Official Birmingham Airport (BHX) Thread 1

[Bureau des etrangers]

[QUOTE=world_rep;89571986]I personally wouldn't ever describe an aircraft as 'sexy',QUOTE]

I would: Vulcan bomber, B1 lancer, Spitfire, F22 raptor, concorde, dassault rafale, Mig-17, TSR2...... I could go on....

[Brum X]

Great news about our Runway, finally starting in July 2012 (A45) part of it anyway.

Details announced for the extra Aer Lingus Rotation.
Every little helps.

Aer Lingus
New Dublin service details
From 1st May

Dep BHX 1000 EI3265 AT7 Dublin MTWTFSS
Arr BHX 1255 EI3266 AT7 Dublin MTWTFSS

BHX-DUB now 27 weekly flights with EI.

[Victorian]

I flew out of BHX a couple of weeks ago en route (via AMS) to Vancouver (YVR). An early departure was required for my connecting flight at AMS so an overnight hotel at the airport was necessary. I could have flown from Heathrow where I would have had to use those rip-off Hoppa buses to the hotels (£4 each way for a journey of a few minutes) and endure the lengthy security queues and general unpleasantness of LHR. At BHX I stayed in a hotel on site, and enjoyed a quick security check and a seamless departure. Travellers from the northern side of London, the west country and other regions in BHX’s catchment area who, out of habit, never think beyond LHR (or even worse, Gatwick) don’t know what they are missing.

That being said, I find the claim frequently made that BHX could double its capacity today quite unconvincing. Doubling the number of passengers handled by BHX would bring it up to the current level at YVR, yet the difference between BHX and YVR in terms of physical size and infrastructure is enormous. Certainly I believe BHX could take over some of the business presently going through the London airports, but without further infrastructure development, doubling its passenger numbers would, in my opinion, simply create another unpleasant, overcrowded airport that travellers would want to avoid if at all possible.

[Brum X]

Very Nice

[Brum X]

Now a regular sight at BHX.

[Sandblast]

Originally Posted by Victorian

I flew out of BHX a couple of weeks ago en route (via AMS) to Vancouver (YVR). An early departure was required for my connecting flight at AMS so an overnight hotel at the airport was necessary. I could have flown from Heathrow where I would have had to use those rip-off Hoppa buses to the hotels (£4 each way for a journey of a few minutes) and endure the lengthy security queues and general unpleasantness of LHR. At BHX I stayed in a hotel on site, and enjoyed a quick security check and a seamless departure. Travellers from the northern side of London, the west country and other regions in BHX’s catchment area who, out of habit, never think beyond LHR (or even worse, Gatwick) don’t know what they are missing.

That being said, I find the claim frequently made that BHX could double its capacity today quite unconvincing. Doubling the number of passengers handled by BHX would bring it up to the current level at YVR, yet the difference between BHX and YVR in terms of physical size and infrastructure is enormous. Certainly I believe BHX could take over some of the business presently going through the London airports, but without further infrastructure development, doubling its passenger numbers would, in my opinion, simply create another unpleasant, overcrowded airport that travellers would want to avoid if at all possible.

Agree ... it would require another terminal ... and on the western side of the airport (where the old Elmdon buildings are - the original terminal) there is definately plenty of room.

[world_rep]

Fedex won't really be a regular sight unless you sit at BHX at ungodly hours.

[ultraviolet]

Great news about the runway extension, every little helps when it comes to making marginal long haul routes more viable. It's a shame they can't come up with a more realistic pricing structure whilst they're at it.

Originally Posted by world_rep

MAN does so well because it has an alomst flat rate of £3 per pax, wheras BHX is £10.71. Ridiculous!

Why would an airline, say Qatar as an example, shell out the considerable base start up costs and then pay £10.71, when they can simply add another aircraft to an already established base and then pay a third of the costs.

Originally Posted by world_rep

Prices are a major issue:

PLS International £10.71 per departing passenger
PLS Domestic & Irish Republic £6.44 per departing passenger
Runway Charges £9.71 per tonne or part (based on MTOW of departing A/C)
Navigation Charges £1.77 per tonne or part (based on MTOW of departing A/C)
Ground Handling Systems £0.14 per departing passenger
Hold Baggage Screening £0.14 per departing passenger

So, international pax= £10.99

Compare to MAN:

For Routes departing in Standard Periods

Year One - £3.00
Year Two - £4.00
Year Three - £5.00

So, even by year 3, MAN is still half the price of BHX. Not exactly the biggest incentive.

