Category Archives: Business Travel

The shocking lack of European capitals served by flights from Birmingham

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As I see that the Birmingham Airport twitter feed has many comments about the runway extension and the High Speed 2 railway proposals, I thought it was worth a quick reminder of just how many major European capital cities are not served by flights from Birmingham Airport.

Now I’m not just talking about Vaduz or Andorra-la-Vella, which don’t even have airports, these are major European capital cities, including the capital of the largest country in the EU (Germany), aswell as other major players such as the Spanish capital Madrid and the Polish capital Warsaw. Even Lisbon and Rome will not get Birmingham flights until the end of March 2012.

European capitals not served by flights from Birmingham

(but these are served by flights from Manchester or other UK regional airports):

City Birmingham Manchester Edinburgh
Notes
Athens (previously operated by various airlines)
Berlin (previously operated by BACON)
Helsinki
Lisbon (YES) (new route starts 31 March 2012)
Moscow
Oslo (previously by Ryanair to TRF?)
Rome (YES) (new route starts 25 March 2012)
Stockholm (previously by Ryanair to NYO?)
Vienna
Warsaw (previously operated by Norwegian)

Now, surely I’m not being fair on Birmingham here? Aren’t there many other European capitals and major cities which are served by flights from Birmingham?

European Capital* Cities which are served by Birmingham flights:

City Birmingham Manchester Edinburgh
Amsterdam*
Brussels
Copenhagen
Dublin
Istanbul*
Paris
Prague
Zurich*

In virtually all of the above cases, other the cities served from Birmingham are also served from Edinburgh. European cities which are served by Birmingham flights, but not by flights from Manchester, are few and far between.

If there is any unfairness, it is that there are numerous cities in Germany which are both more commercially important than Berlin, and which are served from Birmingham. Yet, Berlin is still important in its own right, both for business, and as a key city break destination. If there are flights to Berlin from several other UK airports, then why not from Birmingham, especially as the new Brandenburg Airport should create an opportunity for new routes.

Surely, it would be easier to create incentives for the airlines already at Birmingham to open up new routes to some of these key cities, rather than chasing much harder to win contracts for flights to Asia, which have so far failed to materialise in any great way from Manchester, and which would be even less likely to work from Birmingham, given its proxmimity to London. And why should anyone fork out a hefty High Speed 2 rail fare to arrive in some field right on the edge of the Birmingham Airport complex, when Virgin Trains will take them to within a two minute shuttle ride of the main terminal building, with an only marginally longer journey time?

Notes:

  • * Amsterdam is nominal capital and most important commercial city in the Netherlands. Seat of government is in The Hague.
  • Zurich is both commercial capital of Switzerland and main gateway airport to Bern.
  • Istanbul is largest commercial city in Turkey.

Liverpool to Belfast – Flybe yield to Easyjet

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So Flybe have said that they are pulling out of their Liverpool to Belfast flights, and have come out with the predictable line about high taxes being the reason for the route being axes.

Now even though we agree with Flybe on this issue, it should be perfectly clear that the axing of this route is a simple case of them yielding to fierce competition from a larger rival. Now larger isn’t just about the size (and therefore the marketing clout) of the airline – easyJet were able to operate larger aircraft on this route at much higher frequencies. Flybe can often still compete against airlines that use larger aircraft, as they can offer better timings and higher frequencies, but on the Belfast – Liverpool route, they were only doing 3 flights each day, compared to 7 daily flights from easyJet.

Easyjet use Belfast International Airport, whereas Flybe use Belfast City, but even if this is more convenient for access to and from the centre of Belfast, Easyjet make up for this by offering a better frequency. Easyjet also have a much more natural customer base at both ends of this route, whereas Flybe have always struggled at airports like Liverpool and Bristol.

 

Aberdeen flights – is Eastern’s gain also Flybe’s gain?

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News article – new Southampton to Aberdeen flights with Eastern

So Eastern are increasing their Aberdeen flights from Southampton up to a thrice-daily service. Every time this happens, we are left wondering ‘when will Flybe step in and offer competition on this route’?

This must be an eternal problem for Eastern’s managers, when their business model is based on operating thin routes which other airlines won’t touch as they won’t be able to fill their aircraft. Eastern have never positioned themselves as a low cost operator – and we don’t think they should. Flights from Southampton to Aberdeen are a relatively niche route, but there is also plenty of potential demand for leisure users, especially if reasonable prices combined with the convenience of using Southampton Airports compact terminal can attract people away from Gatwick or Heathrow flights.

Yet Flybe have been able to operate as a hybrid service offering both good value fares and a wide range of routes which are appealing to the business user, especially on UK domestic flights. So, the moment Eastern show that they are filling enough seats each day for Flybe to also be able to operate the route, it is surely just a matter of time before Flybe step in, especially as they are well established at both airports.

So who do you prefer to fly with – Eastern or Flybe?

Heathrow’s third runway in the Dragon’s Den

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Last week, I attended a discussion organised by CIMTIG regarding the future of Heathrow Airport, and the aviation industry in general. Sadly, because of limited time, and the attempt to discuss the whole industry, rather than just Heathrow’s third runway, they didn’t explore as many of the issues as I would like them to have done – but it was still a very informative evening.

