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Post by Humberside on Aug 2, 2012 8:22:56 GMT
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Post by pug on Aug 2, 2012 9:37:57 GMT
Business development tweeted this morning saying he is excited for the airports future.
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Post by elmfield on Aug 2, 2012 10:46:12 GMT
Sounds like MAG are going to pick up the costs of transferring the pensions to the East Riding Pension Fund...That MAG will be granting a loan in consideration for Preference shares and that the local authorities will still retain an interest...So, it would appear that EA will be buying an airport , as a going concern,and losing the 'dead weight' of the pension scheme..that would seem like a pretty good deal!
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Post by pug on Aug 2, 2012 13:20:03 GMT
Elmfield, I agree..
Look North had a piece on this, with Andrew Earle interviewed suggesting HUY should be attracting the likes of Ryanair or Jet2, and that they need to move quickly to improve their summer 2013 charter offering.
Paul Litten seemed confident of attracting new routes.
I wonder if MAG's ownership of EMA created clashing interests as far as the low-cost market is concerned?
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Post by kirmingtonuser on Aug 2, 2012 15:49:57 GMT
The details published so far are looking positive for the recovery of passenger numbers at HUY. I just hope that the agreement does not contain any non-compete clauses that would hold the airport back.
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Post by Humberside on Aug 2, 2012 16:01:29 GMT
Just listened to Paul Litten and Liz Redfern on Radio Humberside Breakfast this morning (about 2h40 in). Only notable things was Liz Redfern mentioning about the business park, and Paul Litten not getting too carried away about new scheduled services, instead focusing on the value of Amsterdam
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Post by elmfield on Aug 2, 2012 17:59:29 GMT
Is the sale of HUY related to the Manchester Airport City £659 million development announced a month or so ago by the Chancellor?
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Post by Humberside on Aug 2, 2012 23:09:59 GMT
Look North had John Strickland, the prominent aviation consultant, on tonight (4 minute 20 seconds onwards on the iplayer), and he sounded rather positive that while not immediately, growth will come. Made the valid point that Eastern know what an airline wants from an airport, so that should help HUY meet potential new airlines expectations
Time will tell if Eastern can drive forward growth, but at least HUY has an owner with a vested interest in it's future, and not one regarding it as a non-core asset
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Post by Humberside on Aug 3, 2012 10:47:23 GMT
This from the Yorkshire Post "Head of business development Paul Litten said they had been negotiating new routes which they should be in a position to announce within a month of so. " www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/new-holiday-routes-on-way-as-airport-changes-hands-1-4799604Also this "Mr Litten said: "We have been spending a great deal of time talking to operators and aeronautical firms. "Humberside Airport has a great loyal following and we want to continue to provide a great service to them from a central location. "It's about developing and continuing to offer services to the Western Mediterranean, Bulgaria and Turkey, where it's safe and the weather's great." Mr Litten was also keen to build on the growing number of passengers using the airport as a starting point for long-haul trips – flying with KLM to Amsterdam and catching connecting flights on to a variety of international destinations. But he said that the holiday industry was not the only opportunity being explored." www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/New-Humberside-Airport-owners-pledge-local-needs/story-16642221-detail/story.html
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Post by elmfield on Aug 3, 2012 12:32:17 GMT
It all sounds very positive!
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Post by tugman on Aug 5, 2012 10:54:38 GMT
It all sounds very positive I agree elmfield. So did JetXtra and Europort Express.Think I will not be buying a chicken calculator for the eggs just yet,if you get my drift !!
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Post by pug on Aug 5, 2012 11:14:58 GMT
With investigation they certainly didn't sound positive. However, it has become clear that MAG have had very little interest in developing and investing in HUY beyond what was required by them to retain their licence. The aviation expert on Look North also highlighted the possible conflicting interests between EMA and HUY, with the Iceland Air Cargo flights being a prime example.
The 'Eastern Group' have clearly got the airport and surrounding land for a very good deal. If they are to retain the current terminal capacity then it would be in their best interests to increase volume by attracting new routes. They could of course mothball half of the terminal, but then they would still need to be open all day every day for their own and KLM flights.
I tend to believe their interests will lie in the renewables and offshore developments planned over the next decade or so. HUY is set to benefit from that significantly in both helicopter movements and increased demand for business flights. The catchment area is still large enough to offer far more leisure flights than they are doing currently, and I would hope to see an expansion in that market again in the next few years. The business park also offers potential that for whatever reason didnt really take off under MAG.
