Glasgow | Glasgow Metro Area Airports | News & Developments

[david_gla]

Great news indeed!

[M_Riaz]

ET


New airport routes bring flights boost

12 Jan 2012


GLASGOW Airport is flying high as more passengers jet in and out of Scotland’s biggest city.

New figures show it is far busier now than it was three years ago, with management hoping that trend will continue.

Despite the ongoing harsh financial climate thousands of extra passengers flew off to sunnier climes from Glasgow in 2011.

Every month – except for November – saw passenger numbers up on 2010, and December ended on a high when 60,377 more passengers passed through the airport than 12 months previously.

The increase represented a hike in numbers of almost 17%.


There is still more to be done to support growth at airport Expanding the route network will remain our main focus

New figures revealed the airport, Scotland’s largest, handled nearly 6.9 million holidaymakers and travellers during 2011, 334,788 more than in the previous year.

The 5.1% increase was the best since 2009 and is seen as a sign of “regrowth” at what was once the country’s busiest airport.

A strong demand for international travel and the launch of new routes to Madrid, in Spain, and Stavanger, in Norway, played a pivotal role in the airport’s resurgence, as did the arrival of Jet2.com in March, which now flies to 16 destinations.

And holiday companies and airlines such as Thomas Cook, Virgin, British Airways and US Airways also met growing demand by increasing capacity on existing routes.

The airport’s commercial director, Francois Bourienne, said: “Expanding Glasgow’s route network will remain our main focus for 2012 and we have already made a strong start to the year with the news Emirates Airline will introduce a second daily non-stop flight to Dubai. Jet2.com will launch direct flights to Rome and Barcelona in March, so there is much to be excited about.

Glasgow Chamber of Commerce has actively supported the airport’s drive for growth.

Chief executive Stuart Patrick said: “We congratulate the team at Glasgow Airport for all the work done in 2011.

“That said, there is still more which could be done to support future growth at the airport.”

[david_gla]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...iness-16629378

Glasgow Airport has landed more new routes for 2012 after a holiday company announced plans to launch direct flights to three French cities.

France Travel Services is to offer flight-only and holiday packages to Nantes, Lyon and Paris.

The holiday firm expects to carry more than 10,000 passengers in its first year.

This will be the first time Glasgow has offered direct flights to Nantes and Lyon.

The weekly flights will start on 16 May and run throughout the summer season.

Glasgow Airport commercial director Francois Bourienne said the decision by France Travel Services - which is part of the Stewart Travel Group - would further strengthen the airport's route network.

He added: "This is great news for Glasgow Airport and our customers and it clearly demonstrates that despite the current economic climate, there is still a strong demand for international travel."

Earlier this month, Emirates Airline announced a second daily non-stop flight from Glasgow to Dubai, starting from the beginning of June.

Emirates, which has been flying from Glasgow since 2004, said the move would increase capacity and generate up to 12 new direct jobs.

[RapidTaco]

Good stuff, Nantes and Lyon are good additions.

[M_Riaz]

Tuesday 24 January 2012


Herald

MSPs secure talks aimed at restoring air link to Pakistan

POLITICIANS are hopeful of restoring Scotland's only direct air link with Pakistan after securing talks with Government ministers from the country.

Hanzala Malik, Labour MSP for Glasgow, said he had been given an assurance by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) the state-owned firm will reinstate the city's twice-weekly flight to Lahore that was withdrawn a year ago.

The service, which was introduced in 2006, was popular with Scotland's 50,000-strong Pakistani community and its loss has forced many passengers to travel to Manchester or London to catch alternative flights.

Mr Malik, who met Pakistan's trade minister last October to lobby for reintroduction of the flight, said the response had been sympathetic but stressed he had not yet received a guarantee of reinstating it.

He said: "What we do have is correspondence that states they will include Glasgow in the next scheduling programme. We have not yet received a response from the Pakistani Government.

"We do not yet know when the next scheduling is due and it is only then that we can be sure it will be put back on and people can buy tickets. We're not done yet."

Restoration of the direct Pakistan route would be a major boon to Glasgow's long-haul network, after Emirates announced an additional daily flight to Dubai earlier this month.

