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London Heathrow lies 87 miles southeast, representing about 10 minutes’ flying time. Luton airport is 71 miles away in much the same direction. Manchester airport stands 66 miles northwest, while East Midlands is only 32 miles northeast.
Can you tell me my location? It is the Birmingham airport, in the presence of Nick Barton, the chief executive of the West Midlands hub. As there are other competitors nearby, does he feel any pressure?
“If we didn’t provide network coverage and pricing, then yes – but that is not the situation,” he states. “We have a larger population in our coverage area than the entire population of Canada. It’s a significant number of people.”
“We have a diverse selection of airlines, who are all fiercely competing, resulting in increased activity and impact within our target area.”
We are speaking on the day that easyJet launched its new base at Birmingham airport, where three Airbus jets will be located. It is easyJet’s first new base in the UK for 12 years (during which time Britain’s biggest budget airline has closed bases at East Midlands, Newcastle, Stansted and Southend).
The phrase “ferocious competition” seems designed for the expansion. Among the 16 new routes easyJet has announced, five serve key resort airports in Spain: Alicante, Barcelona, Fuerteventura, Malaga and Tenerife. Jet2 and Ryanair already fly to all of them.
Tui and the Spanish budget airline, Vueling, also compete, and to complete the set Wizz Air offers a handful of links. Is this, I wonder, going to be the most competitive airport in the UK for European flights – even more so than Manchester?
The CEO of Birmingham states, “I would anticipate that to be the case, as the customer is the ultimate winner in that situation. This is always true.”
“It is likely that the airlines will continue to compete and improve, as has been the pattern in the history of aviation. Their success is evident, and we are fortunate to have all of them present.”
“We are confident in observing the competitive competition among the airlines.”
Is it possible for competition to become excessive? I admitted to Barton that I had previously covered the downfall of Monarch in 2017 and the failure of Flybe in 2020 during my two reporting assignments at Birmingham airport.
“It was the evolution of our industry, wasn’t it? Where the older operators with older business models are out-competed by the newer ones. And all of the traffic that we used to have with those airlines – which was nearly 40 per cent of our total – has been completely replaced.
This demonstrates that the industry is capable of changing itself through fresh investments, modern aircraft, and innovative business strategies – resulting in benefits for our customers.
As someone who resides and works in central London (both apply to me), Birmingham has become a potential substitute for the capital’s airports.
Trains from London Euston take just 65 minutes to a dedicated station (making it closer, in time terms from central London, than Southampton airport and only 20 minutes further than Stansted). From next week, new security scanners will accelerate the journey through the airport.
I use Birmingham airport for affordable flights, like the recent Ryanair deal to Corfu, or for reaching destinations not serviced by London airports. In May, I will take advantage of the new Ryanair route to Beauvais, nicknamed “Paris” in Northern France.
For extended flights, Birmingham offers a promising option for eastbound travel. Emirates has flights from BHX to Dubai on both an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777, and Air India also provides service to Amritsar.
Unfortunately, the daily connection to New York ceased many years ago. Barton’s goal is to revive consistent transatlantic air travel.
The main obstacle currently faced is ensuring there are enough aircraft available, according to the speaker. The airlines are eager, but it’s a matter of obtaining the appropriate planes. They are expected to become operational in 2025.
Unfortunately, it appears that British Airways has no plans to resume flights to Birmingham anytime soon. Additionally, United may decide that it is satisfied with its presence at both Heathrow and Manchester, and therefore does not need to expand its operations by adding a connection in the Midlands. However, as traffic continues to grow in southeastern England, Birmingham may become a crucial player in providing transatlantic flights.
The manager of Birmingham states that they traveled to the United States and Canada a week before Christmas. Although they are not making any guarantees at the moment, they hope to resume flights to North America within the next two to three years. With the potential addition of an HS2 rail line and a station at Birmingham airport, the Midlands could potentially offer a quick route to Manhattan.
Source: independent.co.uk
