Re: GLA is down, but has more growth potential
Posted: Wed May 17, 2023 11:49 pm
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Being ( me) and an overtly positive type of fella, Im stopping the previous ticking clock and resetting it to zero and renamiming it Cliffes Clock. It starts now at position zero.Bearsden wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 8:05 pm 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
He could start by making Edinburgh’s undeniable tourism draw a boon for GLA rather than a burden. Establish a direct bus link to that tourist hotspot and then it works for us and not against us. It’s beyond parody that the airport has one of Europe’s top city break destinations only an hour away along a straight motorway but no kind of transportation.hads wrote: ↑Thu May 18, 2023 10:03 amBeing ( me) and an overtly positive type of fella, Im stopping the previous ticking clock and resetting it to zero and renamiming it Cliffes Clock. It starts now at position zero.Bearsden wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2023 8:05 pm 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
Im giving him every opportunity to deliver the exact problem areas he has identified. Afterall, the senior management position comes with hefty package and thats what he gets paid for.
So now its all about delivering.
No excuses. He knows whats required.
Get it done.
I echo your seniments Ken but I still think EDI has the potential to attract investment for expansion miles ahead of GLA doing anything much. I hope Mr Cliffe does prove me wrong and pulls some rabbits out of hats but I really can't see it tbh. We can't even get the fundamentals right, like a direct bus link to/from EDI as others have aluded to and the train link project soon descended into farce. We've gotten ourselves into a situation where we have too many fronts to fight now thanks to years of mis-management from (amongst others, but most recently) AGS.Ken1 wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 8:41 am Positive vibes from MR Cliffe, time will tell.
Easy win, Edinburgh has now reached saturation point and it’s venture capitalist owners unlikely to invest the significant expenditure it now needs to expand. As a departing passenger from 12.00 to 16.00 on Thursday, the terminal is now chaotic as so many passengers, even before main summer season and additional American/Canadian flights. Most significantly a lot of arriving aircraft were kept waiting at the end of the taxiway 15 mins due to lack of stands.
EDI is now an embarrassment as the capitals airport and airlines will be getting pissed off too. Come on GLA take advantage!
Until our friends AGS took over!Edinburgh Airport has begun new links this month with Atlanta, Georgia, and also with Calgary in Canada, while resuming links with Boston and Chicago.
Following Brexit, it has been successful in attracting a bigger share of transatlantic travel than Glasgow, which used to dominate.
Any suggestion that GLA/Glasgow can't get any of this business is frankly nonsense imo - A large proportion of American visitors do visit Glasgow, not to mention the W Highlands and Islands and Ayrshire golf courses. Plus the opportunities afforded by a direct Edinburgh bus (we've only been waiting more than a decade for that!)And the capital's airport has a significantly higher share of inbound American travellers - as opposed to outbound travellers from the UK - than any other major airport in Britain.
Between March and October last year, more than half the passengers on US flights began their journey in the US, peaking at 76% in August last year.
Edinburgh Airport chief executive Gordon Dewar says that a big change is in the spread beyond the summer months, with more airlines continuing to fly these routes into autumn.
"We were on a growth trajectory, and post-Covid, it really accelerated.
"The American market was fastest out the blocks. They stopped travel restrictions a year before Europe did, so they were ready to go."
Mr Dewar reports that transatlantic passenger numbers are 25% higher this year than they were before the pandemic.
"We've got more destinations, higher frequencies.
It is hard to disagree with Andy Cliffe, the new chief executive of AGS Airports, owners of Glasgow Airport, that Glasgow’s messaging is punching below its weight.Iain wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 7:18 pm Looks like Stuart Patrick has written a follow up article in The Herald reflecting on the things Andy Cliffe said in his interview:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/business ... ll-better/
If anybody can get behind the paywall that would be useful!