Richard Lake may or may not be a good person to work for, however I have never met him nor worked for him. What is for sure is that both RL and Bryan Huxford have a great deal of experience in the aviation industry (niche markets) and have extensive local knowledge.
I certainly aren't putting my eggs in the Eastern basket, but at the same time MAG certainly weren't interested, and by some accounts this takeover has lifted spirits at the airport.
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Post by mrmoose on Aug 5, 2012 20:31:20 GMT
Hopefully, the take over will breathe new life into the Airport - certainly things seem much more promising than this time last week - just need to get some new routes going for summer 2013 now - even 1 flight a week extra will have a big impact on the pax figures at the moment - The question is where is that growth going to come from?
Charter wise, TCX are still holding off putting flights on sale, for whatever reason (Anybody know when the next edition of the brochures come out - think that will tell us which way things are going). At best, I think we can hope to retain our S12 routes. Thomson I doubt will be back, due to their base at DSA. Olympic? perhaps waiting for TCX to reveal their plans, but then again, Crete is not on sale yet. JetXtra? Their facebook page was updated on the 27th July with something about air duties, which suggest the company is still running, but will it ever actually get off the ground? Ryanair, Jet2, Easyjet, Monarch? All we can do is hope one sees an opportunity...
Business routes wise, Ideally linking to CDG, LHR, and other hubs on paper would be great, but we need to keep AMS above all else - its the only route, along with ABZ that has stood the test of time. I would expect DUB to do well from Humberside, as it did in 2006 - but with a 50 seat prop, not a 737-800. Rotterdam has gone quiet, and I honestly cannot think of any other routes that would be a massive success from HUY, unless that are for a very specialist niche market, although of course I would like to be proved wrong.
Eastern have certainly got a bargain, if they can turn HUY back into a successful airport remains to be seen.
Anybody know if HUY will be classed as a separate business to eastern, or as part of the same company? and, what about competition, will Eastern owning the airport, and operating flights not be a conflict of interest? If, (in the very unlikely event) that another airline wanted to operate HUY-ABZ in competition with eastern, for example, would the airport favour one airline over another?
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Post by pug on Aug 5, 2012 21:32:58 GMT
Andrew earle mentioned in his interview on Look North the other day that the airport should be targetting large step expansion in the leisure market in the form of a based operator, and not the odd route here and there which can easily be pulled after one season. I think HUY have missed out on Jet2 (would be great to be proven wrong), and I think the only expansion in this part of the country will be at EMA and LBA. As for Easyjet, I think they only look at basing a minimum three aircraft. I dont think that sort of model would work at HUY to any great success, though SEN seems to be doing well with a smaller core catchment than HUY. Would like to know how many of their O&D's are in London.. When XL operated from HUY, judging by their initial plans for S07 I'd suggest that the flights did well from HUY. Rather than the reasons of their pullout initially rumoured (lack of CatIII, poor yields), I tend to believe it was their own financial situation which lead them to retract, as they did at CWL and EMA at the same time. Perhaps Monarch could find room in their LBA schedules for a couple of W patterns on behalf of Thomas Cook? However unlikely that may seem. FR could work, however they are hardly reliable... I'm afraid JetXtra were/are nothing more than a paper airline, and despite their claims of the CAA refusing licences based on their name, I think it has alot more to do with their business plan. If they came back with a significant financial backing and some aircraft of their own then it might be a different story, however we are more likely to see regular A380 schedules before that happens I think LHR hugely unlikely, and any London airport infact due to improving surface access from the regional towns and cities. CDG, BRU and DUS have been mentioned as possible routes by Paul Litten himself. I tend to believe that if it was thought any such route would have a negative impact on KLM then the airport would not pursue it, however I believe there may well be a small yet regular high paying market for such flights and it remains to be seen if these 'possible' routes come to anything. DUB had average figures of around 5000 monthly with FR, much too small for a 738, however might have lasted had they still been using the 732 like at MME for years before. I suspect this is more a leisure market from this region and is unlikely to return in any form. Something I'd also be interested to know, however I think Eastern have already shown their cards at HUY with the lack of routes offered from here. Perhaps as has been mentioned on Pprune they see an opportunity to create a 'charter/corporate hub' at HUY and arent so interested in the scheduled market away from ABZ?
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Post by pug on Aug 8, 2012 14:17:07 GMT
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