengers were using it once it was resumed after 9/11.

What would they use on it if they were to resume it? United or AA, 757/767 depending on demand? They could do the service with a 757 without the need of the extended runway.

I'm not sure of the whole India debacle. We won't be getting an international/European hub with any of the Indian airlines (Jet Airways has Brussels) but a 3-weekly Delhi-Birmingham with Jet Airways A332 would work for a start.

It's a shame we aren't getting the long-haul services that we would see every day at BHX years ago, with AA, PIA passing through in the morning to Chicago & Toronto, Air India. It'd be nice to know in the near future that a long-haul service is being debated about.

[30N]

United or AA, 757/767 depending on demand?

Could be either but I'd probably sway more to AA. If it did happen then the 757 would be the obvious choice.

Shows how backwards that airline is. You sign the contracts to get a route, and it appears you sign with a man and not the airline. Face and palm come to mind. And Air India wonders why Star Alliance wanted nothing to do with it?!?

Route development must be an extremely frustrating department to work in. I imagine alot of time and effort went into to getting the deal signed and just like that you're back to square one.

We’ve been very good in the past at backing the wrong airline – we never engaged with Ryanair and easyJet when we should have done.

Good to see it finally admitted. Maybe it's time to engage with easyjet now.

Other than that it was just every airport CEO bashing APD and the government, claiming it distorts the market at regional airports by affecting them disproportionately.

c. What is the impact of Air Passenger Duty on the aviation industry?

...

2.7 Birmingham Airport has suffered first-hand from the detrimental effects of APD. Negotiations with Air Asia X over a new route to the Far East broke down because of the cost burden associated with operating services from UK airports. When questioned, Air Asia X cited APD as the main barrier. The new service would have created 250 new jobs and acted as a spur for the wider economy.

http://www.publications.parliament.u...iation/m86.htm

[world_rep]

2.7 Birmingham Airport has suffered first-hand from the detrimental effects of APD. Negotiations with Air Asia X over a new route to the Far East broke down because of the cost burden associated with operating services from UK airports. When questioned, Air Asia X cited APD as the main barrier. The new service would have created 250 new jobs and acted as a spur for the wider economy

Its a strange one. Air Asia X publically stated they didn't start MAN due to APD, first time I have heard BHX had exactly the same issue too?

[TJF]

APD = Air Passenger Duty, right?

[30N]

I remember it being talked about that MAN and BHX were chasing Air Asia X but likewise this is the first time I've seen anything official regarding BHX.

It was rumoured at the time that a possible BHX - Kuala Lumpur service could have been routed via Delhi, whether there was ever any truth in it I don't know.

[Brum X]

Despite APD, i feel positive that BHX is trying with all of these press releases lately and you never know what is actually going on behind the scenes, quite alot it seems.

[PSS1980]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Despite APD, i feel positive that BHX is trying with all of these press releases lately and you never know what is actually going on behind the scenes, quite alot it seems.

Sadly nothing big will happen unless BHX lowers its won fees and charges, then a lower APD might also compliment that, but they are not helping themselves in attracting new routes !

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by PSS1980

Sadly nothing big will happen unless BHX lowers its won fees and charges, then a lower APD might also compliment that, but they are not helping themselves in attracting new routes !

Yes i agree, BHX will need to change its fees. I suppose though its stilll down to a return for there investors. Defo needs to happen though and soon.