Birmingham Airport not fully used by Midlanders

It's a crazy world. The West Midlands has a perfectly good airport at Birmingham, yet of the 8 million people living within one hour’s drive of it, less than 40% currently use Birmingham. They would prefer to fight their way down to Heathrow or tootle up to Manchester or wherever. No wonder the Heathrow lobby has so much up its sleeve.

One of the problems is a throwback to the seventies and the way the charter holiday business treats Gatwick as THE airport and stuffs the rest with grossly distorting flight supplements. They've got a hackneyed explanation about planes, fuel and the rest, but it is mostly just spivvy talk for getting in extra revenue.

Birmingham Airport can get you to anywhere in the world. In fact, what Heathrow does, Birmingham can do as well. So, ok, not so many direct routes, but then if you live close to BHX why would you want to trek down to Heathrow? The extra hassle, money and time just make it all a total waste of time. We are supposed to be trying to unclog our roads, yet there are still many willing to chase a cheap ticket costing half as much as it does to get to the check-in desk. It's all crazy. Local airports should be the first priority for local people.

Jo Lloyd, Birmingham Airport’s Head of Brand, says, "We need to make ourselves more visible to this market." Meaning the local 8 million Midlanders. Well, I hope I've done my bit. By the way, just as a declaration, I've got no interest in the airport other than to see it prosper as an amenity for us in this part of the world (that is, the Brummie Hinterland).

Here's a comparison to make a point. Birmingham to Atlanta cost around £375 currently, give or take, with either Delta, Air France or KLM via Paris or Amsterdam. Heathrow offers a direct route and costs around £345 currently. So the difference is £30! Great - try getting to the check-in at Heathrow for that amount. I suppose, though, that if it's a group of four or more it just might swing it, but what a hassle. No wonder these airline programmes can get so many grumpy participants.

Leaving On A Jet Plane!

I see that complaints to airlines have gone up 11% in a year. 12,307 people complained. A whole load more just grumbled, swore and stamped on the floor. In a way, I'm with the 12,307. At least they did something about it. The airlines are so busy giving us cheap seats, which is what we demand, that most everything else goes hang. It is a miracle some days that people don't explode more often.

I'm a great fan of Meet the Parents. Greg Focker had his problems flying to meet his future father-in-law. In this quote from the film, Greg is trying to fit his large bag into the overhead bin -

Flight Attendant: I'm sorry, sir, you're gonna have to check that.
Greg Focker: I got it.
Flight Attendant: No, I'm sorry, that bag won't fit.
Greg Focker: No, no, I'm not - hey, I'm not checking my bag, okay?
Flight Attendant: There's no need to raise your voice, sir.
Greg Focker: I'm not raising my voice. THIS WOULD BE RAISING MY VOICE TO YOU, okay? I don't want to check my bag, okay? And, by the way, your airline? You SUCK at checking bags, okay, because I already did that once and you lost it, and then I had everything screwed up very badly for me, okay?
Flight Attendant: Well, I can assure you that your bag will be placed safely below deck with the other luggage...
Greg Focker: Oh, yeah? How do you know my bag will be safe below with the other luggage? Huh? Are you physically going to take my bag and put it beneath the plane? Are you going to go right now outside, with the guys with the earmuffs, and go put it in there?
Flight Attendant: No...
Greg Focker: No? Okay, then shut your piehole and listen to me when I say that I am FINISHED with the checking-of-the-bags CONVERSATION.

Not a suggested conversation dialogue for real life, but one can appreciated the scene. However, some passengers can be really obnoxious and cause a lot of problems for other passengers as well as the airline crew and staff. I have to say, in my time on planes (30-odd flights in as many years) that it is not the staff but the passengers that I would complain about. Several times when "deplaning" some have behaved as if they were the Gadarene Swine. Pushing and shoving par excellence!

Hoon hovers over Stansted and drops a bombshell!

Geoff Hoon only got his feet under the desk as Transport Secretary this week. He now comes up with the idea that expansion is a good thing for Stansted Airport. That remains to be seen, but none of this airport growth is joined up. Each airport is competing with the next for passengers, most of whom will come out of thin air in order to make the numbers game work.

If you added up all the passengers that are supposed to be rushing though UK airports in 2020 you would have around 500 million. Just like all the baloney babble that the banks have been talking about, so the airport industry comes up with the same sort of nonsense.

Birmingham Airport talks of 30 million, Stansted is slightly more conservative at 35 million, and the rest keep piling on the numbers. If it all really did add up we'd be forced onto planes just to make up the passenger totals. A kind of pressganging for airlines!

Common sense? Doesn't it tell you that in the present financial climate, people are going to cut back on air travel (just a bit?)? It's all so crazy. Airlines are going out of business, people are cutting back on holidays, but Geoff Hoon and the airport chiefs are on the yellow-brick road!

Alitalia Aligoing Next?

The airline business is in a parlous state. OK some niche players are doing well as are some niche services, but the bulk of the plane movements are not. Some are in dire straights. Alitalia is top of this pile. It hasn't helped by the fact that this airline is saddled with a union mentality that includes afternoon naps and wanton strike action. The Italian Government is keen to keep the flagship carrier, but it is like a flying Northern Rock. The EU is watching out for "state subsidies". I would suggest that it is best that the airline does a Swissair or Sabena.

The BBC says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wants to keep the airline in Italian ownership with scooter manufacturer Piaggio the latest firm to be linked with a possible rescue deal. Does that tell us something? Italians make more out of scooters than airline flights!

The truth is, the airline business is on a financial knife-edge and to a great extent we have all encouraged them. Cheap flights? Umm?