Archive for the ‘Aberdeen airport’ CategoryAer Arann has announced its summer 2012 Aer Lingus Regional flight schedule which will see its Aberdeen-Dublin route increase in frequency to a daily service from 25th March. Launched just last year in March 2011, the Aberdeen-Dublin Aer Lingus Regional service ,which is operated by Aer Arann under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, has proven especially popular among business passengers. Due to increased demand Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann is offering business and leisure passengers a new Saturday afternoon flight and more convenient schedules for better point to point connections. Commenting on the 2012 summer schedule, Aer Arann’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Andrew Kelly today said, “As the first anniversary of our Aberdeen-Dublin service draws near, we are delighted to increase the frequency to a daily service and offer our customers even better regional connectivity and greater value this summer.” “With our Aer Lingus Regional services which are operated under a franchise agreement with Aer Lingus, Aer Arann remains committed to regional connectivity and to promoting tourism by providing the most direct and easy links between Scotland and Ireland.” he continued. Aberdeen Airport MD Derek Provan welcomed the news. He said, “We are delighted to see the Dublin connection going from strength to strength from Aberdeen. Both business and leisure passengers are seeing real benefits from the route, and I am pleased that Aer Lingus Regional are growing their offering to meet that demand.” Under a franchise agreement between the two airlines Aer Lingus Regional flights are operated by Aer Arann using its own ATR aircraft and crew.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a new price comparison tool to enable travellers to see a summary of optional charges levied by the top airlines in the UK. The tool details information of costs of hold luggage, in flight meal charges, seat reservation and other optional airline fees. Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the CAA said: “The diversity of UK aviation offers excellent choice and value to UK consumers with airlines adopting various business models. To really benefit from that choice consumers want to know the full price picture. For some passengers and airlines the headline ticket price will be the most expensive part of the booking, whilst for others the impact of optional fees and charges can change their view of the best overall price. “Our table allows passengers to easily compare the optional fees that airlines charge and it’s important to consider those charges alongside the ticket price and the extra charges that could be applied before making their booking.” To view the fees and charges comparison table click here: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/2200/Comparing_airline_charges_1st_Feb_2012_.pdf The CAA plans to update the charges table on a quarterly basis. Aberdeen Airport has unveiled details of a major investment boost for 2012. Millions of pounds are set to be invested this year upgrading the busy terminal building to improve passenger facilities and provide more capacity. This year alone, the airport plans to spend £4.25 million on capital projects, with £45 million earmarked in total through to 2021. Highlights include the start of a £5m major expansion of the airport’s international arrivals area, set to be carried out between now and 2019, a two year plan to boost capacity within the terminal and expand the security search area at a cost of £3 million, and the opening of a £750,000 car rental facility. The investment boost comes against the backdrop of a significant increase in demand at Aberdeen Airport, with passenger numbers up by 11.5% in 2011, making it, officially, the fastest growing airport in the UK for the whole of 2011, according to latest figures from the CAA. Announcing the investment boost, airport managing director Derek Provan said: “Our aim is to continue to provide high standards of service. To achieve this, we plan to increase our capacity to take account of forecast passenger growth, and modernise our facilities to deliver a better service to passengers, airlines and other airport users. “Aberdeen Airport has enjoyed sustained growth over the past 12 months and our longer term forecasts suggest that this trend will continue. It is vital that we continue to invest in our facilities to create an airport that befits Aberdeen’s status as the energy capital of Europe.”
Flybe can now offer passengers an even greater choice of routes to France through its Air France codeshare agreement. With the addition of new routes from Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle to Paris Charles de Gaulle and from Birmingham Airport to Lyon. In addition to Flybe’s 11 UK departure points serving the French capital, passengers can now connect seamlessly to a selection of 19 new European destinations. The new codeshare routes onward from Paris, and operated by Air France, are available for booking in conjunction with a connecting Flybe flight between the UK and Paris. They are as follows:
Andrew Strong, Flybe UK’s Managing Director, comments: “Flybe is once again opening up the UK regions by providing new and better travel options. For example, a customer from Newcastle can now book in one simple transaction a flight to Paris and onward to Madrid. Similarly, someone booking a flight to Paris from Bristol can now choose to fly seamlessly to Budapest, Vienna or a number of other attractive destinations. This is an exciting step forward in the relationship between Flybe and Air France.”
