GLA is down, but has more growth potential

[Clive]

Sounds good. Basically he’s saying what we have been saying, so that’s got to be a good thing. Greater inbound is a key to sustained growth.

Madrid, Milan and New York are some of the key routes he implies.

Budapest is being chased, no doubt from both ends, and there may have been a clue about Turkish to IST that we can cling to. IST would fit with his Euro hub hint.

Secure that lot and add a 40-route Ryanair base and I’ll be delighted.

[Iain]

A really good interview that I think most of us would agree with!

It's very refreshing to see the positivity and can do attitude. Imo this is a very noticeable contrast to the stuff that people like Derrick Provan were coming out with previously, that was generally negative and seemed to blame "anyone but AGS" for the airports travails by constantly complaining about external issues such as PIK ownership or lack of rail link progress. Of course these things are unhelpful, but complaining often won't get you where you want and you instead need to play with the hand you've been dealt and make the best of it - Hopefully Andy Cliffe is a person who will do that!

The recent TUI announcement was obviously good news on the leisure side - I guess that could have already been in the pipeline before he arrived but equally perhaps he's had a hand in that. Hopefully he can also start to drive improvement in the inbound and business flight market as well!

[atuk]

Everything that Amanda and her team did previously and achieved at GLA.

One wee caveat to bear in mind. Visit Scotland has a certain Mr Dewar as part of its team.

[Bearsden]

Everything that Amanda and her team did previously and achieved at GLA.

One wee caveat to bear in mind. Visit Scotland has a certain Mr Dewar as part of its team.

Yes, but I was told by a former senior manager at GLA that Amanda didn't know Ryanair were shutting its base until the day before it was announced although Mr Dewar certainly did as the public announcement of its closure coupled with an expansion of its base at Edinburgh happened simultaneously

[Bearsden]

Interesting responses to The Herald article published today

I must admit feeling very lukewarm . . . eg
> comparing Glasgow City Region to Greater Manchester when MAN was/is by far the #1 airport in the north-west of England so sitting in a position of strength looking down on LPL & LBA

> potential to add destinations such as China . . . bit too late!

> 'If I look at it from a general Scottish perspective, there is a connectivity deficit in this country.' . . . but viably to where?

> He flagged potential for new services to Germany, the north of Italy, and Spanish cities such as Madrid . . . not new if Dusseldorf, Munich, Milan, Madrid as they were lost to EDI or dropped, no mention of zero services to Scandinavia

> Noting recent successes for the airport with package holiday operator TUI, which is basing an additional two planes at the airport from summer next year . . . yes but operating W patterns and replacing ABZ based Sunwing

> Asked if he believed Edinburgh Airport had an inherent advantage when it came to inbound tourism, Mr Cliffe replied: “I don’t think that is an inherent advantage at all." . . . but of course he wasn't asked about the position today which means that unless there is significant overall growth in the market (which I personally doubt) then GLA has to offer a significantly better financial proposition than EDI or PIK

[bill]

Everything that Amanda and her team did previously and achieved at GLA.

One wee caveat to bear in mind. Visit Scotland has a certain Mr Dewar as part of its team.

That's why I constantly refer to them as Visit Edinburgh.Oh, that and as a supplier to them, I know where they spend their money. Glasgow and the west don't figure too highly without going into too much detail. Any article that contains Visit Scotland sends shivers up my spine.

[Iain]

One wee caveat to bear in mind. Visit Scotland has a certain Mr Dewar as part of its team.

I remember him joining the board years ago, but I thought it was a limited time appointment - he's not listed as a board member now on their site. Has he taken some other position?

[bill]

Fella 'talks the talk'. Interesting to find out if he 'walks the walk'. Time will tell I suppose. Anything upbeat about GLA I always find gets tempered by the fact that it's still bloody AGS at the helm.Maybe it's just me.

[Bearsden]

One wee caveat to bear in mind. Visit Scotland has a certain Mr Dewar as part of its team.

I remember him joining the board years ago, but I thought it was a limited time appointment - he's not listed as a board member now on their site. Has he taken some other position?

He was until recently (31 March 2023) a board member of Scottish Tourism Alliance

[kenneth1]

Certainly an interesting article which suggests that a lot of positive work is being done for more routes and I hope that Virgin will be reminded how the transfer to EDI has seriously reduced the Orlando route, not to forget American as well. Visit Scotland really should be pushing Glasgow and the west coast much more as should the local authorities. Edinburgh is it Scotland! We will just have to wait and see how this develops and hopefully leads to more inbound tourism.