Cardiff airport

@Ash

I just think Wizard is saying the devil is in the detail. Whilst it is certainly good news that we get routes to Munich, Dusseldorf, it isn't so good that you have to stay a week when you get there. The city break market needs flights twice a week if not three otherwise your market becomes limited.

I wasn't having a go at Wizard. I hope it didn't come across that way but he does trend to take a 'glass half empty' view of the airport.

The point I was making was that there's only so much you can do with a one / two plane operation. There are a lot of things I don't like much about the schedule but I don't see how you could expect much more.

I'm not sure ash, I think with a bit of imagination and some pressure applied to get the right slots you could have cardiff - Munich - dusselforf - cardiff and vice versa plus cardiff - Geneva - faro - cardiff and so on. Two aircraft could cover 4 destinations each day.

I just knew the timetable would turn out to be a mish-mash, having the photo opportunity with the destinations printed on the t-shirts but no details just sound like political spin.

Announce it but yet don't announce it, hope the press don't look in to it when the full details come out.

Still, all that said its good news none the less. Must go and book something now!



Edit: mmm, no Sunday flights back from Munich/Düsseldorf not exactly wonderful.
Sunday night is very quiet over in Bristol Airport too! They send the immigration chaps home at 8pm.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/thomas-cook-launch-one-off-flight-9245382

One flight to Mexico in 2016 and this is news, not really the new route CWL needs to get back to 2m passengers.

It shows where the airport is at the moment that an additional one off flight to Mexico is being pushed at the media as positive news. At a busier more successful airport the odd extra flight or one loss of a flight wouldn't make the news at all because that is just part of the general coming and going at an airport where services on offer go up and down, but at Cardiff a single extra flight adding a couple of hundred passengers is a massive deal.

Of course, it is positive news and it's welcomed, the opposite could be happening with Thomas Cook saying that they won't do the Orlando route again because interest has been rubbish. Hopefully Thomas Cook will eventually add more of these because one flight in a year to Mexico isn't going to draw back customers who want to go to Mexico at any other time of the year.

The bigger picture though is that we are five months in to 2015 and we aren't getting any closer to getting a proper longer haul operator in. I know Emirates have looked at Cardiff because I talked to an Emirates employee from teh city while I was living out there. Has that gone anywhere, is it in progress still ? While I was out there them and Etihad were opening up to new routes all the time, to lots of regional cities in all sorts of countries. What worries me is we'll miss the opportunity. Dubai has recently added a second airport, with more capacity than Dubai International long term. Now is the time to get a flight to that city, likewise Abu Dhabi which has also been expanding its airport. Either would be good.

Small planes but if this comes off it adds quite a few routes including London City.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/speedairways-reveals-plans-new-routes-9355533

I had a quick browse but couldn't find the website for their existing operations..... perhaps it's Flyforbeans Mark 2.

Vienna is barely served by the low-co carriers, presumably because of very high landing fees, so I'm a bit suspicious by its inclusion on the list to be honest. That's not saying it isn't possible but....

Whatever the result, the latest passenger stats from the CAA make for dire reading for Cardiff airport - it's had a truly terrible year (again) with YTD's down 7%.

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid ... fld=201504

Flyforbeans came straight to my head when I heard this story. I'll be amazed if I see a Speedairways plane land at CWL

Dublin is more worrying. That would risk pissing off FlyBe and AerLingus. Is there that great a demand for 3 carriers flying to Dublin from Cardiff?

So Flybe has started & some are claiming a pretty solid start. I noticed from social media that Flybe delayed their Paris flight so they could accommodate passengers from City Jet as that service was cancelled. Seems to be an early PR goal for them if it is true! Anybody know more?