Iberia pilots are planning to take strike action next Monday 9 January and Wednesday 11 January 2012. For more information on cancellations and disruptions click here. Aberdeen Airport is the fastest growing airport in the UK – according to new data. The figures come from official CAA passenger data, and are calculated when comparing percentage change on the same period last year(1 Jan – 3 Nov 2011). It shows 9.5% growth on last year, 3% more than the nearest rivals. The latest figures were revealed by Airport MD Derek Provan, who has been speaking as the end of 2011 fast approaches, reflecting on the successes of the year. Discussing the airport performance he highlighted some major projects, such as the runway extension, plus strong growth in passenger numbers, as contributing to what was a successful year for the wider airport community. Latest projections suggest that the airport will exceed three million passengers in 2011. Mr Provan said: “The major project of the year was, of course, the runway extension, which came in on budget and 8 months ahead of schedule. According to a recent report the £10 million investment will contribute £20 million back into the City and Shire economy, creating 110 jobs and attract up to 30,000 tourists to the North-East, spending up to £6.4 million by 2015. “With 2012 moving closer, one of the main aims for Aberdeen Airport next year will be to address the issue of leisure route options for our passengers. Far from sitting back and watching passengers leak to other airports, there is a team working hard behind the scenes to attract new routes. To assist with that process the airport has launched a new online holiday destination survey, to allow the people of the North-East to share their views on the destinations they would like to see from Aberdeen Airport. “At a national level, a major issue which needs to be tackled in the immediate future is that of APD (Air Passenger Duty). We spent much of our time lobbying on this issue this year, in the hope of changing legislation to the benefit of the passengers. Air Passenger Duty in its current form will damage tourism and weaken Scotland’s competitiveness. It is growing in the UK at a time when other European countries have abandoned the tax entirely because of its damaging effects. Despite our best efforts, it would seem the government is pushing ahead with APD as originally intended. We call for the tax to be devolved to the Scottish Government where we feel any revenues raised would be pushed back into helping support the aviation industry and attract new routes. “At a local level I would also like to see progress on the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route), which would bring with it major benefits for the airport, and more importantly for our passengers and visitors. I would like to see and end to the legal issues and for progress on the road to begin. “Finally, and in summary, 2011 has been a very good year for Aberdeen Airport, but we realise that we have a challenging year ahead and we are now putting our focus into delivering a strong performance in 2012.” While, BAA’s English airports witnessed falls in passenger numbers in November, Aberdeen Airport reported a massive 16.1% increase in passengers when compared with the same period last year. Contributing to the increase are the introduction of new routes, including flights to Frankfurt, which have enabled a growth of 21.6% in European scheduled traffic. Overall, it has been a good year for Aberdeen – so far this year (Jan to Nov), the airport has seen passenger numbers increase by 11.2% compared with the same period last year.
