As the base for Flybe, Exeter International Airport is on the verge of joining other regional airports as a serious player.
The airport handled almost 700,000 passengers last year, and plans by owner Devon County Council to sell off 90% of its shares to a private bidder is an indication that future massive funding is imminent.
Currently, the airport is heavily dependent on Flybe for its scheduled traffic. The airline contributed 370,000 passengers to the airport last year, and new winter routes to Geneva International, Murcia and Chambery Savoie airports are set to push this figure even higher next year.
The majority of the 20 scheduled routes are with Flybe, but the airport also has links to Toronto with Air Transat and the Isles of Scilly with Skybus. Charter traffic is strong with most of the major operators offering seasonal services as part of packages.
Exeter International Airport managing director Geoff Myers sees the ongoing sell-off plans as putting the airport in a state of limbo, despite the airport growing from a charter hub to having 53% scheduled traffic.
He said: “The council has seen the growth potential, but doesn’t regard an airport as its core business so it is looking to sell most of its shares.” The preferred bidder, a consortium which includes Macquarie Airports Group (which already has an interest in Birmingham International, Bristol International, Rome Fiumicino and Sydney airports) and local agency chain Lets Go Travel, has come to the notice of the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT is expected to decide next month if the sale can proceed.
While the bidding process continues, the airport is hamstrung in what it can do to develop. In the meantime, a larger concourse and improved facilities will open this month.
Myers concedes that the presence of a branch of Lets Go Travel in the terminal has helped flight and package bookings, as indeed has a dedicated brochure for the airport.
He said: “The brochure is a very innovative idea and we’ve done very well out of it.”
Lets Go Travel managing director Simon Maunder said his company is supporting the consortium’s bid for Exeter International as he believes it can only attract investment in private hands.
He added: “We are not looking for equity, but we have seen what they have done at Bristol with investment. We need our local airports to offer more product. I am comfortable with the OFT investigation as I do not see how the consortium would not invest in Exeter.”
Rise of the regional airport
Southampton Airport, 2000 to present Within five years Southampton Airport has almost doubled its numbers to the 1.5 million passenger mark. Since opening, destinations have increased by 17 including Faro, Alicante, Brussels, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford. The big growth in scheduled traffic has come from the increase in Flybe services, leading to many more leisure and business routes. To cope with the additional traffic, the airport is investing £18 million over three years to improve the terminal and facilities. Recent investment saw new catering facilities, new seating and the fast-track Business Express Security System. Car parking has also been expanded. By 2030, the airport predicts it will be handling around six million passengers per year. |
Newcastle Airport, 2001 to present Four years ago annual passenger numbers at Newcastle Airport were just over three million. However, the arrival of EasyJet, Ryanair and Flybe means this year the airport expects to handle more than 5.2 million passengers. The number of direct scheduled destinations has more than doubled in the same period, to 41 in 2005. The airport is one of EasyJet’s largest hubs, with 21 daily flights to 14 destinations, and a seventh aircraft will arrive this autumn. The biggest coup for the airport this year is convincing American Airlines to operate a daily service to New York from May. The terminal was expanded last year, with a new departure lounge and improved retail and leisure facilities. |
Bournemouth Airport, 2002 to present In just three years Bournemouth Airport has more than trebled its passenger numbers. This year, the airport expects to see just under one million passengers, mainly due to Thomsonfly.com and Jet2.com launching services to Majorca, Malaga, Valencia, Faro, Pisa, Paris, Amsterdam and Belfast. Terminal improvements include new check-in desks, additional passenger facilities and a Food Village. The airport will expand further next year. From next summer, Airtours, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson Holidays will operate flights from Bournemouth. |
Coventry Airport, 2004 to present It’s been 18 months since work began in earnest to turn Coventry Airport into a viable facility for TUI and its airline Thomsonfly.com. And in just 16 months the airport has already handled one million passengers. But it has not been all plain sailing for the airport. A public inquiry, called after objections from the local council regarding its interim passenger facility, has just finished and a mitigation package agreed plans for a 2,060-space car park, adjacent to the terminal building. However, a second public Inquiry starts next January for a permanent terminal for up two million passengers. The expansion is needed as this summer Thomsonfly.com offered an expanded programme to Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Jersey, Malaga, Palma, Paris, Pisa, Shannon, Valencia and Venice, while this winter Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga, Jersey, Salzburg, Lyon, Paris (Orly), Amsterdam and Faro are available. |
Bristol International Airport, 2003 to present Over the past two years Bristol International Airport has seen passenger numbers increase from 3.9 million to five million. Of the 35 new routes introduced since 2003, five are scheduled, 13 are charter, and 17 are low-cost. The 22 new scheduled routes include New York, Milan, Zurich, Leeds, Newquay, Berlin, Budapest, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Plymouth, Rome and Valencia. Bristol is EasyJet’s largest UK base outside London with 33 daily services to 23 destinations (in 2003, EasyJet served only 14 destinations with 19 daily services). This year has also seen new terminal developments, including £15 million spent on improving customer service and passenger facilities with 16 additional check-in desks in the purpose-built terminal extension and two additional baggage reclaim belts. There is also a passenger pick-up car park. |