The campaign to restore the air link has also been supported by Humza Yousaf, the SNP MSP for Glasgow, who has met PIA officials to discuss the route.

However, there are fears the expansion of the Glasgow-Dubai service will make it more difficult for PIA to re-establish a direct service as passengers will have more options to fly via the Middle Eastern hub.

Despite tough competition in the aviation sector, many in Scotland's Pakistani community feel the demise of the Glasgow-Lahore service had more to do with mismanagement by PIA than a lack of demand.

Mr Malik said a lot of his constituents had claimed seats were limited on particular services only to find the plane was half-empty when they boarded.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said its own market research demonstrated there is adequate demand to support restoration of the route. He added: "Pakistan International Airlines' direct flight between Glasgow and Lahore was first introduced in 2006 and was hugely popular, carrying almost 30,000 passengers every year until its withdrawal in January 2011.

"There is still a strong demand for the route and we would lend our support to the calls for its re-introduction."

As well as playing an important role in maintaining links between the Scottish Pakistani diaspora and relatives in Pakistan, the Lahore service was used by Scottish export firms to access new markets, Mr Malik said.

He added: "I have seen more varieties of Irn-Bru in cities like Multan than you get in most shops in Scotland. And that was because of the PIA flight."

Mr Yousaf said the flight was particularly important for elderly people who found the inconvenience of changing flights more stressful.

He said people who wished to bury relatives in Pakistan at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with Islamic practice, had been forced to travel via Manchester, causing additional distress to them.

l British Airways is to resume flights to Libya in May, 15 months after they were suspended as the country descended into bloodshed.

The decision to reinstate three services a week to the capital, Tripoli, followed a "thorough security review" involving the Government and the new Libyan authorities, the airline said.

[david_gla]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/busine...rport.16746998

THE head of Glasgow Airport is confident the recent troubles at package holiday operators won't affect the fortunes of the transport hub, but warned greater support is needed in other areas.

Amanda McMillan told The Herald she is not concerned about the long-term future of dedicated tour operating businesses.

She recently met management at Thomas Cook and believes the company, struggling since turning to its banks for more financial backing in November last year, can survive and prosper.

At the moment, charter flights make up 23% of traffic at Glasgow with businesses including Thomas Cook, Thomson, Royal Caribbean, First Choice and Virgin Holidays.

Ms McMillan cited growing smaller companies like Barrhead Travel, which has chartered its own jets, and the decision by France Travel Services to offer holiday packages to Nantes, Lyon and Paris from Glasgow as examples of the sector's resilience. She said: "We all need to be mindful it is not a great economic backdrop.

"Thomas Cook is not naive enough to think the brand hasn't been tarnished to some extent but my hope is we move on from this quickly and celebrate the fact they are a great asset to Glasgow.

"Thomas Cook has a huge presence here, has invested here and has always been really passionate.

"When Globespan went bust, Thomas Cook immediately came in and increased capacity when others were more tentative.

"Then you have Barrhead, which has been really progressive in its thinking and can tailor the product to what the market wants."

However, Ms McMillan did admit to disappointment over the lack of movement on improvements to transport links to the airport. She believes access is a key issue for the long-term future of the airport, particularly as it has capacity to grow from handling the current seven million to 13 million passengers.

She said: "Running what I think is one of the major bits of infrastructure in Scotland and a huge economic driver, it would be very remiss of me not to rattle cages and remind everyone we need to look to the future.

"In the last three to four months, we have had a disappointing performance on the roads. There is a lot of maintenance going on but it highlights the lack of resilience we have in terms of egress and ingress to the airport. You cannot ignore the fact that we need to consider the future of the airport and its connections to the city. There needs to be a plan.

"The most disappointing thing for me, post the collapse of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, is that no plan B has emerged.

"That plan B could be a bus lane, as I'm not wedded to the idea of rail."

A further area of concern is the imminent increases in air passenger duty (APD) which will add extra tax to every flight, meaning greater incentives will be needed to attract airlines, particularly long-haul operators, to launch routes from Scotland. Ms McMillan also believes there could be a case for regional variation in APD, particularly as many airports in the south of England are at full capacity and are less likely to feel the impact of the new taxation regime.