The war of words over border control strike action continues in the press and it is unknown how badly affected airport passengers are going to be by the action – reports vary from minor disruption to significant. Border control will be affected from the evening of Tuesday 29 November until midnight on Wednesday 30 November – strike action start times will depend on shift patterns. Any delays will affect passengers arriving into the UK that need to pass through passport control – outgoing flights should not be affected. Tips to help avoid delays:
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has said that it has robust arrangements in place to maintain the security of the border and that it has
Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Securing the border is our priority and over the last weeks and months we have considered all options to ensure we are prepared for union action. ‘We always aim to minimise any disruption caused by the decision of unions to strike, but travellers could see longer waiting times at some ports and airports.’ For up-to-date UKBA information visit http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ A new study has shown Aberdeen Airport’s new runway extension will generate millions of pounds for the local economy and provide a significant boost for inbound tourism. The study, produced by industry experts York Aviation on behalf of Aberdeen Airport, forecasts a major economic windfall for the city and shire. The £10 million 124 metre extension was completed in October, on budget and eight months ahead of schedule. The results of the study were revealed to board members of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce by airport managing director Derek Provan. He told members that the new runway extension put Aberdeen ‘back on the radar’ and would allow airlines to operate more non-stop services from the north-east without costly and inconvenient fuel stops or payload restrictions, and bring more destinations in mainland Europe and the Mediterranean into direct range of Aberdeen. The new study measures the likely boost to economic output and tourism spend as a result of the runway extension. It forecasts a rise in passenger numbers as airlines introduce larger aircraft and expand their international route network. The report suggests that the new runway extension will:
The study also found that the runway extension will ultimately support the commercial viability of the airport, enabling it to invest in infrastructure and route development over the longer term; open up the possibility of services to economically important medium haul destinations that could support the energy sector; and send a powerful message that the region for open for trade, investment and tourism. Mr Provan told Chamber members: “The new runway extension is the biggest single development at Aberdeen Airport since the expansion of the terminal building in the 1970s. And for an airport that has ambitions to become a major international gateway, it is transformational. “Historically, airlines operating from Aberdeen Airport faced a series of constraints. They had to operate smaller aircraft, with a shorter range. So, they carried fewer passengers and couldn’t reach many of the most popular destinations available from airports like Glasgow or Edinburgh. As a result, we lost passengers to the central belt and elsewhere. If they were able to reach those destinations, airlines often had to impose payload restrictions or make costly and inconvenient fuel stops. For many airlines, it meant Aberdeen was simply off their radar – too difficult and too expensive to reach. “The new runway extension means that those airlines can now operate non-stop direct services from Aberdeen, using larger aircraft that can travel faster and further and, crucially, carry more passengers. At a time of high fuel costs and increased competition from other airports, that is an important incentive. At a stroke, it makes Aberdeen a far more attractive proposition for airlines looking to expand. Now, we’re back on their radar. “For passengers, it opens up the prospect of more direct flights to mainland Europe and the Mediterranean, providing more leisure and business destinations direct from Aberdeen, stemming the flow of passengers to other airports in the south. And increasing our reach across Europe creates more opportunities for our tourism industry.” A staggering £80,000 has been donated to charities and groups across the North-east in 2011 – all thanks to the Aberdeen Airport Community Panel. The Community Panel is funded by the BAA Communities Trust (a wholly independent charity primarily funded by BAA Ltd). From the start of 2010, the Panel was given increased local control over their own donations. The final meeting of 2011 has just been held, and it was calculated that the team have made donations of £30,000 to a variety of groups. On top of that, in March a major £50k donation to the VSA Easter Anguston Farm was approved by the Trust. Some of the groups to benefit from donations over this year include the Wildlife in Newmachar Project, Aberdeen Safer Communities Trust, Banff Sailing Club, the Street Sport scheme, and the Dyce outreach bus scheme, among others. The group has control over local donations, and support projects with specific educational, environmental or employment benefits. Sarah Campbell is chair of the local panel. She said: ”2011 has been a great year for our group, but more importantly for the communities we have supported. One of our strengths is that the group is made of people from both inside and outside the airport, and from a wide range of North-east backgrounds. This means we understand projects better when they are presented to us, and can target our funds accordingly.” Karen Barlow is Director of Fundraising and Communications at VSA. She said “We were absolutely delighted to receive a grant of £50k from the BAA Community Trust which has enabled us to begin work on 2 large projects at Easter Anguston Farm, a training centre for adults with additional support needs. With this grant we are building a new machinery workshop for our trainees and completely renovating our education room which is used by hundreds of local children throughout the year to learn more about their environment, wildlife and where their food comes from. “Without the support of the Community Trust we would not have been able to carry out this work so quickly and consequently improving the facility for both our service users and the local community.” |
