Leeds Bradford: Aurigny Air Services Flights, New Routes & Schedule Updates

[juliet-fox-9]

Have any other airports also lost GR services for S27?
It's also ironic that MAN seems to be getting regularly slated for appalling infrastructure and poor on time performance. But yet airlines still seem to migrate towards it. So could actually start costing GR even more! That is of course, as has already been hinted, if they survive overall!

I would say that the reason has less to do with terminal infrastructure and more to do with the potential to grab onward connection traffic at the airport. For instance, the arrival slots for regional airlines like Loganair and Aurigny at airports like MAN and BHX are conveniently timed for passengers to connect onwards with airlines like Emirates, Qatar, Virgin and Air India.

The options for onward connections are also a major factor in why most airlines consistently choose LHR over LGW whenever they have the opportunity, despite the LHR slots being much more expensive.

 

[gulftraveller]

The reason is, surely, simple. The catchments at MAN and BHX are much larger than at LBA.

 

[lbaspotter]

I ask somebody directly at Aurigny what had happened with the LBA route for next summer, well this is the official reply I got.

Hi Ross, unfortunately, we have stopped our Leeds Bradford service due to rising fuel costs. In 2027, we will instead serve the North more efficiently via Manchester Airport. We will, of course, continue to keep our network under review.

So there you have it, route cut due simply to rising fuel cost. I personally blame the Orange Man & his war in Iran..

 

[White Heather]

I ask somebody directly at Aurigny what had happened with the LBA route for next summer, well this is the official reply I got.



So there you have it, route cut due simply to rising fuel cost. I personally blame the Orange Man & his war in Iran..

It was always going to have an impact, even if it was delayed. Rising fuel costs have lost us Aurigny, Sun Express and in part, Easyjet. It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't suffer some further frequency or even route cuts during the winter season. It is a sad fact that when the going gets tough, it's the regional airports that suffer most, LBA more than most given the absence of based carriers beyond Jet2 and Ryanair.

 

[Len Fish]

Although we frequently think LBA has most of its eggs in one (vulnerable?) basket, in times like these it’s the Ryanairs and Jet2s of this world that tend to, fortunately, weather the storm. It’s the smaller airlines, especially our domestic ones, that suffer the most, as they don’t have the resources or depth of routes and/or frequency to cut back like the larger ones do.

 

[BCFC]

I ask somebody directly at Aurigny what had happened with the LBA route for next summer, well this is the official reply I got.



So there you have it, route cut due simply to rising fuel cost. I personally blame the Orange Man & his war in Iran..

Nobody else to blame….what a madman!

 

[Aviador]

The problem is that airlines are not really interested in the passenger experience at the airport. For them profit is all that matters. As long as they can get slots, the terminal building is of no importance. Makes you wonder why they spend so much to upgrade facilities.

I don't know if you have ever visited LBA, but I was actually working there during the period when PIA last operated into the airport. Prior to pulling out, they were very clear that they were worried the terminal facilities were completely inadequate for large aircraft operations not just the aircraft parking stands, but the terminal building itself. At the time they were considering 777-200 ops.
While scheduling regular widebody traffic back into LBA remains a long shot for now, the physical infrastructure is finally catching up. With the £100m LBA REGEN project well underway, the airport is putting the necessary capacity in place to handle larger peaks smoothly. Once complete, the upgrades deliver a massive boost across the board, including capacity for 8 mppa through the CSZ with more security lanes, a 77% increase in luggage reclaim belt capacity, an expanded immigration and arrivals footprint, and an overall 38% increase in terminal floorspace. It completely transforms what the airport can handle compared to back then.