New BA flights 4 times per day from Heathrow to Leeds Bradford

Direct flights between Yorkshire and Heathrow have been reinstated with the first BA service after an absence of 32 years,using a  A319. There will be 4 flights per day, and the region’s business community is said to be enthusiastic, as it provides quicker access to Heathrow’s 170 destinations around the world. Tony Hallwood, commercial director at LBA, said: “It opens up the region to the rest of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Flights on the new route, which take 80 minutes, cost from £55 one way, including taxes. The Chamber of Commerce Chief Exec said “These new BA services connect Yorkshire to the whole of the world through Heathrow – and now the whole of the world will find it easier to get to Harrogate.”  The airport wants to increase passenger from 3 million to 3.5 million over the next 18 months or so and to 4.5 million within the next 5 years.”

 


 

New Heathrow route links district to world trade network

12 December 2012 (Wetherby News)

By John Grainger, Business editor

Direct flights between Yorkshire and London Heathrow were reinstated on Monday when the first British Airways service touched down at Leeds-Bradford Airport (LBA) after an absence of 32 years.

The new service, which will run four times a day, has been warmly welcomed by the region’s business community, as it provides quicker access to Heathrow’s 170 destinations around the world.

Tony Hallwood, commercial director at LBA, said: “In the Harrogate area there are lots of SMEs that want to access new markets and when we’ve spoken to companies around the region, the one route they’ve said they want is Leeds-Bradford to London Heathrow.

“It opens up the region to the rest of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

“We realise that a thriving regional economy needs good air links to London and the South East and our aim is to make the price as competitive as possible.”

Flights on the new route, which take 80 minutes, cost from £55 one way, including taxes. [By train from Leeds to Kings Cross is about 2 hours 15 minutes, and about 3 hours 35 minutes from Leeds to Heathrow.  With no checking in time.  Details  About the same price, perhaps less, by train depending on when booked].

The inaugural Airbus A319 was met by a welcoming committee including MPs and MEPs, airport senior management – and the chief executive of Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Brian Dunsby.

Mr Dunsby said: “These new BA services connect Yorkshire to the whole of the world through Heathrow – and now the whole of the world will find it easier to get to Harrogate.”

Mr Hallwood said that around 10 per cent of the airport’s passengers came from Harrogate and the surrounding area, and that the new route is expected to see Harrogate-based passenger numbers grow by 20-15 per cent.

He said: “We’ve just spent £11 million improving our airside facilities to best-in-class standard, and we now have the facilities to increase passenger numbers from 3 million to 3.5 million over the next 18 months or so and to 4.5 million within the next five years.”

Mr Dunsby added: “There is already an excellent Airport Express Bus Service to and from Harrogate every hour whilst we are also campaigning hard for an airport station on the Harrogate line as part of the electrification project.”


But the move was condemned by environmental groups including Greenpeace, whose senior campaigner, Joss Garman, said: “You can hop on a train to do this journey. It’s exactly these kind of short-haul flights, easily reachable by other less polluting ways to travel, which clog up Heathrow. The aviation lobbyists look as disjointed as the government’s transport policy if they’re going to applaud needless flights like this and then complain about Heathrow being full.”   [By train from Leeds to Kings Cross is about 2 hours 15 minutes, and about 3 hours 35 minutes from Leeds to Heathrow.  With no checking in time.  Details  ]

The new service follows BA’s acquisition of BMI and its Heathrow landing and take-off slots in April and will see streamlined connection services aimed at the business and tourism sector.  Details …

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Terminal Passengers at Leeds Bradford airport over recent years:    

Number of passengers (thousands)
CAA – Terminal Passengers 1998 – 2008  (annual figures, table 10.3)
2011    2,937,000  (up + 8%  on 2010)
2010    2,723,934  (up + 6.7% on 2009)  link to 2010 data
2009    2,552,614 (down -10.8% on 2008)
2008    2,860,447 (almost no change since 2007)
2007    2,860,000  (+3% up on 2006)
2006    2,787,217
2005    2,608,721
2000    1,573,056
1996    1,050,608
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Earlier

Yorkshire-Heathrow flights restored after 18-month interval

27.6.2012    British Airways opens Leeds Bradford-Heathrow route after period in which carriers withdrew link twice in as many years in what some people regard as an encouraging move for the region’s economy. British Airways will run four services a day between Leeds Bradford and Heathrow from 9 December, ending a period of uncertainty which has seen the link broken twice in as many years.  Details …