How will Americans get to our city?

“charlie could doesn't mean will is that so hard for you to understand? you talk like its as simple as reopening the airport and the airlines will flock in with all the right type of plane and servicing all the routes possible just because....its possible.....hell mate its `possible` to fly from plymouth to a lot of places doesnt mean itll ever happen! it just isnt that simple......and anyone who belives it is aka charliedodd plainly IS that simple.”

“..Niug said- 'charlie the fact your lending your messed up mind to the case to save the airport sums up how deluded and hysterical the case really is'..

No offense mate but have you popped your spoilers in turbulence?
Think of it:-with the new generation of mini-jet airliners you could depart Plymouth and be in the Moulin Rouge (Paris) within just 45 minutes, or watching the Bolshoi Ballet (Moscow) in 3 hours..:)”

“"PLH passenger numbers were up 16.6% in 2009 because the number of flights that year (all by Air Southwest) was up nearly 30% which means the aircraft were generally less full than in 2008. No surprise at all then that many of the flights were axed in 2010 and the passenger numbers plummeted."

You don't start a route and fill it from day one - it typically takes a couple of years for the market to mature into consistently good loads. This explains the gap between capacity and passengers, and is not unique in any way to Plymouth or Air Southwest. Sutton Harbour did not allow the routes to mature before they cancelled them, whilst ignoring routes like Glasgow which they were repeatedly asked to increase the frequency of.

"the overwhelming majority fly into London and travel onwards by road or rail."

Perhaps for price conscious leisure travelers, but not for business travelers. Even so, this is not going to be such a feasible or cheap option in the future. South east airports are reaching capacity, to the extent that it's noticeably driving passenger growth at airports in other UK regions, especially on routes to major non UK hubs.

A few years ago this triggered Air France's decision to serve Bristol again. It quickly became one of the most successful regional route launches they've ever had, driven primarily by connecting passengers willing to pay higher fares to avoid the journey along the M4 from Heathrow.

It's worth noting too that business travelers account for 15% of passenger numbers at Bristol, but at Plymouth it was around 50%. There's a core demand for flights here which isn't price sensitive and which hasn't gone away. Serving their needs appears to be Viable's starting point, which is a solid base to build on.”

“@blogtodi - the advantage of Newquay is a very long runway to take the largest aircraft.”

“Frommendip anyone who trys to use figures to support there argument from the easily edited and therefore untrustworthy source known as a wiki should never be taken seriously.But then looking at charliedodds previous postings on these message boards its pretty clear even without that the man is a complete loon, charlie the fact your lending your messed up mind to the case to save the airport sums up how deluded and hysterical the case really is.”

“Charlie loves trotting out the Wiki passenger figures for 2009. Have a look at the CAA stats. The true total through the PLH terminal in 2009 was 115,000 - the other 40odd thousand were transit passengers who remained on the aircraft passing to or from Newquay and weer of no relevance to PLH.

PLH passenger numbers were up 16.6% in 2009 because the number of flights that year (all by Air Southwest) was up nearly 30% which means the aircraft were generally less full than in 2008. No surprise at all then that many of the flights were axed in 2010 and the passenger numbers plummeted.

115,000 is the sort of number that an airport like Bristol sees in a long bank holiday weekend in summer. 115,000 or 157,000 would certainly generate a lot of money but there is no guarantee it would lead to a profitable operation. Running airports and airlines swallows masses of cash. Cardiff Airport, with over one million passengers a year, made an annual loss the last time around.

So how do Americans get to Plymouth? In the same way they get to Cardiff, Bristol or even Exeter in the majority of cases. These cities are too close to London to make an air link viable and, whereas there are hubs at such airports as Paris and Amsterdam that Americans can use to fly onwards into Bristol or Cardiff, the overwhelming majority fly into London and travel onwards by road or rail.

That would still happen if Plymouth had an airport.”

“Pogle said- 'it is Tudor Clueless Evans. why people keep voting for this numpty is beyond me - he is totally out of touch with reality'..

The last tory council handed victory to him on a plate because not only did the tories vote to gas us wth an incinerator and its convoys of garbage trucks, but they never lifted a finger to stop the airport closing on their watch.
Swimmer Viv seemed preoccupied only with getting the Life Centre and its swimming pool built so she could put in her 100 lengths a week..”

“Come on T G! it is Tudor Clueless Evans why people keep voting for this numpty is beyond me - he is totally out of touch with reality.
Why on earth would Americans want to come here? Its a hovel in the sticks. -”

“Use Devon's airport. Seems logical.”

“Perhaps Cornwall Council should promote the use of Newquay Airport for Americans who want to visit the south west.”