This week is the Conservative party conference, and we expect some further discussion from the government-in-waiting about why they believe there are better ways of handling demand than building another runway.

I’d like to put Heathrow’s third runway into a ‘virtual Dragon’s Den’ and see how it gets along. Prior to last week, I’d say I was probably against the plans, but the presentation from the BAA director responsible for the third runway gave a very strong case, so I’m firmily back on the fence. Let’s see if the proposal can survive in the den. So here we have it – billions sitting on the table, rather than the usual £250,000, and I think we need a majority of the ‘Dragons’ to ‘invest’, rather than just the usual one or two.

Introducing the dragons.

In other parlance, they might be known as ‘stakeholders’ or ‘investment solutions partners’, but as I hate both of those terms, I’ll definetely stick with Dragons!

  1. Airport neighbours
  2. Passengers
  3. The Economy
  4. The Environment
  5. Airlines

The article will follow later in the week. What do you think? Would you ‘invest’?

Can’t afford a private jet? How about a boardroom in a bus?

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A private jet might be the ultimate in mobile boardrooms, but with the current state of the economy, it isn’t really an option for most companies. So how about a trip aboard this canny invention from serial entrepreneur Tom Ball, who I’ve known for over 10 years now, due to us both working in the USA as students on the Southwestern Programme.

The “All A Board Room” bus costs £1200 per day – maybe not so cheap on first impressions, but as their presentation shows, it is only when you look at the proposition from a different angle that the benefits really start to add up. For starters, consider the benefits of combining meeting and travel costs together as one unit. Not a minute gets waisted! Then consider the extra element of fun and intrigue. All very good you might say, even very rock and roll, but how can that fit our budget?

Well, here’s another thought. I’ve always noticed that I do my best thinking when I’m on the train, or when I’m flying. Considering how much more visual stimuli there are out there when you are on the move, this is hardly surprising. Do you remember all those games you used to play in the car when going on long journeys. I spy, looking out for unusual brands of car, etc. There are numerous games which might really help the creative juices flow if you are having a meeting of minds to get an idea off the ground. If it is just a dull boredroom you need for the AGM, then maybe the bus isn’t for you, but if your meeting needs any creative input at all, then this bus must be priceless!

As BMI scrap flights, is Heathrow’s loss just Amsterdam’s gain?

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If ever there was a clear-cut argument in favour of Heathrow third runway, then it would be the fact that BMI have just scrapped their flights from Leeds Bradford and Durham Tees Valley to Heathrow. Anyone looking to transfer onto other flights will now have no option but to travel to Amsterdam with KLM instead, as neither of these airports offer hub feeder flights from any other airline.  

Proponents of Heathrow’s third runway argue that the extra capacity that would be created could be used to keep open domestic routes like these two, and also to connect other British cities with Heathrow which have lost their links due to the high taxes imposed on UK domestic flights. Obvious cities which might otherwise support flights into Heathrow would include Liverpool and Inverness in the north and Plymouth and Newquay in the southwest. Meanwhile, opponents argue that people should travel to Heathrow by rail, and that the overall number of flights should be reduced anyway, thus reducing the prospect of these routes from ever becoming viable again. 

Right now, the facts would appear to speak for themselves when it comes to connecting flights, but what about people who just want point-to-point travel between British regional cities and London? We would expect some passengers from Leeds Bradford and Durham to transfer to flights from Manchester and Newcastle respectively, but a far more significant number will travel by train. Both airports also talked about finding replacement airlines to open up new routes into London, but we heard the same rhetoric when VLM scrapped their Liverpool to London City flights. Perhaps Flybe could come onto the scene at Leeds Bradford, where they already have a presence, but I don’t see them operating Gatwick to Durham Tees Valley flights alongside their existing Gatwick to Newcastle route. 

When it comes to the economic arguments about losing jobs to Amsterdam, there is nothing new here. For many years, KLM have offered more feeder flights from UK regional airports than any other airline, and they are set to increase this further still when they open up their new Liverpool to Amsterdam flights at the end of this month. Naturally, this isn’t good news for the UK economy, but we shouldn’t forget that Heathrow’s third runway would come with considerable economic and environmental costs as well. Nor should we forget that the ‘hub and spoke’ model is an inefficient way of operating flights, even if there is always going to be a need for it on some routes.

Can high speed rail really solve Heathrow’s Congestion problems?

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So the Tories have now told us that they want to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and build a new high speed rail route instead. Whatever the economic and environmental ramifications of this proposal, can it actually work?

In France, the TGV has certainly taken a massive chunk out of the domestic flights market, virtually wiping out flights between Paris and Lyons, and encouraging Marseilles airport to fight back by building the first dedicated budget terminal in Europe.

The train has already seen significant gains in market share on the London to Manchester route, whereas flights between London and Liverpool have also been chopped.

But could a single high speed rail route between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds really negate the need for a third runway at Heathrow? Or, given the current economic outlook and longer term environmental concerns, does that need still exist at all?

“A third runway at Heathrow would be a completely privately funded project, whereas building a new high-speed rail line between London and Leeds is going to require a minimum of £20 billion to get going, and we know how much these projects always overrun. This proposal contains an element of private funding, but around 4/5 of the cost will still come from the public purse.”