She said: "APD is jeopardising the UK's success.

"One chief executive of an airline said to me he would be better announcing the leg of a journey from England to Scotland was free as he wasn't making any money on it.

"Airlines don't make emotional decisions. They look at spreadsheets and see where the most profitable routes are.

"For example, one of the Chinese carriers went into Charles De Gaulle recently rather than London, as the example given was a family of four would be £150 a head more expensive to come into the UK than Paris due to APD and visa costs.

"The reality is airlines are all making less money so new routes need to be incentivised even more.

"It's great to be ambitious and it is entirely appropriate we are having discussions about routes to BRIC countries as it would be a long lead in time. To secure a long-haul route would require a different backdrop of aviation policy.

"A long-haul carrier trying to start a new route will invariably make no money in the first two years and would invest a significant amount of money.

"For Scotland to attract that route would require significant route development support from the airport and Government to make it actually happen."

In recent months, Glasgow has been successful in attracting Emirates to run a second direct flight to Dubai and Sunwing to start a direct flight to Toronto.

However, Ms McMillan is adamant further investment is necessary for the airport to continue growing. She said: "The competition is fierce."

A new cafeteria, which will restore the view of the airfield, forms part of £9 mil- lion investment in infrastructure at the airport this year.

The arrival of additional fire vehicles and a revamping of the taxiway area are also scheduled.

Traffic figures for January showed a 0.4% drop in overall passengers to 416,300.

[david_gla]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/busine...-view.16749781

THE problems which prompted the idea for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link have not disappeared since the project fell by the wayside.

Access to the west coast's main transport hub is acceptable if the roads are not busy but, as anyone who has tried to catch a flight from there knows, that is a big if.

Inclement weather, repair work, accidents and rush hour traffic can quickly gum up the surrounding area, leaving travellers – whether they are in buses, taxis or private cars – sweating over whether they can get on the right plane. The issue is coming into sharper focus in the run-up to 2014, when Scotland may have more visitors than ever before due to the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.

With the public purse already stretched, any major project is going to be tricky to implement.

The disastrous example of the Edinburgh tram project will also be high in the mind of those responsible for public infrastructure.

But consideration also has to be given that Glasgow has capacity to grow passengers numbers from the current seven million a year to 13 million.

So any plan has to be fit for purpose for the long term and not just a sticking plaster to alleviate pressure around some major sporting events.

A new plan is necessary but it must also be one which properly addresses the needs of those travelling to and from Glasgow Airport.

[RapidTaco]

Bit of a treading water scenario at Glasgow Airport by the sounds of it, given the wind at the beginning of the year. Substantial decline at Edinburgh Airport with a 4.4% drop. Over-reliance on Ryanair is being mooted as the problems at EDI (where they have cut 25% of their winter schedules there).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...iness-17013901

Passenger numbers at Scotland's two biggest airports fell last month, according to figures from operator BAA.

Passenger traffic at Edinburgh fell by 4.4% year-on-year to 557,400, which BAA said was caused by "an expected dip" in the airport's winter schedule.

Glasgow Airport also saw numbers drop by 0.4% to 416,300.

However, BAA-owned Aberdeen Airport recorded a 13.9% increase in passenger figures to 227,600.

BAA's UK airports served a total of 7.5 million passengers in January, an increase of 0.5% on the previous year.

The operator said the fall in numbers at Edinburgh was "partially mitigated" by the addition of several new routes.

Glasgow's fall was blamed on the impact of high winds which caused widespread disruption across Scotland on 3 January.

However, the airports operator said a strong demand for overseas travel boosted international traffic at Glasgow last month.

Glasgow Airport managing director Amanda McMillan said: "International traffic was the main driver of our growth in 2011 and we are pleased to see this trend continue into 2012."

[RapidTaco]

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/2...sgow-1.1149127

Budget airline easyJet has revealed it has flown 20million passengers out of Glasgow Airport over the last 16 years.

It has also flown 10million people into the city air hub in that time.