Man, third cheapest in Europe. BHX fourth most expensive in the WORLD

[LNGCats]

MAN CEO ex-Ryanair CFO I think.

Says it all.

[vanson]

Originally Posted by ultraviolet

Great news about the runway extension, every little helps when it comes to making marginal long haul routes more viable. It's a shame they can't come up with a more realistic pricing structure whilst they're at it.



Why would an airline, say Qatar as an example, shell out the considerable base start up costs and then pay £10.71, when they can simply add another aircraft to an already established base and then pay a third of the costs.



Man, third cheapest in Europe. BHX fourth most expensive in the WORLD

This country of ours makes me sick.

[hoody]

Originally Posted by vanson

This country of ours makes me sick.

Do you mean city?

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by world_rep

Fedex won't really be a regular sight unless you sit at BHX at ungodly hours.

Why do you always put an DAMPNER on things ??
Im quite aware of that, LOL

[Spread]

From Business Desk:

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westm...-_Daily_E-mail

Lufthansa provides boost to Birmingham with new daily flights

GERMAN airline Lufthansa is set to expand services from Birmingham Airport to meet a growing demand from the business sector.

Lufthansa passenger figures for Birmingham for January and February 2012 show an increase year on year of 6.48% compared with 2011. This follows a 19% increase in passenger volumes at the airport in 2011 compared with 2010.

The airline is now set to launch a daily service to the new Berlin Willy Brandt Airport in June. This is on top of an extension in the number of flights to Hamburg.

The move will increase the airline’s number of flights from Birmingham from 64 to 83 a week.

The new UK general manager for Lufthansa, Christian Schindler, said the move was a direct result of demand from the corporate sector.

“Our business model shows a high degree of onward travel from Birmingham to destinations such as Hamburg.

“We are also seeing very strong demand from the corporate side and so we are responding to that.

“We aim to provide the best service we can to our passengers and are very confident that we can get them to wherever they need to go.”

The move is a welcome boost to Birmingham at what is a crucial time in the airport's development.

Chief executive Paul Kehoe and the region's business community are keen to see the airport become a major aviation hub.

This has taken on further significance following the comments by Chancellor George Osborne in his Budget that the Government is to investigate the potential of a new airport in the Thames Estuary to serve the congested south-east region of the UK.

“I believe this country must confront the lack of airport capacity in the South East of England – we cannot cut ourselves off from the fastest growing cities in the world. The Transport Secretary will set out Government thinking later this summer,” said the Chancellor.

In addition to its short-haul services, Mr Schindler, left, said Lufthansa was investing massively in upgrades to its fleet. This includes 20 new long-haul versions of the stretched Boeing 747-8 aircraft, which will trial a revised Business Class service complete with seats that convert into beds.

He said the increasing demand for long-haul services to new destinations such as China meant the airline had to offer the very best facilities if it was to attract business users.

The planes will operate on two new Chinese routes, Shenyang and Qingdao, which are being launched from Frankfurt.

The airline is also examining the scope of extending services to the Indian sub-continent.

Mr Schlindler said that current business models suggested most Indian passengers were from the friends and family sector rather than corporate markets but the expansion of the Indian economy could warrant a review, however, much would depend on demand.

[Brum X]

Looks interesting :

[woodhousen]

i dont get what you mean, we've seen this before.....?!

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by woodhousen

i dont get what you mean, we've seen this before.....?!

I havent Woody, LOL
Im excited ;-)

[NeilM]

Actually it's good to see it again, reminds us of what is going to happen, it's been a long time coming.

[JC82]

Originally Posted by Brum X

Looks interesting :

This is the full plan. I believe what will actually be built will be just phase one of the whole extension as detailed here http://www.birminghammail.net/news/t...7319-26442646/

[PSS1980]

Originally Posted by JC82

This is the full plan. I believe what will actually be built will be just phase one of the whole extension as detailed here http://www.birminghammail.net/news/t...7319-26442646/

No the contract has been awarded for the A45 diversion and the runway extension in one scheme involving 2 contractors working side by side...all to be completed by Autumn 2014...unless this has changed in the last 2 weeks...can anyone comment if they know different ?

[Pebble.Mill]

I think we should just go for a terminal 2 and runway 2 and not tell anybody :S then build an airport village.