The airline’s first flight from the city was to Luton Airport in 1996 and the company now has 15 routes out of Glasgow.

Over the past 12 months

it says it has flown 1.7m passengers in and out of Glasgow Airport.

Hugh Aitken, easyJet’s commercial manager for Scotland, said: “Reaching 20m passengers out of Glasgow caps an incredible year for easyJet in Scotland.

“Glasgow is a key hub in the European expansion strategy for easyJet, and reaching this passenger milestone reflects our commitment to providing passengers with a greater choice of destinations across both the leisure and business-travel markets.

“Our routes also bring vital investment into the region, and we will continue to work with the Team Glasgow partnership to support the tourism industry across Glasgow and the rest of Scotland.”

Budget airline Ryanair has announced it will axe five routes from Scotland’s busiest airport.

The cuts at Edinburgh Airport are expected to lead to 300 people losing their job and passenger traffic dropping by 15%, from 1.8 million to 1.5 million.

Ryanair said today it would reduce its operating aircraft at the hub from seven to six.

It means the end of flights to and from Berlin in Germany, Malmo in Sweden, Murcia and Ibiza in Spain, and Estonia. Closure of the routes will begin in April and will be in full effect for the airline’s summer schedule.

The number of flights Ryanair operates from the airport each week will drop by a fifth (21%), from 140 to 110.

The company blamed a “breakdown of negotiations” about costs with airport operator BAA.

Ryanair warned that further cuts could be on the horizon if BAA Edinburgh does not extend its five-year competitive cost agreement, due to expire in October.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, said: “Ryanair regrets BAA Edinburgh Airport’s rejection of our proposals for a competitive cost base which would allow Ryanair to further grow our traffic and routes for summer 2012.

“Sadly, BAA Edinburgh seems to prefer higher costs, even if it means fewer passengers and jobs at Edinburgh.”


---

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...tra-70k-seats/

Flybe ups capacity on key Glasgow route with extra 70k seats

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s Number One Domestic carrier, has Increased capacity on one of its key routes from Glasgow International Airport, namely its popular three times a day weekday service to Birmingham, and has based one of its state-of-the-art Embraer 195 jet aircraft at the airport for the first time to facilitate this upgrade. This has resulted in an additional 70k seats now being available for sale.

In a further move designed to provide its Glasgow passengers and frequent flyers with additional benefits and to ensure their flying experience is even better, Flybe will also be opening a new Executive Lounge in the next few months.

Flybe currently offers up to 82 flights a week on this key route between Glasgow and Birmingham that will now be operated exclusively by the 118-seat jet aircraft featuring roomy 2x2 seat configuration. One way fares are from £29.99 including taxes and airport charges.

Simon Lilley, Flybe’s Director of Marketing comments: “We are committed to listening and responding to the needs of our passengers and this is why we have taken the decision to base one of our state-of-the-art Embraer 195 fleet at Glasgow. Our Glasgow to Birmingham service is particularly popular with business passengers and now not only do they have a schedule that offers a choice of flights that are ideal for convenient day returns but also a brand new jet service. We are continually striving to provide a better flying experience for our passengers and our decision to base one of our larger jet aircraft at Glasgow is just one extra way in which we are delivering on that commitment.”

Glasgow Airport’s Commercial Director, Francois Bourienne, adds: “Flybe’s decision to upgrade its aircraft is excellent news for customers. The airline is responding to an increase in demand for the service, which is extremely popular with both business and leisure passengers, and the decision to introduce a new aircraft on the route clearly demonstrates Flybe’s commitment to Glasgow Airport and the West of Scotland.”

[Gommsta]

Originally Posted by RapidTaco

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/2...sgow-1.1149127

Hugh Aitken, easyJet’s commercial manager for Scotland, said: “Reaching 20m passengers out of Glasgow caps an incredible year for easyJet in Scotland.

“Glasgow is a key hub in the European expansion strategy for easyJet"

Nonsense, they've been stuck on four Glasgow based aircraft for eternity and are growing their european market ahead of the UK.

Budget airline Ryanair has announced it will axe five routes from Scotland’s busiest airport.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair chief executive, said: “Ryanair regrets BAA Edinburgh Airport’s rejection of our proposals for a competitive cost base which would allow Ryanair to further grow our traffic and routes for summer 2012.

“Sadly, BAA Edinburgh seems to prefer higher costs, even if it means fewer passengers and jobs at Edinburgh.”

Typical Ryanair. They come to an airport on a subsidised deal and when they don't get it extended they go elsewhere. Soon they're going to run out of airports to rip off!

[david_gla]

http://www.nce.co.uk/news/transport/...627284.article

4 March, 2012 | By NCE Editorial

Transport Scotland and Glasgow airport owner BAA are investigating the merits of building a tram-train link to the citry centre, it has been revealed.

Scottish transport minister Keith Brown revealed last week that Transport Scotland and BAA currently have a study group looking at the viability of such a link along with other measures to ease congestion and access to the airport. Plans for a £210M rail link to the airport were axed in 2009.

Light rail lobby group TramForward welcomed the move, which came in the same week that Network Rail launched a consultation on the use of tram-train technologies to deliver savings in capital, operating and maintenance costs of rail lines. It said this was “helpful” and that it hoped to hear of a positive outcome from the study group “shortly”.

A tram-train is a light-rail public transport system where trams run both on an urban tramway network and on main line railways to combine the tram’s flexibility and availability and the train’s greater speed.

The Karlsruhe model pioneered this concept in Germany, and it has since been adopted on projects such as the RijnGouweLijn in the Netherlands, Mulhouse in France and Kassel and Saarbrücken in Germany.

[Adieu8]

Fingers crossed something happens with this, they really do need something other than the bus to link to the centre. Unlikely anything will be up and running for the Commonwealth Games though, unfortunately that's when it's needed, especially with the additional flights during the period. I guess anyone over for the games will get to experience an infamous M8 traffic jam. Lucky em'.

[david_gla]

Yeh I think it'll be too late for 2014 unless they start next week!

[M_Riaz]

TramForward are the ones promoting the tramtrain link to GLA

[JohnnyFive]

Originally Posted by M_Riaz

TramForward are the ones promoting the tramtrain link to GLA

This Tram Train technology is perfect for use for creating a whole new integrated network utiling infrastructure which is already in place across the city (redundant tunnels and lines as well as current Cathcart circle line etc) and will be great to see.

[Squirrelking]

Yeah, of all proposals it makes the most sense as it can be applied all over the city taking advantage of the best of both worlds.

Sounds far too sensible to ever happen.

[Beardyman]

Originally Posted by Squirrelking

Yeah, of all proposals it makes the most sense as it can be applied all over the city taking advantage of the best of both worlds.

Sounds far too sensible to ever happen.

A most erudite comment methinks!!

[R.K.Teck]

It will be interesting to see how this develops, tram-trains have been discussed as far back as 2007 (although not as an airport link)

If they made a cirle of tram line around the city centre, passing Central, Queen Street (even going to High Street if their long term ambition is to make it a big important station) then this would not only free up a platform at Central by making the airport tram-train terminate outside Central, it allows Cathcart Circle, Paisley Canal, and any other lines that can be converted to tram-trains to free up Central Platforms by terminating in the street: in fact Fastlink Light Rail could use it too ans also the Kirklee/Botanics line if they ever do anything with that.

[Kolothos]

It would certainly ease the movement of suburban lines onto street level in town, and would help excorsise any fears of trams that have spawned from the Edinburgh Trams development.

It would use the heavy rail lines between Central and Paisley, but rather than have the big massive viaduct over the pitches, it would descend to street level before the Airport and before Central Station in the general area adjacent to Eglinton Street? Linking up with West Street, Bridge Street, St. Enoch, Central and Queen Street in the process? I'm all for that!

I really do wish that 'they', whoever it is that allows these transport projects to happen, would simply just commit to something and deliver it. Trams back on Glasgow's streets and a link to Glasgow Airport would be very very welcome.

[Ultima]

You can shelve the word "tram" for the foreseeable future. Besides, why have trams when you can extend the subway? Surely preferable to filling the streets up with more congestion?